Entrepreneurial firms’ network competence,technological capability,and new product development performance

Successfully developing new products is critical to an entrepreneurial firm’s continued success. Based on the resource management model, this study aims to answer the key research question: how entrepreneurial firms leverage network competence and technological capability to enhance their new product development (NPD) performance in a turbulent environment. Using data collected from 134 entrepreneurial firms in China, we investigate the performance effects of network competence and technological capability, and the moderating effects of technological turbulence and market turbulence. Our findings show that network competence has a positive impact on NPD performance and technological capability plays a mediating role between network competence and NPD performance. Technological turbulence enhances the performance effects of network competence and technological capability; market turbulence advances the performance effect of network competence, but fails to exert significant negative impact on that of technological capability. We discuss managerial implications of our findings and offer directions for future research.     

Innovativeness: Its antecedents and impact on business performance

In this study, we address three research questions: (1) Why are some industrial firms more innovative than others? (2) What effect does innovativeness has on business performance? (3) Does the linkage between innovativeness and business performance depend on the environmental context? Accordingly, we draw on various theoretical perspectives to develop hypotheses that propose market orientation, entrepreneurial orientation, and learning orientation as key antecedents to innovativeness, as well as a direct relationship between innovativeness and business performance. A model is devised and tested that examines these relationships in general and in the context of varying market turbulence. Findings confirm the validity of the model and afford various insights on the role of market turbulence in the proposed relationships. Lastly, implications are offered on the antecedents and consequences of organizational innovativeness.     

Antecedents and consequence of organizational unlearning: Evidence from China

Radical innovation has significant impact on organizations. To develop radical innovation, firms need to change or discard their obsolete routines, beliefs, and knowledge, since radical innovation represents a clear departure from existing practices. Based on the organizational unlearning literature and contingency theory, the authors explore three issues: (1) the relationship between organizational unlearning and radical innovation; (2) two antecedents to organizational unlearning (environmental turbulence and entrepreneurial orientation); and (3) how firm size moderates the relationships between the antecedents and organizational unlearning. Survey data from 238 manufacturing firms in China indicated that both environmental turbulence and entrepreneurial orientation (EO) are positively related to organizational unlearning. Firm size plays a dual role, weakening the positive environmental turbulence−organizational unlearning relationship while strengthening the positive EO − organizational unlearning relationship. Further, organizational unlearning is found to be a critical driver of radical innovation.     

CEO narcissism and myopic management

The current research, leveraging the upper echelons' theory, examines the association between CEO narcissism and firms' myopic management. The study further examines the underlying mediating effect of market orientation in this linkage. Finally, the study examines the moderating effect of the output-oriented board of directors on the indirect effect of CEO narcissism on myopic management, i.e., a moderated-mediation analysis. Data on a sample of 210 Indian firms from 2009 to 2016 suggest that CEO narcissism positively influences the firm's myopic management. Furthermore, market orientation partially mediates the influence of CEO narcissism on myopic management, such that CEO narcissism lowers market orientation. The lesser the market orientation more is myopic management. However, as the output orientation of the board of directors increases, the indirect positive effect of narcissism on myopic management is decreased. Our study shines a light on the antecedents of myopic management and its role as a mediator under the contingency effect of demographics of the board of directors, i.e., the marketing board of directors.     

CEO duality,organizational slack,and firm performance in China

CEO duality, organizational slack, and ownership types have been found to affect firm performance in China. However, existing work has largely focused on their direct relationships with firm performance. Advancing this research, we develop an integrative framework to address an important and previously underexplored question: How do CEO duality and organizational slack affect the performance of firms with different ownership types? Specifically, we compare the moderating effects of CEO duality on the relationship between organizational slack and firm performance in China’s state-owned enterprises (SOEs) and private-owned enterprises (POEs). Findings suggest that there is a positive relationship between organizational slack and firm performance, and that CEO duality negatively moderates this relationship in SOEs, but positively in POEs.     

