The effect of CEOs on firm performance

The extent to which CEOs influence firm performance is fundamental to scholarly understanding of how organizations work; yet, this linkage is poorly understood. Previous empirical efforts to examine the link between CEOs and firm performance using variance decomposition, while provocative, nevertheless suffer from methodological problems that systematically understate the relative impact of CEOs on firm performance compared to industry and firm effects. This study addresses these methodological problems and reexamines the percentage of the variance in firm performance explained by heterogeneity in CEOs. The results of this study suggest that in certain settings the ‘CEO effect’ on corporate‐parent performance is substantially more important than that of industry and firm effects, but only moderately more important than industry and firm effects on business‐segment performance. Copyright © 2008 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Domestic mindsets and early international performance: The moderating effect of global industry conditions

We develop and test a sensemaking model of early internationalization that ties domestic mindsets to international industry conditions and early international performance. Our central contention is that the fit between international industry conditions and domestic mindsets will lead to superior early international performance. We test this contention with a sample of 178 large and established domestic firms from 20 industries. Our results highlight the role of domestic mindsets in the early phases of internationalization and prescribe the types of domestic mindsets needed to maximize early international performance in global, multi‐domestic, and transnational industry conditions. Our results also provide valuable insights to top managers of large and established firms on how to reduce the risk of failure and how to successfully prepare for and cope with international environments by matching their domestic mindsets with international industry environments. Copyright © 2010 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

The impact of alternative operationalizations of industry structural elements on measures of performance for entrepreneurial manufacturing ventures

Using a sample of 115 manufacturing ventures, this study examined elements of industry structure which prior theory and research in the fields of industrial organization economics, strategic management, and entrepreneurship suggest are the most important structural characteristics of industries. Future researchers should carefully select the particular operationalization of industry structure as our research demonstrates that the influence of industry structural elements on measures of firm performance is strongly dependent upon the particular operationalization utilized. In addition, measures of industry structure were found to have a differential impact on alternative measures of firm performance, suggesting that different performance measures are not interchangeable proxies for one another. © 1998 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

The effect of subscriber line charges on residential telephone bills

This paper evaluates the way in which subscriber line charges (SLCs) have affected telephone company residential customers, comparing residential telephone bills before and after the $2.60 SLC began. Customer bills are analyses using the net bill reduction method and the consumer welfare method. Bills of low-income area and senior citizen customers are studied using a similar technique. The cumulative bill savings accruing to customers whose bills have been lowered for outweigh the small increases experienced by those whose bills are higher. Since the SLC programme began, interstate long-distance usage by low-income area customers has grown, on average, to nearly the same levels as usage for all residential customers.     

The effect of strategic technology alliances on company performance

Strategic technology partnering between firms has become a growing subject of interest to both companies experimenting with this mode of economic organization and researchers from a wide variety of academic disciplines. In this study an effort is made to measure the effect of strategic technology partnering on companies engaged in such joint efforts. A study of the relevant literature on interfirm cooperation generates some basic understanding of this phenomenon, after which the empirical analysis is expanded with linear structural modeling of a number of relevant explanatory variables setting strategic partnering in a more complex environment.     

Using System Dynamics to assess the impact of RFID technology on retail operations

The application of item-level radio frequency identification (RFID) technology in retail supply chains creates cost savings and promises large potential benefits from revenue growth. However, the economic assessment of the impact on improved store operations, labor utilization, and increased sales is still not fully explored. We propose to use System Dynamics as a structural modeling and simulation approach to integrate conventional return on investment evaluations. Building on previous research about RFID technology in retail supply chains, we developed a model based on the case exploration of a leading Italian apparel retailer. Simulations show that RFID implementations are profitable whenever they contribute to increase sales, especially when a fashion retailer is focused on clerk-assisted sales strategies. Sales growth results from the dynamic and integrated impacts of RFID technology on better inventory control, faster inventory turnover, and longer time available for store personnel to assist consumers as an effect of more efficient backroom operations.     

