Strategic consensus and performance: the role of strategy type and market‐related dynamism

This paper examines the link between consensus among senior managers and performance at the SBU level and considers factors which may moderate the strength of this relationship. Using data from a cross‐national study in three industry sectors, the authors find that consensus increases the performance of the SBU in the case of a differentiation strategy but not in the case of a low‐cost strategy. Additionally, the relationship between consensus on a differentiation strategy and performance is negatively influenced by dynamism of the market. This research thus clarifies and extends prior consensus research by indicating the conditions under which consensus positively affects performance. For managers, our results indicate that investing managerial time in obtaining consensus is more important for a differentiation than for a low‐cost strategy and is particularly important when using a differentiation strategy in a stable environment. Copyright © 1999 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Paradigm development in Chinese management research: The role of research methodology

Kuhn’s paradigm framework asserts that scholarly fields differ in their level of development, and that such differences will be reflected in research norms and practices. In particular, early stage subfields are expected to have less consensus regarding theory and methods, negatively affecting both the consistency and sophistication of research designs. We examine Kuhn’s framework in the context of a rapidly advancing subfield: Chinese management research. This paper reports a content analysis of China-based studies against a matched set of management articles, focusing on methodology. In partial support of the paradigm framework, we find many differences in several important research design characteristics. Additionally, consistent with expectations, many of these differences decline over time. Based on these findings, we discuss the applicability of Kuhn’s framework to management research, and also identify normative guidelines for the design of future Chinese management studies.     

Leveraging ties: the contingent value of entrepreneurial teams' external advice networks on Indian software venture performance

This study investigates the impact of entrepreneurial teams' external networks on their ventures' performance. We first argue that ventures whose entrepreneurial teams span many structural holes in their external advice networks experience higher performance. We then propose that network ties are not uniform in their effect, but rather are contingent on two distinct features of entrepreneurial teams: (i) their strategic consensus—extent of agreement on key goals and strategies within the team—and (ii) internal cohesion—extent of interpersonal friendships within the team. Finally, we propose that team demographics and team networks complement (rather than substitute) each other. Data from Indian software ventures provide support for these arguments. We extend entrepreneurship research by highlighting how venture teams' internal processes and external networks jointly shape performance outcomes. We also add to the literature on team networks by drawing attention to the role of strategic consensus as a distinct pathway through which teams can leverage their external networks.     

Knowledge work: its evaluation and reward

Abstract . Much conflict arises in Indian research institutions as a consequence of unsatisfactory systems of evaluating and rewarding individual performance. The paper reviews existing systems critically and lays down guidelines for the development of an open consensus system designed to remove objections to current predominantly closed and secret practices. The basis for an evaluation proforma suitable for Indian conditions is put forward; this would include information on current achievement, future potential and personal characteristics with respect to each of the functions (research, teaching, consultancy, etc.) that a knowledge worker might perform. An example of how the various elements could be weighted and combined is also provided. The paper contains advice on the administration of the system to ensure the eventual emergence of a consensus. It concludes with a discussion of the factors to take into account and the problems likely to be met in translating the evaluation results into monetary and non-monetary rewards, based on Maslow's hierarchy of needs.     

Transformational leadership and gatekeeping leadership: The roles of norm for maintaining consensus and shared leadership in team performance

This study focuses on shared leadership in Japanese R&D teams. The effects of both transformational and gatekeeping leaderships of formal leaders on shared leadership are examined. Moreover, the effect of shared leadership on R&D team performance is examined. Hypotheses are tested with a sample of 654 researchers working in 119 R&D industrial research teams in Japan. Results show that transformational leadership has a negative effect on shared leadership through the norm for maintaining consensus such that it positively influences the norm, which in turn negatively influences shared leadership. In contrast, gatekeeping leadership has a direct as well as an indirect positive impact on shared leadership through the norm for maintaining consensus such that it negatively influences the norm, which in turn negatively influences shared leadership. In addition, this study finds that shared leadership positively influences R&D team performance. These results suggest that leadership displayed by team members and that by formal leaders significantly influences team performance. The results are discussed in the context of the unique Japanese work environment.     

National food strategies and food policy reform

National food strategies, sponsored by the World Food Council, are intended to produce policy blueprints for improving food production in poor countries. International experience with agricultural development discloses wide agreement on national and local policy specifics which should have priority. However, the absence of research into the political attitudes and processes which foster consensus on goals and the reconciliation of competing desirable policies, eg short term v long term, equity v efficiency, may impede the desired policy reform.     

