Capability reconfiguration of incumbent firms: Nintendo in the video game industry

The importance of incumbent firms' ability to transform themselves according to the changing technological environment has been underlined by several scholars and practitioners. Yet, how incumbents leverage on commercial capabilities in order to develop such technological reconfiguration abilities in the midst of fierce competition from new entrants has not gained enough attention. To address the above research issue, our study investigated the case of Nintendo, an incumbent firm in the video game industry, using the dynamic capability perspective. Our study relied on primary and secondary data collected from diverse sources such as interviews, web contents, magazines, the US Patent and Trademark Office and Wikipedia. Three component factors that reflect the common features of dynamic capabilities across past studies emerged as the basis of Nintendo's reconfiguration ability. Underlining the significance of these commercial capabilities in the technological reconfiguration of an incumbent, our paper helps to synthesize this stream of literature and extends guidelines for future empirical studies to develop the dynamic capability construct. In addition, the findings also help managers devise strategies for an adaptive organization.     

The implications of performance feedback research for understanding antisocial work behavior

This paper explores existing performance feedback models and their implications for understanding antisocial behavior at work. We begin with the presentation of a summary model that outlines constructs and relationships common in current feedback models. Then, we discuss what these constructs and relationships suggest about the occurrence of antisocial responses when negative performance feedback is provided. In addition, we use the performance feedback model to identify areas of research that have been ignored in current conceptualizations of antisocial work behavior.     

Market entry of firms with different legal forms: an empirical test of the influence of institutional factors

Drawing upon institutional theory we develop a conceptual model and investigate the determinants of market entry for worker cooperatives, publicly traded and limited-liability companies. Our results show that formal institutional conditions (i.e., mercantile legislation) influence the start-up choice of entrepreneurs regarding the legal form of their new venture. In addition, we take into account the influence of informal institutional conditions (i.e., local corporate culture) on the market entry rate of firms with different legal structures. Findings show that, while market entry is sensitive to the general economic climate, entry rates of firms with a different legal structure respond differently to the same economic conditions.

The role of technology in the project manager performance model

Technology assumes importance in the context of project management due to greater challenges in today's technology‐enabled work environment, where technology tools are routinely used for collaboration, communication, and deployment of project management practices. It is becoming common practice for even co‐located project teams to use the electronic medium for these purposes. Notwithstanding the importance of technology, research has shown that it is difficult to associate the use of technology with business performance and the absence of such relation can be extrapolated to project performance as well. However, technology can play a major role in supporting project managers in managing projects effectively and efficiently. Several studies have addressed the importance and leadership style of project managers. However, specific roles and responsibilities of a project manager toward the project team is an area that needs further study. In this research effort, using the literature review, important people‐related factors of project performance are identified. Then structured personal interviews were used to gather data for understanding relations among these factors in order to develop a project manager performance model. The model was developed employing the interpretive structural modeling (ISM) methodology. The model was used to determine the role of the project manager in managing the project team and improving the project performance. Results show that both leadership and management roles are important. This study helped to analyze underlying interactions among these factors and, consequently, understand the supportive function of technology to the project manager in improving project performance.     

The role of state ownership and institutions in the innovation performance of emerging market enterprises: Evidence from China

Although it has been suggested that institutional context influences a firm's innovation performance, the role of regulatory institutions has been underexplored. Extending previous research, this study investigates whether and how regulatory institutions (i.e. state ownership, region-specific marketization and industry-specific institutional policy) affect innovation performance of emerging market enterprises (EMEs). Evidence derived from a large sample of Chinese manufacturing firms demonstrates that state ownership positively moderates the effect of R&D intensity on innovation performance. However, state ownership is not equally beneficial for all firms. Our analysis shows that region-specific marketization and industry-specific institutional policy enhance the innovation-enhancing effect of state ownership. By revealing the role of regulatory institutions, our study points to the importance of looking beyond firm boundaries to understand why EMEs are able to innovate despite their weak internal capabilities.     

