The dark side of buyer-supplier relationships: A social capital perspective

The literature on supply chain management (SCM) has consistently promoted the “bright side” of collaborative buyer-supplier relationships (BSRs). Based on the social capital argument, SCM scholars have investigated how a buyer can gain access to and leverage resources through its collaborative BSRs. Our study extends this research stream by considering the “dark side” of social capital in BSRs. It evaluates how social capital in its cognitive, relational, and structural forms contributes to or impedes value creation within BSRs. Both primary survey measures and secondary objective measures have been used in data analysis. The results show the presence of both the bright side, confirming the existing literature, and the dark side, extending the literature. There is an inverted curvilinear relationship between social capital and performance: Either too little or too much social capital can hurt performance. This study confirms that building social capital in a collaborative BSR positively affects buyer performance, but that if taken to an extreme it can reduce the buyer's ability to be objective and make effective decisions as well as increase the supplier's opportunistic behavior. Our study also examines how a buyer can delay the emergence of the dark side. It opens up new research avenues in the collaborative BSR context and suggests directions for future research and practice.     

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.     

Risk-taking behavior of technology firms: The role of performance feedback in the video game industry

This study focuses on what drives technology-driven companies to engage in risk-taking behavior by serving new markets. Building on the behavioral theory of the firm and prospect theory, this study suggests that technology-driven organizations tend to respond to past performance rather than future possibilities. Using a sample of 5312 video games from 362 game developers, the results reveal that market performance trend and market performance variability have opposing effects on risk-taking behavior: while a positive market performance trend negatively influences a company's tendency to venture into new markets, a high-degree of market performance variability tends to positively influence new market entry. The study also finds opposite results for expert performance trend and expert performance variability: companies with consistently positive expert evaluations are more likely to enter into new markets, while variability in expert evaluations has a negative effect on new market entry. Furthermore, the effects of expert performance trend and variability are conditional on market performance trends. Finally, the results suggest that companies that venture into new markets tend to choose relatively similar markets if these companies are suffering from a negative market performance trend or a negative expert review trend.     

Performance management in context: formative cross-functional performance monitoring for improvement and the mediating role of relational coordination in hospitals

Recent research suggests that to fully realise its potential, performance management should be bespoke to the social context in which it operates. Here, we analyse factors supporting the use of performance data for improvement. The study purposively examines a developmentally oriented performance management system with cross-functional goals. We suggest that these system characteristics are significant in interdependent work contexts, such as health care. We propose and test that (a) relational coordination helps employees work effectively to resolve issues identified through formative and cross-functional performance monitoring and (b) that this contributes to better outcomes for both employees and patients. Based on survey data from management and employee representatives across Irish acute hospitals, the study found that perceptions of relational coordination mediated the link between formative cross-functional performance monitoring and employee outcomes and partially mediated the link between formative cross-functional performance monitoring and patient care. Our findings signal potential for a more contextually driven and interdependent approach to the alignment of management and human resource management practices. While relational coordination is important in health care, we also note potential to identify other social drivers supporting productive responses to performance monitoring in different contexts.     

Knowledge-oriented human resource configurations,the new product development learning process,and perceived new product performance

We propose a set of organizational efforts that can help companies accumulate and learn knowledge related to new product development (NPD) activities. We call it the NPD learning process and argue that a set of coherent human resource management (HRM) practices, termed knowledge-oriented human resource (HR) configuration, can facilitate the NPD learning process. Collecting survey data from Taiwan, we find that the knowledge-oriented HR configuration is positively related to the NPD learning process and that the NPD learning process is positively related to managers' perceived new product performance. This study contributes to the literature of strategic HRM and innovation management.     

