我国信息技术投资对企业盈利性的影响

本文通过分析影响利润的主营业务收入与费用支出,研究了我国上市公司IT投资对企业净利润的影响及其滞后效果,发现IT投资对主营业务收入的增长有显著且持续的作用,但IT投资也带来了企业费用的增加;IT对净利润的贡献逐年递增,在投资后第三年呈现显著效果;与此同时,IT投资对这几项经营指标的影响远远大于非IT投资。另外,在行业差异的分析中发现非制造业企业的IT投资绩效明显好于制造业企业,可带来持续显著的主营业务收入与净利润的增长。     

CEO's Total Wealth Characteristics and Implications on Firm Risk

We study the connections between firm risk and the CEO's personal wealth characteristics, using a unique dataset on CEO wealth and its components. Consistent with decreasing absolute risk aversion, we find that wealthier CEOs are associated with higher risk firms. Riskier firms tend to have CEOs whose wealth is more independent of the firm. We also find that CEOs with high personal portfolio betas run firms with higher betas. CEO's tenure is negatively associated with firm risk measured either as beta, idiosynchratic risk, or volatility of accounting profitability. A possible interpretation is that risk‐averse managers are better able to imprint their risk preferences on the firm over time. Stronger corporate governance weakens the connection between CEO wealth characteristics and firm risk.     

How does ownership influence business growth? A competitive dynamics perspective

Firms engage in competitive actions to gain market share and hence to grow their revenues. However, not all firms are equally able to use competitive actions to drive growth. We argue that the ability to translate competitive actions to revenue growth depends on the ownership of the firm. Drawing on principal-agent and principal-principal perspectives, we argue that: (1) private owners (both foreign and local) are better able to employ aggressive actions to grow their business than state owners; (2) firms with multiple owners (especially international joint ventures) are less able to implement actions that drive business growth than full ownership. We find support for these arguments in empirical tests on survey-based data of 106 firms in China. Results show that in an emerging market the principal-principal perspective can better explain governance and competition than the principal-agent perspective.     

When less family is more: Trademark acquisition,family ownership,and internationalization

This study examines the relationship between international performance and the orientation of the firm towards trademark acquisition, and discusses family ownership as a moderator of this association. We conceptualize our study along three interrelated lines of ‘openness’ i.e. openness towards external resources, openness of governance, and openness towards international markets. The empirical investigation relies on a panel data analysis over four years, and on a cross-industry sample of European listed companies consisting of 712 observations. Our outcomes reveal that the attitude of the company to enrich the brand portfolio with externally developed trademarks is positively associated with the firms’ international performance. We also find that this relationship is moderated by family ownership. “Less family is more”: we find a positive relationship of openness towards trademark acquisitions with the firms’ international performance, which decreases with the presence of a family in a dominant position.     

Grassroots innovation success: The role of self-determination and leadership style

An increasing number of firms engage in grassroots innovation, i.e., the voluntary generation and development of innovations by any member of an organization, regardless of function or seniority. However, no empirical study to date identifies the determinants of success or failure of grassroots innovation initiatives. We execute a survey study among 3,728 managers in 14 countries, 2,353 of which (63.1%) had already engaged in grassroots innovation. We find that, on average, firms that adopt grassroots innovation outperform firms that do not. We also find that firms that enable (1) employee autonomy, (2) competence development, and (3) relatedness (i.e., helping employees establish mutually beneficial relationships with trusted colleagues) in their grassroots innovation initiatives outperform firms that do not. We document that such effects are contingent on a firm’s institutional environment (i.e., leadership style and market orientation). For instance, the lower the market orientation and the higher the hierarchical leadership of the firm, the higher the performance returns the firm obtains from fostering autonomy and relatedness in grassroots innovation. These findings encourage managers and firms to adopt (or persist in their) grassroots innovation initiatives, to infuse them with sufficient autonomy, competence, and relatedness and match them with the right leadership style.     

Having Arrived: The Homogeneity of High‐Growth Small Firms*

This study explores the homogeneity of small firms that have achieved and sustained high growth. Using a recent population of the 50 “Best Managed” Canadian firms identified as achieving high business growth for three or more consecutive years, firm homogeneity in terms of current management challenges is analyzed. In contrast to the rich body of literature available regarding the heterogeneity of managerial challenges and patterns during small business growth and development, this study finds that once small businesses begin to sustain high growth, their reported management challenges converge. We find that, controlling for location and performance, the high‐growth small firms in our population experience similar management challenges regardless of the specific firm size, revenue level, or industry. Our results challenge the “received wisdom” that suggests the managerial challenges faced by small firms during their business growth and development always vary. Management implications and future research directions are discussed.     

