Measuring Purchasing Groups Performance in the Health Care sector

For many decades, governments in Western countries have attempted to control health costs. One of the strategies used is through purchasing groups, since consolidated needs generate additional savings. Although various aspects of purchasing groups have been studied, performance measurement has been neglected; due to the lack of proper measures, tensions between the purchasing group and its members can't be addressed with more objective information. However, appropriate performance indicators are considered a prerequisite to successful collaboration. Using the in‐depth case of a Canadian purchasing group in the health care sector, this article suggests a set of performance indicators to measure results considering dimensions of the purchasing process and the interactions between the purchasing group and its members (who are also its customers). © 2018 ASAC. Published by John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Impact of industry sector on corporate diversification and firm performance: Evidence from Indian business groups

Prior business group (BG) studies implicitly assume that corporate diversification‐firm performance relationships are uniform across industry sectors. This generalization may lead to research implications that are not equally true for BG‐affiliated manufacturing and service firms. Drawing on strategy and marketing literature, this research addresses this scholarly gap. Our empirical analysis of a large sample of BG‐affiliated Indian firms over a five‐year period (2004‐2008) indicates that the influence of corporate diversification on firm performance is greater for affiliated service firms than affiliated manufacturing firms. Results also indicate that the influence of BG size and diversity on diversification‐firm performance relationship varies significantly depending on whether the focal firm belongs to the manufacturing or service sector. Firm's share ownership does not generate similar influence. Copyright © 2015 ASAC. Published by John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Business‐to‐Business Branding: A Review and Assessment of the Impact of Non‐Attribute‐Based Brand Beliefs on Buyer's Attitudinal Loyalty

Business‐to‐business branding has received increasing attention from researchers in the last few years. Nonetheless, there is no agreement on the relative contribution of a brand versus an offering's functional attributes to the industrial buyer's preferences. Drawing on models from the business‐to‐consumer context, this paper demonstrates that non‐attribute‒based brand beliefs are predictors of hedonic outcomes as measured by industrial buyers' attitudinal loyalty, while attribute‐based brand beliefs are not. Moreover, the moderating role of the buyer's level of knowledge for the value‐generating process is identified, suggesting that the impact of non‐attribute‒based brand beliefs on attitudinal loyalty is greater for buyers with a low level of knowledge. Copyright © 2012 ASAC. Published by John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Financing constraints and US cross‐listing

This study investigates whether relaxation of firms' financial constraints is an important outcome of the US cross‐listing mechanism. We use the association between investment spending and cash flow to test for the presence and importance of firms' financing constraints. Consistent with the bonding hypothesis, the results suggest that US exchange and private placement cross‐listings significantly alleviate firms' financing constraints. In addition, the financial benefits associated with exchange listings are larger than those associated with private listings, while on the other hand, over‐the‐counter programs do not improve capital allocation. The study also shows that US exchange cross‐listing benefits have not been eroded by the enactment of the Sarbanes‐Oxley (SOX) Act in 2002. Copyright © 2014 ASAC. Published by John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Analysis of a merger from a governance perspective: the case of Abitibi‐Consolidated and Donohue

Adopting a governance perspective, this study analyzes the merger between closely‐held Donohue Inc. and widely‐held Abitibi‐Consolidated Inc. Findings suggest that the absence of a controlling shareholder and weak board governance at Abitibi might explain both (a) its executives' interests in the transaction and (b) its CEO's compensation increase despite underperformance. Second, an intergeneration shift of control at Quebecor (Donohue's parent company) led to a strategic reorientation that (a) transformed Donohue into a target and (b) insured that Donohue's executives had incentives to pursue a deal. Finally, Donohue's noncontrolling shareholders benefited from the transaction while Abitibi shareholders experienced wealth reduction. The merger's aftermath provides some counter evidence regarding blockholders' power in widely‐held firms. Copyright © 2008 ASAC. Published by John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Do firms with more alliance experience outperform others with less? A three‐level sigmoid model and the moderating effects of diversification

Whether firms with more alliance experience perform better than those with less and whether the alliance strategy interacts with diversification strategy to shape firm performance are two critical but underexplored questions. To address these queries, this study develops a three‐level sigmoid framework built upon a marginal analysis that contrasts alliance benefits and alliance costs, and considers the moderation of diversification that often closely works with the alliance in shaping firm performance. Empirical results obtained from firms in two alliance‐populated industries support first that the alliance experience‐performance relationship is S‐shaped in that the linkage is negative to alliance novices, positive to alliance experts, and negative again to alliance overusers; and second, that the shape of this sigmoid curve varies systematically between high‐ and low‐diversified firms. Copyright © 2015 ASAC. Published by John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Relinking Cross‐functional Collaboration,Knowledge Integration Mechanisms,and Product Innovation Performance: a Moderated Mediation Model

