Understanding IJV performance in a learning and conflict mediated context

Determinants of international joint venture (IJV) performance are examined within the context of cross-border learning. Using a structural equation model, we test the multifaceted interactions among strategic goal congruency, national culture differences, learning and conflict. Cross-border learning is recognized as a kernel variable which is influenced by matching strategic motives, national culture differences, and conflicting relations, and which affects the performance of IJVs. In particular, we hypothesize that interpartner goal congruency and national culture differences have an indirect effect on IJV performance through cross-border learning and conflict; previous studies established their direct relationship. The test results show that congruent strategic motives and cultural similarity had a positive effect on cross-border learning, which was reinforced by learning capacity, and which in turn led to better performance. Conflicting relations between partners and heterogeneous cultural backgrounds were shown to discourage cross-border learning.     

Entrepreneurship through a qualitative lens: Insights on the construction and/or discovery of entrepreneurial opportunity

This article applies inductive analytic techniques to identify and elaborate on two recurring themes that underpin the core puzzle of entrepreneurship research — where entrepreneurial opportunities come from. The first theme is the unique role of imprinting, or the profound influence of social and historical context in constraining the perceptual apparatus of entrepreneurs and delimiting the range of opportunities for innovation available to them. Second, our analysis offers insight into the counterbalancing role of reflexivity, operating at both individual and collective levels of analysis, in generating the ability of entrepreneurs to overcome the constraints of imprinting. These insights are based on a thematic review of the nine studies that comprise this special issue on qualitative research. The nine studies, individually and each in their own way, offer key insights into how we might better understand the emergence of entrepreneurial opportunity.     

The inception of internationalization of small and medium enterprises: The role of activeness and networks

This study analyzes how exporters begin their internationalization leveraging information collected through interviews with 109 Chinese textile manufacturers. It examines whether firms that found their first international clients through a “proactive” search are likely to export faster, more intensively, and to a larger number of markets. The findings illustrate that the proactiveness of the search for the first client in a foreign market is an important predictor of the intensity and geographic scope of the firm's internationalization path but not of its speed. They support the view of internationalization as an actively pursued entrepreneurial process, which may also be affected by serendipitous events. This study provides new evidence on the first international business discovery of Chinese exporters, contributing to the literature on international entrepreneurship, international new ventures and the network approach to internationalization.     

Taking international business education programs and pedagogy to new heights: Fundamental questions for educators and students

As the dynamic global business environment continues to force organizations to be agile and adaptive, international business (IB) education pedagogy is transforming. Building on previous literature describing gaps in IB pedagogy, as well as unaddressed stakeholder needs, we first use our institution—the United States Air Force Academy—as an example of IB program development. In examining our program's evolution, we develop five questions that may provide insight regarding more generalizable IB pedagogy trends. To assess this possible generalizability, we explore questions related to the development of our program using self-reported, publically-available websites of the top full-time MBA programs throughout the United States. Our questions focus on the role of foreign languages, study abroad opportunities, integrative courses, capstone/thesis projects, and faculty development. Our exploration indicates that these five questions are important not only for educators developing future programs, but also for students examining potential IB programs. Additionally, our research examines a sixth question focused on the development of competitive positioning and program differentiation in IB programs. We hope to motivate future inquiry into IB pedagogy, which could inform more effective means of improving IB education.     

A new context for ethics education objectives in a college of business: Ethical decision-making models

Objectives for ethics education in business school courses generally appear to be based on custom, intuition, and judgment rather than on a more unified theoretical/empirical base. These objectives may be more clearly implemented and their effects studied more rigorously if they could be rooted in the components of ethical decision-making models shown to be influential in ethical decision making. This paper shows how several widely used ethics education objectives can be placed in the context of current models of ethical decision making. Neil Herndon is University Lecturer in the Department of Business and Management at the City University of Hong Kong. His major research interest involves the influences of the ethical content of corporate cultures on the people within an organization. His work in this area has been published in the Journal of International Consumer Marketing and the Proceedings of the Academy of Marketing Science.     

Managing the transition to the new agile business and product development model: Lessons from Cisco Systems

Through an in-depth case study of Cisco Systems, this Executive Digest finds that companies face two broad challenges when transitioning to the agile product development model. The first is identifying and helping business units and engineering teams adopt this method; the second is developing new management practices that are compatible with and can sustain the agile development practices. Although extant literature has conducted many analyses on these two challenges, there still exist gaps in the research of the agile development method. Herein, we explore how Cisco Systems addressed these two challenges followed by a discussion of the broad implications of adopting the agile development method. This research deepens our understanding of how to adopt and lead the agile development process.     

