The influence of firm,industry and network on the corporate social performance of Japanese firms

We develop and test the thesis that corporate social performance (CSP) constitutes a socially constructed and shared strategic asset, which is not only influenced by factors specific to a firm, but also by the social performance of firms in its industry and inter-corporate network. Using variance decomposition, we analyze data from 130 large Japanese firms and find that both firm-specific and industry-level factors account for significant variance in CSP, but network-level factors do not.

Managerial ties,absorptive capacity,and innovation

Managerial ties—the boundary-spanning ties and interpersonal connections of top managers—contribute to a corporation’s innovativeness in emerging economies because of the absence of market supporting institutions, transparent laws, and clear regulations. Moreover, managerial ties are apt to interact with absorptive capacity to facilitate knowledge sharing and innovation. This paper examines the joint influence of managerial ties and absorptive capacity in two communities in China, one characterized by a high level of foreign direct investment (FDI) and the other consisting mainly of local corporations. We find that absorptive capacity moderates the effect of managerial ties on a corporation’s innovativeness. Furthermore, when examining the two communities separately, we find that business ties and university ties have opposite effects.

Japanese <Emphasis Type="Italic">keiretsu</Emphasis>: Past,present, future

This article reviews major theoretical and empirical work on vertical and horizontal Japanese keiretsu. We first outline the history, characteristics, and strategic and performance implications of each type of business group. We then discuss changes in the Japanese economy during the post-1992 Japanese economic decline and their implications for the persistence and continued benefits of each form of inter-corporate grouping followed by a discussion of empirical findings regarding the continued role of keiretsu in the Japanese economy. The review concludes by exploring areas of future research into the evolution of keiretsu ties and their implications.

Familial capitalism in global institutional contexts: Implications for corporate governance and entrepreneurship in East Asia

Many of the world’s firms have a familial dimension; including some of the most dynamic and emerging markets of East Asia. However, this important aspect of organizing economic activity remains understudied and misunderstood. A central theme of this article is that while families matter in economic activity throughout the world, they matter in different ways depending on the institutional context. To illustrate this theme a varieties of capitalism perspective is used to develop a rudimentary global comparative framework. Institutional context is portrayed as a key determinant of the degree and type of family governance that typify national economies. Implications for corporate governance and entrepreneurship in East Asia are discussed.

Organizational values and procedures as antecedents for goal interdependence and collaborative effectiveness

Organizational values of people and respect and interdependent structures of team procedures and task interdependence may help departments believe their goals are cooperative and thereby coordinate effectively. CEOs in China completed measures of their organization’s values and interdependent structures and their Vice-Presidents completed measures of the department’s goal interdependence (cooperative, competitive, and independent) and collaborative effectiveness. Structural equation analysis suggested that values and interdependent structures promote cooperative, but not competitive or independent, goals that in turn results in collaborative effectiveness. These results, coupled with previous research, were interpreted as suggesting that people and respect values, team procedures, task interdependence, and cooperative goals are complementary foundations for synergy in China and perhaps other countries as well.

Are strategy-performance relationships contingent on macroeconomic environments? Evidence from Japan’s textile industry

This study examines the dynamic relationships between product and international diversification, keiretsu financing, and economic performance of the listed firms in Japan’s textile industry. Panel data analysis shows that the performance effects of those strategic factors are contingent on macroeconomic environments, rather than showing consistent relationships. The potentially positive or negative effects of particular diversification strategies and keiretsu financing are neutralized in the munificent environments, as exogenous macroeconomic factors overwhelm endogenous decision-making by the management. In the scarce setting, by contrast, it is those strategic factors that influence financial outcomes. Keiretsu financing moderates the relationship between international diversification strategy and profitability positively only during times of economic scarcity.

Managerial ties, control and deregulation: An investigation of business groups entering the deregulated banking industry in Taiwan

This study investigates the determinants of business groups’ entry to the deregulated banking industry in Taiwan, from the perspectives of social capital and agency theory. The principal objective of deregulation is to increase the efficiency of resource utilization by introducing competition. However, the opportunities inherent in deregulation may induce a battle of strengths among interested business groups. Based on secondary data analysis, this study reveals that the managerial ties possessed by key individuals in a business group, and the degree of overlapping investment between the owner-managers, influences the likelihood of whether or not a business group will decide to enter the deregulated banking industry. The results of this study provide a valuable starting point from which to discuss the influence of internal and external personal networks on business strategy during a time of deregulation.