Previous research shows that knowledge integration mechanisms (KIMs) mediate the cross‐functional collaboration‐product innovation performance relationship; however, this mediating effect seems to be rather weak. This study, in contrast, develops a moderated mediation (MOME) model to argue that such a mediating effect is moderated by product innovativeness. A sample comprised of 106 manufacturing firms is utilized in the analyses. A moderated‐mediation approach shows that the mediating effect of KIMs in the linkage between cross‐functional collaboration and product innovation performance varies by different perspectives of product innovativeness. From an industry (macro‐level) perspective, product innovativeness positively moderates the mediating effect of KIMs on product innovation performance; in contrast, such a moderating effect is not significant under a firm (micro‐level) perspective. Copyright © 2011 ASAC. Published by John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Network centrality,organizational innovation,and performance: A meta‐analysis

Based on samples from 40 studies encompassing 15,860 organizations, we use meta‐analysis methods to examine the relationships between network centrality, organizational innovation, and performance, and to predict the influence of organization size, institutional environment, and industry on these relationships. Results show that network centrality positively influences both organizational innovation and performance. In addition, findings indicate that the impact of network centrality on organizational innovation is stronger for small organizations while that on organizational performance is stronger for large organizations. The influence of network centrality on overall organizational innovation/performance is stronger for organizations in developed institutional environments as well as in knowledge‐intensive industries. Copyright © 2015 ASAC. Published by John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

The Use of Governance Indexes in the Governance‐Performance Relationship Literature: International Evidence

The objective of this study is threefold. First, we present a review of the international studies that have investigated the link between firm‐level governance scores and performance. To our knowledge, this study is the first to provide a comprehensive review of this recent and growing literature. Second, we discuss potential methodological shortcomings of using governance indexes. Third, we propose directions for future research. Overall, a clear positive relation is found between governance ratings and performance in Europe and in emerging economies, whereas studies conducted in the US and Canada have generated mixed evidence. The empirical problems related to measurement, substitution between governance arrangements, endogeneity, and optimization across governance choices are discussed. Solutions are proposed to alleviate these concerns. Copyright © 2011 ASAC. Published by John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Relative Importance of Major Job Performance Dimensions in Determining Supervisors' Overall Job Performance Ratings

This study explores the factor structure of job performance and each performance dimension's relative importance in determining supervisors' overall job performance ratings. We found that the optimal factor structure of job performance includes five dimensions: task performance, organizational citizenship behaviour directed toward the organization and individuals (OCB‐O and OCB‐I, respectively), and counterproductive work behaviour directed toward the organization and individuals (CWB‐O and CWB‐I, respectively). The percent‐based relative weight (%RW) is the highest for task performance in determining job performance, followed by OCB and CWB. Interestingly, the %RW of non‐task performance dimensions directed toward the organization (OCB‐O and CWB‐O) is similar to the %RW of task performance but greater than the %RW of non‐task performance dimensions directed toward individuals (OCB‐I and CWB‐I). Copyright © 2018 ASAC. Published by John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Canadian takeover announcements and the job security of top managers

This study measures the turnover rate of top managers (Chief Executive Officers or Presidents) in acquisition targets following the public announcements of takeovers in Canada. Turnover rates following the announcements of completed and unsuccessful takeover attempts did not differ from each other but were higher than the norm for CEOs from a control group of nontarget firms. The turnover rate was particularly high for widely‐held firms and negatively correlated with the preannouncement performance of the targets. Overall, results suggest that a major objective of takeovers in Canada is to reduce management failings, inefficiency, and agency costs. Copyright © 2007 ASAC. Published by John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

How User‐Created‐Content (UCC) Service Quality Influences User Satisfaction and Behaviour

The Internet is undergoing a gradual shift from Web 1.0‐based user interaction to Web 2.0, which has a greater emphasis on user‐created content (UCC) and user collaboration (Hsu & Hsu, 2008). Since existing models of e‐service quality are likely deficient under Web 2.0, we build on them and test a new framework using 319 users who frequented UCC websites. Among other findings, three service elements together explained 44% of the variance in user satisfaction and 33% of the variance in website usage. These elements were: the provider‐user relationship (customization and participation), the relationship among users (e.g., user empowerment), and user compensation. Copyright © 2012 ASAC. Published by John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Does gender diversity on corporate boards increase risk‐taking?

