Executive succession as an antecedent to corporate restructuring

One of the most visible adjustments in company strategies in recent years was the dramatic increase in the level of corporate restructuring activity that took place during the 1980s. Strategic decisions that result in the realignment of firms with their environments are likely to be influenced by the composition of the top management team. This study found that firms experiencing non-routine executive succession events within the management team subsequently underwent more restructuring activity than did firms without non-routine executive turnover. These findings suggest that unexpected executive turnovers can significantly alter managerial perspectives within top teams and may thus provide an important mechanism by which firms adapt to their competitive environments. © 1995 by John Wiley & Sons, Inc.     

Project work as an antidote to career plateauing in a declining engineering organization

This is a study of the effects of becoming plateaued on the careers of professionals in a declining organization. An unusual “triple ladder” was studied, one with paths in administration and technical specialization (the two typical components of a dual ladder system), as well as project management (a general practice, technical generalist role). In contrast to earlier studies of plateauing, it was found that occupational characteristics mitigate the effects of plateauing. The plateaued technical specialists experienced the expected declines in job attitudes; however, in project management, and to a lesser extent in administration, it was the plateaued group whose career outlook was most positive. Interview data suggested that the critical factor operating here was not plateauing per se, but the extent to which learning is required and experience and acquired skills are utilized and recognized in the work role. Structural career opportunities, intrinsic job rewards, and recognition were all critical factors in mitigating the effects of the career plateau.     

Psychological contract violations during corporate restructuring

The authors examine the nature, extent, and consequences of psychological contract violations which occur in restructuring firms. Managers in restructuring firms were significantly more likely to perceive psychological contract violations in the areas of job security, input into decision making, opportunities for advancement, and amount of responsibility. Managers in restructuring firms were also significantly more likely to be looking for new jobs and were significantly less likely to be loyal to their employers. Several situational factors mitigated against managersß strong negative reactions to psychological contract violations: procedural justice in how layoffs are handled, low likelihood of future violations, and positive working relationships with colleagues. © 1998 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.     

Code of conduct as corporate culture

The purpose of any code of conduct is to define the limits of acceptable behavior of the employees being managed. An effective code results from trade-offs among the key elements of notice, discretion, risk and tone, which reflect the culture of the organization.     

External corporate venturing modes as new way to develop dynamic capabilities

Today, firms encounter scarce resources and rapid technology change which render formerly successful business models obsolete. Research shows that some firms perform better than others in continuously discovering, evaluating, and exploiting opportunities in volatile environments and that this is dependent on firm’s dynamic capabilities. Besides obtaining dynamic capabilities through internal R&D activities, firms have open up their innovation process to pursue dynamic capabilities outside their organizational boundaries through external corporate venturing by accessing startup's technological capabilities necessary to innovate. External corporate venturing is a means to develop new distinctive capabilities and businesses by exploring and exploiting business opportunities outside a firm’s existing boundaries. Drawing on the dynamic capability literature, we use a multiple case study approach to examine the contribution of external corporate venturing to firms’ dynamic capabilities. Our results reveal that firms indeed use corporate venturing to identify and exploit startup’s technological knowledge and competencies to increase firm’s dynamic capabilities. But our empirical data also shows that not every firm is fully profiting from all dynamic capability phases as their corporate venturing modes are not linked with each other and cumulative effects are not realized.     

How to define an environmental policy to improve corporate sustainability in developing countries

Continual efforts to work with government and society are crucial to persuade businesses to become even better engaged in sustainability practices in developing countries. This study rebuilds the SCP (structure–conduct–performance) paradigm to incorporate environmental variables and to address the environmental strategy choices. Grounded theory was adopted in a systematic collection of data in petrochemical, textile and beverage companies established in different Brazilian states. In‐depth personal interview, site visit and documentary evidence were coded and analysed. The empirical results demonstrate that environmental regulation and enforcement, environmental risk and demands from stakeholders play a central role in increasing the corporate commitment to the natural environment. The study defines four strategic generic types of organization, termed variously as sleeper, reactor, defender and innovator, owing to their solutions to environmental issues. This typology contributes as a roadmap for business decision makers to choose the appropriate environmental strategy in a global economy. Copyright © 2008 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd and ERP Environment.     