The effects of emotional intelligence on job performance and life satisfaction for the research and development scientists in China

To demonstrate the utility of the emotional intelligence (EI) construct in organizational studies, this study focuses on the effect of EI on job performance among research and development scientists in China. We argue that EI is a significant predictor of job performance beyond the effect of the General Mental Ability (GMA) battery on performance. This predictor effect is supported by results on a study of research and development scientists working for a large computer company in China. Our results also show that a self-reported EI scale developed for Chinese respondents, the WLEIS, is a better predictor of job performance than the scale developed in the U.S., the MSCEIT. Implications of the findings are discussed.

The adolescence of Asia management research: <Emphasis Type="Italic">APJM</Emphasis>, 1997–2006

In this article we reflect on the adolescent years of Asia management research published in the Asia Pacific Journal of Management (APJM) by reviewing work published in the past 10 years (1997–2006). We report that during the last decade, APJM has published 223 research articles, written by 373 different authors, who are affiliated with 203 different institutions. Our discussion of the future of Asia management research is guided by Kuhn’s (Kuhn, T. S. The structure of scientific revolutions. Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 1962) perspective on the nonlinear progression of science. We argue that as a growing community, Asia management research is finding its “identity” and establishing its presence in the larger worldwide management research community. Following our analysis, we conclude that the growth of Asia management research—as captured by APJM publications—throughout its “adolescent” years has set forth a challenging and exciting path for the future. All authors contributed equally. We thank Mike Peng (Editor-in-Chief) for his encouragement and advice. This work was completed when Yu-Shan Su was a Fulbright visiting scholar at the University of Texas at Dallas (UTD). She thanks the Fulbright Association and the Taiwanese Ministry of Education for partially funding this work.

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Does knowledge management matter for information technology applications in China?

This study explores the role of knowledge management (KM) in mediating and moderating the relationship between information technology (IT) and firm performance based upon the data collected from 236 firms in China. Through a structural equation model and hierarchical regression analysis, we found that KM capability partially mediated the performance impact of IT resources. Furthermore, KM capability affected the strength of the IT-performance relationship. The theoretical contributions and managerial implications are discussed and limitations of the study are highlighted accordingly.

Employee stock ownership and corporate R&D expenditures: evidence from Taiwan's information-technology industry

This study investigates how employee stock ownership affects corporate R&D expenditures for information-technology firms listed on the Taiwan Stock Exchange during 1996–2001. The empirical results indicate a positive association between implementing employee stock ownership and R&D expenditures. The evidence thus supports the argument that employee stock ownership could help alleviate agency conflicts between employees and shareholders, and reduce agency costs, in turn enabling firms to make sizable R&D expenditures.

The formation and evolution of non-equity strategic alliances in China

Contractual joint ventures (CJVs) are a major form of non-equity strategic alliance in China, employed mainly by Hong Kong firms in the south China province of Guangdong. Due to their ambiguous legal status and the lack of conceptualisation and of their contractual nature, there has been little empirical research on CJVs. By theorising CJVs as a relational subcontracting arrangement and drawing on data from structured interviews with managers from both sides, this paper reveals the managerial decisions pertaining to the formation and evolution of the CJV non-equity alliances in Guangdong.

Business and government interdependence in China: Cooperative goals to develop industries and the marketplace

Although government withdrawal from business has traditionally been considered a key reform in developing a market economy, the Chinese government remains active. This study uses the social psychological theory of cooperation and competition to analyze the interdependence between government and business. Structural equation results of interviews of specific incidents collected from 105 government officials and business people in Shanghai, China, support the model that cooperative, but not competitive or independent, goals induce open-minded discussions that in turn strengthen their relationships, accomplish tasks, foster confidence they will work productively in the future, and develop their industry and the marketplace.