Identifying “best” applicants in recruiting using data envelopment analysis

Selecting the most promising candidates to fill an open position can be a difficult task when there are many applicants. Each applicant achieves certain performance levels in various categories and the resulting information can be overwhelming. We demonstrate how data envelopment analysis (DEA) can be used as a fair screening and sorting tool to support the candidate selection and decision-making process. Each applicant is viewed as an entity with multiple achievements. Without any a priori preference or information on the multiple achievements, DEA identifies the non-dominated solutions, which, in our case, represent the “best” candidates. A DEA-aided recruiting process was developed that (1) determines the performance levels of the “best” candidates relative to other applicants; (2) evaluates the degree of excellence of “best” candidates’ performance; (3) forms consistent tradeoff information on multiple recruiting criteria among search committee members, and, then, (4) clusters the applicants.     

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.     

Talent management in Russian companies: domestic challenges and international experience

The study investigates talent management practices in Russian and foreign companies and their influence on a company's performance. In our work, foreign companies are foreign-owned companies (multinational or global) that operate in the Russian market and their headquarters are located outside the Russian Federation. Attention is paid to the analysis of the factors that support talent management implementation. As the results of the research are based on a comparative analysis of differences and peculiarities in talent practices in Russian and foreign companies, the paper explores and provides a number of ideas and conclusions about talent management elaboration, realization and talent practices improvement in the Russian context. Our data show that talent management practices are influenced by a number of factors that are different, in parts, in Russian and foreign companies. Supplementary analysis also suggests that the positive connection between talent management efforts and a company's performance can be found.     

The relationship between human resource management practices,business strategy and firm performance: evidence from steel industry in Taiwan

The primary objective of this study is to investigate the relationship between human resource management (HRM) practices, business strategy and firm performance. We examined the following HRM practices: training and development; teamwork; compensation/incentives; HR planning; performance appraisal; and employment security. We surveyed 236 managers working at steel firms in Taiwan to explore their perceptions on the impact of HRM practices and business strategy on firm performance. The results of this study are summarized as follows: (1) HRM practices will be positively related to firm performance; (2) there is a close linkage between HRM practices and business strategy; (3) business strategies will be positively related to firm performance; (4) integrating HRM practices with business strategies will be positively related to firm performance.     

Linking routines to operations capabilities: A new perspective

A typical approach to studying capabilities in the operations management literature is to assess the intended or realized competitive operational performance and their contribution to business and organizational objectives. While it is crucial to identify the operational performance that helps create competitive advantage, it is equally important to understand the means for delivering the needed performance at the operational level. Drawing on the resource-based view (RBV), we argue that routines are a critical source of operations capabilities and subsequently investigate operations capabilities by means of their underlying routines. Because a common problem to studying capabilities is the ambiguous and confusing definitions, we conduct an extensive literature review to address the semantic confusion among various definitions of capabilities and delineate it from other related terms. We identify improvement and innovation as two critical plant level capabilities, each consisting of a bundle of interrelated yet distinct routines. We then empirically measure the two capabilities as second-order latent variables and estimate their effects on a set of operational performance measures. The results suggest that routines form internally consistent bundles which are significantly related to operational performance. This supports our notion of “capabilities as routine bundles” that are difficult to imitate and thus a source of competitive advantage.     

The moderating role of relational bonding in green supply chain practices and performance

Previous research has paid attention to the effect of green supply chain practices on green innovation performance. However, little has been done to examine the substantive role of relational bonding in green supply chain management context. This study attempts to identify relational bonding as a potential moderator and examines the relationships between green supply chain practices, relational bonding, and green innovation performance. The results indicate that green supply chain practices and relational bonding are positively related to green innovation performance. Relational bonding moderates the relationship between green supply chain practices and green innovation performance. This study makes a contribution by integrating relationship marketing literature and green management literature. This study also provides practical implication for the essential role of relational bonding in green supply chain management.     