Entrepreneurial orientation, exploitative and explorative capabilities, and performance outcomes in export markets: A resource-based approach

Innovation is critical to the growth and success of a firm. In an attempt to renew themselves and compete effectively in the global marketplace, firms must possess both technical and non-technical capabilities. Yet, the extant literature has mainly focused on technology and product development capabilities, disregarding other possible capability domains. This study investigates the role of market-related exploitative and explorative capabilities, together with product development ones, in the context of exporting. Drawing on the resource-based and organization learning theories, we examine the internal process through which entrepreneurial orientation influences performance in export markets and develop a model of entrepreneurial orientation-exploitative and explorative capabilities-advantage-performance relationships. The results indicate that entrepreneurial orientation is a precursor of exploitative and explorative product development and overseas market-related capabilities. The findings also suggest that product development explorative capabilities and overseas market-related exploitative capabilities have a positive effect on new product differentiation, which in turn enhances market effectiveness. Implications for scholars and practitioners are discussed along with suggestions for future research.     

The effect of CEO pay deviations on CEO withdrawal,firm size,and firm profits

We build upon previous work on the effects of deviations in CEO pay from labor markets to assess how overcompensation or undercompensation affects subsequent voluntary CEO withdrawal, firm size, and firm profitability, taking into account the moderating effect of firm ownership structure. We find that CEO underpayment is related to changes in firm size and CEO withdrawal, and that the relationship between CEO underpayment and CEO withdrawal is stronger in owner‐controlled firms. We also show that when CEOs are overpaid, there is higher firm profitability; a relationship that is weaker among manager‐controlled firms. We then discuss the implications that these findings have for future research. Copyright © 2010 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Promoting innovation through the accumulation of intellectual capital, social capital, and entrepreneurial orientation

This study attempts to explore how a firm's operational mode can reinforce the advantages of intellectual capital on innovation. Specifically, the main purpose of this study is to develop a comprehensive research model to integrate the interrelationships among social capital, entrepreneurial orientation, intellectual capital, and innovation. In addition to identifying the influences of intellectual capital on innovation, this study focuses in particular on the mediating effect of intellectual capital and the moderating effects of social capital and entrepreneurial orientation on innovation, which have largely been neglected in previous literature. The results support the mediating role of intellectual capital and the moderating roles of entrepreneurial orientation and social capital on innovation. Specifically, firms that have higher levels of social capital and entrepreneurial orientation tend to amplify the effects of intellectual capital on innovation.     

When does guanxi bolster or damage firm profitability? The contingent effects of firm- and market-level characteristics

This paper advances that a nuanced approach is necessary to understand the effectiveness of managerial ties (guanxi) in improving firms' financial performance. We take a contingency approach to examine how the effects of managerial ties on performance may be moderated by firm-level factors (i.e., firm age and entrepreneurial orientation) and market-based forces (i.e., demand uncertainty and technological turbulence). Using a survey of 289 firms in China, we find that managerial ties are more salient with regard to enhancing performance for more entrepreneurial-oriented and younger firms. Managerial ties fail to provide performance benefits to firms when high demand uncertainty exists or when the level of technological turbulence is high, which suggests a performance limitation of established ties with government officials, buyers, suppliers, and competitors. The theoretical and managerial implications of the findings are further discussed.     

The impact of CEO core self‐evaluation on the firm's entrepreneurial orientation

Although much has been attributed to a CEO's personality, one particularly intriguing, and as yet unexplored, investigation is its impact on the firm's entrepreneurial orientation. Additionally, despite calls from the upper‐echelon literature, CEO personality research has been hobbled by the absence of a unifying construct that captures core dimensions of personality, and by the difficulty in obtaining such intimate assessments from executives. Building on recent advances in personality research, in particular the identification and validation of the core self‐evaluation construct that captures the core facets of an executive's sense of self‐potency, we develop and test a model of the impact of CEO core self‐evaluation on entrepreneurial orientation. Then, consistent with upper echelons and personality theory, we specify the contingent role of environmental dynamism. Using multisource data from a sample of CEOs and their top management teams from 129 firms, including a time‐lagged assessment of the firm's entrepreneurial orientation, we find evidence to suggest that CEOs whose personalities reflect higher core self‐evaluations have a stronger positive influence on their firms' entrepreneurial orientation. In addition, we find that this influence is particularly strong in firms facing dynamic environments, but negligible in stable environments. Copyright © 2009 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

基于CEO变动调节效应的高管团队特征对企业研发投资及技术创新绩效的影响研究

本文以信息技术业上市公司2011～2014年的数据为样本,运用逐步多元回归分析的方法,通过逐步引入高管团队特征变量、CEO变动变量、CEO变动变量与高管团队特征变量交互项对因变量研发投资及技术创新绩效影响进行了回归分析。结果表明：CEO变动对研发投资和技术创新绩效具有显著的正向相关关系;CEO变动可以部分调节高管团队特征对研发投资和技术创新绩效的影响;高管团队持股与年龄异质性与技术创新绩效显著正相关;两职合一与研发投资显著负相关;任期异质性和教育程度异质性与研发投资显著正相关。     

