Technology gap,imported capital goods and productivity of manufacturing plants in Sub-Saharan Africa

This paper uses firm-level data from Ghana, Tanzania and Kenya to examine the effect of capital goods imports on domestic firms' productivity, and the role firms' technology gap plays in aiding the transmission of knowledge embodied in capital goods to domestic firms. The results show that increasing imports of capital goods and closing technology gaps have positive effects on productivity. Furthermore, domestic firms with technology standards farther from international best practices benefit more from capital goods imports. The results also imply that trade liberalization policy aimed at eliminating tariffs on capital goods will significantly improve the performance of technically incompetent firms in the African manufacturing sector.     

Human resource involvement in developing intellectual capital

This study examined the extent of a strategic approach to human resource (HR) management in small and medium professional service firms, and if it is used to develop intellectual capital (IC). Data were collected from 165 Australian professional service firms. Path analysis showed that HR involvement and the adoption of a collective set of strategic HR practices contributed positively to IC levels (particularly human, social and organizational capital). IC acts as a mediator between HR practices and firm performance. HR practices alone did not increase the performance of the firms studied. The findings are unique in the context of studies on small- and medium-sized professional service firms in that a holistic approach to assessing both HR practices and all IC components was taken rather than examining the individual construct relationships. In the context studied, HR influence is critical to increasing IC.     

Female‐Led High‐Growth: Examining the Role of Human and Financial Resource Management

We integrate research on upper echelons theory, the resource‐based view, and gender to explore conditions that facilitate high growth for female‐led firms. We argue that female entrepreneurs have certain advantages that help them leverage their firms’ human and financial capital to achieve high growth. In support, using a sample of U.S.‐based entrepreneurial firms, we found evidence that having a female lead entrepreneur positively moderated the positive relationships between indicators of firms’ human and financial capital and high growth. The findings have implications for programs, policies, and practices to encourage more high growth in firms with female lead entrepreneurs.     

Ambidexterity and the evolution of knowledge management initiatives

Current debates on organizational learning distinguish two distinct and mutually exclusive learning modes: exploration and exploitation. The paper deals with the concept of ambidextrous routines in knowledge management (KM) initiatives. The case study-based findings put this understanding into perspective, as the authors have identified KM initiatives that concurrently facilitate exploration and exploitation. The paper elaborates the characteristics of ambidextrous KM initiatives at micro-level; firms use ambidextrous KM practices to create a learning context, defined rather by guidelines and methods than by a definite purpose. The clear separation of KM initiatives' purpose (aim) and their embedded learning routines and methods enables them to be used ambidextrously. Furthermore, this analysis indicates that ambidextrous KM initiatives follow a path characterized by an increasing variety of purposes but a decreasing variety of underlying structures. Consequently, firms create a learning context that can be activated when necessary in ways required either in an exploratory and/or in an exploitative mode.     

Accumulating human capital: Corporate innovation and firm value

We empirically document that industries that are more R&D intensive exhibit disproportionately greater innovation quantity and better innovation quality in economies with more human capital. Firm-level evidence confirms that innovation is an important channel through which firm responds to labor market conditions. Further analyses show that in economies with greater human capital, firms better able to innovate exhibit larger increase in labor productivity and capital–labor ratio, an effect driven by deceases in employment and increase in intangible capital investment. By facilitating the adjustment in input mix and capital structure, human capital accumulation allows firms with high innovation ability to enhance firm equity value and improve firm performance.     

Globalization and Greater Flexibility in the Japanese Labor Market: Exploring the Macro–Micro Link

The author explores the missing links between globalization and greater flexibility in the Japanese labor market based on review of literature and available evidence. Understanding Japan’s responses to globalization requires a nuanced approach, which accounts for its historical trajectory and social-institutional context. Along with globalization, Japan is experiencing a greater infusion of foreign capital, and an increasing presence of foreign firms. These foreign firms bring human resource practices that are more market driven and less socially embedded compared to the status quo. The diverging human resources practices of foreign firms have spillover effects that may destabilize the Japanese employment system in the long run.     

