The tale of two research communities: The diffusion of research on productive efficiency

The field of theoretical and applied efficiency analysis is pursued both by economists and people from operational research and management science. Each group tends to cite a different paper as the seminal one. Recent availability of extensive electronically accessible databases of journal articles makes studies of the diffusion of papers through citations possible. Research strands inspired by the seminal paper within economics are identified and followed by citation analysis during the 20-year period before the operations research paper was published. The first decade of the operations research paper is studied in a similar way and emerging differences in diffusion patterns are pointed out. Main factors influencing citations apart from the quality of the research contribution are reputation of journal, reputation of author, number of close followers; colleagues, “cadres of protégés”, Ph.D. students, and extent of network (“invisible college”). Such factors are revealed by the citing papers. In spite of increasing cross contacts between economics and operations research the last decades co-citation analysis reveals a relative constant tendency to stick to “own camp” references.     

A FRAMEWORK FOR ANALYZING CHANGES IN STRATEGIC PERFORMANCE

In this paper we present a framework for analyzing changes in strategic performance. Traditional measures for comparing the strategic performance across firms or over time have been return on investment (ROI) and its component ratio, return on sales (ROS). We decompose the ROS ratio into four separate ratios that capture the impact of changes in a firm's productivity, price recovery, product mix and capacity utilization on its profitability. These ratios help to highlight the micro sources of strategic success or failure. They can be used to assess changes in the performance of a firm compared to itself over time, or to other firms in its industry group. This framework can also be used to evaluate changes in the dynamic performance of an industry as a whole. We illustrate the use of these ratios with a 4-year analysis of the performance of a large manufacturing company. We also demonstrate how the technique can be applied to an industry with an evaluation of the performance of U.S. telecommunications firms between 1975 and 1987, a period during which the industry experienced a progressive increase in competitive pressure.     

Intellectual property rights and the evolution of scientific journals as knowledge platforms

The objective of this paper is to evaluate the role that formal intellectual property rights (IPR) play in shaping the downstream demand for knowledge that is initially disclosed through scientific publication in fields where research is generated and utilized across different institutional settings (i.e., academia versus industry). For scientific discoveries with potential commercial applicability, researchers (or their funders) may also seek to establish formal intellectual property protection (e.g., patents); choosing to establish a “patent–paper pair” allows researchers to influence follow-on access to knowledge disclosed in a given scientific journal. This paper evaluates the relationship between scientific journal publication and patenting in research communities with significant public and private authorship by examining the incidence and impact of patent–paper pairs in two journals founded in the late 1990s/early 2000s, Nature Biotechnology and Nature Materials. Using a differences-in-differences framework that exploits the delay between publication and patent grant, we document a range of findings about the impact of patent grant across time and across research populations. First, we find that the negative impact of patent grant is concentrated in the first few years after a journal's founding and eventually becomes positive. Second, patent grant positively impacts follow-on citations from private authors more than from public authors. Finally, we observe an assortative matching pattern where intellectual property grant increases forward citations from authors sharing the same institutional affiliation (e.g., public authors citing public papers) more than research across institutional lines (e.g., public authors citing private papers).     

Does interdependency affect firm and industry profitability? an empirical test

Strategy researchers have argued that heterogeneity in firms' practices and profitability within and across industries may derive from industry‐level differences in the extent of interdependencies among firms' activities. Theoretical models have clarified how and why differences in the extent of the interdependencies faced by firms across industries may affect the distributions of firm profits, but the specific predictions from these models have not been empirically tested. In this paper, we present what we believe is the first large scale empirical analysis linking differences in the extent of interdependencies across industries to differences in the distribution of firm profits within and across those industries. We use survey data to measure interdependencies systematically across a wide number of industries, thus addressing the primary obstacle to incorporating interdependencies in larger scale empirical work, and find evidence consistent with the theoretical predictions: average profitability is highest in industries with moderate levels of interdependency; the dispersion of profits among firms is higher in industries with more extensive interdependencies; and industries with more extensive interdependencies have a more positively skewed performance distribution. We find that the effect of interdependencies on average industry profitability is similar in scale to the effect of patent protection and industry growth rates, placing interdependency squarely among the strategy field's central concepts. Copyright © 2009 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Product appeal,differences in tastes,and export performance: Evidence for Danish chocolate and confectionery

This paper studies the relationship between domestic market performance and export performance. We employ data on production and trade in the Danish chocolate and confectionery industry to obtain estimates of domestic ‘product appeal’ (reflecting non-price factors of domestic performance). Domestic product appeal is influenced not only by inherent characteristics of the product, but also by the tastes and preferences of domestic consumers. For many consumer goods, tastes depend on customs, culture etc. A product’s domestic appeal is therefore an imperfect predictor of foreign demand (and hence of export performance), especially in destinations where tastes differ substantially from domestic tastes. We combine estimates of domestic product appeal with information on destination-specific exports and a novel measure of differences in tastes across countries to confirm this hypothesis. Results are consistent across both a Tobit model with destination-specific censoring point and the BLP estimator, which additionally reveals substantial heterogeneity in tastes for product appeal within countries across consumers.     