The role of complementary products on platform adoption: Evidence from the video console market

This paper studies the importance of the interdependences within platform-based markets. Specifically, the work examines the influence of complementary product portfolios on the adoption of platforms by individuals. The study analyzes data from a panel of 17 video game platforms in three regions (the US, Japan and Europe) for the period between 1989 and 2011. The results suggest that platform adoption is driven by the availability and users of complementary products. The study also finds that this impact is stronger when platform providers jointly manage the in-house complementary product portfolio and the platform. These findings reveal that decisions on complementary products act as strategic drivers of adoption in platform-based markets.     

High-performance work systems and firms' operational performance: the moderating role of technology

This paper analyses the moderating effect of technology on the potential impact of high-performance work systems (HPWS) on firms' operational performance. The paper distinguishes between production technology and the technological intensity of the industry. This potential effect is analysed in a sample of 965 Spanish manufacturing firms. Results support the moderating role of the technological intensity of the industry, while qualifying the hypothesized moderating effect of production technology.     

The importance of consumer multihoming (joint purchases) for market performance: Mergers and entry in media markets

Consumer “multihoming” (watching two TV channels, or buying two news magazines) has surprisingly important effects on market equilibrium and performance in (two‐sided) media markets. We show this by introducing consumer multihoming and advertising finance into the classic circle model of product differentiation. When consumers multihome (attend more than one platform), media platforms can charge only incremental value prices to advertisers. Entry or merger leaves consumer prices unchanged under consumer multihoming, but leaves advertiser prices unchanged under single‐homing: Multihoming flips the side of the market on which platforms compete. In contrast to standard circle results, equilibrium product variety can be insufficient under multihoming.     

The role of university-based industrial extension services in the business performance of small manufacturing firms: case-study evidence from Western New York

This paper investigates the role of university-based industrial extension services in the business performance of small manufacturing firms in an economically declining region of the United States (Western New York). The outreach initiatives of a specific University at Buffalo (UB) programme are described. Particular attention is given to the activities of UB's Centre for Industrial Effectiveness (CIE), an outreach unit with a mandate to improve the product and/or process development efforts of local manufacturing firms. Our data suggest positive returns on investment for firms that have sought technical support under CIE programmes. A key finding is that CIE's services typically entail the transmission of well-established procedures rather than radically new ways of doing things. A further finding is that firms that have used CIE to develop improved products have experienced stronger investment returns than their counterparts that have focused upon process development (although the returns are positive in both instances). More broadly, our data suggest positive correlations between levels of project investment and a variety of commercial outcomes, including sales growth, job-retention, and unit-cost reduction. The implications of these results for regional economic development policy are discussed. The paper also reviews some of the weaknesses that curtail the effectiveness of university-based centres such as CIE.     

The impact of government financial support on the performance of new firms: the role of competitive advantage as an intermediate outcome

This research examines the influence of government financial support on new firms' performance. Extant empirical research on the topic has found mixed results, which warrants an exploration of the theoretical basis for the impact of support policies on new firms' performance. Grounding the theoretical model in the resource-based view and institutional theories, this study contends that performance outcomes – e.g. revenues or profits – should not be the first outcomes of public policies to be examined. Instead, competitive advantage formation is suggested as a link between support policies and new firms' performance. Using new firms from the USA, we examine the impact of government financial support measures – government loans, guarantees and government equity – on firms' overall competitive advantage and more specific types of competitive advantage based on innovation, licensing-in, marketing and human capital. Controlling for family funding, bank financing, equity of business angels and venture capitalists, industry, size as well as entrepreneur's characteristics, the results reveal that government guarantees and government equity have a direct effect on new firms' competitive advantage and only an indirect impact on performance. Our results suggest to policy-makers to focus on helping new firms build the necessary capabilities to compete successfully in the marketplace.     

