Organizational configurations and performance: the role of statistical power in extant research

The relationship between organizational configurations and performance has been a frequent albeit controversial subject of research in the field of strategic management. Many studies have failed to find a link between configurations and performance, leading prominent researchers to question the value of the concept of organizational configurations. Before the concept can be discarded, however, other plausible explanations for the lack of findings should be examined. This paper examines the possible role of statistical power. Specifically, it may be that the sample sizes in many studies are too small to detect relationships between configurations and performance when such links are, in fact, present. Analysis of 24 tests of the configurations–performance link revealed that only 8 percent had samples large enough to detect all important relationships. Thus, there is reason to suspect that insufficient statistical power may help to explain extant results. Given these findings, suggestions are presented for improving the ability of configurational studies to detect relationships. Copyright © 1999 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

浅议管理层权力的度量

管理层权力大小的度量在学术界并未达成一致,为了推进管理层权力的度量研究,本文在参考Finkelstein(1992)的权力模型的基础上,借鉴以往国内学者现有的研究,选取了包括管理者是否兼任董事长、董事会规模、独立董事人数、独立董事与上市公司工作地点一致性、管理者是否具有高学历、股权是否分散六项指标,以及两个综合控制权指标来度量管理层权力的大小,以此来为管理层权力大小的度量增添一种新的研究视角。     

Raising quality consciousness among Chinese manufacturing personnel: Testing the effectiveness of performance management tools

This study draws upon the strategic management control literature, goal-setting, and expectancy theory to address the management of quality in Chinese manufacturing operations. Operating in a transition economy, Chinese managers face specific challenges in adapting management strategies and control systems. Using causal modeling, we examine the implementation of quality strategies through management control and reward systems in 38 manufacturing firms operating in the Pearl River Delta, examining the effects of company size. The results indicate that for larger firms, significant linkages were found between reward systems based on quality outcomes and quality feedback, and in turn, quality feedback was significantly linked to both quality goals and a strategic focus on quality. However, for smaller firms, while significant relationships exist between reward systems based on quality outcomes and the provision of quality goals and feedback, no significant linkages were found between the implementation of management control systems and a strategic focus on quality. This study emphasizes the need to develop more robust theories to address the manufacturing environments of transition economies such as China, as well as the need for additional field research on indigenous firms in Asia.     

A measure of ceo social power in strategic decision-making

For the strategic management field to advance its understanding of the interpersonal dimensions of strategic decision-making, valid and reliable measures of power and influence need to be developed. Research in the discipline would also be subsequently likely to enjoy enhanced viability and greater cross-discipline confidence if it was based on proven measures. For these reasons, field research was undertaken to determine if a modified version of an existing instrument (Spekman, 1979), designed to gauge social power at low organizational levels, could be used to measure the exercise of CEO power in strategic decision-making.     

Environmental dynamism and strategic decision‐making rationality: an examination at the decision level

Several approaches have been used to explore environmental dynamism as a contingent predictor of the relationship between rational‐comprehensive strategic decision‐making and firm‐level performance. At the decision level of analysis, however, small sample sizes, low statistical power, and statistical dependence have plagued the research. Through the use of a simulated decision‐making environment and multilevel analysis, this study examined 400 decisions from 54 executive teams. Consistent with much of the existing firm‐level research, the results indicated that environmental dynamism may moderate the relationship between rational‐comprehensive decision making and decision quality. Surprisingly, the form of the relationship differed from much of the firm‐level research. Copyright © 2003 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

The CEO Performance Effect: Statistical Issues and a Complex Fit Perspective

How CEOs affect strategy and performance is important to strategic management research. We show that sophisticated statistical analysis alone is problematic for establishing the magnitude and causes of CEO impact on performance. We discuss three problem areas that substantially distort the measurement and sources of a CEO performance effect: (1) the nature of performance time series, (2) confounding and (3) the discovery of many interactions associated with the CEO performance effect. We show that the aggregate of empirical research implies complex interdependency as the driver of the CEO performance effect. This suggests a ‘fit’ model requiring new research approaches. Copyright © 2011 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Asymmetric rivalry between strategic groups: response,speed of response and ex ante vs. ex post competitive interaction in the spanish bank deposit market