对企业文化再认识

辩证唯物主义认识论告诉我们:实践、认识、再实践、再认识,这种形式循环往复以至无穷,而实践和认识之每一循环的内容,都比较地进到了高一级的程度.本文通过位列中国大型企业排名163位、中国煤炭工业100强第8位的山东新汶矿业集团的实践,对企业文化建设的问题谈几点粗浅的看法.     

Robustness as a corporate objective under uncertainty

This paper examines the nature of the objective function of the firm when operating under conditions of uncertainty. Robustness is presented as a purposeful maximand for decision making both under conditions of certainty and uncertainty - a robust decision being one in which the decision maker retains the maximum flexibility with regard to future decisions after an initial decision has been made. Its incorporation within a managerial objective function provides a measurable scale for making choices between alternative courses of action, including under conditions of internal organizational conflict and environmental reaction by other decision makers.     

Effectiveness of a corporate HR department in an Australian public-sector entity during commercialization and corporatization

This study examines the effectiveness of the strategic human resource management (HRM) function performed by the corporate human resource department of an Australian public-sector entity, before and after its corporatization. Multiple methods (including a survey of senior managers and semi-structured interviews) were used to collect the data. Despite an improvement in the overall level of strategic integration between HRM and strategic management, the rating of strategic HRM role effectiveness remained low. The results indicate that the strategic HRM function, as a corporate headquarters function, was more effective in its administrative role than in a value-adding function. The difficulty in balancing the dual roles of a corporate headquarter unit, together with the challenges of becoming a strategic business partner to line managers, provided the major impediments to effective strategic HRM.     

企业文化变革的四个阶段

任何尝试企业文化变革的人都将面临异常复杂的任务.如果没有一个可操作的模型,变革就会复杂得足以使人感觉没有希望.本文论述的以四个阶段构成的系统文化变革过程,目的就是解决这个难题.     

浅谈如何构建以顾客满意为目标的汽车经销商企业文化

目前,国内汽车经销商如何通过企业文化的推广获取内外部顾客的满意,从而提升服务水平,是获取竞争优势的关键因素。文章结合企业文化与服务营销的相关理论,提出了以顾客满意为价值目标的汽车经销商企业文化体系,为汽车经销商提升其服务营销水平提供一定的借鉴作用。     

R&D investment as a signal in corporate takeovers

The purpose of this paper is to analyze the effects that takeover threats have on firms' preacquisition R&D intensity. Critics of takeovers usually argue that takeover threats may reduce target firms' R&D investments. However, I find that target firms may increase R&D investment in order to signal their compatibility with the acquiring firm. The identity of the acquired firm depends on the market size and target firms' efficiency and compatibility. Through R&D investments, target firms may affect this result, signaling potential outsiders the kind of competition they may face, and forcing them to accept lower takeover offers. Copyright © 2009 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

公司绩效提升的方法

Great公司是生产3c电子产品塑料机壳与零件为主的台资企业,在竞争日益激烈的环境下,Great公司将透过企业体质的改善,以满足客户需求为目标导向,不断提升自我竞争力,提升服务质量,创造更高价值.因此,籍由绩效提升方法与工具来达到企业体质的改善已成为企业营运成功与否的主要关键.本文阐述了Grear公司在经营及营运过程中绩效提升的四项主要工具与方法:平衡计分卡(BSC)导入,企业资源规划(ERP)系统应用,6个标准差(6σ)的执行,知识管理(KM)系统整合,通过这四个项目的导入及展开,达到公司绩效提升的目的.     