Emotional exhaustion and job performance: the mediating role of organizational commitment

We analyze the impact of emotional exhaustion (EE) on turnover intention, task performance and organizational citizenship behavior (OCB) among hospital nurses in China. The differential mediating effects of affective organizational commitment on the associations between EE and turnover intention, task performance and OCB were examined. Data were collected from both nurses and their supervising physicians using a questionnaire survey in Mandarin. The results revealed full mediation effect for turnover intention and for OCB directed at the organization. There was a significant indirect effect for OCB directed at individuals and no mediation effect for task performance.     

Environmental proactivity,competitive strategy,and market performance: The mediating role of environmental reputation

This article examines the impact of small and medium-sized enterprises' (SMEs) proactive environmental strategy on market performance through the mediating mechanism of environmental reputation. In addition, we investigate the potential moderating role of competitive strategies on the environmental reputation-market performance nexus. Data were collected from 223 SMEs. Using the hierarchical multiple regression analysis, the results show that a proactive environmental strategy positively enhances environmental reputation. Also, the influence of proactively environmental strategy on market performance is mediated by environmental reputation. In addition, our findings show the relationship between environmental reputation and market performance is greater for firms that adopt the differentiation strategy but not significant for firms adopting the low-cost and integrated strategies. Our study offers several theoretical and practical implications.     

Building ambidexterity: The role of human resource practices in the performance of firms from Spain

Both researchers and managers are increasingly interested in how firms can pursue ambidextrous learning—that is, simultaneously exploring new knowledge domains while exploiting current ones. In this study, we attempt to bring human resource management into this forum by introducing and testing how high‐involvement human resource practices shape the social climate that affects the firm's ambidextrous learning and subsequent performance. A field study of 198 companies from Spain showed that high‐involvement human resource practices were positively related to the social climate that, in turn, facilitates ambidextrous learning and improved performance. © 2012 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.     

Reprint of "The role of state ownership and institutions in the innovation performance of emerging market enterprises: Evidence from China"

Although it has been suggested that institutional context influences a firm's innovation performance, the role of regulatory institutions has been underexplored. Extending previous research, this study investigates whether and how regulatory institutions (i.e. state ownership, region-specific marketization and industry-specific institutional policy) affect innovation performance of emerging market enterprises (EMEs). Evidence derived from a large sample of Chinese manufacturing firms demonstrates that state ownership positively moderates the effect of R&D intensity on innovation performance. However, state ownership is not equally beneficial for all firms. Our analysis shows that region-specific marketization and industry-specific institutional policy enhance the innovation-enhancing effect of state ownership. By revealing the role of regulatory institutions, our study points to the importance of looking beyond firm boundaries to understand why EMEs are able to innovate despite their weak internal capabilities.     

The influence of scope, depth, and orientation of external technology sources on the innovative performance of Chinese firms

It is commonly accepted nowadays that external knowledge sources are important for firms' innovative performance. However, it is still not clear, what dimensions of firms' external knowledge search strategy are crucial in determining their innovation success and whether these search strategies are contingent on different innovation modes. In this study, we analyse how the innovative performance is affected by the scope, depth, and orientation of firms' external search strategies. We apply this analysis to firms using STI (science, technology and innovation) and DUI (doing, using and interacting) innovation modes. Based on a survey among firms in China, we find that greater scope and depth of openness for both innovation modes improves innovative performance indicating that open innovation is also relevant beyond science and technology based innovation. Furthermore, we find that decreasing returns in external search strategies, suggested by Laursen and Salter (2006), are not always present and are contingent on the innovation modes. Next, we find that the type of external partners (we label it “orientation of openness”) is crucial in explaining innovative performance and that firms using DUI or STI innovation modes have different sets of relevant innovation partners. This shows that the orientation of openness is an important dimension—in addition to the scope and depth of openness. As respondents are located in China, this study provides evidence that open innovation is also relevant in developing countries.     

