Self-serving attributions,managerial cognition,and company performance

Past research using managers' attributions for good and poor performance in annual reports has repeatedly demonstrated that management takes credit for good outcomes. However, there is disagreement about whether this pattern of attributions reflects attempts to manage impressions in stakeholders or biased perceptions on the part of management, and whether it is associated with increases or decreases in future performance. In this study, attributions in letters to shareholders in the annual reports of public utilities were analyzed. The results showed the same general pattern of attributions as was found in previous studies. However, the relationship between this pattern of attributions and performance (earnings per share growth) was generally negative. Implications of these results for future research are discussed.     

Public managers' acquisition of scientific and technical information

A number of information channels are available to public managers, but there is considerable variance with regard to the flow of scientific and technical information along the various channels. The objective of this study, based on data derived from a questionnaire mailed to program managers at the Canadian Environmental Protection Service, is to examine aspects of information acquisition with a focus on scientific and technical information. More specifically, the study attempts to determine (1) the relationship of information channel preference to scientific and technical information acquisitiveness and (2) the relation of 'externalist/internalist' orientations to STI acquisitiveness. Analysis of correlations indicated that the proposition relating STI acquisitiveness to disposition for formal channels is supported. The results for 'externalist/internalist' indicate that those more closely tied to the scientific and technical communities' activities and norms (i.e. those who attend scientific meetings, publish, have Ph.D.s in the sciences or engineering), are more active in acquiring STI, but it does not follow that the internalists (at least as measured by identification with the organization rather than the profession) are less active in acquiring STI.     

The effect of strategic technology alliances on company performance

Strategic technology partnering between firms has become a growing subject of interest to both companies experimenting with this mode of economic organization and researchers from a wide variety of academic disciplines. In this study an effort is made to measure the effect of strategic technology partnering on companies engaged in such joint efforts. A study of the relevant literature on interfirm cooperation generates some basic understanding of this phenomenon, after which the empirical analysis is expanded with linear structural modeling of a number of relevant explanatory variables setting strategic partnering in a more complex environment.     

The effect of board human capital on the performance of technical alliance investments

Despite boards of directors’ prominent involvement in strategic alliance (SA) decisions in practice and reports from news media, there is relatively little academic research exploring the board's value for a firm's technical SA investments involving a technical transfer or R&D, which are characterized by a high level of uncertainty, information asymmetry, and extreme complexity. Anchored in the resource dependence theory, this study aims to address this important issue by examining how board of directors contribute their human capital, in the form of relevant strategic experience, may mitigate the core challenges managers face when pursuing technical SAs and thereby influencing their outcomes. Our empirical results show that when outside directors hold more extensive alliance experience, they can better execute their consulting function and improve the firm's technical alliance performance. In addition, directors with experience specifically related to technical alliances also have a positive effect on performance. Last, we find that the impact of alliance experience on technical alliance performance is positively moderated by the size of directors’ prior affiliated companies and their share ownership in the focal firm.     

A research note: information technology and company performance in the textile industry

Here the authors examine the role of computer networks on organisations engaged in textile and clothing manufacture. The results reveal that companies with a computer network performed significantly better than those without, both in terms of growth in employment and return on sales over the period 1985–87     

Cartel formation and pricing: The effect of managerial decision-making rules

We experimentally investigate how the managerial decision-making process affects choices in a Bertrand pricing game with an opportunity to form non-binding cartels. To do so we compare the effects of three decision-making rules for the firm (decisions by CEOs, majority rule and consensus) to each other and to decisions in a benchmark consisting of single-individual firms. It has been argued elsewhere that groups behave more competitively than individuals. In this setting this predicts that for all three decision-making rules we should observe fewer cartels and lower prices. This is not what we find. For the formation of cartels, there are no differences across treatments. For prices asked, we find that first, cartels lead to higher prices in all treatments, despite the fact that they are non-binding. Second, the decision-making rules strongly affect the prices asked. One thing that stands out is that firms run by CEOs ask higher prices (i.e., defect less often from the cartel) than observed in the other treatments.     