The objective of this study is to examine asymmetric rivalry between strategic groups in a given industry. Two research hypotheses argue for the existence of asymmetric rivalry in the sense that strategic groups of small companies have a greater degree of response but a slower speed of response to the actions of strategic groups of large companies, than vice versa. To test this, we use an ex post approach that examines the news releases published on the strategic actions and reactions of firms. A third hypothesis compares ex ante competitive expectations with ex post asymmetric rivalry between strategic groups. To test this, we compare ex post news on actions/reactions with an ex ante approach that estimates conjectural variations. The empirical application carried out on bank deposits in the Spanish market defines strategic groups in terms of size due to the historical and institutional conditions of the industry (deregulatory change). The results obtained show that rivalry patterns between strategic groups in terms of company size can be predicted as asymmetric in the sense that smaller bank strategic groups have a greater degree of response (Stackelberg ‘leader–follower’ competitive interaction), and a slower speed of response to the actions of larger bank strategic groups than is found the other way around. Moreover, ex ante expectations of aggressiveness on the part of larger strategic groups characterize greater ex post reactions from the smaller‐size strategic groups. Therefore, the size distribution of strategic groups is valuable to research on complex industries with deregulation changes. Copyright © 2005 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

平衡计分卡在我国电网企业绩效评估的应用分析

根据我国电网企业的战略和经营目标,建立与之相适应的绩效评价和战略管理体系,是加强企业战略管理、促进电网企业可持续发展的一项重要措施.分析了电网企业生产经营的关键目标,探讨了电网企业采用平衡计分卡进行绩效评价的作用.在此基础上,提出了电网企业采用平衡计分卡进行绩效评价的关键步骤,并针对电网企业的特点,建立了包括财务、客户、内部流程和学习成长等4个方面的关键评价指标.     

A quantitative exploration of communication's role in determining the governance of manufacturer-retailer relationships

Today's managers are organising and managing a portfolio of interorganizational relationships (IORs); hence, the governance of exchange relationships has gained strategic consequence. Prior interorganizational research by the authors has indicated that communication may be central to IOR governance. One test of communication's potential in this area would be to examine if communication could delineate differing IOR types. To study this, we decided to utilize a type of test-retest statistical application. We first classified manufacturer-retailer relationship structures by using Donaldson and O'Toole [J. Bus. Ind. Mark. 15 (2000) 491] original relationship strength framework (RSF) and discriminant analysis. Next, employing the same statistical technique, we classified the respondents after adding communication measures to the RSF. Results were limited. Only the inclusion of communication quality, one of the elements of communication behavior, in the RSF enhances its power to delineate relationship structures. However, we believe that it is in the ongoing management of relationships that the communication dynamic holds most promise.     

HRM systems and firm performance: The mediation role of strategic orientation

Prior research evidence of a set of internal fit human resource practices supports a positive human resource management (HRM)–performance relationship. Yet we know very little about exactly what drives the HRM–performance (also known as strategic HRM) relationship. In response to the call for suitable theories to explore the “black box” between HRM and firm performance, this study is designed to extend previous work by examining how the relationship between HRM and strategic orientation influences firm performance. Specifically, it examines the relationship between HRM systems, strategic orientation, and performance in a cross-section of 190 firms in Singapore. The research hypotheses were tested using multiple regression and LISREL. As predicted, there was an indirect effect between Inducement and Investment HRM systems and firm performance, such that the relationship was mediated by strategic orientation. In particular, Singaporean firms which implemented product and market differentiation strategies would mediate the HRM systems–performance relationship. Implications for research and managerial practices are provided.     

Successful integration of R&D functions after acquisitions: An exploratory empirical study

Do the ‘grand’ strategic context characteristics of an acquisition (e.g., business relatedness of buyer and target) deter-mine the integration success of R&D functions after a takeover? Are acquisition management interventions (i.e., the way in which the integration process is man-aged) the key levers shaping integration success of R&D functions after a change in corporate ownership? Little non-anecdotal empirical data are available to answer these questions. Therefore, they were addressed with a sample of 92 acquisitions between German firms in 1988. Overall, use of management interventions which were designed to promote learning opportunities and reduce uncertainty for acquired employees (e.g., small group meetings to exchange information) but also degree of centralization of strategic R&D decisions in the hands of the acquirer were significantly positively related to integration level of R&D functions of both firms after an acquisition. With the exception of relative size of acquiree, strategic acquisition context characteristics were not directly related to R&D integration success. These characteristics may not be as important in shaping R&D integration success as management practitioners and scholars have thought.     

Determinants of technological innovation in the small firms of Korea

This study identifies the factors determining technological innovations in the small firms in Korea. Two groups of 24 innovative and 25 noninnovative small firms are compared on four categories of variables: environmental, strategic, structural, and top management characteristics, which were found to be important determinants of technological innovation in prior research in developed countries. A multiple discriminant analysis reveals that two top managerial characteristics (risk-taking propensity and tolerance for ambiguity), environmental heterogeneity, environmental scanning strategy, and professionalization of organizational structure are the most significant factors discriminating innovative from noninnovative small firms in Korea. The findings suggest that predominant determinants of technological innovation vary according to the types of organization and, in the case of small firms, managerial attitudes toward innovation is the most critical factor. Other strategic and policy implications for the management of innovation in the small firm context are discussed.     