Exploring supply management status,internal collaboration and operating performance

An important internal link in the supply chain is between supply managers and their internal customers. These individuals must collaborate to determine purchase specifications, develop sourcing strategies, ensure supplier performance, and maintain effective supplier relationships. Using power and social networking as the theoretical lenses, we develop and test a conceptual model examining the supply management function’s status, supply manager’s networking behavior, collaboration with the internal customer, and operating performance (lower cost, better quality, faster delivery, and consistent delivery). We also examine the mediating effect of collaboration and networking behavior on the positive effect of status and operating performance. Data gathered in an online survey of supply management professionals are examined using path analysis. Results show that without including the mediators, supply management status is directly related to all four operating performance measures. It is also positively related to collaboration with the internal customer and networking behavior. Contrary to expectations, the supply manager’s networking behavior is not related to collaboration with the internal customer. Collaboration is positively related to all four operating performance measures. However, the supply manager’s networking behavior is only related to one operating performance measure, better quality. Mediation analysis shows that supply management status has a direct effect on faster delivery performance beyond what is explained by collaboration and the supply manager’s networking behavior. The findings suggest that organizations should look for ways to elevate the status of the supply management function to improve internal collaboration and operating performance.     

Top-down Production Management: A Recent Trend in the Japanese Productivity-enhancement Movement

It is well known that many of the manufacturing practices advanced in Japan in the 1970s and 1980s emphasize bottom-up decision processes characterized by teams, the empowerment of multi-skilled workers on the shopfloor, demand-pull and horizontal decision mechanisms. These practices include Just-in-Time (JIT) and quality management practices such as quality circles (QC) and total quality management (TQM). While these practices continue to be effective under appropriate circumstances, the drastic appreciation of the Japanese yen that has taken place since the mid-1980s and the prolonged recession following the burst of the bubble have forced many Japanese manufacturers to adopt new methods to improve their production efficiency. In this paper we discuss one of such methods called Total Productivity Management (TPM). Unlike JIT or TQM, implementing TPM requires a top-down approach. TPM provides direct connections between corporate-wide objectives such as the overall cost reduction and shopfloor practices. It is possible that TPM has contributed significantly to Japanese manufacturers' recent success in reducing their cost of operation. © 1997 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Green supply chain practices and company performance in Portuguese manufacturing sector

Green supply chain management is an important organizational approach to reducing strain on the environment. Many companies are under pressure from customers, media, governments, and investors, among others, to implement green practices. This exploratory paper investigates the relationships between internal and external green practices of eight Portuguese companies from different industrial sectors and their impact on economic and environmental performance. The relationship was analyzed based on the data collected from 22 semi‐structured interviews with general managers, procurement and environmental/safety managers, and through secondary data collected from reports, websites and companies' internal documentation. The analysis identifies the most important green practices considered by managers, as well as the performance measures that are most appropriate and most widely used to evaluate the influence of green practices on corporate performance. A conceptual model was derived to assess the influence of green practices on focal company economic and environmental performance. The results support four of five propositions of this research, and it is possible to conclude that the companies believe that with the adoption of green supply chain practices, they can be more competitive in the market. Due to the scope of the green practices, the relationship between green practices and economic performance was inconclusive. Internal and external green supply chain practices contribute to improved environmental performance because for all companies, there is a positive relationship between green practices and environmental performance in terms of energy, water consumption, waste, and air emissions reduction.     

High involvement work system,work–family conflict,and expatriate performance – examining Taiwanese expatriates in China

This study explores the effects of multinational companies (MNC) implementation of a high involvement work system (HIWS) for their expatriates on both expatriate work–family conflict (WFC) and their performance. We surveyed 174 Taiwanese expatriates stationed in China. Data were collected on: (1) perceived human resource management (HRM) practices concerning ‘high involvement work system’; (2) perceived work–family conflict; (3) job satisfaction; and (4) supervisor ratings of expatriate job performance. Structural modeling techniques helped us examine in one model the interdependent relationships among high involvement work system, work–family conflict, and expatriate performance in their host country. Our results show that a high involvement work system is positively related to expatriate satisfaction and performance. However, a high involvement work system is also positively related to expatriate work-family conflict, which in turn is negatively related to expatriate satisfaction and performance. Our findings remind managers that a high involvement work system may produce multiple effects on various dimensions of employee work life, and not all of these effects may be positive.     

