Talent management and global competition for top talent: A co‐opetition‐based perspective

In an age of competition for top talent, lateral hiring or personnel poaching has flourished not just between rivals, but also among allies transcending across national borders. This article integrates the literature on lateral hiring and co‐opetition to develop a “novel” perspective of the co‐opetition‐based view of lateral hiring. A conceptual framework was developed to account for conditions under co‐opetition setting in different markets. Contrary to the popular belief that poaching from rivals is more beneficial, the present research demonstrates that poaching from allies may be more beneficial in mitigating the “winner's curse.” Indeed, poaching in the collaboration domain is characterized by greater access to information about the target employee before job change. Lateral hiring from allies in foreign markets can also be more beneficial given the potentially moderate stigma attached compared with those from domestic markets. The implications for firms and strategic human resource management literature are examined.     

The Rise of Crowd Logistics: A New Way to Co‐Create Logistics Value

Patterned on crowdsourcing and crowdfunding, a new crowd practice has emerged in recent years: crowd logistics. In this paper, we propose a first conceptualization of this growing phenomenon. Crowd logistics is a novel way of providing logistics services that taps into the dormant logistics resources and capabilities of individuals, using mobile applications and web‐based platforms. Although crowd logistics has been widely discussed in the business world, it has not yet been the subject of any academic publication. Following an exploratory case study approach, we review the websites of 57 crowd logistics initiatives around the world and highlight the main distinctive characteristics of crowd logistics, as compared to traditional business logistics. We introduce a segmented analysis in which crowd logistics solutions are classified according to four types of service offered. Finally, we introduce six theoretical propositions on the future development of crowd logistics. At a theoretical level, our findings contribute to enriching the service‐dominant logic perspective in the logistics field by conceptualizing the crowd as a co‐creator of logistics value. At a managerial level, our findings contribute to identifying which types of crowd logistics services are more likely to threaten or disrupt traditional business.     

Business-to-Business Negotiations: The Role of Relativism,Deceit, and Opportunism

Purpose: Studies examining the impact of relativism and deceitful tendencies on unethical negotiation tactics have yielded inconsistent results; some studies report a positive relationship, some negative, while some others report a nonexistent relationship between these constructs. These inconsistencies suggest that there may be intervening variables mediating the effects of these factors on unethical negotiation tactics. We propose that opportunism plays an important role in determining the effects of these two antecedents on business managers' perceptions of unethical negotiation tactics.

Method: An Internet-based survey was administered to a sample of managers at U.S. firms engaged in business-to-business marketing. Structural equation modeling techniques were used to evaluate the mediating role of opportunism between deceitful tendencies and relativism on questionable negotiation tactics.

Findings: The analysis supports the hypothesized role of opportunism as a mediating variable. Opportunism was found to play a significant role in mediating the relationships of both relativism and deceitful tendencies on attitudes toward unethical negotiation tactics.

Contribution: In addition to the theoretical contributions suggested here, this article includes suggestions for minimizing the likelihood that a negotiation partner's relativism and deceitful tendencies will negatively impact business negotiation.     

The Role of Ownership in Managing Interfirm Opportunism: A Dyadic Study

We extend research on transaction cost theory that shows that vertical integration enables firms to protect their investments in exchange relationships better than market mechanisms. However, extant research finds ownership to exacerbate, rather than limit, exchange partner opportunism. Hence, the purpose of this study is to investigate conditions under which ownership can be effective for constraining an exchange partner's opportunism. Using matched dyadic data for 296 hotel brands, we conduct multi-level hierarchical linear modeling and identify conditions under which common ownership limits hotel opportunism. Findings indicate that ownership can limit hotel opportunism when brand headquarters can easily monitor the hotel's activities.     