Success Factors for Service Innovation: A Meta‐Analysis

Service sectors form a considerable part of the world economy. Contrary to the logical assumption that service innovation research should represent a significant share of all innovation research, the vast majority of innovation studies focus on products as opposed to services. This research presents a meta‐analysis of the antecedents of service innovation performance conducted on 92 independent samples obtained from 114 articles published between 1989 and 2015. This research contributes to our understanding of service innovation in three major ways. First, this is the first meta‐analysis that specifically assesses the relative importance of antecedents of service innovation performance, while also pinpointing the differences in meta‐analytic findings between antecedents of service and product innovation performance. Although there are some universal success factors that transcend the boundaries between services and products, the presence of marked differences implies that it would be wrong to treat the development of new services and new products as the same. Second, the meta‐analysis demonstrates that the antecedents of service innovation performance are contingent on the sector context (i.e., explicit versus tacit services). Comparing results between products and services, and between tacit and explicit services, there appears to be a continuum where explicit services sit interstitial between tacit services on one side and products on the other. Third, the meta‐analysis compares and contrasts the antecedents of two dimensions of service innovation performance (i.e., commercial success and strategic competitive advantage). Previous meta‐analyses treated these two dependent variables collectively, which falls short of identifying issues that may affect management decisions when faced with different objectives. Additionally, this research investigates the effect of several other moderators (i.e., culture, unit of analysis, journal quality, and year of publication) on the relationships between the antecedents and service innovation performance. The results are discussed in relation to their implications for research and managerial practice.     

The evolution of the telecommunications policy agenda: Forty years of articles in Telecommunications Policy

This paper investigates the evolution of the telecommunications policy agenda by means of text mining forty years –from 1976 to 2016– of papers in the journal Telecommunications Policy. Text mining techniques help identify the key topics, the dominant combinations of concepts and the main areas of research within this multidisciplinary –technical, economic, social, policy– discipline. In addition they depict an evolution of the policy agenda more nuanced than the conventional public service, pre-competition and post-liberalisation stages typical of telecommunications. Also, in combination with bibliometric information, the results display the relationships between areas of research and methodologies, countries and authors’ background, all together providing a deeper understanding of the past, present and future avenues for research in telecommunications policy.     

Entry mode and equity level: A multilevel examination of foreign direct investment ownership structure

Over the last two decades, strategy researchers have sought to understand the ownership structure of firms' foreign direct investments (FDI) as reflected in entry mode and equity level. However, prior FDI research has ignored the interrelated nature of these key FDI decisions. In addition, prior research does not fully account for the fact that individual ownership structure decisions occur within the context of a firm's broader FDI portfolio, and thus reflect a wide and frequently unobserved range of parent firm and host nation effects. Our research seeks to address both of these limitations. Using a rich dataset of 4,459 subsidiaries established by 858 Japanese firms across 38 countries over a 9‐year period, we specify a conditional bivariate, cross‐classified multilevel model of FDI ownership structure. Our model enables the joint estimation of entry mode and equity level, accounts for the portfolio nature of FDI, and compares the relative predictive power of transaction cost‐ and experience‐based explanatory variables across both facets of ownership structure. Copyright © 2007 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

A systematic review of the trade show marketing literature: 1980–2014

The trade show marketing literature has been growing over the past decades, attracting a steady stream of research and journal publications. However, this body of research has not been subject to a systematic literature review. Accordingly, the purpose of this article is to provide a systematic review of the trade show marketing literature with the aim of delineating its current state, trends, gaps and inconsistencies. To this end, multiple electronic databases were searched and 91 trade show articles published in 24 marketing journals were extracted. The extracted articles were carefully analyzed with the help of a comprehensive classification framework focusing on broad thematic, theoretical and methodological dimensions. The findings revealed that: (a) trade show research is marked by inconsistencies that concern core thematic issues, such as trade show participation modes, trade show activity stages and trade show performance; (b) trade show research is atheoretical for the most part, but has become increasingly theory oriented in recent years; and (c) trade show research is heavily dependent on a combination of cross-sectional designs and surveys, with limited application of other designs and data collection approaches. Building on these findings, the review proposes an extensive research agenda to help move the trade show marketing literature forward.     