Strategic HR functions and firm performance: The moderating effects of high-involvement work practices

Although the strategic human resource management literature has emphasized the value of the integration of human resource management into strategic management, the mechanism through which the strategic integration of HR functions contributes to the improvement of firm performance is relatively unknown. Assuming that HR strategies cannot be successfully implemented without employee support for and commitment to these strategies, this research focuses on high-involvement work practices, which allow employees to participate in management decisions as potential moderators of the integration of HR functions in strategic management and firm performance. Using a sample of 203 unionized Korean firms, this research found that the effects of a strategic HR function on firm performance were moderated by high-involvement work practices such as a pay-for-performance program, a career-development program, union participation in company strategy, and temporary worker benefits. The results suggest that a strategic HR function will not be successful without institutional mechanisms that foster employee involvement.     

企业逆向跨国并购后的组织身份管理模式研究

“逆向跨国并购”(即并购发达国家企业)已成为中国企业获取海外战略性资产、提升全球竞争力的重要“跳板”。然而,与传统跨国并购相比,逆向跨国并购呈现“以弱并强”甚至“蛇吞象”的独特特征,导致并购双方存在显著的身份落差。身份落差使得并购后的“组织身份管理”变得尤为重要,因为不恰当的身份管理模式会对并购整合产生负面影响。基于此,本文综合采用探索性案例研究方法与大样本统计方法,探究中国企业逆向跨国并购后的组织身份管理模式。研究发现,组织身份落差的方向和强度是决定并购后组织身份管理模式选择的重要因素;高强度身份逆差与“单一隔离型”模式匹配,低强度身份逆差与“双元联邦型”模式匹配,身份顺差与“统一吸收型”模式匹配;不同身份管理模式在话语建构、业务运营、权力关系、象征行为等方面存在显著差异。进一步大样本统计研究表明,身份落差与身份管理模式的匹配关系具有较高普适性,但也受核心业务相关性、业务分割等因素影响。本文不仅揭示身份落差与身份管理模式之间的匹配关系,构建逆向跨国并购后的组织身份管理理论,也对中国企业在逆向跨国并购后有效管理双方组织身份、提升并购整合绩效具有启示意义。     

Strategic planning and strategic management in Australian organisations

Many planning and organisational aspects of 48 Australian organisations were examined. The empirical information tends to suggest that the process of adopting the strategic management concept is well advanced in some Australian organisations. Irrespective of size and ownership status, some organisations have already adopted strategic planning, and the process of evolution is continuing towards the final stage of strategic management. The increasing environmental volatility and growing international exposure of organisations in Australia and elsewhere in the Asia Pacific region will increase the pressure to implement international management systems, including strategic management.     

对改革供电企业变电检修现行管理模式的探讨

提出了重组专业化的变电检修总公司的战略思路,对电网企业与总公司之间发展新型关系进行了探讨,指出以战略思维构筑战略联盟,保持合作联盟,实现共赢与发展.分析虽是对检修体制改革,同时也是对安全生产管理体制的变革,有利于供电企业的安全生产管理.     

Why sacrifice rigour for relevance? A proposal for combining laboratory and field research in strategic management

Two of the most common objections to laboratory research in strategic management are presented and critically evaluated. Commonly accepted normative models of the research process in strategic management are based on the assumption that field research is appropriate in an emerging field and that laboratory research is only appropriate after sufficient field research has been done. The alternative normative model for research in strategic management presented in this paper involves the simultaneous use of laboratory and field methodologies.     

Using meta‐analytic structural equation modeling to advance strategic management research: Guidelines and an empirical illustration via the strategic leadership‐performance relationship

This paper demonstrates how meta‐analysis can be combined with structural equation modeling (MASEM) to address new questions in strategic management research. We review this integration, describe its implementation, and compare findings from bivariate meta‐analyses, a direct‐effect structural equations model, and two mediating frameworks using data on the strategic leadership and performance relationship. Results drawn from 208 articles that collectively included data on 495,638 observations demonstrate the new insights available from MASEM while also suggesting a revision to conventional thinking on strategic leadership. Whereas some theories posit that boards of directors influence firm performance through monitoring and disciplining the top management team, MASEM provides more support for the view that boards mediate the top management teams' decisions. Implications for applying MASEM in strategic management are offered. Copyright © 2014 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.