Corporate risk exposures,disclosure, and derivatives use: A longitudinal study

We conduct firm and industry-level examinations of key market risk exposures deemed material by managers over the period 2002–2016. We find that risk exposures have expanded in line with firms’ growth and globalization and that managers strategically select disclosure formats in recognition of firms’ demand for capital market access and need to protect proprietary information. Currency derivatives use has surpassed that of interest rate derivatives and, conditioned on a firm having the associated risk exposure, commodity derivatives use is the highest. Finally, we find large increases in risk exposures concurrent with the initiation of derivatives use.     

The Long‐Term Impact of Entrepreneurial Self‐Efficacy and Entrepreneurial Orientation on Venture Performance

We collected multi‐wave survey data to assess the lagged effects of entrepreneurial self‐efficacy (ESE) and entrepreneurial orientation (EO) on firm performance over a five‐year period. The results of our study indicate that ESE and EO are both positively associated with firm performance but in different, and interesting, ways. Entrepreneurially self‐efficacious founder/managers may help improve the performance of very young firms but such benefits dissipate over time. An EO, on the other hand, does not appear to be particularly beneficial to very young firms. However, our results suggest an EO may play an increasingly valuable role as new firms mature.     

Knowledge,innovation and firm performance in high- and low-technology regimes

Industries with greater aggregate levels of research and development (R&D) intensity are home to higher rates of firm-level innovation, according to survey data from 845 Canadian manufacturing firms. And, though innovation is more common when industry dynamism is high, innovative firms are likely to enjoy revenue growth, irrespective of the industry in which they operate. The research also shows that firm knowledge, industry dynamism and innovation interact in the way they influence firm performance. A highly skilled workforce is most beneficial to firm performance in dynamic environments, while firms in stable manufacturing industries benefit more from investments in training.     

Entrepreneurial Orientation,Dynamic Capabilities and International Performance

In order to be able to seize the opportunities that a dynamic operating environment opens up, entrepreneurial firms have to reconfigure their existing asset base and processes. This study explores the effect of an entrepreneurial orientation and a firm's reconfiguring capabilities on international performance by using survey data from 217 manufacturing and service organizations. Our findings indicate that a firm's entrepreneurial orientation and reconfiguring capabilities have an effect on its international performance and provide empirical support for the dynamic capability view of the firm. Entrepreneurial behavior combined with organizational reconfiguring capabilities constitutes a potential source of competitive advantage.     

Market valuation of marketing alliances in East Asia: Korean evidence

This paper investigates firm value created by non-equity marketing alliance announcements of Korean listed firms in terms of stock price reactions to the announcements. We find evidence that on the Korean stock market, the announcements of marketing alliances produce significant positive abnormal returns, which reflect an increase in firm value, around the announcement date. This suggests that firm managers need to seek for various marketing alliances not only for an effective competition in competitive business environments but also for enhancement in shareholder wealth. The increase in firm value has inverse relationship with firm's size and growth opportunity. In particular, marketing alliances with firms based in G7-countries create greater firm value than ones with firms based in the home country. Our study provides investors, firm managers, and academics with valuable implications of an importance of marketing alliances for valuation of firms in other Asian countries as well as in Korea.     

Evolving "New Marketing" Philosophies By Merging Existing Concepts: Application Of Process Within Small High-Technology Firms

The important role of small high-technology firms in both job creation and new innovations capable of sustaining a country's competitive advantage has understandably caused many Governments to be interested in factors influencing the market performance of these types of firm. A potential hazard with alternative emerging theories about appropriate marketing philosophies is that polarisation of opinions may cause theorists to reject alternative perspectives despite the fact that observations of "real world" marketing practice may suggest that a hybrid managerial approach is the most appropriate response to prevailing market circumstances. If one accepts this perspective, it permits merger of the transactional, relationship and entrepreneurial schools of marketing thought; thereby generating alternative approaches to marketing practice based upon (i) conservative-transactional, (ii) conservative-relationship, (iii) entrepreneurial-transactional and (iv) entrepreneurial-relationship orientations.