Linking employee boundary spanning behavior to task performance: the influence of informal leader emergence and group power distance

Driven by fierce global competition, flatter organizational structures and the growing complexity of tasks, boundary spanning behavior (BSB) in externally dependent work teams has increasingly been emphasized in both theory and practice. The current study aims to answer the questions of whether, when and how an individual’s BSB impacts his or her task performance within a team. Based on a sample of 272 employees from 57 new product development teams in China, we found that informal leader emergence mediated the relationship between an individual’s BSB and his or her performance within a team. Moreover, group-level power distance positively moderated the association between BSB and informal leader emergence. An overall mediated moderation model of the effect of the interaction between BSB and group power distance (PD) on task performance via informal leadership emergence was also confirmed. In particular, the relationship between BSB and task performance via informal leadership emergence was stronger for teams with less PD than for those with more PD. The implications of the research are discussed.     

The impact of employee perceptions of organizational corporate social responsibility practices on job performance and organizational citizenship behavior: evidence from the Chinese private sector

This paper examines the impact of employee perceptions of organizational corporate social responsibility (CSR) practices on their job performance and organizational citizenship behavior (OCB). Hierarchical regression analysis on two-wave data from 184 supervisor/subordinate dyads from three organizations located in Zhejiang Province, South-East China, revealed that employee perceptions of CSR toward social and non-social stakeholders strongly influenced their OCB. However, employee perceptions of CSR toward employees, customers and government influenced neither their job performance nor OCB.     

Effects of control on the performance of information systems projects: The moderating role of complexity risk

Control of projects is a core issue for organizations. Successful projects, such as information systems projects, enable organizations to develop a superior supply network and enhance the capability of operations management. A few studies have investigated the effects of control on project performance; however, complexity risk has not been integrated into the relationship between control and performance. Limited evidence has been provided concerning whether modes of control differ in their effectiveness in the presence of a single risk factor. Based on quantitative data obtained from 128 information systems projects, behavior, outcome, clan, and self-control are empirically determined to be positively associated with the system performance of projects. However, complexity risk generates a mixed moderating effect on the relationship between control and performance. In the presence of a high complexity risk, the effects of behavior and self-control on performance are low, whereas the effectiveness of outcome and clan control increases. This finding implies that complexity risk is a double-edged sword with regard to control. Each control mode exhibits different characteristics and effectiveness under high complexity risk. Therefore, appropriate control modes should be carefully selected, and highly effective control modes, such as outcome and clan control, should be prioritized in managing complex system projects.     

Environmental management practices and financial performance using data envelopment analysis in Japan: The mediating role of environmental performance

This study investigates the relationship between environmental management practices (EMPs) and financial performance (FP) and consequently ascertains whether environmental performance (EP) can mediate the EMPs–FP nexus. Distinctly using data envelopment analysis and generalised method of moments techniques to analyse a comprehensive dataset of Nikkei 225 listed firms from 2007 to 2018 (1920 firm-year observations), our findings first suggest that EMPs have a positive effect on FP. Second, the desired EP can be achieved through the adoption of comprehensive EMPs. Third, improved EP has a substantial impact on shaping the EMPs' effect on FP. These findings are consistent with the predictions of resource-based view and institutional theories. The results are robust to controlling for different types of alternative measures and endogeneities. The findings have important implications for academics, investors, managers, policymakers and regulators.     

Managerialisation processes and performance in arts organisations: the Archaelogical Museum of Bologna

The extension of management discourse to public-sector entities in Italy comes up against a particularly interesting case in museums and art organisations. Here more than anywhere else, perhaps, the rhetoric of managerialisation faces serious problems in understanding the nature of such anomalous organisations, and defining frameworks for representing their performances. In such a context management knowledge often leads to radical conflicts with well established professional discourses (museology, museography, history of art, etc.). Rather than a simplistic, pre-defined and ready-to-use exercise in “performance valuation”, the article suggests a more modest approach, processual in nature, whereby performance representation is open to dialogue with the basic features of the substantive culture of the professionals and the central role they still occupy in the management of these kinds of organisation.