Strategic alliances,organizational learning,and competitive advantage: The HRM agenda

In the context of strategic alliances that involve competitive collaboration, the competitive advantage of a firm can be protected only through its capability to accumulate invisible assets by a carefully planned and executed process of organizational learning. As this process is embedded in people, many of the necessary capabilities are closely linked to HRM strategies and practice. The article advocates that the transformation of the HR system to support the process of organizational learning is the key strategic task facing the HR function in firms engaged in international cooperative ventures.     

The Context of Entrepreneurial Judgment: Organizations,Markets, and Institutions

The economics and management literatures pay increasing attention to the technological, competitive, and institutional environment for entrepreneurship. However, less is known about how context influences the judgment of entrepreneurs. Focusing on the emerging judgment‐based approach to entrepreneurship, we argue that economics can say much about how the organizational, market, and institutional context shapes entrepreneurial judgment. We describe entrepreneurs as individuals who deploy scarce, heterogeneous resources to service customer preferences at a profit. Because of uncertainty, this process is essentially experimental, and context influences the experimental process. Thus, entrepreneurs will seek to design the internal organization of the firm so that it facilitates internal experimentation. Moreover, the market or task environment determines the need for experimentation (e.g., how fast do consumer preferences change, how does technology evolve, which assets are available at which terms, etc.). Finally, the institutional environment influences, for example, the transaction costs of acquiring and divesting assets as firms adjust their boundaries through ongoing commercial experimentation.     

Why a Multinational Firm Chooses Expatriates: Integrating Resource‐Based,Agency and Transaction Costs Perspectives*

abstract This paper develops an integrative organizational economics framework explaining and predicting multinational firms' managerial resource deployments based on resource‐based, agency, and transaction costs theories. Our empirical findings suggest that the governance decision for managerial services of multinational firms is influenced not only by the comparative capabilities of managers, but also by the economic costs to the firm of influencing the behaviours of managers through managerial contracting.     

Organizational capacity for change and firm performance in a transition economy

This study explored some human resource and human systems' aspects of the competitive dynamics for firms attempting to survive and prosper within Russia, a highly volatile transition economy. Overall, this study adds to our understanding of international strategic human resource management, dynamic capabilities, and the generation of competitive advantage within transition economies.

We found that a relatively new construct derived from the dynamic capabilities and organizational change literatures, known as ‘organizational capacity for change,’ is positively associated with firm performance within a wide variety of Russian firms. Furthermore, we find that the relationship between organizational capacity for change and firm performance is stronger when there are relatively high levels of uncertainty with the task environment. Finally, we found that organizational capacity for change is an important attribute in all sizes of organizations, not just for large organizations as hypothesized.     

Reverse logistics capabilities and firm performance: the mediating role of business strategy

This study aims to examine the impact of reverse logistics capabilities on firm performance and mediating role of logistics strategies. We reviewed three theories of reverse logistics capabilities: (a) resource-based view of the firm, (b) transaction cost economics, and (c) institutional theory. We examined six reverse logistics capabilities: logistics information management, close-loop capability, supply chain integration, supply chain coordination, conformity capability, and institutional incentives. We examined three reverse logistics strategies: joint reverse logistics, manufacturer reverse logistics, and third-party reverse logistics. We conducted a survey of Chinese mobile phone companies out of which we received 125 usable questionnaires with a response rate of 80%. The results of mediated hierarchical regression support the hypothesis that reverse logistics capabilities influence firm performance. Institutional factors were more significant than supply chain factors. Close-loop capability was the most significant factor. We provide managerial implications and suggestions for future research.     

Business strategies for transitions towards sustainable systems

This paper develops a strategic perspective for business to contribute to the innovation of societal systems. Sustainability issues at the level of societal sectors cannot be addressed by single organizations but need to be thought of as systemic challenges in which business, government and civil society each play different roles. Sustainability involves structural changes over longer periods of time, and requires co‐evolutionary changes in technology, economy, culture and organizational forms. We propose that the transition management framework offers a fruitful way to analyze such co‐evolutionary processes of social transformation and subsequently develop strategies to influence and accelerate such processes. We present the case of two firms working in this new context of transition management in The Netherlands. From these cases we conceptualize a more general approach for business to redefine and reframe the societal context in which it is operating and develop novel business strategies. Copyright © 2009 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd and ERP Environment.     

Role of Knowledge in Value Creation in Business Nets*

abstract This paper focuses on the role of knowledge in intentionally created business networks called nets. Nets are seen to offer firms collective benefits beyond those of a single firm or market transaction. We propose that the types of knowledge and learning required in the management of different types of business net are dependent on the value creation characteristics of the net types. Based on this we suggest a classification of three generic net types –‘current business nets’, ‘business renewal nets’, and ‘emerging new business nets’– and argue that they pose different conditions for management in nets. Using this framework and integrating notions from the industrial network approach, strategic management and dynamic capabilities view, and organizational learning we make a number of observations and propositions about the role of knowledge and learning in the three types of business net. The paper contributes to the emerging theory of network management.     