Research questions which arise about a hybrid concept are whether orientation might influence overall performance and the level of internal organisational competencies required of the firm in the key areas of innovation, HRM, employee productivity and decision-making. The results of a mail survey measuring revenue growth suggest that an entrepreneurial-relationship orientation will enhance overall performance of small high-technology firms. The survey also suggests that as entrepreneurial high-technology firms move closer to customers they exhibit higher competencies in areas such as HRM, employee productivity, management of quality and utilisation of information in decision-making.

It is concluded that the research has some interesting implications concerning the appropriate marketing styles available to small, high-technology firms. As entrepreneurial and relationship marketing can enhance performance, then possibly an owner/manager seeking to increase sales may be able to select a style which seem appropriate both to the degree to which customers seek closer relationships with suppliers and the vision of the firm concerning the importance of innovation as a strategy for delivering customer satisfaction. Further research is needed in order to gain additional understanding of (a) the influence of organisational competencies on overall performance and (b) whether marketing style might influence how small high-technology firms acquire the knowledge they require to improve internal operational processes.     

Internet marketing capabilities and international market growth

The Internet has been shown to facilitate elements of internationalisation such as information accumulation and network opportunities. However, there is limited understanding of how the Internet combined with marketing capabilities drives international market growth. This study, based on a sample of 224 Australian firms, develops and tests, using structural equation modelling (SEM), a conceptual model of Internet marketing capabilities and international market growth. Results indicate that firms deploying Internet marketing capabilities will benefit due to the reduction of information uncertainty and increased capacity to develop international network capabilities. Moreover, Internet marketing capabilities indirectly lead to international market growth when the firm has a high level of international strategic orientation and international network capabilities. Overall, Internet marketing capabilities enhance the firm's ability to generate other internal capabilities within the firm, which in turn have a positive impact on the international market growth of the firm.     

Family firms and financial performance: The cost of growing

This study examines the relationship between financial performance and family involvement for 523 listed and non-listed Colombian firms over 1996–2006. Using a detailed database and performing several panel data regression models, we find that family firms exhibit better financial performance on average than non-family firms when the founder is still involved in operations, although this effect decreases with firm size. With heirs in charge, there is no statistical difference in financial performance. Both direct and indirect ownership (control through pyramidal ownership structures within family business groups) affect firms' financial performance positively. However, this positive effect decreases with firm size. The results suggest that some kinds of family involvement appear to make firm growth expensive.     

Strategic Capabilities and Performance in Women‐Owned Businesses in Mexico

The dire economic situation in Mexico, with its high rate of unemployment, makes it necessary for many women to find some form of economic activity to provide income for their families. Although such conditions could encourage the creation of new firms, the results of the Global Entrepreneurship Monitor 2006 Report show a gap between the number of women involved in nascent and young entrepreneurship initiatives and the number who owns established firms. This gap may indicate that the firms created need to improve their competitiveness and their ability to survive. The model proposed adopts the resource‐based view of the firm as a theoretical framework from which to study how entrepreneurial orientation, market orientation, and learning orientation, as well as the interactions between them, influence the achievement of competitive advantage and superior performance in businesses owned by women. Our investigation analyzes businesses established and managed by women in Mexico and registered with the Asociación Mexicana de Mujeres Empresarias A.C. (Mexican Association of Business Women) and the Red de Empresarias del Instituto Nacional de Mujeres (Women Entrepreneurs Network of the National Women's Institute). To gather the information needed, the study used a questionnaire as a measuring instrument. The results are based on the 90 complete answers received from the questionnaires distributed. The results show that all of relationships in our model are positive except the hypothesis that learning orientation mediates in the relationship between market orientation and performance. The results suggest that entrepreneurial orientation reinforces the effect of two capabilities, market orientation and learning orientation, on firm performance. They also reaffirm that the three capabilities assessed may lead an organization to differentiate itself from its competitors by improving its performance. In addition to contributing to the literature on female entrepreneurship, the results have important implications for management. Understanding the relationships between capabilities and the performance of women‐owned businesses in Mexico can permit the identification of areas for improvement to promote the growth and survival of this type of firm.     

Fairness,trade, and inequality

We develop a model of international trade between two symmetric countries that features inter-group inequality between managers and workers, and also intra-group inequality within each of those two groups. Individuals are heterogeneous with respect to their managerial ability, and firms run by more able managers have a higher productivity level and make higher profits. There is rent sharing at the firm level due to fair wage preferences of workers, and hence firms with higher profits pay higher wages in equilibrium in order to elicit their workers' full effort. We show that in this framework international trade leads to a self-selection of the best firms into export status, with exporting firms having to pay a wage premium. Aggregate welfare increases, but there is also larger inequality along multiple dimensions: Involuntary unemployment and income inequality between managers and workers increase, and so does inequality within these two subgroups of individuals, as measured by the respective Gini coefficients.     