Experience and a firm's performance in foreign markets: A commentary essay

Wu and Lin (2010) extend several prominent themes in the experience and subsidiary performance literature in their empirical examination of the foreign expansion of Taiwanese MNEs. This commentary essay considers the themes in Wu and Lin (2010) against the backdrop of the considerable volume of research that has been conducted on experiential learning and firm performance in both the international business and strategy literatures. Five weak axioms about the relationships between experience, foreign market entry strategy, and performance emerge in this review. Based on these weak axioms, the commentary concludes that scholars need to concentrate future research on understanding the management and process-related issues that concern the effective management of a firm's experiential learning processes to foster better capability and knowledge development from a firm's experience, as well as translate such developments into improved performance prospects for a firm.     

The effect of a tax training program on tax compliance and business outcomes of starting entrepreneurs: Evidence from a field experiment

This paper estimates the long-term impact of a short, partly personalized, mandatory tax training program on tax compliance and business outcomes of first-time entrepreneurs. To this end, we combine survey data, audit data and unique register data from the Netherlands' Tax and Customs Administration with a three year long randomized experiment. The results show that the training affects specific domains of tax compliant behavior. Moreover, it has no impact on business survival, but treated entrepreneurs have significantly higher profits compared to the control group due to lower business costs. These outcomes are partially supportive of our hypotheses developed from theories on tax compliance and mental accounting.     

The dynamics of experiential learning: Microprocesses and adaptation in a professional service INV

In international new ventures (INVs), experiential learning happens in quick succession and across a wide number of diverse contexts. Yet, we lack an empirical understanding of the microprocesses through which INVs learn and adapt in their foreign expansion. Understanding those microprocesses is important because timely adaptation can save the venture time and resources, thus promoting sustainable growth. In this study, we investigate the dynamics of experiential learning and adaptation in the internationalisation process of an INV in the professional service sector. Findings from our study illustrate that the firm applies deliberate experiential learning by developing, revising, and finalising criteria for important dimensions in the international growth process, and adapts its internationalisation practices accordingly. We further show that deliberate experiential learning is predicated on an actively and closely monitored learning process, involving critical evaluation, adjustment of criteria, and acceptance of affordable mistakes, as opposed to learning by default.     

To start or not to start: Outcome and ability expectations in the decision to start a new venture

This study seeks to better understand why some individuals decide to start new businesses and others do not, particularly in light of high base rates of failure. In addressing the question of “Why do some individuals choose to start new ventures?” a common perspective is that potential entrepreneurs with high levels of confidence in potential outcomes are likely to start new ventures. Alternatively, it also may be that firm creation decisions are based largely on individual expectations of one's ability. Hypotheses examining these perspectives are tested using a sample of 316 nascent entrepreneurs with the start-up decision tracked longitudinally. The results indicate that confidence in one's ability to perform tasks relevant to entrepreneurship is a robust predictor of start-up while outcome expectancies appear to play a marginal role. Theoretical and practical implications stemming from these results are discussed.     

When new product development fails in China: mediating effects of voice behaviour and learning from failure

This paper investigates conflicts following a new product development (NPD) failure. Conducted in a Chinese business setting, the study examines whether voice behaviour and learning from failure mediate the relationship between task- and emotional conflict emerging from NPD failure. Our findings indicate that voice behaviour and learning from failure are necessary to effectively reduce task and emotional conflict and thus to enhance future NPD. Specifically, it is revealed that emotional conflict leads to a reduced level; and that voice behaviour and learning from failure are significant mediators that influences the relationships between emotional and task conflicts with it.     

Biased and overconfident,unbiased but going for it: How framing and anchoring affect the decision to start a new venture

Cognitive heuristics, biases, and overconfidence have been suggested as an explanation for entrepreneurial entry. Nevertheless, empirical research on the subject has produced mixed findings and has under-explored the cognitive mechanisms leading to overconfidence in entrepreneurial settings. In two within-subject experiments, we focus on three cognitive heuristics—reference point framing, outcome salience framing, and anchoring in conjunctive events—and examine their effects on perceived risk, confidence, required and estimated probabilities of success, and the decision to start a new venture. Our findings show that reference point framing and outcome salience framing affect the decision to enter directly and indirectly via risk perception, but do not affect confidence. In addition, the effect of anchoring is contingent on the congruence between its semantic and its numeric influences. Overconfidence only obtains when the numeric and semantic influences of anchoring are aligned and aimed at enhancing the salience of potential positive outcomes, i.e., through high probabilities of success.     

Challenges and opportunities of new retail horizons in emerging markets: The case of a rising coffee culture in China

Economic growth and a rising middle class consumer base make emerging markets an attractive prospect for many international businesses. Changing patterns of retail in these countries present opportunities for business expansion that many are keen to capitalize on, but also present challenges for reaching their ambitions. This article examines the growth of the coffee shop industry in China—considering its key dynamics and drivers—in order to address questions about successful retail expansion in emerging markets. We aim to explore how changing consumer cultures have contributed to a rapidly growing industry and what strategies businesses have used to enter the market and maintain growth, as well as considerations for potential retail success in the future.     