Victim or Victimizer: Firm Responses to Government Corruption

What is the relationship between government corruption and firm performance? To address this question, I conduct a review of articles published in the leading management journals on government‐business interactions pertaining to rent‐seeking activities and integrate findings from the fields of international business, social issues in management, public organization, institutional change, and corporate political activity. I find that while much empirical work corroborates the earlier findings suggesting a corrosive impact of government corruption on firm performance in general, management research also points to the heterogeneous impact of government corruption on individual firm performance, driven by the strategic activities conducted by firms in response to corruption. I propose an integrative model of firm strategy vis‐à‐vis corruption that predicts the activity choice of the firm as predicated by its organizational structure, political resources, industry regulation, and surrounding political and social institutions.     

Strategic entrepreneurship and competitive advantage of established firms: evidence from the digital TV industry

Although strategic entrepreneurship in established firms is recognized as a vital source of sustainable competitive advantage, this field has no clearly developed research paradigm. This study proposes a conceptual framework to investigate dimensions of strategic entrepreneurship and its function in sustainable competitive advantage of established firms in a modern volatile environment, through the lens of the dynamic capability view. By conducting a systematic literature review of previous research documents and considering conceptual interrelationships between strategic entrepreneurship and dynamic capabilities, we propose categories that comprise dimensions of a firm’s strategic entrepreneurship: environmental sensing, opportunity seizing, strategic flexibility, entrepreneurial orientation and organizational learning. We establish a conceptual framework of strategic entrepreneurship in which entrepreneurs’ managerial capabilities of environmental sensing, opportunity seizing, strategic flexibility and entrepreneurial orientation closely interact with organizational learning, thereby facilitating sustainable performance of established firms. Following empirical studies of established firms in the digital TV manufacturing industry, the proposed conceptual framework suggests that each dimension of strategic entrepreneurship plays a critical role in competitive advantage of firms. In addition, case study results indicate that a firm’s position and evolutionary path form antecedent factors influencing entrepreneurs’ managerial capabilities and organizational learning of established firms.     

Firms,public good provision and institutional uncertainty: Evidence from Russia

Enterprises in post-socialist and transition economies often participate in providing infrastructure and social services to the surrounding community which in the Russian legal setting should be local authorities’ responsibility. We propose that this bundling of social and infrastructure goods provision with firm's core operations is a fully rational choice in an uncertain institutional environment. A unique survey data suggest that this manifests itself through more reliable infrastructure, stronger employee attachment to the firm and, most interestingly, through better relations with the authorities. Relationship with authorities is a two-way game where the firm gains from the arrangement but on the other faces sanctions if it decided to depart from it. Firm's participation in the arrangement is clearly enhanced by inherited fixed capital assets from the Soviet era.     

Environmental Constraints And Sectoral Recipes: Strategy Change In Britain's Military Industrial Base

There has been a significant growth in research providing a sectoral-level analysis for a range of organizational behaviour, including company strategy (Smith et al., 1990; Spender, 1989). One of the main strengths of this work is that it shows a sensitivity to how an organization's institutional–structural context influences its behaviour. This paper will add to this growing body of research through examining one particular sector: the UK's military equipment sector in the period immediately following the end of the Cold War. One of the most interesting findings from the research on which this paper is based was the similarity in strategies pursued by most of the companies examined. This similarity in strategies is explained in terms of two main factors. Firstly, drawing on elements of contingency theory it is suggested that the strategic options open to the companies examined were constrained by the specific nature of their capabilities, which were shaped by the character of military equipment markets. Secondly, it is suggested that the institutional characteristics of the UK's military equipment sector were conducive to the development of a strategic 'recipe'.     

Absorptive Capacity in a Non-Market Environment

Abstract

Improved performance by public sector organizations is a political imperative in numerous countries. There are particular challenges in turnaround of poorly performing organizations. Theoretical explanations of the performance trajectories of public organizations, and especially the causes of failure, highlight the importance of knowledge processes, often from an organizational learning perspective. Absorptive capacity provides an alternative way of theorizing the relationships between organizational performance and knowledge processes, derived from the resource-based view of the firm and the broader concept of dynamic capabilities. The article reviews the conceptual, theoretical, and methodological implications of applying absorptive capacity to the performance of public organizations. It concludes that the approach has value and presents a number of propositions to be tested through empirical study, alongside some more general challenges for researchers who wish to study the concept further. The high political salience of public organizations' performance, and the costs of failure, mandates a major research effort on these issues.     