三通之后的未来

去年12月15日,内地和台湾全面启动海运直航、空运直航和直接通邮,两岸关系正式迈入“大三通”时代,分散在两岸的台湾人终于可以为结束“时间换空间”的苦日子而欢呼雀跃了。     

Matching method to paradigm in strategy research: limitations of cross‐sectional analysis and some methodological alternatives

A central focus of empirical research in strategic management has been to understand the relationships associated with the structure–strategy–performance paradigm. To examine these relationships, investigators have relied extensively on cross‐sectional methods that embody the implicit assumption that model parameters are stable across firms and over time. Yet, many of the theoretical constructs used in strategic management have clear firm‐ and time‐specific components. Hence, it might be expected that the parameters of the relationships investigated empirically will vary across firms and over time. Whereas recent research has raised concerns about the use of cross‐sectional analysis when parameters vary over time, little attention has been given to the issue of parameter variability across firms. Given the focus of strategy researchers on firm‐level effects and the predominant reliance on cross‐sectional analysis, accounting for across‐firm variability is a significant methodological issue. Failure to account for such variability can lead to biased parameter estimates and incorrect inferences. This paper argues for the adoption of alternative methods that can overcome the limitations of a cross‐sectional analysis and it offers guidance on how researchers can proceed to use these alternative methods to explicitly incorporate or test for variation in model parameters across firms or over time. Copyright © 1999 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

On the utilization of resources: perspectives from the U.S. telecommunications industry

The issue of resource utilization is important in the resource-based stream of work, since the ability of firms to utilize resources is a key indicator of their competitive abilities. This paper specifies why some firms might be better at utilizing resources than others. Thereafter, it demonstrates how to empirically ascertain differences in resource utilization patterns between firms using the U.S. telecommunications industry as a context. The data envelopment analysis procedure (DEA), which is a firm-level resource utilization measure, is used. This procedure can be useful for the resource-based approach research agenda since performance is measured in resource terms. DEA is applied to measure variations in different dimensions of resource utilization for the firms making up the local operating sector of the telecommunications industry. The use of DEA to guide empirical research and address theoretical issues within the resource-based paradigm is illustrated, using the resource utilization index for the telecommunications firms as the measure of strategic performance. © 1998 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

利润区指数模型:企业利润区定量分析范式

本文基于过程管理的研究思路,提出企业运营的内因势能和弹性势能概念,并根据企业运营过程中的势能状况来界定企业的利润区,选定关键环节的具体评价指标体系,建立了企业利润区指数模型,并采用超越对数方法对指数模型的具体函数形式进行逼近,最后利用上市公司生产经营的真实数据进行实证研究。结果进一步印证了利润区指数模型用于企业利润区定量分析的合理性。本文给出了一种企业利润区分析的定量研究新范式。     

Supply chain management in industrial marketing–Relationships matter

The focal research topics in industrial marketing management have evolved significantly since IMM was first published in 1971. Part of this evolution has been the inclusion of research in supply chain management, which is the focus of this paper. The purpose of this paper is to assess themes across the classic articles in supply chain management (SCM) published in IMM, and explore how the field of SCM has evolved since their publication. A systematic literature review was used to assess SCM research in IMM, identify themes and publication patterns, and use these themes to assess gaps in extant research and opportunities for future research. Results of the literature review show that over 58% of the SCM research published in IMM has focused on buyer-supplier relationships and other purchasing and supply management topics. These will continue to be key topics in IMM. In addition, our literature review suggests opportunities for more SCM research in IMM around sustainability, logistics, and manufacturing innovation. These areas within the SCM umbrella are under-researched, yet yield significant opportunities for future research in a time of constant change within companies' distribution models.     

Which country matters? Institutional development and foreign affiliate performance

This article investigates the effect of the level of institutional development of host countries on the level of and variation in foreign affiliate performance. Institutional development is defined as the extent to which the economic, political, and social institutions in a host country are developed and are favorable for foreign affiliates. A longitudinal analysis of over 30,000 foreign affiliate‐year cases that include 6,985 foreign affiliates in 38 host countries between 1996 and 2001 shows that foreign affiliate performance varies noticeably both across and within host countries. The results suggest that the level of institutional development, as determined by the Institutional Development Index (IDI), a new measurement developed in this study, has a strong negative curvilinear relationship with the variation in foreign affiliate performance and a negative effect on the level of foreign affiliate performance. The implications for future research, practice, and policymaking are discussed. Copyright © 2008 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Do We Have to Get Along to Innovate? The Influence of Multilevel Social Cohesion on New Product and New Service Development

