Organizational politics and the strategic process

In this paper the relationship between organizational politics (OP), and company strategy and performance was explored. Data were collected from 55 manufacturing firms. Controlling for company assets and industry type, OP intensity was associated with various stages of the strategic process. In addition, it was negatively associated with overall company performance. These results were corroborated by canonical analysis. Another important finding was that the stage of company evolution moderates the OP-strategic process relationship. Finally, future research directions and implications for managerial behavior and ethics have been clarified.Dr. Shaker A. Zahra is Associate Professor of Strategic Management, Department of Management, George Mason University, Fairfax, Virginia 22030. His research centers on the role of board of directors in the strategic process, determinants of innovation in large corporations, and ethical issues associated with strategic choices.     

Background and work experience correlates of the ethics and effect of organizational politics

Empirical studies exploring managerial views of organizational politics (OP) are scarce. Furthermore, the literature is replete with inconsistent results regarding the correlates of OP. In this paper, data collected from 302 managers were used to examine the association between seven background and work experience variables and managerial attitudes regarding the ethics, locus, affect of OP on the organization, and the motives behind political maneuvering in the workplace. The results, however, show that association between managers' background and work experience factors and attitudes regarding OP is weak. The results suggest several promising lines of inquiry for future research. Shaker A. Zahra is Assistant Professor of Management at the School of Business Administration of the Old Dominion University, Norfolk, virginia. His research focuses on the role of political factors in strategy development.     

Organization Context and Human Resource Management in the Small Firm

This paper examines the relationship between organization contextual variables and human resource management (HRM) practices in small firms. The proposed model is based on an integration of theoretical perspectives, including the resource-based approach, institutional theory, transaction cost economics (TCE), and concepts from strategic management. The model is explored empirically, with qualitative and quantitative analyses of data collected from a sample of sixteen small Dutch firms. Specific contextual variables examined include company size, the presence of a collective labor agreement, having a large firm associate, either as supplier, purchasing group or franchiser, and the company's strategic orientation toward growth (growth strategy). An important finding is the significance of having a large firm associate. Companies with a large firm associate are more likely to report having employer-based training programs. As predicted, company size is associated with more formal HRM practices, including greater regularity of performance appraisal and greater likelihood of employer-based training. A weak relationship is found between a more growth-oriented strategy and greater formality of these two HRM practices. Predictions based on collective labor agreements are not supported. The paper concludes that the findings warrant further research on the relationship between organization contextual variables and the formalization of HRM practices, although a clearer definition of the latter variable is needed in future research.     

Capitalism and its Regulation: A Dialogue on Business and Ethics

This dialogue engages with the ethics of politics of capitalism, and enacts a debate between two participants who have divergent views on these matters. Beginning with a discussion concerning definitions of capitalism, it moves on to cover issues concerning our different understandings of the costs and benefits of global capitalist systems. This then leads into a debate about the nature and purposes of regulation, in terms of whether regulation is intended to make competition work better for consumers, or to prevent negative outcomes for citizens. The conclusion speculates about the usefulness or otherwise of this Socratic method of dialogue.Martin Parker is Professor of Organisation and Culture at the University of Leicester Management Centre, having previously held positions at Staffordshire and Keele Universities. His research and writing is concerned with the ethics, politics and culture of organisation. Together with Campbell Jones and Rene ten Bos, he has just finished a textbook titled For Business Ethics which will be published by Routledge in 2005.Gordon Pearson is Honorary Senior Research Fellow in the Department of Management, Keele University, having previously spent some fifteen years in academia teaching and writing mainly on strategy. Prior to that he spent thirty years in industrial general and strategic management.     

The effectiveness of corporate communicative responses to accusations of unethical behavior

When corporations are accused of unethical behaviour by external actors, executives from those organizations are usually compelled to offer communicative responses to defend their corporate image. To demonstrate the effect that corporate executives' communicative responses have on third parties' perception of corporate image, we present the Corporate Communicative Response Model in this paper. Of the five potential communicative responses contained in this model (no response, denial, excuse, justification, and concession), results from our empirical test demonstrate that a concession is the most effective and robust communicative option.Jeffrey L. Bradford is an Assistant Professor in the Marketing Department at Bowling Green State University. His primary research interests are in the areas of marketing ethics and public policy. His previous research has been published inJournal of Business Ethics, andJournal of Business Strategies.Dennis E. Garrett is an Associate Professor in the Marketing Department at Marquette University. His primary research interests are in the areas of marketing ethics and consumer complaints. His previous research has been published inJournal of Marketing, Journal of Marketing Research, Journal of Business Ethics, Communication Monographs, andBusiness and Society Review. He is also a co-author ofMarketing Theory: Evolution and Evaluation (1988, John Wiley & Sons).     

