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。     

Outsourcing the procurement function: Do actions and results align with theory?

Are common theories of outsourcing useful in predicting the extent of and performance gains from the outsourcing of procurement activities? Or does procurement׳s broad scope and boundary-spanning role confound successful analysis? This study applies a theoretical framework combining concepts from transaction-cost economics (TCE) and the resource-based view (RBV) to study the procurement outsourcing decisions of two hundred and eighty US-based electronics manufacturing firms. Findings suggest that TCE and RBV act in complementary ways on the procurement outsourcing decision. TCE, through fear of supplier opportunism, appears to be the primary driver of the extent to which procurement activities are outsourced. The RBV, through which the OEM׳s resource position in procurement vis-à-vis its outsourcing partner is determined, appears to be the primary determinant of the performance results of the outsourcing decision. Procurement activities are outsourced to a greater extent when fear of supplier opportunism is low, but such outsourcing is only “justified” (expected to yield performance benefits) when the OEM has a weak resource position vis-à-vis the outsourcing partner. An “enriched” TCE–RBV framework is presented and discussed as part of study results.     

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。     

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。     

Are relational ties always good for knowledge acquisition? Buyer–supplier exchanges in China

Relational ties between manufacturers and their suppliers serve as an important strategic resource for value creation and realization. However, conflicting evidence exists regarding their role in the acquisition of specific knowledge. This study proposes that relational ties have a nonlinear effect on specific knowledge acquisition and that this nonlinear relationship is conditional on contract specificity and competitive intensity. Results from a sample of 385 manufacturer–supplier exchanges in China demonstrate that a buyer's relational ties with its major supplier have an inverted U-shaped effect on specific knowledge acquisition from this supplier; this inverted U-shaped relationship is stronger (steeper) when contract specificity is high and competition is more intense. These findings suggest that managers should understand the benefits and downsides of relational ties in acquiring specific knowledge and avoid building highly embedded ties when they draft detailed contracts or competition is highly intensive.     

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.     

Export strategy: : a dynamic capabilities perspective

It is argued here that traditional export strategy research (encompassing the study of internationalization processes and export performance) is characterized by weak theoretical foundations and could benefit from a reorientation towards a dynamic capabilities perspective (DCP). We seek to draw on insights from DCP in order to devise a theoretical basis that could enrich export strategy research. Although our development of DCP insights builds on previous work, it also adds a crucial distinction between knowledge stocks and informational architecture. Changes in architecture are of greater importance. Following this elaboration of the dynamic capabilities perspective, we outline some implications and guidelines for future export strategy research.     

An empirical examination of strategic sourcing dominant logic: Strategic sourcing centricity

Recently, much of the thought in strategic sourcing, i.e., dominant logic, has shifted away from the exchange of tangible goods and toward the exchange of intangibles, specialized skills and knowledge, and processes. This study refers to strategic sourcing dominant logic as strategic sourcing centricity (SSC) and describes it as a sourcing management′s mindset based on learning, performance, planning, and relational orientations and manifests itself in the implementation of SS to meet supply management objectives and satisfy stakeholder requirements. Building on insights on intangibility derived from resource-based theory (RBV), the study proposes and empirically tests strategic sourcing centricity (SSC). The authors test the operational measures of SSC dimensions and its impact on performance on a sample of 174 supply management executives. The results indicate strong support for the theorized framework. Managerial implications and future research agenda are provided.     

企业虚拟人力资源管理：一个理论框架

随着现代信息技术和经济全球化的不断发展，企业之间的竞争日益加剧。企业为了应对激烈的竞争，虚拟组织和资源外包等不断发展，随之，在人力资源管理中出现了虚拟人力资源管理的新挑战。论文围绕企业虚拟人力资源管理，首先论述了虚拟人力资源管理的基本概念；然后分析和研究了企业虚拟人力资源管理活动系统；最后，论文就企业虚拟人力资源管理活动系统的有效运作提出了几点建议。     

Why firms adopt empowerment practices and how such practices affect firm performance? A transaction cost-exchange perspective

Complementing the current management literature's focus on the value-creation side of empowerment practices, this paper offers a transaction cost-exchange perspective to explain why firms adopt empowerment practices and how such practices affect firm performance. Specifically, we theorize how performance ambiguity and human asset specificity, two major characteristics of employee-employer exchange, shape firms' decisions to adopt empowerment practices, both independently and interactively. Our model also develops a contingency perspective of how empowerment practices affect firm performance by delineating the moderating role of empowerment practices in the relationship between employee-employer exchange characteristics and firm performance.     

内审外包原因解析:一个交易费用理论的分析框架

内审外包作为近年来国际内部审计活动的发展趋势,已经引起了广泛的关注。本文构建了一个基于交易费用理论的分析框架,对企业内部审计选择外包模式还是自有模式的影响因素进行了探讨,认为内部审计的资产专用性不断降低,内部审计的市场交易成本大幅下降,内审外包在成本收益比较中日益占据优势地位,是更多的企业选择将内审外包出去的原因。     

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。     

论基于社会资本的核心关系能力

本文研究“社会资本”与“核心关系能力”的整合。首先界定“社会资本”的概念,然后以核心能力特征参量罗盘作为指导,全面展开论述企业“核心关系能力”相应四方面的投资策略。     

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).     

交易费用测量的两个层次及其相互关系研究述评

本文在梳理交易费用测量文献的基础上,提出解决交易费用测量难点的出路是把交易费用的测量分为两个层次,即宏观层次的交易费用（总量交易费用）和微观层次的交易费用（每笔交易的交易费用）。分析表明,微观层次的交易费用之和并不等于宏观层次的总量交易费用。总量交易费用的大小决定着微观层次每笔交易的交易费用的大小。社会总量交易费用的上升与每一笔交易的交易费用下降在一定范围内并存。     

Assessing the contingent effects of collaboration on agility performance in buyer–supplier relationships

Several studies in the buyer–supplier relationship literature have addressed the impact of collaboration on agility performance. While some studies have concluded that collaboration leads to beneficial effects, others have questioned the positive effects of collaboration on relationship performance. Drawing on contingency theory and transaction cost economics (TCE), we seek to better understand the linkage among collaboration, trust and agility performance in a buyer–supplier relationship. Further, we study the contingent influence of requirements certainty and supplier asset specificity, two key TCE constructs in buyer–supplier relationships, on the collaboration–agility performance relationship. We show that while trust mediates the impact of collaboration on agility performance, the indirect effect of collaboration on agility performance via trust is significant only beyond a threshold level of collaboration. The theoretical implication of this result is that the performance relationship is non-linear, a result that has not been recognized in current literature. The practical implication is that organizations need to establish a certain level of collaboration before its positive impact can be realized. In addition, we show that the impact of collaboration on agility performance in buyer–supplier sourcing relationships can be positive, negative or neutral depending on the levels of trust, supplier asset specificity and requirements certainty, emphasizing the need to develop contingency theories.