Explaining Firm Emergence: Specialization,Transaction Costs,and the Integration Process

This article explains firm emergence and the role of firms in the market structure using the productive power of specialization. Based on productivity efficiencies through technological specialization, a model for firm emergence is drafted alongside Coasean transaction cost theory. I find that transaction costs cannot explain firm emergence, but the entrepreneurial specialization perspective here adopted provides a promising approach to understanding the firm's function to the entrepreneur and its internal organization and capabilities. It suggests a foundational framework for studying the creation of capabilities and the interplay between markets, firms, and entrepreneurs. Copyright © 2014 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

The Relevance of the Institutional Underpinnings of Porter's Five Forces Framework to Emerging Economies: An Epistemological Analysis

ABSTRACT Using the Toulmin method, we present an epistemological analysis of Porter's Five Forces Framework (FFF) in light of the increasing evidence pertaining to the institutional context in emerging economies. The analysis reveals three key qualifiers in the theoretical structure of FFF – transaction costs, capital flows and laws governing rivalry. Evidence from emerging economies indicates that FFF's assumptions about the qualifiers are not met in these economies. Indeed, firms in these economies adopt strategies not derivable from FFF to tackle their unique institutional contexts. Our Toulmin analysis helps pinpoint the directions for further research in emerging economies. Specifically, the three qualifiers provide a meaningful way of building typologies and taxonomies to accommodate the diversity of institutional contexts and to link them to firm-level strategies. Our discussion also highlights the need to turn the spotlight on laws governing rivalry, a relatively under-explored topic in emerging economies, and the effectiveness of different network strategies.     

Internal Knowledge Development and External Knowledge Access in Venture Capital Investment Performance

abstract    We examine the performance effects of two knowledge-driven strategies – internal knowledge development and external knowledge access through inter-firm relationships – in the context of venture capital investing. Using longitudinal data on the investments, syndication, and performance of 200 US-based venture capital firms, we find that investing in industries in which a firm has more knowledge and investing with more or familiar external partners enhances investment performance. In addition, we reveal important interactions between the two strategies, such that access to external knowledge is particularly beneficial when the investment exposes gaps in the firm's own expertise. Thus, access to external knowledge is more effective when an incongruity exists between what the firm knows and what it intends to do. We discuss the study's implications for organizational knowledge and learning, strategic alliance, and venture capital literature.     

Responsible chain management: a capability assessment framework

In recent years, increased attention has been paid to issues of responsibility across the entire product lifecycle. Responsible behaviour of organizations in the product chain is dependent on the actions of other parties such as suppliers and customers. Only through co‐operation and close interaction between the different parties involved is it possible to come to a specified form of responsible chain management. Drawing on stakeholder theory and literature on the resource‐based view of the firm, this article presents a framework for assessing the organizational capabilities of responding to claims from internal and external parties. Interpretations of stakeholder interests, integration into business processes, monitoring these processes, and communication with stakeholders are the central processes in this framework. The application of this framework to three cases of responsible chain management illustrates the functioning of the framework as a tool for assessing organizational capabilities. Copyright © 2002 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. and ERP Environment     

论企业知识资产形成的制度安排

文章认为企业知识资产的形成是企业内外制度安排的结果。知识在企业内的“资产化”不仅需要交易制度安排和国家产权制度安排,还需要企业外部的社会性制度安排以及内部的组织化制度安排和激励性制度安排。     

The new challenges of organizing intellectual property in complex industries: A discussion based on the case of Thales

The defense industries in France and elsewhere have, in recent years, undergone important technological, organizational and institutional changes that have profoundly altered their architectures. These changes have introduced a new division of labor bringing new opportunities for interaction leading to the creation of additional assets. In this context, the issue of protecting innovations and their exploitation has become central. Managing intellectual property rights (IPR) requires industrial groups to draw on additional capabilities. This article analyzes these evolutions and focuses in particular on the new organizational arrangements that have accompanied them. Using the case of Thales, which in 2005 outsourced its Intellectual Property (IP), we answer questions such as: why should IP be outsourced; how should the outsourcing of IP activities be organized; and, how should capabilities involved in this new organizational arrangement be managed. These issues lie at the center of this research and illustrate new challenges inherent to in-house and outsourced IPR management strategies.     

企业网络形成与演变路径的社会性质视角分析

本文从社会制度结构层面中所嵌入的社会资本(信任类型)视角入手,探寻不同社会信任结构对企业网络组织外在形式的多样性特征与升级演进路径选择的作用机制及内在机理,得出结论:社会制度层面的信任关系与信任结构通过交易成本与治理机制途径,深刻影响乃至决定该社会经济体中企业网络组织的外在形式与升级演进路径。关系型信任偏向的社会结构适于发展企业集群与外包(下包)制类型的企业网络组织形式,而制度型信任偏向的社会结构有利于虚拟组织与战略联盟类型的企业网络组织形式。企业网络由低级形式向高级形式、低端产业向高端产业演进进程中,社会制度所内涵的社会资本与信用体系的变迁与构建是核心因素之一。     

Strategic Organizational Change: Exploring the Roles of Environmental Structure,Internal Conscious Awareness and Knowledge*

ABSTRACT We argue that strategic organizational change is best viewed as a multidimensional phenomenon consisting of various degrees of environmental structure and internal conscious awareness. And, by combining this conceptualization of change with a model of organizational knowledge transfer developed by Nonaka and Takeuchi (1995 ), we gain a better understanding of the types of change strategies that firms will pursue, the processes they should use to implement these strategies and the likely performance outcomes from these strategies. Specifically, we suggest that the levels of tacit and explicit knowledge needed to implement the new strategies are key determinants of firm performance following strategic organizational change.