The effect of the innovative environment on exit of entrepreneurial firms

To foster ‘creative destruction,’ entrants must survive the turbulent conditions they face in their first crucial years in the industry. We investigate how the external knowledge milieu of an entrant, conceptualized as its innovative environment, causes systematic variation in survival patterns. We test our model from 3,431 firms in 33 industries over 80 years. We depict the innovative environment along two knowledge‐related dimensions, namely technology regime and technology intensity. While the aligned state of the innovative environment, where product innovation exists in tandem with abundant innovation opportunities, promotes entrant survival, we find that this beneficial effect is more pronounced for small entrants due to a possible mitigation of scale disadvantages. Copyright © 2006 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

The effect of alliance network diversity on multinational enterprise performance

This paper examines the impact of alliance network diversity on multinational enterprise (MNE) economic performance. We consider competing hypotheses derived, alternatively, from transaction cost theory and network theory. Using a latent variable structural equation modeling approach on a sample of 580 large MNEs, we find that MNEs with more diverse alliance networks experience lower economic performance on average than those with less diverse alliance networks. Copyright © 2005 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

The competitive consequences of hub dominance: A case study

Hub-and-spoke has become the predominant configuration of airline routes, with individual hubs typically dominated by single carriers. These operations have characteristics of natural monopoly; but dominance is a consequence also of advantages that cannot be subsumed under the rubric of superior efficiency. The carrier with the strongest presence attracts a grossly disproportionate amount of traffic and, secondarily, of the high fare-paying traffic originating at the hub. While the welfare consequences of the consequent price discrimination are ambiguous, United's acquisition of 50 additional slots at the slot-constrained O'Hare airport raised a legitimate Clayton Act Section 7 issue.Robert Julius Thorne Professor of Political Economy, Emeritus, Cornell University; Special Consultant, National Economic Research Associates, Inc. I acknowledge with gratitude the indispensable assistance of Gary J. Dorman in assembling the data presented here and offering criticisms, and of Scott Thomas. They bear no necessary responsibility, however, for the article itself.     

基于连续流的生产线精益改善——以G厂A生产线为例

为了解决G厂A生产线产能不足、生产线不平衡、操作人员加班频繁、标准化程度差、物料管理混乱等问题,提出了基于连续流的精益改善方案。通过全流程工步级作业方法标准化、工艺优化、工序的拆分和重排、拉动补料以及物料布局调整等方法,生产周期缩短了630min,瓶颈工序周期缩短了99min,日均产出由原来的日均1.5台提高到了2台,线平衡率从原来的78.10%提高到了98.63%,并实现了在不加班的情况下按订单准时交付。     

The effect of within‐industry diversification on firm performance: synergy creation,multi‐market contact and market structuration

This paper examines the effect of diversification upon intra‐industry performance. We propose that intra‐industry diversification promises three sets of benefits, which, separately and in combination, provide firms with a competitive advantage: synergies arising from economies of scope; premiums from mutual forbearance enabled by multi‐market competition; and efficiencies derived from market structuration. The additive and integrative effects of the first two have not been explored. The benefits of market structuration remain untheorized and thus untested. The test of our theoretical model in the Canadian general insurance industry indicates that mutual forbearance provides advantage under specified conditions, that market structuration also provides advantages, but that diversification per se does not. Copyright © 2004 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Plural governance: The effect of internal production on supplier performance

We suggest that both making and buying the same product or service has several effects on supplier performance. A model is developed and tested by use of answers gathered from the Danish municipalities. The results support the three hypotheses that (1) the negative effects of technological uncertainty on supplier performance decrease when buyers combine internal production and external sourcing, (2) the negative effects of performance uncertainty on supplier performance decrease when buyers combine internal production and external sourcing, and (3) the negative effects of asset specificity on supplier performance decrease when buyers combine internal production and external sourcing. However, the moderating effects depend on how the plurality is measured. The results indicate that internal production may facilitate effective governance of the relationships with external suppliers. Implications for research on make-or-buy decisions and for practice are also discussed.     

The effect of individual roles on performance in innovative groups*

Innovative performance of groups of scientists was related to performance of ‘colleague roles', utilizing a model of organizational decision making proposed by Farris (1971). In more innovative groups, supervisors were named less often by group members as useful for original ideas, but more often for providing critical evaluation. Members of more innovative groups named one another more often as useful for providing technical information and help in thinking about technical problems. Organizational information was available from fewer sources inside or outside the more innovative groups. Supervisors of more innovative groups named more outside sources as useful to them for original ideas. These trends are very consistent with Maier's (1967) emphasis on the leader's ‘integrative function’ in group problem solving.     

