战略性外包：企业核心能力的“辅助舵”

获得长期可持续发展、追求激情的卓越一直是企业孜孜以求的战略远景。如何实现这一远景是理论界与企业界共同探讨的课题,本文认为企业可持续发展的最根本的源泉是动态性核心能力,并围绕这一命题,追寻出新经济时代战略性外包是撬动核心能力的杠杆,进而通过对核心能力的解构,探索战略性外包对核心能力的作用机理,在阐述了外包的战略意义后,最后文章就如何进行基于企业核心能力的外包进行了研究,以图为中国企业有所借鉴。     

代理成本理论综述及其对我国的借鉴意义

在现代公司制度中,由于公司所有权和控制权的两权分离,股东和管理当局的利益函数和收益函数并不完全一致由此产生了代理问题。在经济学中,代理成本被定义为由于代理关系中两个利益主体目标上的差距而诱发的损失或代价。本文从契约理论和交易成本经济学开始对代理成本问题做一个理论综述,然后探讨其对我国的国有上市公司治理的借鉴意义。     

The ties that bind: Buyer-supplier relations in the construction industry

This study considers the consequences of Inter Organisational relations at two levels: the micro level of the individual, and the macro level of the organisation. Merging Transaction Cost Economics with theories on the Social Embeddedness of relations, the paper tackles several hypotheses about problems in buyer–supplier relations. We amend the general hypothesis, as has been put forward by other researchers, that having a common past in combination with an expected common future in business will reduce the likelihood that problems and conflicts occur. Our focus lies on whether this shared past and future can preclude problems better when the organisational relations are at the micro level. Our analyses of survey data from 448 contractor–subcontractor relations from the contractor's perspective in the construction industry reveal mixed support for effects of a shared past or future. We hardly find any of the expected positive effects of a shared past on supplier performance. However, we do find support for the hypothesis that a larger likelihood of future business with the same business partner has a stronger (negative) effect on the occurrence of problems if the expected future business is at the level of individuals (instead of at the level of organisations).     

国际软件外包发包商绩效的实证研究

软件外包在过去二十年的发展引起了国内外学者的广泛关注。本文用定量研究的方法,对国际软件外包中接包商外包绩效的影响因素做实证研究。研究结果表明,在软件外包中,交流成本与接包商的外包绩效负相关,而接包商的规模、声誉、价格优势以及专业能力都与接包商的外包绩效正相关。研究的结果有助于我们认识中国和印度软件外包发展的差距,同时从理论和管理实践上为中国的软件外包发展提出建设性意见。     

Utilizing e-business technologies in supply chains: The impact of firm characteristics and teams

This paper presents findings from an exploratory study that analyzes the drivers and outcomes of e-business technology use in the supply chain. Using a combination of case studies and survey data from a diverse sample of industries, the research examines how industry context, firm characteristics and firm-level strategic resources, such as purchasing teams, influence the exploitation of e-business technologies and the relationship between e-business technology use and firm performance. Based on a synthesis of related literatures from transaction cost economics and the relational view of the supply chain, a two-dimensional framework for e-business technology is proposed with transactional and relational dimensions. However, empirical analysis indicated that transactional technologies can be further subdivided into two factors: dyadic cooperation and price determination. Significant differences were found between the two dimensions in terms of their overall levels of adoption, with dyadic coordination being the most widely adopted. In addition, the development of strategic resources expanded, in particular internal and customer teams, the use of e-business technologies expanded. Purchasing organizational structure and firm size also were positively related to the adoption of transactional e-business technologies. Finally, of particular importance to practitioners, e-business technologies targeted at reducing dyadic coordination costs lead to improved financial performance.     

The impact of buyer-supplier relationship quality and information management on industrial vending machine benefits in the healthcare industry

Despite the calls for a deeper understanding of SCM in the healthcare industry, theoretical research focused on healthcare buyer-supplier collaboration, specifically inventory management issues, remains nascent and fragmented. Although slow to change, healthcare organizations have begun to consider alternative inventory management systems to improve inventory control and patient care. Industrial vending machines (IVM) can help healthcare organizations address inventory management issues. Grounded in transaction cost economics and contingency theory, this research develops and empirically tests a model that highlights the critical role of information management in the link between buyer-supplier relationship quality and performance outcomes within the context of IVM implementation and use in the healthcare industry. Based on survey data from healthcare managers, results indicate that both information management and relationship quality are tied to a series of benefits in the context of collaborative buyer-supplier IVM agreements.     