Intellectual capital and innovativeness in software development firms: the moderating role of firm size

Abstract

We examine the effect of intellectual capital on firms’ innovativeness and the moderating role of firm size in software development firms in Kenya. Using moderated regression analysis, we found support for the proposition that human and social capital enhance firms’ innovativeness. We did not, however, find any significant effect of organizational capital on firms’ innovativeness. The results from the moderated regression suggest that the smaller the firm, the stronger the influence of intellectual capital on firms’ innovativeness. The results therefore indicate that human and social capital are critical in the innovation process and so firms that neglect these capitals are unlikely to realize the potential to innovate particularly in software development firms.     

The Role of Human and Financial Capital in the Profitability and Growth of Women-Owned Small Firms

This paper examines the relationship between human and financial capital and firm performance for women- and men-owned small firms in the service and retail sectors. Results indicate that human capital variables, including education and experience, had a positive impact on the profitability of women-owned firms, whereas measures of financial capital had a greater impact of the profitability of men-owned firms. The ability to secure financial capital also had a positive impact on the growth rate of men-owned firms, but did not appear to affect the growth rate of women-owned firms. These findings suggest that the growth aspirations for women-owned firms may be driven by factors other than human capital or the ability to secure external capital.     

An examination of the substitutability of founders human and financial capital in emerging business ventures

Undoubtedly, access to financial capital and other resources is an important antecedent of new venture performance. Indeed, inadequate financial resources often are cited as a primary reason why emerging businesses fail (Barren 1989; McQueen 1989; Otterbourg 1989; Rujoub, Cook, and Hay 1995). Yet, there is some feeling among scholars that competent founders will find a way of coming up with necessary resources and capital Chandler and Hanks 1994, Timmons 1990, Thorne 1989. In this study, we seek to better understand and provide insight into the factors that determine the amount of money needed to start a business, and the factors that drive the decisions of whether such funding should come from founder savings or from outside sources.We explore two questions: (1) What factors are associated with the amount of initial capital raised? and (2) What factors determine the mix of founder savings versus financial capital from outside sources that create the initial capital structure? We seek to answer these questions using a sample of 102 manufacturing and service firms between 3 and 7 years of age. These firms were categorized as manufacturing, retail, wholesale, and business services. In general, the evidence supports our hypotheses. The amount of financial capital at start-up varies by industry. Of key importance in this study, human and financial capital appear to be substitutable. The analysis shows that, on average, firms with high levels of founder human capital and low levels of initial financial capital perform similarly to firms that have low levels of founder human capital and high levels of financial capital. Subgroup analysis provides insights into the degree of substitutability. This finding suggests that founders with strong background experience may be able to start businesses that survive and thrive with less financial capital than their less experienced counterparts.The proportion of initial capital provided by the founder differs significantly across industry types. In more capital intensive industries, founders provide a smaller proportion of the start-up capital. Interestingly, the amount of initial capital provided by the founder does not vary significantly across industry types. This suggests that the amount of initial capital provided by the founder may result from contributing all they can give to the business, which appears to be similar across business types. Finally, founders’ perceptions of their ability to recognize and take advantage of opportunity are positively related to the proportion of initial capital provided by the founder. This research provides insights into the factors that appear to drive the initial capital intensity and structure. To provide better understanding of this phenomenon, future research could investigate such practices as bootstrapping, asset sharing, or other techniques that allow founders to control resources without requiring ownership.     

Founders’ human capital and the performance of UK new technology based firms

This paper investigates the role of entrepreneurs?? general and specific human capital on the performance of UK new technology based firms using a resource based approach to the entrepreneurship theory. The effect of entrepreneurial human capital on the performance of NTBFs is investigated using data derived from a survey of 412 firms operating in both high-tech manufacturing and the services sectors. According to the resource based theory it is found that specific human capital is more important for the performance of NTBFs in relation to general. More specifically individual entrepreneurs or entrepreneurial teams with high levels of formal business education, commercial, managerial or same sector experience are found to have created better performing NTBFs. Finally it is found that the performance of a NTBF can improve through the combination of heterogeneous but complementary skills, including, for example, technical education and commercial experience or managerial technical and managerial commercial experience.     