Program equity issues in schooling: The testimony of technology teachers

Assimilation into society via academic achievement is a premise and practice that is universal in schools and school systems. Drawing on the testimonies of technological education teachers and the sociology of knowledge literature, this narrative inquiry research sets the stage for a critical analysis of our reliance on knowledge versus experience in western education policy and planning. A crisp and constructive analysis of the premises school systems take for granted becomes possible, a case for transcending limited ways of thinking about knowledge and experience is made.

How does strategic orientation matter in Chinese firms?

As China continues to transition toward a market economy, how strategic orientation affects firm performance has received significant attention. This article reviews the extant literature with a framework that depicts contemporary work on strategic orientation, the drivers of strategic orientation, and its boundary conditions. We identify important research gaps and propose to integrate institutional theory, dynamic capability perspective, and the knowledge-based view within the strategic orientation research stream for future investigations.

Business groups and their types

We clarify what business groups are and analyze their various types. We first distinguish business groups from other types of firm networks based on the strategic relationships among companies; business groups are defined as those networks that exhibit unrelated diversification under common ownership. We then separate business groups into three types based on their ownership: family-owned, widely-held, and state-owned. We argue that each type has different agency costs and diversification logics. As a result of these differences, their performance varies, with family-owned business groups outperforming widely-held ones, and these in turn outperforming state-owned business groups.

Knowledge management in technology-focused firms in emerging economies: Caveats on capabilities,networks, and real options

In mature economies, technology-focused industries and the management of knowledge are widely viewed as critical to success. Increasingly, in emerging economies technology-focused industries and the management of knowledge are also viewed as important. To date, however, little is known about such activities in emerging economies. Particularly, it is not understood how knowledge management can impact efforts for corporate renewal in such environments. The literatures of the resource-based view of the firm, social capital/network theory, and real options theory are vital to providing insights for technology-focused industries and the management of knowledge in mature economies. In this paper we focus on the caveats when applying such theoretical foundations to emerging economies. To illustrate these issues we will draw on the largest emergent economy in the world, China.

Perceived effectiveness of influence strategies among Hong Kong managers

This study extended recent attempts to build a conceptual framework for the study of organizational influence behaviors. A hundred and four Hong Kong managers rated the perceived effectiveness of 16 influence tactics in six scenarios, covering three directions of influence—upward, downward, and lateral. Results consistently generated a two-dimensional model of basic strategies—the more nurturing, conformity-inducing Gentle Persuasion (GP); and the more agentic, compliance-pressuring Contingent Control (CC). A three-way interaction among these two strategies, the three influence directions, and gender was found, and the relationships between the perceived effectiveness of these strategies and the managers’ social beliefs explored.

Change and Continuity in Southeast Asian Ethnic Chinese Business

The 1997/1998 Asian economic crisis has fundamentally reshaped the economic organization of ethnic Chinese business in Southeast Asia. In this paper, I outline some of the most significant contextual changes that impinge on Southeast Asian ethnic Chinese business in recent years, in particular the changing political-economic alliances in Southeast Asia, the interpenetration of globalization processes and the rise of mainland China as a significant player in the global economy. I argue that these changes have led to a more globalizing orientation of ethnic Chinese business in Southeast Asia. In making this case for globalizing ethnic Chinese business in Southeast Asia, I am concurrently aware of the continual existence and discursive reconstitution of some distinctive elements of ethnic Chinese capitalism. This continuity in ethnic Chinese capitalism points to its growing hybridization–a transformative process in which traditional and new elements are continuously morphed and recombined into something that resembles neither ethnic Chinese capitalism as we knew it nor global capitalism. Instead, a hybrid form of ethnic Chinese capitalism emerges as a distinctive feature in today's Southeast Asian business landscape.

Parent country nationals or local nationals for executive positions in foreign affiliates: An empirical study of Japanese affiliates in Korea

This study examines how the host country experience of Japanese multinational corporations (MNCs) affects their staffing policies for executive manager positions at foreign affiliates. Hypotheses on executive staffing policies for foreign affiliates are tested using survey data collected from 103 Japanese affiliates in Korea. Findings show that the level of global integration and the degree of centralization of decision-making positively affect an assignment of parent country nationals as executive managers of foreign affiliates. We further find that foreign affiliates’ experience in a host country moderates the effects of both global integration and centralization on staffing decisions for the affiliates.