Consensus formation during strategic change

This paper offers a refined conceptualization of consensus formation and demonstrates in three organizations how this conceptualization enables us to uncover new patterns of consensus building. It describes a longitudinal study which investigated consensus formation in three organizations undergoing major strategic change. The study explored whether consensus building occurred during the strategic change and, if so, how. Initial participants of consensus were also investigated as well as changes in the scope of participants in consensus. Consensus building did occur, but contrary to some views less through an increase in the strength of consensus and more through an increase in the scope of consensus. Additionally, initial consensus was not located among members of the top management team, but more within an interest group whose members benefited from the given direction of the change. Copyright © 2001 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Of strategies,deliberate and emergent

Deliberate and emergent strategies may be conceived as two ends of a continuum along which real-world strategies lie. This paper seeks to develop this notion, and some basic issues related to strategic choice, by elaborating along this continuum various types of strategies uncovered in research. These include strategies labelled planned, entrepreneurial, ideological, umbrella, process, unconnected, consensus and imposed.     

The influence of regulations on the efficiency of telecommunications operators: A meta-frontier analysis

The telecommunications industry has a great ripple effect on the overall national economy. However, there is no consensus about what is the optimal regulation policy for the telecommunications industry. Regulations on the telecommunications industry are different by region (i.e. United States, European Union and Asia). A number of studies have been conducted on comparative efficiency analysis for different policies that apply stochastic frontier analysis or data envelope analysis. However, these comparative studies are inappropriate because the production functions for each region are not identical. Thus, this paper addresses meta-frontier methodology, which can reflect differences in production functions. The results indicate that the United States has the highest meta-frontier efficiency in contrast to previous research findings.     

Project and program decisions in research and development

Abstract . This paper describes the application of three comparative procedures for scaling the relative worth of research and development projects. One procedure which assigns a monetary value to each project in units comparable to those used to measure the resources consumed proved to be simple for judges to understand and apply. Its application to sets of projects drawn from two laboratories permits investigating the degree of consensus among subject judges with various organizational affiliations and responsibilities. Significant differences in behavior were observed. Both the methodological and behavioral findings are potentially valuable to researchers and administrators dealing with the R&D function in public and private sectors.     

知识差异对成员合作的影响分析

知识在解决社会经济问题中扮演着重要的角色.通过划分单个成员所处决策知识状态,对多个成员决策知识状态的3种组合场景进行了分析.结论表明:群体中关于集体行动合作策略与受益的新知识分布越广,成员合作的生产供给越容易实现;进一步当该新知识成为一种普遍的共识(共同知识)时,偏好等其他差异也将影响成员合作的生产供给,并复杂化知识差异的作用机理.     

我国坚强智能电网促进低碳发展的作用研究

低碳发展是世界经济发展的新模式,智能电网在促进低碳发展中发挥着重要作用。目前,关于智能电网促进低碳发展的路径和机理尚没有形成统一的认识,如何充分发挥我国坚强智能电网在促进低碳发展中的作用是亟需研究的问题。分析了我国低碳发展的内涵,系统梳理了坚强智能电网在促进能源生产、能源输送、能源消费、交易环节的低碳化以及促进经济发展方式转变等方面的重要作用,提出了坚强智能电网促进低碳发展的相关建议。     

Workshop on unconfined vapor cloud explosions

The purpose of this paper is to summarize the principle points made during the course of the workshop, identify (to whatever extent is possible) a consensus position of the panel members on key issues, and to review research needs as identified by the panel. No attempt will be made to summarize each panel members' individual presentation, as such, since there was considerable overlap both in the presentation topics and in the subsequent discussions.     

Interpartner Fit and Its Performance Implications: A Four-Case Study of U.S.-China Joint Ventures

In previous research on international joint ventures, a commonly accepted conceptualization and operationalization of interpartner fit is lacking. As a result, empirical studies have either failed to confirm theoretical predictions or produced inconsistent findings that are difficult to reconcile. Using a multiple-case method, this study developed a model in which interpartner fit is conceptualized as a multidimensional construct consisting of the compatibility between the partners strategic objectives, contribution and joint management of critical resources, consensus on the venture's operating culture and strategy, and structure of relative bargaining power and control over the venture's operation. The longitudinal case studies demonstrated the relationship between interpartner fit and joint venture performance and also revealed the rich dynamics and changes in interpartner fit'misfit over time.     

The design process — Does it exist?