Human and financial capital as determinants of biopharmaceutical IPO de-listings

The present study combines human capital theory with work on IPOs related to sources of financial capital of recent, publicly traded biopharmaceutical firms and relates this to the de-listing of these firms. The study follows the generally accepted view that more or better quality human capital is a positive factor in individual and firm performance to develop the hypotheses, positing a negative relationship between these factors and IPO de-listing. The results show that to a limited extent firms having CEOs with more or better human capital and strategic alliance partners are associated with biopharmaceutical IPOs’ de-listing. The study further finds that de-listing in this industry is due primarily to acquisitions (and not financial distress) and that the findings differ based upon whether examining financial distress or acquisition de-listings. The study draws upon the IPO motivation literature to help explain the results.     

Relational Capital: Strategic Advantage for Small and Medium-Size Enterprises (SMEs) Through Negotiation and Collaboration

Collaborative entrepreneurship research suggests that organizations will soon pursue more collaborative relationships throughout a worldwide network of firms, driving a strategy of continuous innovation, specially small- and medium-size firms (SMEs). Tapping into a body of literature that focuses on the importance of human capital in driving long-term success, we merge ideas of collaborative research with a growing body of work on human capital or human resource management in SMEs. Our paper states that it is not the human, per se, that is the real asset but the relationships those humans have that are the most inimitable and important capital. We will discuss how companies use relational capital as the basis for collaborative entrepreneurship. Consistent with our hypotheses, our exploratory study suggests that smaller firms place more value on relational capital than do larger firms. We also have some indication that the key capital that differentiates low vs. high performance, regardless of firm size, is the relational capital aspect. To sum up, relational capital is a fundamental asset for firms, but especially for SMEs, and high performing companies are those that are able to negotiate with others and develop collaborative agreements, thus placing a high value in relational capital.     

The labor market effects of foreign owned firms

Foreign firms have a more educated workforce and pay higher wages than domestic firms even after controlling for worker quality, at a given moment in time. This does not imply that foreign ownership improves the labor market outcomes of the workers since foreign investment may be guided by unobservable firm and worker characteristics correlated with schooling or wages. This paper asks whether foreign investors acquire firms with high human capital or wages, or whether foreign acquisition improves these outcomes. Using a matched employer-employee data set, I find that foreign acquisitions of domestic firms have small effects on the human capital and on average wages of the acquired firms. Instead, foreign investors “cherry pick” those domestic firms that are already very similar to the group of existing foreign firms.     

Knowledge transfer and human resource development practices: Japanese firms in Brazil and Mexico

This paper is based on case studies from the subsidiaries of Japanese manufacturing firms in Brazil and Mexico. It presents empirical findings on the influence of human resource development (HRD) in knowledge transfer, using the case studies in an attempt to delineate appropriate emphases in HRD practices that enhance the transfer of knowledge. The paper examines the proposition that the provision of both on-the-job and off-the-job training constitutes best practice to enhance knowledge transfer. The findings are related to the theory of human capital as a basis for refining the research framework.     

The Signaling Effect of Corporate Social Responsibility in Emerging Economies

What signals do firms in emerging economies send to stakeholders when they adopt corporate social responsibility (CSR) practices? We argue that in emerging economies, firms that adopt CSR practices positively signal investors that their firms have superior capabilities for filling institutional voids. From an institution-based view, we hypothesize that the institutional environment moderates the signaling effect of CSR on a firm’s financial performance. Based on a sample of firms from ten Asian emerging economies, we find a positive relationship between CSR practices and financial performance. This positive relationship is stronger in the less developed capital market than in the more developed one. The financial benefits of CSR practices are also more salient in the low information diffusion market than in the high one. We emphasize that signaling theory and the institution-based view can jointly contribute to the CSR literature.     