Bridging the intention–behavior gap among organic grocery customers: The crucial role of point‐of‐sale information

Although the interest in organic groceries has increased, actual buying behavior falls short for reasons that are mostly unknown to researchers and practitioners. This paper addresses this so‐called intention–behavior gap by investigating the impact of point‐of‐sale (POS) information on the perception of purchase barriers and behavior. While behavior and interest differ for various product categories, the organic groceries most frequently bought worldwide are differentiated on the basis of product category involvement in a pilot study. A laboratory experiment and a field experiment containing actual purchase behavior and market data revealed the possibility of enhancing organic purchases within low‐ and high‐involvement categories, while exposed to POS information. In low‐involvement product categories, POS information should reveal new product category‐specific organic features. In high‐involvement product categories, the perceived addition of value for money is crucial for purchasing organic groceries. While the effect of POS information on perceived trust and knowledge is higher for health conscious or green consumers in low‐involvement product categories, it is the converse in high‐involvement product categories.     

Top‐Down Versus Bottom‐Up Demand Forecasts: The Value of Shared Point‐of‐Sale Data in the Retail Supply Chain

Accurate demand forecasts are critical to maintaining customer service levels and minimizing total costs, yet increasingly difficult to achieve. Using weekly point‐of‐sale (POS) and order data for 10 ready‐to‐eat cereal stock‐keeping units from 18 regional U.S. grocery distribution centers, this research empirically investigates two demand forecasting issues: (1) the accuracy of top‐down versus bottom‐up demand forecasts; and (2) whether shared POS data improve demand forecast accuracy. The results reveal a previously unexplored relationship between demand forecast methodology and the use of shared POS data. We find that the superiority of the top‐down or bottom‐up forecasting as the more accurate demand forecast method depends on whether shared POS data are used.     

Value co‐creation in online healthcare communities: The impact of patients’ reference frames on cure and care

The gradual transition of health care toward businesses during the past 50 years has converted passive patients into active customers. In our digital society, patients increasingly use online health communities to satisfy complex needs that healthcare professionals leave unmet, including the creation of cure‐oriented (i.e., functional) and care‐oriented (i.e., emotion) value. This research investigates patients’ reference frames (self versus other) as an information processing mechanism and their impact on value creation in online communities. The analysis of 1,687 online postings of a leading healthcare platform shows that self‐referencing is typical for information obtained through an individualistic, patient–doctor encounter; other‐referencing emerges when patients focus on the needs of their peers. Information gathered through the patient–doctor encounter and processed with a self‐referencing frame accordingly enhances cure‐related value, but limits care‐oriented value co‐creation. Other‐referencing does exactly the opposite: it creates a barrier to cure‐related value, but stimulates care‐related value. A patient's experience with the community largely moderates the impact of both self‐ and other‐referencing on cure‐ and care‐related value. These findings show that online health communities can identify and address unmet patient needs, but healthcare professionals still play a critical role in terms of ensuring information quality in online health communities.     

Russian MNEs Under Sanctions: Challenges for Upgrading in GVCs (Cases of Energy and IT Industries)

Abstract

The article examines upgrading strategies of Russian multinational enterprises (MNEs) under sanctions. We focus on MNEs from energy and information technology industries. Four types of global value chain (GVC) upgrading strategies (process, product, functional, and chain upgrading) are discussed. The paper is based on the case study research. The research questions address the influence of sanctions on Russian MNEs’ upgrading strategies in GVCs and the role of import substitution policies for companies’ upgrading. Research findings show that at microlevel, sanctions do not prevent implementation of upgrading strategies. Import substitution policies provide additional support for MNEs upgrading in GVCs.     

Labour Arbitration of Co‐Worker Sexual Harassment Cases in Canada

Women have the right to a workplace free from sexual harassment under Canadian provincial and federal human rights legislation. Canadian labour laws incorporate the right to a grievance procedure including binding arbitration where arbitrators must interpret and apply human rights legislation. This paper analyzes co‐worker sexual harassment cases in order to assess how well arbitrations protect the right of unionized women to a harassment free workplace. Results indicate that women complainants were often subjected to aggressive gendered cross‐examinations and the application of gendered jurisprudence that largely ignored the impact of gendered power relations in the workplace. The conclusion is that women's experiences in arbitrations are likely a deterrent to filing formal complaints, effectively undermining rather than protecting their rights. Copyright © 2012 ASAC. Published by John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Country‐of‐Origin and Social Resistance in Host Countries: The Case of a Chinese Firm