Business relatedness and performance: a study of managerial perceptions

Understanding of business relatedness and performance effects is the foundation of any diversification decision, but we have limited knowledge of how managers consider relatedness. This study identified relatedness classes and performance effects using perceptual survey data from top industrial executives. Four classes with significant variable differences were found: high, technology, customer, and low relatedness. Technology relatedness had a strong positive performance effect and high relatedness had a negative effect. The findings confirm that perceptions are multidimensional, but may include five key factors rather than the previously identified attribute categories of product–markets, resources, and value chains. Contributions to diversification literature are discussed. Copyright © 2006 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

The outcome of company and account manager relationship quality on loyalty, relationship value and performance

This study explores the effects of perceived relationship quality of the company and account managers with customers. It examines the effects of both types of relationship quality on relationship outcomes including: loyalty, relationship value, and performance. Consistency and relationship-specific investments are tested as mediating constructs between relationship quality and relationship outcomes. The model was tested in the automotive parts industry in Brazil. Findings indicate that relationship quality with account managers is directly related to loyalty and perceptions of relationship value. However, relationship quality with the firm is related to loyalty indirectly, through relationship-specific investment. Further, perceptions of consistency do not mediate the linkage between relationship quality with the company and account managers and specific investments. Theoretical and managerial implications of the findings are presented.     

Investor activism,managerial responsiveness,and corporate social performance

We study relationships between shareholder proposal activism, managerial response, and corporate social performance (CSP). We find that shareholder proposal activism reduces CSP. We infer that rather than pressuring firms to improve CSP, activism may engender diversion of resources away from CSP into political activities used by managers to resist external pressures and retain discretion. We also find that managers are more likely to settle proposals filed by ‘salient’ shareholders (i.e., those with power, legitimacy, and urgency). Settlement with salient shareholders, however, also reduces CSP, suggesting that managers' responses are symbolic; i.e., they settle with salient shareholders to demonstrate conformance but continue to resist making the substantive changes to core policies that may compromise their discretion. Copyright © 2007 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Bank performance and executive compensation: a managerial discretion perspective

This study investigates how the relationship between bank performance and executive compensation is affected by the degree of an executive’s managerial discretion. Managerial discretion is captured by two industry-specific attributes: a bank’s strategic domain, and its regulatory environment. Executive compensation is found to be more related to bank performance in a context of high managerial discretion than in a context of low managerial discretion. © 1997 by John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

The relationship between the planning and technical functions: Part II-The longer term growth of a company

This paper concentrates on m e of the fundamental questions on which a Company needs to focus in generating a longer term corporate strategy, in particular—What is the environment within which the Company will have to develop? A longer term appreciation of this question is not only important for corporate strategy in general but is a key factor in establishing a viable, economic and relevant programme or plan for the Technical function. The actual approach used to study this longer term in a limited number of cases is described and the results in one case are summarized in principle in order to indicate the different fundamental questions with which a Company might be faced by taking a longer view in addition to the more normal short term one. The results also give an example of how the plan for the technical function may need revising. For this revision, however, specific business objectives could be given and many key aspects of the future business environment would have been very carefully considered and evaluated. This greatly improves the basis from which the technical function can develop its ideas and programmes.     

基于Web的科技成果网络管理系统设计与实现

以互联网为基础,运用JAVA技术、数据库技术及面向对象的分析设计方法,综合行业共性,确定了河北省科技成果网络管理系统的功能需求及软硬件开发平台,建立了系统的分析设计模型,探讨了系统实现中对象和数据库之间的映射等问题。     

The effect of CEOs on firm performance

The extent to which CEOs influence firm performance is fundamental to scholarly understanding of how organizations work; yet, this linkage is poorly understood. Previous empirical efforts to examine the link between CEOs and firm performance using variance decomposition, while provocative, nevertheless suffer from methodological problems that systematically understate the relative impact of CEOs on firm performance compared to industry and firm effects. This study addresses these methodological problems and reexamines the percentage of the variance in firm performance explained by heterogeneity in CEOs. The results of this study suggest that in certain settings the ‘CEO effect’ on corporate‐parent performance is substantially more important than that of industry and firm effects, but only moderately more important than industry and firm effects on business‐segment performance. Copyright © 2008 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Structural vs. relational embeddedness: social capital and managerial performance