Practice Makes Profit: Business Practices and Firm Success

Which business practices set successful firms apart from others? We address this question using data from an official survey of almost 3000 New Zealand firms. Questions cover: leadership, planning practices, customer and supplier focus, employee practices, quality and process monitoring, benchmarking, community and social responsibility, innovation, IT use, business structure and the competitive environment. Some of these are internal practices reflecting a firm’s resources and capabilities; some are characteristics of the external environment. We find that capital investment choices, R&;D practices, market research and a range of employee practices are positively associated with firm success; industry structure is also a key determinant of success. The association between specific business practices and firm success is mostly independent of firm size, age and industrial sector, other than for export marketing.     

Patterns in international bribery: Violations of the foreign corrupt practices act

An examination of U.S. Department of Justice prosecution of violations of the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act shows that officials in less developed countries are the likely recipients of bribes; that bribery occurs more often in the capital‐intensive industries of energy, construction, telecommunications, and military equipment; that firms more often tend to use intermediaries and agents to consummate illicit transactions rather than directly paying the intended beneficiary; and that the overall motivation for bribing is to secure a particular contract. This article reviews the evolving enforcement of the law and recommends a set of managerial actions to reduce corporate liability and improve governance practices. © 2012 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.     

Independent directors’ human and social capital,firm internationalization and performance implications: An integrated agency-resource dependence view

Despite the importance of internationalization for many firms and the substantial roles of independent directors as monitors and resource providers in corporate strategic orientation, few, if any, studies have investigated how independent directors with human and social capital contribute to firm internationalization. Drawing upon agency and resource dependence theories, this study argues that independent directors with human and social capital provide firms with strategic advice and adequate resources for internationalization, thereby increasing firm willingness to internationalize. Using 173 Taiwanese electronics firms and a weighted linear fixed-effects regression approach, the results indicate that independent directors’ industry-specific experience, international experience and interlocking directorate ties are positively associated with internationalization and that an inverted-U relationship exists between independent directors’ tenure overlap and internationalization. One implication is that international firms may consider appointing independent directors with human and social capital to the board because they will provide firms with resources necessary for successful internationalization.     

人力资本匹配如何影响企业加成率:理论机制与经验证据

本文在拓展M-O模型的基础上,构建“人力资本-产业结构”匹配程度和匹配质量对企业加成率影响效应的理论框架,并利用中国城市统计数据和微观企业数据进行了经验研究。主要结论如下:城市人力资本发展滞后于产业结构调整,呈现“人力资本-产业结构”低质量耦合锁定趋势;“人力资本-产业结构”系统耦合度与企业加成率之间存在显著的“倒U型”关系,而系统协调度与企业加成率之间存在显著的“U型”关系。中间机制检验结果表明,耦合度产生的加成率效应主要通过“工资渠道”,而协调度会影响企业的“创新行为”。随着城市人力资本匹配质量提高,促进企业人力资本和研发创新协调投入会显著提升企业加成率。进一步分析发现,人力资本匹配与行业技能密集度相协调、与行业技术水平相匹配、与比较优势动态升级相结合、与企业自主升级行为区间互补,能让企业破除人力资本低质量耦合锁定而提高加成率。本文的结论对发挥人力资本质量外溢和技术进步效应推动制造业高质量发展具有重要现实意义。     

Knowledge management and organizational performance in the service industry: The role of transformational leadership beyond the effects of transactional leadership

This study examines a comprehensive model comprising of various relationships between transformational and transactional leadership, knowledge management (KM) process, and organizational performance. Data are collected from human resource managers and general managers working in 119 service firms. Exploratory factor analysis and hierarchical regression analysis are used to analyze the proposed hypotheses. The results indicate that transformational leadership has strong and positive effects on KM process and organizational performance after controlling for the effects of transactional leadership. Further, KM process partially mediates the relationship between transformational leadership and organizational performance after controlling for the effects of transactional leadership. Implications and directions for future research are also discussed.