While China's outward direct investments continue to soar, many Chinese firms reportedly face social resistance in host countries during the internationalization process. We explore this phenomenon from a country‐of‐origin (COO) perspective using Fiske and colleagues’ (Fiske, Cuddy, Glick, & Xu, 2002; Fiske, Xu, Cuddy, & Glick, 1999) stereotype content model. Our findings from a recent case in New Zealand show that China's COO emerges as a key variable influencing how local actors view Chinese investors. Specifically, despite China's significant economic and social developments over the past decades, it suffers from a somewhat negative country image in two stereotype dimensions: competence and warmth. This leads to a perception by local actors that Chinese firms are of low quality, which explains the source of resistance in society. To address such a liability of origin, Chinese firms must learn to deal with this form of stereotypical judgment encountered in a host environment. Further contributions and limitations of the study are discussed in the article. © 2016 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.     

期货市场与上海国际金融中心建设的突破口

期货市场具有规避风险和价格发现功能,它在推动经济市场化和参与国际竞争中具有重要作用。借鉴新加坡、法兰克福、香港这三个新兴国际金融中心建设的经验,期货市场应该成为上海建设国际金融中心的突破口。     

The Role of Firms in Resilient Systems: A Multi‐Level Framework

In this paper, we articulate a multi‐level resilience‐based framework explaining how firms facilitate stronger system‐level resilience. The framework stresses the importance of firm interdependence, describing how pooled versus sequential/reciprocal patterns of interdependence influence the resilience antecedents of diversity, slack, and redundancy. We argue that the inter‐firm practices of self‐governance and supply chain collaboration function to maintain resilience antecedents at more moderate and effective levels. This work builds on prior resilience research that has remained focused on either firm or system levels of analysis by stressing the value of firm interdependence as an important contingency for effective system resilience. Copyright © 2018 ASAC. Published by John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Inter‐Organizational Learning in Supply Chains: A Focus on Logistics Service Providers and Their Customers

The learning process between supply chain entities is explored from the perspective of senior third‐party executives. Through grounded theory, a theoretical framework emerged that extends our understanding of learning within a supply chain by identifying the major constructs and learning stages comprising the basic social process of inter‐organizational learning. This framework provides significant insights into the complex process employed in a supply chain to share, disseminate, and store information; co‐create knowledge; and to derive a competitive advantage.     

Developing Absorptive Capacity through e‐Business: The Case of International SMEs

This research uses the absorptive capacity concept as a theoretical lens to study the effect of e‐business upon the internationalization performance of small and medium‐sized enterprises (SMEs), addressing the following research issue: To what extent are manufacturing SMEs successful in developing their potential and realized absorptive capacity in response to the environmental uncertainty brought about by their internationalization? Results of a survey study of 588 manufacturing SMEs indicate that e‐business capabilities have a significant impact on internationalization performance to the extent that these capabilities are developed as a response to increased environmental uncertainty. Moreover, these capabilities are realized through the development of networking, advanced manufacturing, and marketing capabilities that also respond to environmental uncertainty.     

A cross‐cultural comparison of consumer vanity in the People's Republic of China,South Korea and Thailand: an exploratory study

In response to calls regarding the applicability of marketing scales in other cultures, the current study re‐examined the psychometric properties and measurement equivalence of the consumer vanity scale. The sample consisted of 723 undergraduate participants from China, South Korea and Thailand. Results revealed that the 21‐item, four‐factor (physical concern, physical view, achievement concern and achievement view) model of consumer vanity exhibited a satisfactory condition of psychometric properties across three samples. Multigroup analysis also revealed that the consumer vanity scales have partial factorial invariance. More specifically, the results as related to latent means comparison revealed that there are differences and similarities between the four dimensions of consumer vanity among Chinese, South Korean and Thai participants. Implications and future research directions are discussed.     