考虑声誉效应的外包中服务商激励机制

在考虑声誉的情形下,建立一个博弈模型,探讨了外包中服务商激励约束机制的内在机理。分析表明：声誉对服务商激励有重要影响,可以提高服务商在前期的努力程度,在某种程度上,声誉效应能很好地解决来自服务商的道德风险问题。同时,文章还提出了基于服务商声誉的约束机制建设的建议。     

International outsourcing and productivity: evidence from the Irish electronics industry

This paper examines the effect of international outsourcing of intermediate inputs on productivity at the level of the plant, with a focus on the electronics industry in the Republic of Ireland. The effect of international outsourcing on plant-level productivity depends critically on the nature of the outsourced inputs (services or tangibles) and on the plant's export intensity. Outsourcing of materials provides significant productivity gains, but this effect holds only for plants with low export intensities.     

Organizational knowledge and the manufacturing strategy process: A resource-based view analysis

The current competitive environment is characterized by new sources of information, new technologies, new management practices, new competitors, and shorter product life cycles, which highlights the importance of organizational knowledge in manufacturing companies. We integrate some of those knowledge-based approaches seeking to understand how aspects related to cross-functional orientation, new technologies, and increasing access to information affect manufacturing strategy. In this paper, “know-what” (where to find the needed information) and “know-how” (how to run operations smoothly) are considered key components of organizational knowledge in the process of manufacturing strategy formulation. Assuming that knowledge accumulation may lead to competitive advantage, we propose a model of manufacturing strategy process from a resource-based view perspective. We used a survey to collect field data from 104 companies. The results indicate that cross-functional activities integrate manufacturing knowledge and contribute to the creation of valuable and rare product characteristics.     

The influence of task- and location-specific complexity on the control and coordination costs in global outsourcing relationships

Several reputable industry sources have recognized that many organizations fail to realize the financial benefits sought with outsourcing. Further, prior research has found that outsourcing organizations struggle to estimate accurately the so called “hidden costs” associated with managing these inter-organizational relationships. This is especially true of complex, globally distributed outsourced services. In this study, we use dyadic data on 102 outsourcing relationships to investigate how dimensions of task- and location-specific complexity influence the degree of control and coordination costs incurred by the customer organization. Results from our hierarchical regression analysis demonstrate that the scale of the service and the geographic distance between the customer and provider locations are associated with higher levels of both control and coordination costs. Task breadth and geographic dispersion are significantly associated with increased control costs, but not coordination costs. Counter to our expectations, control costs decrease with the degree of service customization, whereas both control and coordination costs are negatively related to the average cultural distance between provider and customer organizations. These findings contribute unique empirical evidence to the outsourcing, offshoring, and international service operations literature.     

Procurement mechanisms and the emergence of new governance structures in the CEECs: evidence from the Bulgarian wine industry

During transition, Bulgaria witnessed the dismantling of communist agri-food supply channels and a weakening of contract enforcement mechanisms. Wineries have had to establish grape procurement and purchasing relationships with a more diverse set of growers and intermediaries. In an attempt to overcome the weaknesses of procurement via spot markets, they have sought more interdependent contractual forms that secure greater control over the quality of inputs and minimise the possibility of opportunistic behaviour. The desired option by wineries is complete backward integration but attempts to achieve this have been limited by fragmented land ownership, credit constraints and incomplete property rights.     

Effective strategies for internal outsourcing and offshoring of business services: An empirical investigation

The growing pressure to reduce costs and improve efficiency induces many organizations to undertake shared services initiatives. This consolidation and streamlining of common business functions is also known as insourcing, in-house services, business services, or staff services. While adoption of a shared service structure is viewed by many as an appropriate strategy to pursue, most companies still struggle to devise optimal strategies and to generate adequate returns on investments for their projects, because none of the approaches that are commonly adopted is recognized as universally effective.     

