China's information superhighway: What is it and who controls it?

This paper focuses on China's telecommunications sector from a national perspective, and summarizes the structure of the country's information superhighway. It then analyzes the changing regulatory and policy framework, and the competition among current and potential players in the market. This leads to a final discussion on the implications and likely outcome - who will control the superhighway in China.     

Network resource stocks and flows: how do alliance portfolios affect the value of new alliance formations?

We examine how new network resources accessed through alliance formations interact with network resources present in a firm's alliance portfolio. We test our theoretical model using event study methodology and data from the global air transportation industry. We find that the market rewards firms forming alliances that contribute resources that can be synergistically combined with firms' own resources as well as with network resources accessed through their alliance portfolios. Our results also indicate that the market penalizes firms entering into alliances that create resource combinations that are substitutes to resource combinations deployed by existing alliance partners. Copyright © 2011 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

What does it take to make the most of supplier relationships?

The supply context of companies has changed substantially during the past two decades because of outsourcing, globalisation and digitalisation, and through growing concern for sustainability and public procurement. These changes, combined with recognition of the potential benefits to be derived from more extensive involvement with suppliers, have made the task of purchasing and supply management broader and more complex. This paper's aim is to examine how the evolving supply context affects the scope of purchasing and supply management and what the consequences for management are. We argue that effective use of supplier relationships involves three main issues – interacting in supplier relationships, dealing with supply network interdependences and handling dynamic changes in the supply context. Coping with these matters requires: (i) conceptual tools that support monitoring and sense-making of what is on-going at the supply side of the firm; (ii) the individual and organisational skills and capabilities required to develop workable solutions; and (iii) organisational arrangements to support the development of these solutions.     

Flexible spectrum management for mobile broadband services: How does it vary across advanced and emerging markets?

Demand for wireless data and Internet services are expected to grow exponentially, both in advanced and emerging markets in the near future. While advanced countries have often used centralized planning and coordination methodology to forecast and allocate the associated spectrum blocks to wireless operators for meeting the demand, it is often ad-hoc in emerging markets dictated by market forces. In this paper, Finland and India are taken to represent advanced and emerging markets, respectively. Different policy options and the policy environment in these two countries for spectrum management are explored. A causal model is constructed to represent the different variables that affect spectrum management practices and possible paths forward in these two extreme cases are highlighted. Using the causal model structure, it is hypothesized that (i) the matured markets such as Finland that practice centralized and harmonized spectrum planning are likely to continue their ex-ante policies and opt for the release of digital dividend spectrum and use of spectrally efficient technologies; (ii) the emerging market in India that is characterized by a market oriented ex-poste regulation is a good candidate to introduce secondary markets including flexible opportunistic spectrum access as exemplified by the wide spread adoption of multi-SIM handsets and the practice of national roaming by 3G service providers. Introductions of policies and regulations in these markets to break away from the extant paths are also highlighted.     

Knowledge management practices and absorptive capacity in small and medium‐sized enterprises: is there really a linkage?

Small and medium‐sized enterprises (SMEs) are more vulnerable to globalization and rapid technological change due to their scarcity of resources. SMEs' absorptive capacity allows them to access knowledge and plays a key role in their ability to explore and exploit opportunities in their environment. Therefore, this study aims to identify and categorize knowledge management practices which SMEs can adopt to develop absorptive capacity. From a population of 4,534 Portuguese SMEs, 260 usable completed questionnaires were returned. We concluded that Portuguese SMEs are engaged in knowledge management practices, through collaboration with business partners, favoring learning processes based on experience, knowledge transfer to employees and knowledge absorption by employees, reflecting the importance given by SMEs to the tacit nature of knowledge which helps them in efficiency improvements, strategic adaptation, and the launch of new products and services. Our study contributes to advancing theory in the fields of knowledge management and absorptive capacity. We combine and extend previous research which allows us to reconcile the sometimes contradictory findings concerning knowledge management practices which SMEs can adopt to reinforce absorptive capacity. Some theoretical and practical implications are also presented.     

PERSPECTIVE: first,fast, and on time: the path to success. or is it?

To be competitive, and become the industry leader, the firm needs to be fast, first, and on time, or so the story goes. Fast development cycle times, first to market, and schedule predictability are the three basic principles of new product development performance, but what does the evidence actually show? A review of current research, schedule performance data, and cycle time data shows that following these principles does not necessarily lead to success. Recent studies indicate that being first to market is not necessarily any better than being second, third, or even fifth. Several leading companies in the fast cycle time movement are rethinking their first-to-market strategy, and some are deliberately lengthening their cycle times. Finally, the correlation between schedule accuracy and business results is practically nonexistent in the product lines reviewed for this article. The evidence found while researching this article has led the authors to recast these three traditional principles into three new market-focused guiding principles: effective market introduction timing, first to mindshare, and managed responsiveness. To provide direction in applying these three principles, three types of market windows are defined: imposed, controllable, and emergent. How one approaches each of the three guiding principles is driven by which type of market window the organization is operating within, and other business characteristics, such as market position and the ability to differentiate.     