Predicting organizational identification at the CEO level

To develop further insight into antecedents of the CEO's psychological orientation toward the firm, we investigate what might lead CEOs to identify with their firms. Although research suggests that CEO organizational identification can be quite consequential for the firm, little research attention has been paid to its determinants. To predict how the special context of the CEO position might lead to identification, we consider a set of motives that members have for identifying with their organizations and consider how unique features of the CEO position might be relevant to those motives. Our theory and supportive findings help explain how the context of the CEO position, including variables often conceptualized as control mechanisms in agency theory research, can have important effects on subsequent CEO organizational identification. Copyright © 2014 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Strategic orientations and new product commercialization: mediator,moderator, and interplay

Why are some firms more successful at commercializing new products than others in emerging economies? It is possible that the strategic orientations, which firms adopt as a type of business strategy, lead at least partially to the superior performance of the new products they introduce to the market. Strategic orientations facilitate a match between firm strategy and resource endowment, on the one hand, and the adaptation to market conditions, on the other. In this paper, we empirically test whether four major types of strategic orientations (market orientation, technology orientation, entrepreneurial orientation, and networking orientation) are simultaneously related to new product commercialization performance using data collected from China. We find that strategic orientations are positively related to three aspects of new product commercialization, namely new product advantage, new product newness, and number of new products introduced to the market. Interestingly, we find that pairs of strategic orientations support each other in exerting their impacts on new product commercialization performance. In addition, we find that organizational learning mediates the effects of strategic orientations on new product commercialization and that environmental dynamism moderates the effect of strategic orientations on new product commercialization. We obtain the valuable insight that a firm's successful commercialization of new products hinges upon the development of critical yet complementary sets of strategic orientations, especially in a dynamic business environment.     

Entrepreneurial orientation and SME performance in China’s changing environment: The moderating effects of strategies

Recent research has found an inverted U-shape relationship between entrepreneurial orientation (EO) and firm performance in the Chinese context. Building on Miles and Snow??s (1978) strategy framework and Scott??s (1995) country institutional profile, we propose that prospector and analyzer strategies align better with entrepreneurial orientation to allow firms to fully benefit from their risk-taking, proactiveness, and innovativeness. Data collected from 155 SMEs in China confirmed that prospector and analyzer strategies alleviated the curve significantly. The defender strategy enhanced the curvilinearity, yet this moderating effect was insignificant. Implications for policy-makers, international businesses, and entrepreneurial firms in China are discussed.     

Customer Involvement in New Service Development: An Examination of Antecedents and Outcomes*

Customer involvement has been recognized as an important factor for successful service development. Despite its acknowledged importance, a review of the literature suggests that there is little empirical evidence about the effectiveness and outcomes of interacting with customers while developing new services. Similarly, the extant literature shows mixed views about the effect of technological uncertainty on customer involvement and the effectiveness of customer involvement at different stages of the new service development process. Against this backdrop, the present study has three objectives: (1) to investigate the effects of customer involvement on operational dimensions (i.e., innovation speed and technical quality) and market dimensions (i.e., competitive superiority and sales performance) of new service performance; (2) to examine the effect of technological novelty and technological turbulence on customer involvement; and (3) to explore the moderating effect of the stage of the development process on the relationships among technological novelty, technological turbulence and customer involvement, and customer involvement and new service performance. A total of 807 firms with 75 or more employees in a varied set of industries were selected from the Dun & Bradstreet's 2004 listing of Spanish service firms. A questionnaire was mailed to the person in charge of new service development at each company. A total of 102 complete questionnaires were returned. Findings reveal that whereas customer involvement has a positive direct effect on technical quality and innovation speed, it has an indirect effect on competitive superiority and sales performance through both technical quality and innovation speed. The study also finds a positive effect of technological novelty as well as technological turbulence on customer involvement. Contrary to expectations, the study does not find any moderating effects of the stage of the development process. This study has several theoretical and managerial implications. In terms of theoretical implications, the study supports the role of technological uncertainty (novelty and turbulence) as an antecedent to customer involvement. It also provides empirical evidence of the impact of customer involvement on operational and market dimensions of new service performance. In terms of managerial implications, the study offers critical insights on how customer involvement in new service development translates into improved new service performance. Furthermore, it reveals that the importance of customer involvement in technologically uncertain contexts and its impact on new service performance are independent of the stage of the development process, suggesting that managers should involve customers throughout the entire development process.     

