Technological collaboration in the korean electronic parts industry: patterns and key success factors

This study empirically examines different patterns of collaborative technological development projects and the key success factors (KSFs), using data from 82 projects in the Korean electronic parts industry. The patterns of technological collaboration were categorized into 4 types by two contingency variables: development motive (technology–push or market–pull) and source of initiation (focal firm– or partner–initiated). The bivariate relationships revealed that project characteristics (technological complexity, demand certainty, and financial support of the government), partner characteristics (the level of trust with partners), and collaborative management practices (commitment of the focal firm, and information sharing in the collaboration process) appear to be different depending on the two contingency variables. Each type of collaborative R&D project also had different KSFs. While diverse characteristics like strategic importance, goal compatibility and information sharing with partners are critical for the success of technology–push projects, just only specificity of collaboration process and outcome appears important to the success of demand–pull projects. For focal firm–initiated projects, project characteristics are KSFs, whilst partner characteristics and collaboration management practice are found to be more critical for the success of partner–initiated projects. The findings suggest that the different contingencies such as development motive and source of initiation bring about different patterns of collaborative technology development projects, which in turn lead to a different set of KSFs, since different information, roles of partners and the focal firms, and collaboration management practices are needed to successfully implement the different types of projects. Based on empirical results, this study discusses managerial, policy, and theoretical implications for the collaborative R&D activities taking place in the Korean electronic parts industry.     

Intellectual capital drivers of product and managerial innovation in high-tech and low-tech firms

There is widespread understanding that intellectual capital (IC), consisting of the valuable knowledge resources of an organization, is a key enabler of innovation activities; however, little is known about the more specific contingencies impacting the relationship between IC and innovation. Thus, this article examines firm technology level and innovation type as contingency variables. It was argued that because high-tech and low-tech firms differ in terms of several knowledge characteristics (complexity, tacitness and pace of renovation), it is likely that their innovation performance is supported by different combinations of IC components. Furthermore, differences between product/service and managerial innovation could also lead to changes in the degree of relevance of various IC components. To test these contingency hypotheses, a survey dataset collected from 180 Spanish companies is analysed using structural equation modelling. The results demonstrate that both firm's technology level and type of innovation affect how IC influences innovation performance. The findings contribute to a knowledge-based perspective on innovation and pave the way for a more context-sensitive and contingency-mindful approach to understanding innovation and knowledge-based value creation.     

The role of Internet auctions in the expansion of B2B markets

In the wake of the advent of the World Wide Web, businesses are scrambling to take advantage of changes in their markets. While the consumer side of the Web explosion has been much touted, it is the business-to-business (B2B) market that has quietly surpassed expectations. An important business model that is responsible for this new market expansion is the Internet or Web auction. Businesses are adapting traditional auctions to the instantaneous “real-time” advantage of the Net to reach new markets that were previously cost-prohibitive by reducing transaction costs. Advantages such as the size and scope of the audience are giving Internet auctions a major role in the emerging global economy. This article examines the enormous impact of Internet auctions on B2B markets. We look at the kinds of auctions being conducted and their relevance to emerging business paradigms. We examine the circumstances under which you choose to conduct Web auctions and their impact on pricing mechanisms, information asymmetries, and channel relationships.     

Understanding the links between technological opportunism, marketing emphasis and firm performance: Implications for B2B

The capability of firms to sense and respond to changes in technologies, called technological opportunism, is of growing importance to managers as a source of competitive advantage. However, exactly how technological opportunism impacts firm performance is still not clearly understood. Furthermore, the role of marketing in this relationship, if any, has yet to be examined. Understanding this relationship is critical for marketing managers not only for determining strategic investments of resources but also for demonstrating marketing return on activities. This paper explores the links between technological opportunism and firm performance. The results show that technological opportunism has a strong positive impact on key measures of performance such as firm sales, profits and market value. Importantly, marketing emphasis is the mechanism through which the technological opportunism-performance relationship is achieved. Finally, the impact of marketing emphasis on B2B firms is different than that for B2C firms, highlighting the importance of these activities for B2B marketing managers.     

Alliance proactiveness and firm performance in an emerging economy

Alliance proactiveness is a key contributor to the performance of firms engaging in strategic alliances in industrial markets. As a foundation of alliance management capability, alliance proactiveness enables firms to react faster to emergent opportunities and gain early mover advantages. We examine the relevance of this construct and its internal and external contingencies. Specifically, we argue that the impact of alliance proactiveness is enhanced by complementary technological and leadership capabilities, as well as market growth opportunities. We test hypotheses derived from these arguments using dual response survey data of firms in China and find empirical support.     