What do we really know? Metrics for food insecurity and undernutrition

In this article, we critically review the three most common approaches of assessing chronic food insecurity and undernutrition: (i) the FAO indicator of undernourishment, (ii) household food consumption surveys, and (iii) childhood anthropometrics. There is a striking and worrying degree of inconsistency when one compares available estimates, which is due to methodological and empirical problems associated with all three approaches. Hence, the true extent of food insecurity and undernutrition is unknown. We discuss strengths and weaknesses of each approach and make concrete suggestions for improvement, which also requires additional research. A key component will be the planning and implementation of more comprehensive, standardized, and timely household surveys that cover food consumption and anthropometry, in addition to other socioeconomic and health variables. Such combined survey data will allow much better assessment of the problems’ magnitude, as well as of trends, driving forces, and appropriate policy responses.     

Corporate governance and environmental performance: is there really a link?

Corporate governance scholars are increasingly interested in firms' social and environmental performance. Empirical research in this area, however, has moved forward in an uncoordinated fashion, producing fragmented and contradictory results. Our paper seeks to address this situation by adopting a fact‐based research approach that comprehensively explores the link between corporate governance and environmental performance. Specifically, we aim to understand how the relationships between and among the firms' owners, managers, and boards of directors influence environmental performance. We are particularly interested in understanding the interactions among these three key sets of actors. In the end, we offer some observations about governance practices and discuss the implications for theory. Copyright © 2012 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

One foot in,one foot out: how does individuals' external search breadth affect innovation outcomes?

The “variance hypothesis” predicts that external search breadth leads to innovation outcomes, but people have limited attention for search and cultivating breadth consumes attention. How does individuals' search breadth affect innovation outcomes? How does individuals' allocation of attention affect the efficacy of search breadth? We matched survey data with complete patent records, to examine the search behaviors of elite boundary spanners at IBM. Surprisingly, individuals who allocated attention to people inside the firm were more innovative. Individuals with high external search breadth were more innovative only when they allocated more attention to those sources. Our research identifies limits to the “variance hypothesis” and reveals two successful approaches to innovation search: “cosmopolitans” who cultivate and attend to external people and “locals” who draw upon internal people. © 2014 The Authors. Strategic Management Journal published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd.     

What do i want? The effects of individual aspiration and relational capability on collaboration preferences

Research summary: We examine individuals' collaboration preferences in the Knowledge Transfer Network (KTN) for the UK plastics electronics sector. Using conjoint analysis, we investigate how aspiration gaps and relational capability affect the value placed on potential organizational collaborations. Aspiration gaps reflect individuals' perception of whether they are ahead of or behind peers on their career trajectory, and relational capability captures three distinct dimensions: networking skills, openness to collaborate, and network awareness. Our findings suggest that positive and negative aspiration gaps augment preferences to form organizational partnerships. These effects are positively moderated by networking skills and openness and negatively moderated by network awareness. We discuss the implications of these findings for theories of partnership formation, scientific collaboration, and behavioral strategy. Managerial summary: University–industry collaboration is important to the creation and application of new knowledge. Such collaboration requires individuals of different backgrounds to work together, which can be difficult. We investigate what drives individuals' preferences to collaborate. We find that individuals who consider themselves ahead of or behind their peers are more favorable toward collaboration. We also find that networking skill and openness augment this positive collaboration disposition whereas awareness of the network members makes one more selective and reduces the proclivity to collaborate. Copyright © 2015 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Cannibalize and combine? The impact of ambidextrous innovation on organizational outcomes under market competition

How can a firm achieve ambidexterity? The present study proposes that the answer to this question lies in the distinction between ambidextrous culture and ambidextrous innovation. Drawing upon organizational learning theory and the source-position-performance framework, we propose that ambidexterity requires the adoption of two important organizational cultures, willingness to cannibalize (WTCA) and willingness to combine existing knowledge (WTCO), which allow firms to attain superior performance through the implementation of both radical and incremental (i.e., ambidextrous) innovations. Our major contribution lies in addressing the important debate in the literature on whether exploration and exploitation are complements or substitutes. Furthermore, competition intensity is a key condition that determines the degree to which the two types of organizational cultures and the two types of innovations are necessary for superior firm performance. The study uses data from multiple respondents from 199 Chinese firms. Our findings thus suggest that WTCA and WTCO, which are traditionally treated as opposites, are complements in generating radical innovations.     

New-age technologies-driven social innovation: What,how, where,and why?