Corporate philanthropy in the United Kingdom

The increasing demands placed on private welfare services and calls for business to fulfil its social responsibilities have heightened interest in corporate charitable donations in the United Kingdom. Adjustments to the corporation tax system have been made to encourage companies to give more. The article outlines the legal and fiscal background to company giving, examines its magnitude and reports on a survey of company practice.Christopher J. Cowton is a Research Fellow of Templeton College, The Oxford Centre for Management Studies. His main research interests are in accounting, which he teaches on the College's executive programs and to Oxford University undergraduates and postgraduates. He is the author of a recent research monograph on the disclosure of corporate charitable donations.     

Required human resources competencies in the future: a framework for developing HR executives in Hong Kong

The management of human resources has emerged as a critical factor in creating and maintaining the competitive edge of a business. The HR manger should be a business partner who plays the role as a diagnostician and a strategist in the company. Hong Kong HR practitioners are known to be poorly equipped to play such a part since professional HRM training in Hong Kong have largely neglected strategic aspects. At the time of the study, Hong Kong experienced its worst economic downturn since 1984 where bankruptcy and unemployment are at an all time high. This study aimed to provide updated views on the competency needed for future HR leaders in Hong Kong in face of the challenges ahead. Against the background of a literature review, a survey contrasted the views of CEOs and HR executives regarding the required level of competencies of future HR leaders in Hong Kong. The findings establish an empirical basis for a framework guiding the direction and content of the future development of HR practitioners in Hong Kong.     

The effectiveness of strategic planning: competitiveness in the Brazilian supermarket sector

This paper considers the relative impact of management strategic planning practices and economic changes on company performance. The paper focuses on the Brazilian supermarket sector during the period 1988–1999. This was a period marked by significant changes in economic and competitive conditions. Using sales figures as indicators of company performance, ANOVA tests were applied. The results derived suggest that variables representing changes in economic conditions and strategic planning were both statistically significant when they were used to explain performance differences among Brazilian supermarket operations. Differences in company management practices were found to play a more important role than changes in the environment. However, the results clearly suggest that management by itself was unable to take advantage of the upward and downward movements in the economy to modify the relative competitive positions of companies operating within the market. This finding challenges the existing literature on strategic planning.     

The Impact of Organizational and Environmental Variables on Strategic Market Orientation

Abstract

This paper offers a new look at market orientation by conceptualizing it from a strategic perspective. It differs from the current literature in that it develops a measure that emphasizes managerial attitudes and strategic intent. The new measure is empirically scrutinized by an investigation of its relationship with pertinent organizational and environmental variables, as well as company performance. Based on a survey of nearly 400 companies operating in the U.S., significant relationships emerged between Strategic Market Orientation and three organizational variables, namely strategic priorities, inter-departmental coordination and ownership nationality. Two of the environmental variables, namely intensity of competition and rate of technological change were also significantly related to Strategic Market Orientation. The relationship between Strategic Market Orientation and company performance remained inconclusive.     

高管薪酬差距、现金持有及其市场价值——基于不同产权性质比较

薪酬差距这一话题引起社会各界的广泛关注，国内外学者对此问题已经进行了大量的研究，并取得了丰硕的成果，但目前我国上市公司高管薪酬差距如何影响其现金持有水平及其价值，几乎尚未见探讨。基于此背景，以中国A股2005—2018年非金融类上市公司为研究对象，实证考察了不同产权性质公司高管薪酬差距对其现金持有水平及价值的影响。研究结果表明：国企高管薪酬差距增加了现金持有量，降低了现金持有价值；民企高管薪酬差距降低了现金持有量，但提高了现金持有价值；稳健性检验表明文中论断依然成立；进一步分析可知国企高管薪酬差距更加倾向于增加内部现金流用于现金持有的积累，且同时导致过度投资水平的增加，民企高管薪酬差距降低了内部现金流用于现金持有的积累，对过度投资水平影响不显著。从以上结果可以得出，国企高管薪酬差距对现金持有行为的影响支持了社会比较理论；民企高管薪酬差距对现金持有行为的影响支持了锦标赛理论。     