Network ties in the outside-in strategy: Contingencies of resource endowments and absorptive capacity

Network ties play an important role in the outside-in strategy for marketing and competitive advantages. However, prior research adopting the outside-in view has not always been clear on the impact of network ties. We propose a contingency view that the mere presence of network ties is not sufficient for performance improvement; rather, network ties need to be combined with resource endowments of the alters and absorptive capacity of the ego. These three components work together and reinforce each other in inducing desirable outcomes. We further apply this contingency view to the adoption of health information technology (HIT) by US hospitals. The results strongly support the contingency view. Our study helps reconcile the conflicting findings on the impact of network ties and contributes to the literature of outside-in strategy and social network.     

Reducing slack: the performance consequences of downsizing by large industrial firms, 1977–93

We conceptualize downsizing as an attempt to reduce organizational slack. We suggest that the degree to which downsizing will improve firm performance will be contingent on conditions under which the downsizing occurs. We emphasize the level of organizational slack as an important contingency, and also examine two other contingencies: (1) whether the scope of the downsizing is narrow (restricted to personnel reductions) or broad (involves organizational redesign); and (2) if the downsizing is conducted proactively (when performance is stable or improving) or reactively (when performance is declining). By analyzing a panel dataset of downsizings conducted by the 100 largest American industrial firms from 1977 to 1993, we find broad support for our hypotheses that downsizings are more likely to lead to improved performance when firms have high slack, when their scope of the downsizing is broad, and when the downsizing is done proactively. We also explore and find evidence for interactions among these contingencies. We discuss the implications of our findings for the literatures on downsizing and organizational slack. In doing so, we bring together two literatures that have an obvious affinity but have been only loosely coupled in the past. Copyright © 2005 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Mobile technology usage and B2B market performance under mandatory adoption

This paper investigates the relationship between mandatory adoption of mobile information technology and market performance in the business-to-business (B2B) setting. This study presents and tests the B2B technology satisfaction model (TSM), including perceived loss of control as the mandatory technology acceptance-specific variable. The results of this study reveal that integrating perceived loss of control with user satisfaction and the TAM (technology acceptance model) in a single model can better explain the B2B market performance model. The empirical results suggest that perceived loss of control has a negative effect on user satisfaction and perceived market performance is influenced by user satisfaction and perceived usefulness. Managerial implications of the study are discussed.     

The impact of industry environment on early market entry decisions by B2B managers in the U.S. and Japan

Managers form simplified mental models to cope with market environment uncertainties and to process information. A critical decision is whether to enter a high-potential market early. Large innovation and development investments involved in this decision increase uncertainty. We examine the importance ascribed by U.S. and Japanese managers to competitive forces when making early market entry decisions. We expect that the competitive forces will have different effects on the likelihood of early market entry in the U.S. versus Japan due to cultural and business environment differences, and we thereby develop several propositions. We develop a decision-making exercise simulating early market entry decisions, and tested our propositions with managers in medium to large business-to-business (B2B) firms from both countries. We assessed impacts of the competitive market forces on entry strategy selection via relative weights, repeated-measures analysis of variance, and frequency analysis. Our findings revealed differences in the mental models of Japanese and U.S. managers. Buyer power had a larger effect on the decision to make an early market entry for Japanese managers, while threat of new firm entry had a larger effect for U.S. managers; these findings were consistent with our propositions. We also found several areas of agreement between U.S. and Japanese managers. We conclude with theoretical implications and recommendations to B2B management.     

Information styles of marketing and R&D personnel during technological product innovation projects

Abstract The research question in the present article can be phrased in the following way: what are the elements which influence the perception of the utility of information received from another function? A field study research has been conducted in 40 Belgian companies. In each company, we have studied two on-going innovation projects (one planning project, one development project). Crossfunctional communication behaviours at the R&D/marketing interface have been measured by means of mailed structured questionnaires. Three-hundred and eighty-six questionnaires have been returned. The data analyses show that there are four underlying information dimensions, i.e. the perceived relevance, the perceived comprehensibility, the perceived novelty and the perceived credibility of information. We also discuss some contingency variables (function of the message receiver, stage in the innovation process) that might moderate the impact of these dimensions. It will be shown that the interaction between source and receiver has a significant impact on the perceived credibility, the perceived comprehensibility and the perceived novelty of the received information.     

Are USDA reports still news to changing crop markets?

This study investigates whether major USDA reports still provide important news to changing crop markets. The news component of each report, or market “surprise,” is measured as a difference between the USDA estimate and its private expectation in corn, soybeans, and wheat markets. Changes in the relevance of USDA information are assessed by examining changes in the magnitude of market surprises and shifts in the futures price reaction to these surprises, which isolates the impact of each report. The stable size of market surprises over time suggests that competition from alternative data sources has not reduced the news component of USDA crop reports. Increasing price reaction to most reports, including those facing competition from alternative information sources, suggests that value of public information may be enhanced in uncertain markets affected by structural changes.     