Exploring the customer's intention to switch firms: The role of customer‐related antecedents

This study examined the customer‐related antecedents of the customer's intention to switch firms. Customer citizenship behavior was a key element in this study. Scholars have extensively studied the antecedents of customer citizenship behavior. However, the way that customer citizenship behavior relates to other attitudinal variables and the intention to switch has scarcely been analyzed. The proposed hypotheses were verified using partial least squares variance‐based structural equation modeling applied to 947 users of beauty care service firms in five countries. The results suggest that customer citizenship behavior is an antecedent of satisfaction, trust, and attitudinal loyalty. Two of these variables influence customers’ intentions to abandon relationships with the service provider. The implications of these findings enhance managers’ and scholars’ understanding of the determinants of customers’ intentions to switch firms.     

Investigating Organizational Learning through Social Network Analysis: The Case of a Consultancy Firm in India

Three problems beset the literature on organizational learning—confusion about who learns (individuals, groups, or organization), absence of a robust theory, and tools for measurement. Social network analysis, it is argued, can be used to capture organizational learning at multiple levels, to capture relational data (expressed as linkages between actors), and can yield actionable insights for changes within the organization. Two subprocesses of organizational learning, information acquisition and distribution, were measured using social network analysis in a decade‐old consultancy firm in India. Results reveal who shares information with whom, who goes to whom for information, who is bypassed, who hoards, how groups interact, and how much information is shared at the organizational level. The study provides a deeper understanding of how “people” relationships affect learning at various levels. The theoretical and managerial implications of the approach taken to measure organizational learning using social network analysis are discussed. © 2016 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.     

Cross‐Border M&As by Chinese Companies in Advanced Countries: Antecedents and Implications

Theoretically grounded in the ownership, location, and internalization (OLI) paradigm and institutional theory, this article investigates major macro‐level factors that determine cross‐border mergers and acquisitions (CBMAs) by Chinese firms in developed markets. Using panel data of Chinese CBMA deals in developed markets from 1996 to 2012, we found that market size, natural resources, and strategic assets of host advanced economies positively affected the number of Chinese CBMAs in the developed markets. With regard to institutional variables, the overall economic freedom of host countries positively affected Chinese CBMAs, whereas the host government effectiveness negatively influenced the number of Chinese CBMAs. Furthermore, the above hypothesized effects were significantly strengthened by the home country's government involvement mainly through ownership. Finally, we found that significant factors to explain Chinese overall outward foreign direct investment (OFDI) are not necessarily applicable to explain Chinese CBMAs. © 2015 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.     

Children as co‐researchers voicing their preferences in foods and eating: methodological reflections

There is an increasing and sustained interest in participatory research with children. We subscribe to these new perspectives by involving children as co‐researchers investigating their preferences when it comes to foods and eating. The overall aim of the research project Sustainable Eating Children's Way: Promoting Healthy Food Habits among Children 10–12 (Barn som medforskare i matlandskap) is to create an understanding of how children's food habits can develop in healthier and more sustainable ways. The specific aim of this paper was to discuss the methods used in the first phase of the project in order to find an answer to the question: ‘Is it possible to gain a deeper and more nuanced understanding of children's preferences in foods and eating?’ The research process in this project can be looked upon as two parallel processes: the overall one initiated by the senior research team and the one incorporating the children as co‐researchers. The children participating were 10‐year‐olds attending two classes in the fourth grade of a Swedish government‐funded school. We found the children knowledgeable and competent as co‐researchers. Involving children in the research processes and giving them freedom to explore is a promising way of letting their voices be heard in health promotion programmes.     

Cross‐border expansion and competitive interactions of indigenous mobile network operators in sub‐Saharan Africa

Emerging‐market multinational enterprises (EMNEs) have become major players in the global economy, with an increasing share of global foreign direct investment (FDI). Indigenous mobile network operators (MNOs) in sub‐Saharan Africa (SSA) are not left out in this pursuit, as they seek growth and competitiveness beyond their domestic markets. We investigate the FDI location choices and competitive interactions of the five indigenous SSA MNOs that had internationalized as of 2014 and find that, contrary to the literature, these EMNEs, operating in a key and rapidly developing industry, did not tend to commence their cross‐border expansion in geographically close markets. In addition, the MNOs are more likely to invest in countries with stronger control over corruption and do not appear to engage in heavy head‐to‐head competition with their rivals. These findings contribute to the internationalization literature in the context of the investment and competitive behaviors of the currently underexplored indigenous SSA multinationals.