Social innovation (SI) offers a sustainable solution to prevalent social issues/problems and is typically developed and deployed by a varied set of people from the society adopting a top-down and/or bottom-up approach. The disruption of new-age technologies (NATs) is immensely impacting the space of SIs, providing a resource-efficient solution, and bringing multiple outcome benefits. In this study, we discuss the SIs driven by new-age technologies and attempt to address a few critical questions around such SIs to better understand the construct, such as – What is SI? How are NATs playing a role in providing an innovative offering for the social good? Where does it take place in society? How can SI be deployed in society to reach out to the populace? and, Why SI is required for society? By employing the triangulation approach, we provide a comprehensive framework recognizing the different contexts under which SI takes place in society, explaining the possible outcomes and suggesting the boundary conditions. We then provide the generalized propositions on the proposed relationship in the SI framework. Further, this study identifies directions for future research and provides implications for firms, policymakers, and social entrepreneurs.     

Organizational capabilities and business performance: When and how does the dark side of managerial ties matter?

Though the dark side of business-to-business relationships exists at both the firm and personal level, recent research evidence suggests that the theoretical conceptualization and empirical investigation concerning the latter is still under development. Building upon theoretical perspectives of organizational capability, organizational networking and social capital theories, this study investigates the boundary conditions of personalized business-to-business relationships (managerial ties) on business performance. Specifically formulated hypotheses are tested using the perceptions of senior executives in 137 Taiwanese firms operating in a variety of industrial sectors. Our study extends extant literature by revealing that the dark side of managerial ties is evident in the perceived management capability-political ties-performance and technology capability-business ties-performance interplays. More importantly our survey results are corroborated by evidence from interview results with twelve senior executives. Such findings collectively demonstrate the dark side of political ties (governmental interference in employment, blockage of information flow as well as conflicts of interest), and business ties (reciprocal obligations, time consuming factors and maintenance costs).     

How does firm experience and institutional distance impact ownership choice in high‐technology acquisitions?

One of the critical reasons for a firm to acquire other firms is to access new technology. This study seeks to understand what ownership position a firm should take in foreign markets if the target is in a high‐technology industry. Specifically, it looks at how firm‐level experience and institutional distance could impact this ownership. Using logistic regression models on a sample of 1,091 cross‐border acquisitions undertaken by firms from 36 countries over an 8‐year time period (2001–2008), we find that when firms acquire targets in a high‐technology industry, they resort to partial acquisitions. Our analysis further suggests that when firms seek targets in high‐technology industries but have experience with acquisitions or face higher institutional distance, the likelihood of full acquisitions over partial ones increases. Study findings contribute to our understanding of the interactive relationship among technology, experience, and institutional distance in determining appropriate ownership choices.     

What is the irrigation potential for Africa? A combined biophysical and socioeconomic approach

Although irrigation in Africa has the potential to boost agricultural productivities by at least 50%, food production on the continent is almost entirely rainfed. The area equipped for irrigation, currently slightly more than 13 million hectares, makes up just 6% of the total cultivated area. More than 70% of Africa’s poor live in rural areas and mostly depend on agriculture for their livelihoods. As a result, agricultural development is key to ending poverty on the continent. Many development organizations have recently proposed to significantly increase investments in irrigation in the region. However, the potential for irrigation investments in Africa is highly dependent upon geographic, hydrologic, agronomic, and economic factors that need to be taken into account when assessing the long-term viability and sustainability of planned projects. This paper analyzes the large, dam-based and small-scale irrigation investment potential in Africa based on agronomic, hydrologic, and economic factors. We find significant profitable irrigation potential for both small-scale and large-scale systems. This type of regional analysis can guide distribution of investment funds across countries and should be a first step prior to in-depth country- and local-level assessment of irrigation potential, which will be important to agricultural and economic development in Africa.     

Proactive and politically skilled professionals: What is the relationship with affective occupational commitment?

The aim of this study is to extend research on employee affective commitment in three ways: (1) instead of organizational commitment the focus is on occupational commitment; (2) the role of proactive personality on affective occupational commitment is examined; and (3) occupational satisfaction is examined as a mediator and political skills as moderator in the relationship between proactive personality and affective occupational commitment. Two connected studies, one in a hospital located in the private sector and one in a university located in the public sector, are carried out in Pakistan, drawing on a total sample of over 400 employees. The results show that proactive personality is positively related to affective occupational commitment, and that occupational satisfaction partly mediates the relationship between proactive personality and affective occupational commitment. No effect is found for a moderator effect of political skills in the relationship between proactive personality and affective occupational commitment. Political skills however moderate the relationship between proactive personality and affective organizational commitment.     

Diversification and top management team complementarity: is performance improved by merging similar or dissimilar teams?

This study examines the impact of complementary top management teams (defined as differences in functional backgrounds between the acquiring and acquired firm managers) on post-acquisition performance. Based on a sample of 147 acquisitions completed during 1986–88, we find that complementary backgrounds have a positive impact on postacquisition performance in both related and unrelated acquisitions. Another major finding is that complementarity is negatively related to top management team turnover among acquired managers, suggesting that differences in functional backgrounds are more easily integrated into the new organization. Finally, top management team turnover among acquired managers is negatively related to postacquisition performance. These findings highlight the importance of examining complementarity in terms of differences, and reinforce the notion that differences have the potential to create unique value for the organization. © 1997 by John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.