Market-driving versus market-driven: Divergent roles of market orientation in business relationships

This study focuses on market orientation (MO) and customer intimacy (CI) in business-to-business marketing. These are generally regarded as key success factors in marketing. The authors argue, however, that the relationship between MO and customer relationship has not been properly examined, nor has its dependence on a firm's strategic market posture been understood. A contingency framework is proposed to test the postulated relationships between the key constructs. Our results indicate a strong positive association between MO and CI. Furthermore, this linkage is clearly influenced by the market focus and business logic adopted. In managerial terms, business executives must carefully match the strategic posture of the firm, its MO, and customer relationship management (CRM). Our findings strongly support a contingency modeling approach in studying the factors underlying marketing performance in business markets.     

B2B analytics in the airline market: Harnessing the power of consumer big data

This paper utilizes market-level data to explore the relative performance of individual companies amongst defined competitors. We show the potential of using consumer clickstream data, an important type of big data, to create a new set of B2B analytical frameworks. In the markets where complex interactions between competitors, search intermediaries and consumers create a network, B2B relationships can be inferred from consumer search patterns, and can then be modeled to gauge the online performance. A commercial dataset from ComScore’s US panel of one million users is used to illustrate a new approach to measure and evaluate the online performance of competitors in the US airline market. The methodology and associated performance framework demonstrate the potential for new forms of market intelligence based on the visualization of market networks, online performance calculated from matrix algorithms, the measurement of the impact of search intermediaries, and the identification of latent relationships. This research makes theoretical and empirical contributions to the debate on the use of big data for B2B market analytics. B2B managers can use this approach to extend their network horizon from an egocentric to a network view of competition and map out their competitive landscape from the perspective of the customer.     

B2B relationships on the fast track: An empirical investigation into the outcomes of solution provision

In academic and business literature, suppliers providing solutions to their business-to-business (B2B) customers are often described as achieving increased customer retention, higher sales volumes, and enhanced cross-selling. Yet there is limited empirical evidence to support the positive impact of solutions on these customer-related outcomes. Moreover, it is unclear whether suppliers obtain similar outcomes from buyers at different relationship life-cycle stages. This paper aims to address these two gaps and tests the contingency role of the relationship life-cycle in driving future customer outcomes. It proposes that there is a positive effect for solutions provided to recent customers (labeled as “accelerator” role) rather than to established ones (labeled as “leverage” role). Results from a longitudinal analysis of the sales database of a North American company providing solutions to its customers empirically support the “accelerator” role of solutions.     

Information Use and New Product Outcomes: The Contingent Role of Strategy Type

Information is an important resource for firms to develop new products successfully, and firms must rely on their ability to use information effectively. This research builds on information processing and contingency theories to explore the effect of firm strategy type and the conceptual and instrumental use of information on new product outcomes. Firms operating in high-tech industries are faced with high levels of uncertainty caused by rapidly evolving technologies. Consequently, creating innovative and successful products becomes particularly challenging. Past research examining organizational use of information points to the presence of strategic contingencies that may impact the new product outcomes that accrue to a firm. A cross-sectional study was conducted to examine how the impact of information use on new product outcomes varies by strategy type. Using data from 150 software development firms based in a developing economy, the theoretical hypotheses proposed are tested. After controlling for environmental turbulence, the research results demonstrate that firms focusing on specific types of information use innovate successfully only when that information use is congruent with an appropriate strategic orientation. Specifically, the present study finds that prospector firms focusing on conceptual information use enhance both their new product performance and new product creativity outcomes, whereas analyzer firms enhance only their new product performance outcomes. A focus on instrumental information use has different effects for firms. Defender firms enhance both their new product performance and creativity outcomes only when focusing on instrumental information use. In contrast, prospector firms detract from their new product creativity outcomes, and analyzer firms reduce their new product performance outcomes when focusing on instrumental information use.     

The effect of own-firm and other-firm experience on foreign direct investment survival in the United States, 1987–92

We argue that foreign firms operating in a host country generate information spillovers that have potential value for later foreign direct investment. We test two predictions. First, we expect foreign direct investments by firms with experience in a host country to be more likely to survive than investments made by first-time entrants. Second, foreign direct investments will be more likely to survive the greater the foreign presence in the target industry at the time of investment, subject to two contingencies. The first contingency is that the relationship will be weak or nonexistent among firms with no experience in the host country, because these firms have difficulty evaluating and taking advantage of the information spillovers. The second contingency is that the presence of other foreign firms will not affect investment survival among firms that already have a presence in the target industry and undertake expansion. These firms already possess general information about the target industries and are unlikely to gain additional benefit from information spillovers. We find supportive evidence based on the survival to 1992 among 354 U.S. investments undertaken by foreign firms in manufacturing industries during 1987. © 1997 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