Perceived Legitimacy of Executives Bonuses in Time of Global Crisis: A Mapping of Portuguese People’s Views

The present study aimed to explore and map the views of Portuguese laypersons regarding the legitimacy of bonuses for senior executives. Two hundred eight participants, with various levels of training in economics, were presented with a number of concrete scenarios depicting the circumstances in which senior executives have received bonuses of variable amounts, and they were asked to indicate the extent to which such bonuses may be considered as legitimate. The scenarios were created by varying four factors likely to have an impact on people’s views: (a) the extent to which the objectives fixed by the company have been met or not, (b) the global economic context in which the company has performed, (c) the availability of experienced senior executives in the sector under consideration, and (d) the amount of money that has been awarded, in terms of both the euros and multiples of the average worker’s pay. Five qualitatively different personal positions were found. The most common positions were that executive bonuses were either never legitimate (30 %) or not very legitimate (25 %). People without any background in economics were more likely to hold these views than people with a background in economics. The remaining 45 % of the participants supported the awarding of bonus, but their support was conditional, and the main condition was the extent to which the company’s objectives were met. Thus for most participants, the practice of awarding extra pay to senior executives was either (a) never legitimate, or (b) legitimate only when the company’s objectives have been attained, or (c) legitimate only when, even in a time of economic crisis, the company’s objectives have been surpassed.     

Corporate social responsibility and organizational effectiveness: A multivariate approach

In this paper, three major themes in research on corporate social responsibility (CSR) are identified. Of particular interest, however, is the potential link between CSR and organizational effectiveness (OE). Data collected from 410 college graduate and undergraduate students were used to examine this relationship. Using factor analysis, eight dimensions of CSR and three components of OE were extracted. Canonical analysis was then performed. The result supports the proposition that specific CSR practices affect select OE outcomes. In addition, the method employed here provides a parsimonious approach to give priority to social claims.Shaker A. Zahra, Ph.D., is Associate Professor of Strategic Management, George Mason University, Fairfax, VA 22030, U.S.A. His research centers on the role of board of directors in the strategic process, determinants of technological innovation in large corporations, and ethical issues associated with strategic choices. His research has received several awards.Michael S. LaTour, Ph.D., is Assistant Professor of Marketing, College of Business, Old Dominion University, Norfolk, Virginia 23508, USA. His research centers on the role of arousal in consumer behavior and ethical issues arising in this context.     

Predictors of ethical decisions regarding insider trading

This paper examines potential predictors of ethical decisions regarding insider trading. An interactionist perspective is taken, in which person variables, situational variables, and the interaction of these two sets of variables are viewed as influencing ethical decisions. The results of our study support such a perspective. Ethical decisions regarding insider trading appear to be a function of a complex set of interacting variables related to both the person and the situation. The implications of these findings are discussed.David E. Terpstra is Hearin-Hess Professor of Management at the University of Mississippi. A frequent contributor to management and psychological journals, his current research interests involve business ethics, sexual harassment, and human resource management issues.Mario G. C. Reyes is an Assistant Professor of Finance at the University of Idaho. His research and publications have been primarily in the areas of market efficiency, portfolio management, and financial econometrics. He has participated in the Authur Anderson & Co. Conference on Teaching Business Ethics.Donald W. Bokor's research interests are in the domain of organizational structure and development with implications on human behavior and strategic management.     

浅析逆向物流系统的构建

开篇阐述了逆向物流的内涵及其产生背景,分析了逆向物流可能给企业带来经济价值和环境友好性社会价值。探讨了构建逆向物流系统"战略"和"战术"两个要素,及构建系统时,企业需考虑的问题。     

管理者权力视角下高管薪酬契约有效性探究

近年来,高管“天价”薪酬及其与企业绩效不相配比的现象层出不穷,薪酬契约机制的激励效用愈发受到质疑。基于此,本文以2013—2017年我国沪深两市的上市企业为研究对象,运用多元回归公式对高管薪酬的有效性进行分析。实证结果表明:丰厚的高管薪酬能够提升企业的绩效水平,但管理者权利会反向调节两者间的正向关系,且相比非国有企业,这种抑制效果在国有性质的企业中更为显著。     