We study the impact of board gender diversity on firm risk‐taking in a developing market. Our study is drawn from a sample of 30 Tunisian‐listed firms between 1997 and 2010. First, we found that women have a risk perception that leads to risk avoidance behaviour: the presence of women directors, even when there is one woman director, is positively associated with cash ratio. Second, we showed no significant relationship between board gender diversity and the propensity to take strategic or financial risk‐taking. Third, the presence of state officer/bureaucrats and/or politically connected women have a positive effect on cash holding and investment opportunities. Finally, we found that foreign investors do not invest in firms with gender‐diverse boards. We conclude with a discussion of contributions to scholarship and practice, and present avenues for future research. Copyright © 2015 ASAC. Published by John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Employee Identities in Corporate Codes of Ethics: The Equal,Responsible, Subordinating,and Self‐Monitoring Employee

The article invites the reader to engage in a critical perspective. It emphasizes the role of language in formal corporate documents and the discursive practices of language use. It presents the results of a study that analyzes the corporate codes of ethics of the German Dax30‐companies. The study conceives codes of ethics as texts deploying discursive practices in order to position the various actors addressed in the documents. Four distinct identities have been elaborated: the equal, the responsible, the subordinating, and the self‐monitoring employee. This study demonstrates that codes of ethics propose various subject positions of the employee and through this positioning aim to regulate the identification processes. Copyright © 2011 ASAC. Published by John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Assessing credit quality from the equity market: can a structural approach forecast credit ratings?

We investigate the empirical performance of default probability prediction based on Merton's (1974) structural credit risk model. More specifically, we study if distance‐to‐default is a sufficient statistic for the equity market information concerning the credit quality of the debt‐issuing firm. We show that a simple reduced form model outperforms the Merton (1974) model for both in‐sample fitting and out‐of‐sample predictability for credit ratings, and that both can be greatly improved by including the firm's equity value as an additional variable. Moreover, the empirical performance of this hybrid model is very similar to that of the simple reduced form model. As a result, we conclude that distant‐to‐default alone does not adequately capture the firm's credit quality information from the equity market. Copyright © 2007 ASAC. Published by John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Technology Synergy,Product Characteristics,and New Product Performance: A Meta‐Analytic Review

The associations of technology synergy, product characteristics, and new product performance are widely spread in the marketing and innovation management literatures. However, little research integrates these associations. This study adopts a meta‐analytic approach to aggregate prior findings across studies published before 2010 to review the relationships between technology synergy, product characteristics, and new product performance. Structural equation analysis reveals that technology synergy has: (a) a positive medium effect on new product performance; (b) a positive and strong impact on product advantage, which then affects new product performance; and (c) an indirect effect on new product performance through product innovativeness and product advantage. These findings suggest that product innovation and advantage are important intermediaries between technology synergy and new product performance—as yet unrevealed in extant literature. Copyright © 2012 ASAC. Published by John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Funding conditions for aid effectiveness: A mixed blessing for the sustainable development of host‐country‐national employees

This paper explores whether—and how—aid effectiveness funding conditions impact the human resource development of host‐country national (HCN) employees. To investigate this relationship, I conducted a phenomenological study with 31 participants from three international nongovernmental organizations (INGOs). Results suggest that the pressure toward funds accountability brings mixed blessings: From a staffing perspective, more HCNs are being hired instead of expatriates, building local capacity. However, vital training and performance review functions are cast as inefficient overheads. The paper concludes with a conceptual framework, practical strategies for INGOs and donor governments, and directions for larger scale empirical research. Copyright © 2015 ASAC. Published by John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Impacts of International Greenfield Investment on Firm Valuation

Our study examines the announcement effects of 343 international greenfield investments by 289 U.S. firms for their impact on shareholder wealth. This paper develops five hypotheses based on the positive‐multinational‐network hypothesis. The evidence indicates that market reactions to announcements by firms entering developing countries are more favorable than those entering developed countries. In addition, the results show that the wealth effect for firms entering a host country for the first time is greater than for those that are already operating within the country. As for the long run, greenfield firms have shown improvement in their operating performance and stock performance. Copyright © 2012 ASAC. Published by John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Interest alignment for joint business development: How global software houses and consulting firms work together in the enterprise systems sector

Despite the relatively long history of strategic alliances in the enterprise systems sector, studies examining the relationships between software houses and consulting firms have been rare and fragmented, particularly those related to the mechanisms that promote interest alignment for delivering a joint value proposition to the market. Through the cross‐analysis of two case studies, we identify 10 mechanisms that are regularly used for interest alignment purposes as well as counterpoints that contribute to the literature regarding the search for a consistent explanation for the longevity of hybrid organizational forms. Additionally, the study provides some insights related to the impact of innovation massification on competitiveness, partners' interdependence, and the presence of complementary contracts along with insights into the coexistence and interaction of other mechanisms that may help to explain the persistent existence of hybrid organizational forms in markets. Copyright © 2015 ASAC. Published by John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Pay‐for‐Performance,Employee Participation,and SME Performance

This study examines how pay‐for‐performance (PFP) systems affect the performance of small‐ and medium‐sized enterprises (SMEs). We decompose PFP into two dimensions: scope and depth. PFP scope captures the variety of performance measures and reward types included in a firm's PFP system, and PFP depth reflects the relative amount of performance‐based pay compared with total pay. We posit that PFP scope has a positive whereas PFP depth has an inverted U‐shaped effect on employee participation, which in turn enhances SME performance. Analysis of data collected at both employee and firm levels of 444 SMEs during 1999–2006 supported these hypotheses.