New product development in Asia: An introduction to the special issue

Given the increasing importance of Asia, the purpose of this special issue is to broaden the scope of our understanding of New Product Development (NPD) by going beyond the traditional Western research settings and looking at how new products are developed in Asia. This paper introduces the special issue on NPD in Asia and identifies key patterns of similarities and differences between Asian and Western NPD practices. The paper highlights key similarities and differences in the areas of organizational/top management support; technological proficiency; customer/market orientation; information sharing; cross-functional interface; entrepreneurship orientation; NPD strategies; innovation orientation; contingencies of innovation orientation; innovative marketing strategies; NPD process; appointment of project managers; rewarding team members; success rate; and cycle time.     

Environmental factors influencing the management of key accounts in an Arab Middle Eastern context

Within the sales and marketing literature, it is recognised that a range of external factors can influence how companies in the business-to-business field manage business relationships within national and across international borders. However, there have been very few studies that explore the influence of the external environment on key account relationships, especially within the context of emerging economies. This study draws on the network approach and contingency theory to identify and highlight the influence of external environmental factors on the management of inter-organisational relationships with key customers in emerging economies in the Arab Middle East region. It is based on an extensive qualitative enquiry that utilises 50 in-depth semi-structured interviews conducted in Jordan with endogenous and Western firms. It concludes that key account practices within an Arab context are shaped by a number of contingencies that are embedded in broader institutional contexts and the business environment, which may challenge the adoption of company-wide universal key account management policies across borders.     

Market Orientation and R&D Effectiveness in High‐Technology Firms: An Empirical Investigation in the Biotechnology Industry*

There seems to be lack of consensus among informed scholars about the importance a of market orientation for high‐technology firms. This paper gives a comprehensive review of existing empirical studies on the relationship between market orientation and innovation performance and pinpoints two limitations in this research stream that might be at the origin of such controversy. First, extant research often overlooked key innovation outcomes for high‐technology firms, such as those related to research and development (R&D) performance. Second, organizational conditions that can ensure an optimal integration of market knowledge in the innovation process have been less analyzed in the case of these firms. Against this background, the present study contributes to the literature by providing a test of the effect of market orientation on R&D effectiveness and the moderating role of knowledge integration in this relationship, using a sample of Italian biotechnology firms. The study's objectives are addressed in two steps. The first one consists of an in‐depth qualitative study based on semistructured interviews in five biotechnology firms. The second step consists of a follow‐up survey of 50 biotechnology firms. Results from hierarchical multiple regression analysis show that the different dimensions of a market orientation have diverse effects on R&D effectiveness of high‐technology firms: whereas interfunctional coordination has a positive main effect, the effect of customer orientation is moderated by knowledge integration, and competitor orientation has no effect on R&D effectiveness. Post hoc analyses also show two additional results involving a broader set of dependent variables. First, R&D effectiveness mediates the effects of customer orientation and interfunctional coordination on organizational performance. Second, market orientation does not appear to significantly affect R&D efficiency. The present study contributes to current literature in two main respects. First, it adds to previous work on market orientation and innovation by proposing a new dependent variable—R&D effectiveness—which offers a better perspective to understand the impact of market orientation on innovation performance in high‐technology contexts. Second, while part of the current debate on the role of market orientation in high‐tech markets seems to be polarized by positions that sustain its potential drawbacks or, on the contrary, its advantages, this study's findings on the moderating role of knowledge integration shed light on important contingency factors, such as organizational capabilities. The authors discuss the study's limitations and provide directions for future research.     

Choice of ownership mode in joint ventures: An event history analysis from the automotive industry

Inter-firm partnerships continue to be a major trend in the B2B context. Firms seek collaborative ventures to enter foreign markets, combine resources, share costs and risks, and build synergies in an increasingly competitive environment. Accordingly, the impacts of firm and host country characteristics on the selection of entry mode have been extensively studied in the literature. Nevertheless, most of these studies regard all entry modes as feasible alternatives for firms, which is rarely the case in practice. Instead, the number of entry modes available to a firm is more likely to be limited by the firm's assets and the context of the host country. As such, these contingencies, coupled with the idiosyncrasies of each entry mode, necessitate more focalized inquiry in the entry mode literature. Drawing from the OLI framework, this study zeroes in on international joint ventures (IJVs) and analyses the impact of ownership and location advantages on firm's decision about the level of control (i.e., internalization level) in an IJV in a given country. Results indicate a positive relationship between the ownership advantages and the level of control. It is also found that firms tend to favor higher control mode where the host country provides better locational advantages.