Stock market reactions to announced corporate illegalities

Extending the work of Davidson and Worrell (1988), we further investigate the stock market's reaction to announced corporate illegalities. We examine a sample of 535 announcements of corporate crime and obtain an overall insignificant stock market reaction. However, when the sample is divided by type of crime, we find that the stock market reacts significantly to announcements of bribery, tax evasion, and violations of government contracts. We also find a significantly negative reaction to announcements of corporate crime when the company had been previously accused of other illegal activity. For companies accused of crime in the 1970s, 51% of them were accused again in the 1980s.Wallace N. Davidson III is currently the Henry Rehn Research Professor of Finance at Southern Illinois University at Carbondale. He received his PhD in Finance. His current research interests include corporate control, board structure, and corporate social responsibility.Dan L. Worrell received his Ph.D. degree in management. He is a professor in the chairperson of the Management Department in the College of Business at The University of Texas at Arlington. His current research interests include strategic leadership and issues in corporate governance.Chun I. Lee is currently a Lecturer in Finance at the University of Waikato, New Zealand. He received his DBA in Finance. His current research interests include corporate finance, financial accounting and futures markets.     

A multidimensional scale for measuring business ethics: A purification and refinement

Many researchers in the field of business ethics have attempted to develop methods to determine and evaluate the ethics of a variety of different classes of people, including students, professionals, and mixed samples of students and professionals. Unfortunately, most of these studies were disjunctive, simply adding confusion to an already unfocused area of research. However, Reidenbach and Robin (1988, 1990), have changed this trend by attempting to quantify the various ethical philosophies into a multi-dimensional scale of business ethics. This paper examines the background of the Reidenbach and Robin (1988, 1990) scale — including the authors' findings, empirically tests the scale, and concludes that the scale needs further refinement. A promising result is a model with four dimensions: a broadbased ethical judgment dimension, a deontological judgment dimension, a teleological judgment dimension, and a social contract dimension.Randall S. Hansen is ABD at Florida State University, where his major is marketing and his support area is strategic management. His research interests are directed toward the applied areas of managerial and consumer ethical decision-making as well as strategic issues in social responsibility. He has published in theProceedings of the Academy of Marketing Science, Proceedings of the Southern Marketing Association, andProceedings of the Southern Management Association.     

中小建筑企业战略管理研究——以武汉华艺建筑工程有限公司为例

通过对企业战略管理理论的深入研究,利用PEST分析模型对武汉华艺建筑工程有限公司的外部环境进行了深入的分析,又对企业的财务、经营管理、质量管理、安全文明、招投标等多方面剖析,选择了适合的战略管理途径,最后通过公司战略管理模型的建立找到了未来公司战略发展的前景及方向。推广研究,良好模式的建立对于我国中小建筑企业核心竞争力的识别和如何落实战略规划的完整实施和有效控制这两个关键问题有非常重要的作用。     

跨国公司投资与流通产业管制

本文依据跨国公司在华流通领域投资逐步膨胀有可能产生局部垄断的现实,首先从理论上讨论了流通产业是否存在自然垄断,以及跨国公司在华投资形成自然垄断的可能性等问题;继之,在分析跨国公司投资于流通产业所表征的性质规定的基础上,结合我国的实际,探讨了投资环境之于跨国公司战略选择的路径依赖,并据此刻画了由投资环境和战略目标共同决定的跨国公司投资决策的抽象函数;最后,围绕要不要对流通产业实施管制问题,文章依据外资商业在我国流通产业中有可能出现自然垄断的现实,就政府是否有必要对流通产业实行适当的管制提出了几点看法.     

浙江省上市公司董事会组成与公司绩效研究

利用浙江省上市公司的数据,应用SPSS统计软件,选择净资产收益率和每股收益作为被解释变量,选择董事会规模、独立董事比例、董事长与总经理的两职是否分离和控股股东担任董事比例四个指标作为解释变量,建立回归模型,对浙江省上市公司董事会组成与公司绩效关系进行实证分析。结果显示,控股股东成员担任的董事比例与浙江省上市公司业绩正相关,而且,董事长与总经理分设是现代公司治理的发展趋势。