Buddhist approach to corporate sustainability

The win-win paradigm of corporate sustainability suggests that firms can transform sustainability issues into strategic opportunities, thereby creating shared values at the intersection of business and society. This study explores an alternate approach by delving into Buddhism and its meditative tradition. To deeply immerse myself into the monastic life of Buddhist monks and their meditation practice, I conducted a 5-year ethnographic fieldwork in 82 Buddhist temples across Asia. In the fieldwork process, I was even ordained as a Buddhist monk to internalize the practice. This level of immersion allowed me to investigate the nature of Buddhist meditative mindfulness and its role in reframing corporate sustainability. Drawing upon the findings and relevant literature, I suggest a Buddhist approach to corporate sustainability that offers a unique worldview on the interrelationships between economy, society, and environment. In conclusion, I compare the Buddhist approach to the win-win paradigm.     

Mentoring in family businesses: Toward an understanding of commitment outcomes

Drawing from the mentoring and organizational commitment literatures, this paper addresses the relationship between mentoring and organizational commitment within the family business context. While there is a clear connection between mentoring and organizational commitment in the broader literature, the relationship takes on added complexity in family businesses. In this paper, we develop arguments and offer propositions suggesting that mentoring in family firms results in different commitment outcomes depending on the familial status of the members in the mentoring dyad. While mentoring is most often linked to affective commitment, our propositions extend theory by suggesting that the unique mentoring relationships present in family firms can foster normative and continuance commitment in many circumstances. Propositions regarding mentoring and the various facets of organizational commitment are presented. Implications for theory and human resource management are also discussed.     

Relative information asymmetry as a determinant of the market reaction to corporate financing announcements

Information-asymmetry-based models predict that the market should react negatively to unanticipated external financing. Previous empirical studies lend limited support to these conjectures. This study examines the anticipation issue using financial analysts' earnings-forecast errors as a proxy for information available prior to the external-financing announcement. The conjecture is that external financing would be less anticipated for firms which financial analysts cannot accurately predict their earnings. Event study results indicate that high-prediction-error firms exhibit significantly lower announcement period returns than lowprediction-error firms for non-convertible debt, convertible debt, and common stock offerings.     

企业文化要清晰化

关于企业文化.人们把它想得太复杂了,其实就是三个宇:"清晰化".什么叫清晰化呢?如果你能用五句之内的话把它说清楚,员工能够记得住照着做,合作方也能清晰地感觉到,就可以了.至于叫"理念"还是叫"精神".都无所谓.这样的企业文化就是最好的,最有生命力的,最有竞争优势的,也是很多企业家们梦寐以求的.     

From surface to deep corporate entrepreneurship

This article will first describe and analyze two very different patterns of entrepreneurship found in large American companies studied by the author. “Surface entrepreneurship” denotes the pattern of entrepreneurial activity found in companies where entrepreneurship was seen as an important business objective that management was trying to promote and accomplish. In contrast, “deep entrepreneurship” denotes the pattern found in companies where entrepreneurship was an important shared value. European firms currently being studied combine elements from these two patterns. These studies suggest the fundamental questions that must be addressed to promote entrepreneurship. Some answers in the form of recommendations to management are presented.     

Perceived value of corporate donations: an empirical investigation

• There is current recognition that value is the fundamental basis for all marketing activities. The present research provides an empirical examination of perceptions of value within the voluntary sector and specifically donations made by organisations towards the funding of charitable projects. The impact of a number of charity and project‐related variables on the formation of value and the corresponding effect of value on satisfaction and behavioural variables are examined.
• The results support claims that past experience with and information about a charity as well as information about a specific project are significant determinants of value. However, the impact of these constructs is differential between the two components of value (i.e. get/benefits and give/sacrifices). We confirm the significant effect of value on satisfaction and indicate that satisfaction and benefits derived from a donation have a direct impact on behavioural intention.

Copyright © 2008 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.