The effects of industry growth and strategic breadth on new venture performance and strategy content

A sample of 123 independent new ventures was classified into four industry growthlstrategic breadth categories. High growth industry environments were found to provide a favorable environment for new ventures to achieve sales growth; however, the highest sales growth rates were exhibited by new ventures pursuing broad breadth strategies in high growth industries. One-way ANOVA and contrast tests were also used to identify whether specific strategic variables varied across the four industry growth/strategic breadth combinations. New ventures in high growth industries chose to enter on a larger, more aggressive scale and placed more emphasis on new product development than those entering low growth industries. Broad breadth strategy ventures had higher levels of advertising and promotion expenses and placed greater emphasis on the dominance of marketing expertise in their top management team, developing new channels of distribution, and on brand name recognition. Ventures pursuing focus strategies emphasized specialty products and were less cost conscious.     

资源投入与产品质量策略的匹配性研究 ——基于收益效应和福利效应的比较分析

在产品差异化市场中,企业可能为获取高端消费者而向高质量产品投入更多资源,却在一定程度上减少低质量产品的资源投入,造成资源投入与产出质量配比失调现象。为解决此类问题,针对实施垂直差异化策略的垄断企业应用优化理论、反证法对此问题进行了论证,通过数值仿真分析验证了结论的合理性。研究结果表明:1)追求福利最大化的企业实施垂直差异化策略所获得的利益高于追求收益最大化的企业;2)在资源有限的情形下,以收益最大化为目标的企业所提供的产品质量低于福利最大化的企业;3)收益最大化者在生产高质量产品上过度分配资源,对低质量产品的资源投入不足;4)随着预期的消费者到达市场的数量增加到无穷大,二者都会表现为平等分配资源。研究结果为企业运用差异化策略进行产品线设计提供了依据,对运营管理者改进产品线设计思路、节约企业成本、提高客户满意度具有借鉴意义。     

The impact of membership in competing alliance constellations: Evidence on the operational performance of global airlines

Many industries have witnessed the formation of multiple‐partner alliances or constellations competing against each other for both clients and members. Using the global airline industry as an empirical setting, I evaluate the proposition that membership in airline constellations allows carriers to capture externalities from other firms in the form of direct or indirect traffic flow, thereby enhancing their operational performance. I also distinguish between two ways to demarcate the boundaries of constellations: explicitly or implicitly. Analyzing patterns of membership in explicit constellations involving formal, multilateral agreements (such as the Star Alliance, Oneworld, SkyTeam), I find that membership benefits are greatest in groups involving large aggregate traffic and for carriers contributing with a large portion of the group's capacity. I also evaluate patterns of membership in implicit constellations, corresponding to groups of firms showing relatively more ties to one another than to firms outside their group. I find that carriers bilaterally linked with key players of such groups are able to increase their operational performance even if they do not belong to any explicit constellation. Thus, results show that it is worth analyzing distinct patterns of membership simultaneously, because they are likely to have distinct implications for firm performance. Copyright © 2007 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

The moderating effect of environmental dynamism on the ownership and performance relationship

Agency theory posits a positive relationship between insider ownership and organizational performance. Past empirical studies examining this issue have not firmly established this relationship. The current study postulates and tests the moderating effect of environmental dynamism on the insider ownership and performance nexus. Implications and future research directions are considered. © 1998 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

The complementary effect of intellectual property protection mechanisms on product innovation performance

This study assessed the effect of simultaneous implementations of different intellectual property (IP) protection mechanisms on a firm's product innovation performance (PIP). The study categorized seven widely-used IP protection mechanisms (IPPMs) into two groups: formal and informal. Complementarity was then tested within and between the formal and informal groups of IPPMs. The result showed that there existed complementarity when multiple IPPMs were implemented from the same groups. Throughout an additional analysis on the moderating effect of the industrial complexity in technology, it was found that the ‘between groups' combination effect was also existed but varied from even negative to positive concluding that industrial complexity of technology moderates the effects of combinations of IPPMs on a firm's PIP. These results imply that the use of multiple IPPMs is effective but the effect varies by the technological complexity of industry.     

The effect of radical innovation in/congruence on new product performance

Radical innovation is critical for many firms and for society. This research focuses on the impact of radical innovation congruence — the degree to which management values regarding radical innovation match radical innovation norms in the business unit. We offer a model and empirically test it to assess the impact of radical innovation congruence on new product performance. We find that radical innovation norms are positively associated with new product performance, whereas we find no such association for management values and new product performance. Contrary to our expectations, we did not find a significant effect of radical innovation congruence on new product performance; however, we did find that radical innovation incongruence can have a positive effect on new product performance but only when radical innovation norms are higher than management values. Thus, we suggest that the unintended situation of radical innovation incongruence may result in some positive consequences after all. Further, high radical innovation norms, far more than management values, seem to be critical determinants of new product performance.