Business model innovation: The effects of exploratory orientation,opportunity recognition,and entrepreneurial bricolage in an emerging economy

Business model innovation takes shape through a process of experimentation. This study holds that exploratory orientation is a key initiating factor of the experimentation process, and opportunity recognition and entrepreneurial bricolage both are actions constituting this process and thereby serve as conduits between exploratory orientation and business model innovation. Based on a survey data of Chinese firms, this study finds the positive relationship between exploratory orientation and business model innovation is mediated by opportunity recognition and entrepreneurial bricolage. The findings not only enrich the discipline’s knowledge on the antecedents of business model innovation but also extend the implications of exploratory orientation, opportunity recognition, and entrepreneurial bricolage to business model innovation.     

State ownership of Chinese firms and their outward foreign direct investment: Political and economic contingencies

The extant literature offers inconsistent predictions and conflicting evidence regarding the relationship between state ownership and the internationalization of emerging market firms (EMFs). Drawing on institutional theory, we examine the moderating roles of political and economic institutions at the subnational and national levels in the link between state ownership and EMFs’ outward foreign direct investment (OFDI). Based on a sample of 1421 OFDI projects involving 286 Chinese listed firms in 115 host countries between 2003 and 2016, we find that state ownership can scale up OFDI when Chinese firms are headquartered in subnational regions with high institutional development or low economic development, or when political relationships between home and host countries are amicable or market growth in a host country is slow; otherwise, state ownership hinders OFDI. These findings offer new insights into the relationship between state ownership and the internationalization of EMFs.

     

Technological catch-up by east Asian firms: Trends,issues, and future research agenda

This paper reviews extant research on technological catch-up of East Asian firms, which has recently emerged as an important issue. We review 76 articles on technological catch-up in the East Asian context published in 17 journals over 23 years (1995–2017), covering the academic disciplines of strategic management, international business, entrepreneurship, technology and innovation management, and economics. Based on a systematic analysis of this literature, we develop an overarching framework to this topic. We then identify the major gaps in the literature and suggest areas for future research on technological catch-up of Asian firms.     

How entrepreneurial orientation can leverage innovation project portfolio management

Innovation project portfolio management (IPPM) is a key task in R&D management because this decision‐making process determines which R&D projects should be undertaken and how R&D resources are allocated. Previous research has developed a good understanding of the role of IPPM in R&D strategy implementation and of successful IPPM practices. But the fundamental orientations that drive the strategy formation and implementation process have never been investigated in the context of IPPM, and it is unclear whether successful practices are equally valid for different strategic orientations. This study, therefore, investigates the moderating impact of a firm’s entrepreneurial orientation on the relationship between strategic portfolio management practices and portfolio success. An empirical analysis of 257 firms shows that both innovativeness and risk taking as entrepreneurial orientation’s dimensions positively moderate the relationship between managerial practices and performance. Specifically, we find that firms high in innovativeness profit more from stakeholder engagement compared to firms low in innovativeness. Firms high in risk‐taking profit more from a clearly formulated strategy. With increasing innovativeness and risk‐taking propensity, firms also profit more from business case monitoring and agility in portfolio steering. The results suggest that a firm’s entrepreneurial orientation can leverage the effect of IPPM practices. Vice versa, a lacking entrepreneurial orientation can render these practices ineffective. Strategic orientation and IPPM practices should, therefore, be aligned with each other to enable firms to better implement their strategy and generate competitive advantage.     

CEO compensation in EU telecom companies: Does the state design the right incentives?

This paper analyzes the structure of CEO pay in European fixed telecommunication companies, focusing on the impact of state ownership. Results show that, under the (partial or total) control of the state, the level of CEO compensation is lower and pay-performance sensitivity is higher than in privately-controlled firms. This finding suggests the state provides an incentive as well as a monitoring effect. However, when the state holds the majority of the shares, the pay level is significantly affected by the CEO power, suggesting that in these firms, CEOs are more likely to be entrenched with boards and succeed in raising their pay.