Unfolding the impact of leadership and management on sustainability performance: Green and lean practices and guanxi as the dual mediators

This study aims to empirically evaluate the predictors that influence sustainability performance among manufacturing firms. Leadership and management, green and lean practices, and guanxi were examined to determine whether these predictors are directly and/or indirectly affecting sustainability performance; 160 valid responses were collected and partial-least-squares-structural-equation-modeling (PLS-SEM) was used to analyze the data. The results showed that leadership and management positively influenced green and lean practices and green and lean practices positively influenced sustainability performance. Leadership and management also positively influenced guanxi. Interestingly, leadership and management and guanxi do not exert a significant direct influence on sustainability performance. The findings contributed to the development of the resource-based-view theory further by empirically exploring the significance of leadership and management coupled with green and lean practices as competencies and capability to drive sustainability performance. The testing of the dual mediators' effects further added value to this study.     

The evolving theory of quality management: The role of Six Sigma

While Six Sigma is increasingly implemented in industry, little academic research has been done on Six Sigma and its influence on quality management theory and application. There is a criticism that Six Sigma simply puts traditional quality management practices in a new package. To investigate this issue and the role of Six Sigma in quality management, this study reviewed both the traditional quality management and Six Sigma literatures and identified three new practices that are critical for implementing Six Sigma's concept and method in an organization. These practices are referred to as: Six Sigma role structure, Six Sigma structured improvement procedure, and Six Sigma focus on metrics. A research model and survey instrument were developed to investigate how these Six Sigma practices integrate with seven traditional quality management practices to affect quality performance and business performance. Test results based on a sample of 226 US manufacturing plants revealed that the three Six Sigma practices are distinct practices from traditional quality management practices, and that they complement the traditional quality management practices in improving performance. The implications of the findings for researchers and practitioners are discussed and further research directions are offered.     

Pride,prejudice and performance: relations between HRM,diversity and performance

Today, managing diversity is considered one of the main challenges for HRM in modern organizations. In this article, a framework is developed to suggest that the design and implementation of HRM activities should be influenced by strategic choices on the management of diversity which are themselves shaped by environmental factors. The HRM activities lead to four types of outcomes (affective, cognitive, symbolic and communicative) that affect individual, group and organizational performance. This framework is used to explore the effects of workforce diversity in two cases and to provide answers to three central questions: how does diversity influence the interactions in and the performance of diverse groups, and what is the relation between management diversity and other HRM policies in the two companies? The findings indicate that an organization's strategy for managing diversity influences both the process of meaning formation regarding diversity and the perception of performance effects. The availability of an organizational vocabulary and of instruments to interpret interactions in terms of diversity make a crucial difference. The stories and incidents from the two cases show how diversity affects both the daily interactions and the functioning of diverse groups.     

Achieving purchasing competence through purchasing performance measurement system design—A multiple-case study analysis

Purchasing competence, the level of strategic integration and alignment, is a key determinant of the purchasing function's impact on overall corporate success. Previous research has revealed that the implementation of a mature purchasing performance measurement system (PPMS) can be a means to attain a high level of functional strategic integration. In this research, we develop five propositions on how PPMS should be designed to facilitate strategic integration. We challenge these propositions using data gathered from four case studies with German companies from different industrial sectors. While each of these companies pursues multiple strategic objectives within Purchasing, the PPMSs designs focus heavily on cost-related strategy and performance dimensions. Thus, our findings indicate the need to develop PPMS schemes allowing a direct linkage between financial performance and non-financial performance measures in order to incentivize the desired multiple strategic goals beyond periodical cost reduction. Moreover, such measurement systems need to be adapted at the category level of purchasing practices to obtain the desired level of pre-defined strategic performance dimensions. Hence, the level of purchasing competence is determined at category level and a PPMS must transform strategy into measurable goals at this level.