This paper examines the impact of managers' social capital on managerial performance. Two dimensions of social capital are compared—the structural embeddedness (i.e., configuration) of a manager's network of work relations and the relational embeddedness (i.e., quality) of those relations. Based on a sample of 120 product and sales managers in a Fortune 100 pharmaceutical firm, this paper presents evidence indicating that both elements of social capital influence managerial performance, although in distinct ways: structural embeddedness plays a stronger role in explaining more routine, execution‐oriented tasks (managerial sales performance), whereas relational embeddedness plays a stronger role in explaining new, innovation‐oriented tasks (managerial performance in product and process innovation). This research considers resource exchanges within firms as key to value creating behaviors and contributes a deeper understanding of how social capital influences productive resource exchanges. Copyright © 2005 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

国外技术标准与科技研发协调发展的机制研究

1国外技术标准与科技研发及成果概述1·1技术标准类型国外技术标准类型主要包括国际标准、洲际或区域标准、国家标准、政府各部门标准、专业标准(或行业标准)以及公司标准。随着全球经济一体化的发展,标准化已成为一个重要的国际性问题,各种国际性的标准体系激增。国外工业发达     

Relational configurations with information intermediaries: The effect of firm‐investment bank ties on expected acquisition performance

Recognizing information‐related problems in acquisition transactions, we study how the characteristics of acquiring firms' relationships with information brokers or intermediaries like investment banks affect firms' access to acquisition‐related information, thus influencing expected acquisition performance. We propose that relational configurations that enhance the intermediaries' ability and willingness provide the most beneficial and appropriate information to acquiring firms. We find that acquirers' expected acquisition performance increases with the number of prior transactions with investment banks but decreases when relationships with banks become exclusive. Further, the positive effect of number of prior transactions becomes even stronger for less related acquisitions. Our study provides insights on the beneficial performance implications of competition in multiple but nonexclusive relationships with information intermediaries such as investment banks. Copyright © 2013 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Contingencies within dynamic managerial capabilities: interdependent effects of resource investment and deployment on firm performance

Dynamic managerial capabilities focus on managers' resource‐related decisions. Asset orchestration, a central component of dynamic managerial capabilities and of resource management, highlights the importance of integrating (matching) resource investment and deployment decisions. Building on these recent theoretical advances, we examine the contingent nature of resource investment and deployment decisions. The results, based on a sample of banking firms, indicate that firm performance suffers when managers' investment decisions deviate from the norms of rivals for both human and physical capital. However, when deployment decisions support investment decisions, greater investment deviation, both high and low, generally enhances performance. Specifically, firm performance is optimized by making congruent resource investment and deployment decisions as opposed to maximizing or economizing either decision independently. Therefore, resource management via asset orchestration is vital for superior performance. Copyright © 2009 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Technology, entrepreneurship and company performance in textile and clothing SMEs

This article examines the relationship between technology, entrepreneurial human capital and company performance in a sample of textile and clothing SMEs in Great Britain. General conclusions suggest that firms with a computer network are more likely to have a formal management team. Networked firms appear to be larger: smaller companies are making increasing use of computer networks.     

Barriers to scientific and technical knowledge acquisition in industrial R&D

An understanding of how companies acquire external knowledge is important for any organisation which participates in technology transfer partnerships. The process of external knowledge acquisition within the development function of the pharmaceutical industry is described. Six pharmaceutical companies participated in this study. Group depth interviews were conducted with scientists from a wide range of disciplines and at different levels of seniority within their companies. Senior managers and information officers were interviewed individually. The findings indicated that, although this industry is a leader in formalised information services and commercial database usage, even here significant barriers to the acquisition of scientific and technological knowledge exist. In several of the companies examined the process of information acquisition is not addressed strategically and implemented at laboratory level.