Innovation and efficiency: It is possible to have it all

A firm that simultaneously engages in a high degree of both innovation and efficiency follows an approach that is often referred to as an ambidextrous strategy. Surprisingly, relatively few firms are able to balance these two emphases. Internal battles for resources often tip the scales in favor of efficiency over innovation, or vice versa. Management gurus frequently warn that simultaneously pursuing both can set the firm up for mediocre performance, yet the turbulent nature of today’s markets and cut-throat competition create a renewed need for firms to reconsider this dual approach for longer-term success. Unfortunately, practical insights from empirical studies regarding performance benefits and implementation issues are still scant. Perhaps this is one reason why few firms are successful in both efficiency and innovation. In this article, we provide evidence—using a cross-industry survey of senior marketing managers in publicly-traded U.S. firms—that firms which successfully employ an ambidextrous strategy outperform those which overemphasize either efficiency or innovation. Furthermore, we highlight marketing’s role as an example of the often overlooked need for successful functional implementation. Finally, we provide useful methods for managers to answer three key questions: (1) Is my firm ambidextrous?; (2) Should my firm be ambidextrous?; and, if so (3) How can my firm become ambidextrous?     

Market Orientation and CSR: Performance Implications

Corporate social responsibility (CSR) has become of great interest to both researchers and practitioners alike with much discussion on whether the costs outweigh the performance implications. CSR has become a firm strategic tool (not only an ethical concept) as firms recognize that the customer value proposition and CSR is integrated with the focus on how to differentiate the firm from the view of the customer. We utilized market orientation (MO) theory as our foundation for our research as it explains how organizations adapt to their customer environment to develop competitive advantages. With the current customer focus on CSR, MO assists the field in identifying a possible firm differentiation. Our research found that firms that ranked high on CSR correlated positively to performance. We also found our theoretically developed constructs of firm customer orientation (CO) and firm market orientation correlated with the firm adopting CSR. The results also indicated that CSR positively mediates CO and MO to firm performance. As past research had mixed results over the direct relation of MO to performance, our research suggests that CSR may be the missing variable to explain the MO/Performance relationship.     

The moderating role of local embeddedness on the performance of foreign and domestic firms in emerging markets

This paper examines the impact of the firm’s degree of local embeddedness on its performance in emerging markets using the World Bank’s Enterprise Survey Manufacturing Sector Module data on 15,715 firms covering 78 emerging markets. We use the degree of localization of sourcing and sales to measure the degree of embeddedness in the host country market. We argue that since embeddedness brings the firm into closer interaction with local firms and institutions, the costs of embeddedness should be lower for local firms than for MNE subsidiaries, since local firms can be assumed to be better able to decipher local institutions. We find that both dimensions are subject to a reversed U-shaped function. That is, by extending the degree of local sales and local sourcing up to a certain percentage, a firm can realize positive performance growth by becoming more embedded into the emerging market, but beyond this point, the performance impact is negative. We also find that foreign firms involved in local sales seem to lose part of their ability to exploit their ownership advantages as compared to foreign firms that export their production.     

Entrepreneurial growth: The role of international knowledge acquisition as moderated by firm age

In line with repeated recent calls for research on specific forms of growth rather than on an undifferentiated notion of “total growth,” our study contributes to the understanding of entrepreneurial growth. By this we mean growth through expansion into new geographic markets and/or via the introduction of new products or services. Building on Penrose's theory of the growth of the firm and on the research streams she has in part inspired, we investigate the impact of knowledge acquisition from international markets on entrepreneurial growth both at home and abroad. We further suggest that the effects of international knowledge acquisition on entrepreneurial growth will vary with firm age. Utilizing longitudinal data on 138 small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), we find that the acquisition of knowledge from international markets fuels growth through market development, and that this effect is stronger for international expansion than domestic expansion. Our results also show that firm age negatively moderates the relationship between international knowledge acquisition and entrepreneurial growth via the introduction of new products or services. Specifically, international knowledge acquisition has a positive effect on growth via new products/services development in young firms, but a negative effect in mature firms. We assume this reflects changes over time in how international knowledge is managed.