Tenancy development in new shopping centres: implications for developers and retailers

This paper focuses on an investigation of the growing management and marketing problem of tenancy development in new shopping centres. The paper notes the critical importance of tenancy development in an increasingly competitive market, and reports on a survey of thirty shopping centres which examines patterns of tenancy development in the early crucial years of their growth. The survey highlights significant tenancy problems facing some developers/landlords, with major implications for rental income growth, retail synergy and sales growth, and for future shopping centre marketing strategies.     

Purchasing for someone else in a b-to-b context: Joint effects of choice overload and accountability

Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to examine whether the (negative) influence of assortment size identified in the business-to-consumer (B-to-C) literature also exists in business-to-business (B-to-B) settings and whether it is contingent on buyers’ accountability for their choices. Furthermore, it is examined if and to what extent assortment presentation in the form of color-coding may reduce the negative effects on decision satisfaction caused by large assortments.

Methodology/approach: In addition to a qualitative study (i.e., Study 1) including 16 semi-structured expert interviews, we conducted two experiments with real industrial buyers to further examine the interaction effect of assortment size and accountability on decision satisfaction as well as the moderating effect of color-coding. Specifically, in Study 2, we used a 2 (assortment size: small versus large) X 2 (accountability: informal versus official) between-subjects design. A 2 × 2 ANOVA revealed an interactive effect of assortment size and accountability on decision satisfaction. Furthermore, we ran a moderated mediation analysis to test for the underlying process. Study 3 used a 2 (color-coding: yes versus no) X 2 (accountability: informal versus official) between-subjects design. A comparison of the means across the experimental cells provided support for a positive influence of color-coding when industrial buyers are informally (rather than officially) accountable.

Findings: Our experiments show that when B-to-B buyers are held officially accountable, they experience equal decision satisfaction when choosing from small and large assortments. However, when buyers are held informally accountable, they experience a higher decision satisfaction when choosing from small rather than large assortments. These effects are mediated by decision justifiability. Furthermore, we show that color-coding the assortment influences buyers’ decision satisfaction positively when they are held informally accountable and are asked to choose from a large assortment.

Research implications: Our research contributes by demonstrating that overchoice effects exist in B-to-B settings. In addition, our studies show that potential overchoice effects are contingent on the specific form of accountability that industrial buyers experience. In this respect, our findings make an important contribution to the literature on B-to-B decision making and the role of accountability in these decisions.

Practical implications: Our research also has practical implications for managers that have to make assortment decisions as an appealing and easy to understand assortment is an important means to compete in the market. Many companies offer large assortments that, at the same time, are efficient in fulfilling customer needs and therefore do not have the potential to be reduced through the elimination of certain product variants. Assortment presentation (for example through color-coding) can be the key to offering a high number of variants while making the assortment mentally convenient at the same time.

Originality/value/contribution: To the best of our knowledge, ours is the first research to provide a more fine-grained analysis of official and informal accountability in a B-to-B context and to examine the differences between these two forms of accountability in an experimental setting with real industrial buyers.     

Offering value and capturing surplus: A strategy for private label sales in a new customer loyalty building scenario

The competition between private label brand and national brands in the diaper category is investigated from the view of the private label brand manager. In this category, new customers routinely enter the category buying entry-level diaper sizes (for infants) and then progress to buy larger diaper sizes over time (as their child grows older). Thus, consumer comparisons between the private label brand and national brands are focused on single diaper sizes during any single purchase scenario. Because private label brands are known to suffer from low quality perceptions that often understate the true quality levels of private label brands, this paper advances a pricing strategy to optimize private label performance in the category. The private label brand should price significantly low for small diaper sizes (maintaining a sizeable price gap from national brand competitors). Then, in most cases, the private label brand should shrink the size of this price gap for large diaper size offerings. This strategy will successfully offer initial value to new customers, build private label brand quality perceptions and loyalty, and then capitalize on these gains through higher dollar sales in the late stages of the customer relationship. The price gap shrinking strategy is found to be generally effective, but high national brand competition and too high of an initial price gap diminish the effectiveness of the strategy.     

Becoming fully functional: The conceptual struggle for a new structure for the giant corporation in the US and UK in the first half of the twentieth century

The rapid growth of the larger corporations in the US from the late nineteenth century onwards made the question of the appropriate structure for these new corporate giants of increasing importance to management writers. Particularly difficult was the relationship between line management and functional management as management hierarchies lengthened and specialisms grew in number and scope. Developing ideas from F.W. Taylor and Harrington Emerson by US and UK writers brought confusion as much as it brought progress. Attempts from the late 1920s to evolve organisational proposals by establishing principles of organisation brought modest advances but no conceptual breakthroughs. By the Second World War no management writers appear to have proposed or identified anything resembling the multidivisional form.