There are many published models for the process of design or open-ended problem solving. Some of these are represented in diagrammatic form while others are implicit within the text of the publication. Where do these models come from? Upon what evidence are they based and how accurately do they describe the pupil designer? The idea that we should teach pupils a procedure for completing design and make tasks or a strategy for solving problems is an attractive one but is there only one procedure and is this easily transferred to a wide variety of tasks? This article examines the similarities in a variety of published models for the design or problem-solving process including those implicitly described in the development of the National Curriculum for Design and Technology in England and Wales. It finds a surprising consensus of opinion among authors but suggests that there is little research evidence to support their claims.     

浅议管理层权力的度量

管理层权力大小的度量在学术界并未达成一致,为了推进管理层权力的度量研究,本文在参考Finkelstein(1992)的权力模型的基础上,借鉴以往国内学者现有的研究,选取了包括管理者是否兼任董事长、董事会规模、独立董事人数、独立董事与上市公司工作地点一致性、管理者是否具有高学历、股权是否分散六项指标,以及两个综合控制权指标来度量管理层权力的大小,以此来为管理层权力大小的度量增添一种新的研究视角。     

Blockchain as a cutting-edge technology impacting business: A systematic literature review perspective

As one of the most disruptive technological innovations, blockchain technology has received extensive attention from academia and industry. Although many scholars have reviewed the existing blockchain research, most of the previous review articles focused on the application of technology or blockchain in specific industries or scenarios, and lacked a comprehensive review of the application of blockchain technology in the business field. Based on a systematic literature review approach and cluster analysis, this study quantitatively analyzed 2830 papers obtained from the Web of Science to fill this gap. By constructing a three-layer research framework, this research enumerates the infrastructure and protocols of blockchain technology in detail, and on this basis develops a three-subjects value creation model. The model highlights that business value can be created from transactions, crypto-economic models, and analytical and automated processes in the interaction of organizations, individuals, and technologies. Different blockchain-based applications solve different kinds of economic problems, including information storage/sharing, consensus generation and governance. This study expands the blockchain literature and deepens our understanding of how blockchain technology affects organizations and individuals in the business world. The newly proposed research framework can inspire practitioners and managers to discover opportunities for business model innovation. This work provides a solid research foundation and practical guidance for academics and practitioners who are interested in blockchain-based business.     

The Effects of Taxes and Organizational Variables on Research and Development Intensity

Prior research has failed to reach consensus on which variables explain private-sector research and development (R&D) spending. This study extends prior research explaining R&D spending of firms in the US private sector by regressing R&D intensity on a number of tax and organizational variables. COMPUSTAT data from 113 firms in 1994 are used to estimate the effects of the variables on R&D intensity (used interchangeably with R&D activity). Ordinary least square estimates indicate that firms that were eligible for the R&D credit had higher R&D activity than firms that were ineligible. R&D intensity is a decreasing function of both capital intensity and the debt to capital ratio. Neither management stockholding nor diversification strategy meaningfully influenced R&D activity. The reported results have implications regarding US tax policy towards the tax subsidy for R&D. The results also help to clarify prior findings regarding a number of organizational variables on R&D intensity. One implication of these results for US tax policy is that private sector R&D intensity can be meaningfully influenced by the level of tax subsidy.     

Strategic consensus mapping: A new method for testing and visualizing strategic consensus within and between teams

Research on strategic consensus focuses primarily on the extent of agreement among team members regarding organizational strategy. It does not include elements such as the content of the agreement, between‐group consensus, or the significance of differences in consensus (e.g., for evaluating the effectiveness of strategic interventions). We propose a new analytical approach, Strategic Consensus Mapping, that provides a comprehensive analysis of strategic consensus within and between groups and that includes intuitive and easy‐to‐understand visualizations. This approach offers researchers the necessary tools for integrative theory building in strategic consensus, as well as in the broader managerial and organizational cognition domain. Using a case example, we illustrate the proposed methods for a multidimensional, multilevel, and longitudinal analysis of strategic consensus. Copyright © 2013 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Experimental Test of a Q-Sort Procedure for Prioritizing R&D Projects

Abstract— In this study, fifteen managers and scientists experimented with the use of a Q-sort procedure for evaluating and prioritizing thirteen research projects. Q-sorting is a psychometric method for classifying items according to the opinions of a group of persons, and for evoking group consensus on these classifications. The procedure focuses on the rather natural individual opinion/group decision making process that must take place in project selection/evaluation. In general, the participants thought that Q-sorting was too imprecise to yield final decisions. However, progress was made toward organizational consensus, and the participants felt the procedure was valuable for facilitating scientist/scientist and the scientist-manager communications within the project evaluation process. It was therefore concluded that Q-sorting may be a valuable aid to the heuristic idea-exchange process that should accompany any formal project selection exercise. The results here suggest that Q-sorting may be a good procedure to facilitate the use of a mathematical project selection model.