我国行业协会的性质和功能研究——从交易成本和规制角度分析

随着我国加入WTO以及市场经济体系的逐步完善,作为同行业企业联合的服务性组织——行业协会将在经济发展中发挥越来越重要的作用。但是长期以来,我国行业协会的性质和功能的定位一直比较模糊。本文从交易成本和交易规制结构出发,对我国行业协会的性质和功能进行界定:即行业协会的本质是一组企业契约联合体,行业协会最核心的功能在于降低成员企业的交易成本。     

Scale development and validation of Transaction Cost Economics typology for contracts: A systems thinking approach

A variety of contract typologies that exist in the literature are helpful in the exploration of different approaches in contractual relations, but only when measured with the right instruments. Although Transaction Cost Economics (TCE) has a distinct, high-level, and abstract typology for contracts, it still lacks a measurement scale. In this paper, a measurement scale for the TCE contract typology (classical, neo-classical, and relational contracts) was developed and validated, using systems thinking approach and experimental design to contribute to the empirical tests of TCE within the contracting realm. First, the antecedents of contract selection within the TCE literature were analyzed using the systemigram technique to visualize and parse out complex relationships that lead to contract selection. The analysis of the TCE Systemigram helped the development of the scale and revealed the need to revisit the risk neutrality assumption embedded in TCE. Second, a measurement scale for the TCE contract typology (classical, neo-classical, and relational contracts) was developed adhering to the original texts of seminal papers and reviews from the TCE literature. Third, the 14-item measurement scale was validated using a series of three vignette-based experimental studies.Key messageThis research explores the antecedents of the TCE contract typology and develops a measurement scale for essential characteristics of classical, neo-classical, and relational contracts, as defined in TCE, using systems thinking approach and a novel vignette-based experimental design.     

Outsourcing in the IT industry: The case of the Philippines

Outsourcing of labor, especially in area of the Information Technology (IT) sector, has grown rapidly in recent years. This article further defines what is meant by outsourcing, and examines the opportunities and challenges for entrepreneurs to outsource in the Philippines. This emerging economy has been cited as one of the most attractive destinations for outsourcing, despite the lack of information. The article offers historical, business, and cultural insights and identifies strategies for outsourcing success in the Philippine environment.     

制度变迁理论视角下的事业单位会计改革研究

运用制度变迁理论,可以构建我国会计制度变迁的一般理论模型。该模型综合了制度变迁的供、需理论,指出交易费用在会计制度变迁中的决定作用,并对我国会计制度变迁中的交易费用进行了科学分类。用1998年事业单位会计制度变迁和2006年企业会计制度变迁可以验证该理论模型。运用该模型,解释了目前事业单位会计制度改革现状,推断了改革前景。     

纵向一体化动因研究评述——交易费用经济学演化视角

文章从理论研究上选取交易费用经济学的视角,评述相关修正性和发散性的纵向一体化动因研究体系,同时梳理了经验研究中纵向一体化的测量手段及效果,以此作为理论演进的有效补充。     

Radical innovations in new product development and their financial performance implications: An event study of US manufacturing firms

At the dawn of the 21st century, global competition continues to increase at an accelerating rate and radical innovation is recognized as a potent weapon for firms to achieve sustainable competitive advantages. Academics, practitioners and consultants share the view that radical innovation is important to the long-term financial success of firms. Nevertheless, empirical studies on the relationship between radical innovation and firm performance have been dominated by survey research, which provided little concrete evidence on the financial impact of radical innovation. In this study we traced the financial performance of publicly traded manufacturing firms in the United States that introduced radical innovations over the period 1986-2000 and examined whether radical innovation could lead to superior financial performance in these firms. We employed the event-study method, matching each sample firm with a control group of firms in the same industry with similar pre-event performance and firm size. Our results show that while radical innovation helps firms maintain sales growth and return on sales (ROS), firm profitability in terms of return on assets (ROA) is not significantly improved. In fact, manufacturers suffer from a decline in profitability upon the introduction of radical innovations in new product development.     

In search of competence: aligning strategy and competences in the telecommunications industry

Competence management and management by competences are new concerns among academics and professionals. In this paper we argue that the most appropriate way to advance in the construction of a new managerial approach is by relating competence to the strategy of the organization. To make that operational we develop an analytical framework. Since competence has slightly different meanings in the North American and European literature, we first proceed to a revision of conceptual approaches. The analytical framework was empirically tested in a field survey conducted among companies in the Brazilian telecommunications industry.