In this study, based on the Comparative Performance Assessment Study survey conducted by the Product Development Management Association, the authors develop and test a model which considers the antecedents and performance outcomes of social cohesion, a seemingly critical organizational factor in new product development (NPD). Using a sample of over 450 innovation and product development professionals from North America, Europe, and Asia, social cohesion is conceptualized and tested across three levels—within team cohesion, between team cohesion, and between firm cohesion. The results of a structural equation model indicate several differences between the antecedents of the varying forms of social cohesion. A post hoc exploration of the difference between goods‐ versus service‐dominant firms provides a clearer picture of cohesion's influence on innovation outcomes. Specifically, within team and between team cohesion are positively associated with new services performance, while for traditional goods‐based NPD, within team, between team, and between firm cohesion all appear to be positively related to performance. The findings suggest that high social cohesion is not always optimal and that managers should focus on specific types or levels of social cohesion as opposed to thinking about social cohesion as a one‐dimensional construct. The findings also suggest that goods‐ and service‐centric firms can use different tactics or strategies to drive social cohesion and, ultimately, new product performance, and that innovation managers may need to allocate resources differently depending on the nature of the market offering being developed. The paper also presents several implications for theory and practice, as well as future research directions related to the various levels of social cohesion and their influence on new product and new service performance.     

Institutional ownership,capital structure,and firm performance

In most studies of ownership and firm performance, researchers have assumed different forms of ownership do not interact in their effect on firm strategy or performance. Focusing on the role of institutional owners, this study poses two related questions: (1) What are the relationships between outside institutional shareholdings, on the one hand, and a firm's capital structure and performance, on the other? and; (2) Does the size of stockholdings by corporate executives, family owners, and insider-institutions modify those relationships? The data, collected from 40 pairs of manufacturing firms selected from as many industries over a 3-year period, shows that the size of outside institutional stockholdings has a significant effect on the firm's capital structure. We have also found that family and inside institutional owners' shareholdings moderate the relationship between outside institutional shareholdings and capital structure. Likewise, corporate executives' shareholdings supplement the relationship between outside institutional shareholdings and firms' performance. These findings suggest that internal and external coalitions interact with each other to influence the firm's conduct.     

Growth and Development of a Body of Knowledge: 16 Years of New Product Development Research, 1989–2004*

In this study, a content analysis was performed on 815 articles focused on new product development (NPD) published in 10 selected leading marketing, management, NPD, and research and development (R&D) journals from 1989 to 2004. Journals selected were a combination of leading journals in the discipline and publications that included NPD articles. NPD articles were classified by a series of key attributes including methodology employed, domains of knowledge utilized, and broad topics explored. The resulting data were then studied to discern trends over time or common characteristics within domains, methodologies, or journals. The study of NPD has grown since the Journal of Product Innovation Management (JPIM) was launched in 1984. This study shows strong growth in the number of articles on NPD in each category of journal selected. The research in the articles has changed: The early focus on a few selected success factors or a staged development process has evolved and broadened over the 16‐year period. More variables and more sophisticated models are being studied in NPD articles. The study found a continuing evolution in research topics and increased sophistication in quantitative techniques over the 16‐year period. Overall this review of the NPD literature uncovers encouraging signs of a maturing discipline. However, there are concerns about continuing issues in methodology, insufficient study of service innovation, and continued focus on process characteristics instead of other antecedents of NPD success. The service sector seems to be understudied, even as the reality of a service economy is generally acknowledged. The call in a recent meta‐analysis to focus more on market and product characteristics and less on process characteristics has not yet been heeded, even by marketing researchers.     

Innovation orientations and their effects on business performance: contrasting small‐ and medium‐sized service firms

This study examines the relative performance of small‐ versus medium‐sized service firms with respect to innovation orientations and their effect on business performance. We examine the effect of innovation on business performance between the two groups of firms, exploring differences in innovation orientation on performance between the groups of small‐ and medium‐sized firms. We also examine differences within each group, exploring the extent to which innovation focus differs within each group. The empirical data were drawn from 180 managers in Australian service small and medium enterprises. The findings suggest that while there is no difference between small‐ and medium‐sized firms with respect to their innovation orientations, significant differences exist between the firm's size with respect to the effect of innovation orientations on business performance. Specifically, exploitation innovation has a stronger effect on business performance among small firms compared with medium‐sized firms, and exploration innovation shows a stronger effect on business performance among medium‐sized firms compared with small firms. Overall, the findings show important relative differences between innovation orientations and business performance across different sized firms.     

Generalized vs. specific locus of control expectancies of chief executive officers

Hodgkinson (1992) recently advocated in this journal that measures of generalized control expectancies, such as the well known Rotter I-E scale (Rotter, 1966), are not suited to study the relationship between the locus of control beliefs of Chief Executive Officers (CEOs) on the one hand and strategic, structural and performance variables on the other hand. According to Hodgkinson (1992) a more specific scale, measuring strategic control expectancies, should be used in future research. We argue and empirically illustrate that such a methodology will not lead to interesting research results in the ‘strategic leadership’ domain. More specifically, measures of firm-specific control expectancies are likely to be influenced by the CEO's perception of the situational context of the firm and are therefore not indicative of fundamental personality differences between CEOs. Consequently, such measures cannot give an answer to the basic research question whether and why the personality of CEOs plays an important role in explaining organizational behavior and performance.