前瞻型环境战略对企业绿色创新绩效的影响研究--绿色智力资本与吸收能力的链式中介作用

近年来,将环境问题置于企业战略层面已得到普遍认同,绿色创新是我国经济新常态下解决环境问题实现可持续发展的关键。基于自然资源基础观理论、知识管理理论和吸收能力理论,本文对长三角地区249家制造业企业进行实证研究,验证前瞻型环境战略对绿色创新绩效的作用过程与影响机理。实证结果表明,制定前瞻型环境战略的企业可以通过积累绿色智力资本和增强吸收能力来提高企业绿色创新绩效。通过Bootstrap检验发现,绿色智力资本对吸收能力有积极影响,二者在前瞻型环境战略与绿色创新绩效间有链式中介作用,并在对比中发现链式中介效应与单独中介效应具有显著差异。研究为企业制定环境战略和提高绿色创新绩效提供了理论指导与管理启示。     

Hindering or enabling structural social capital to enhance buyer performance? The role of relational social capital at two levels in China

Purpose: In its cognitive, relational, and structural forms, social capital has been identi?ed as a powerful strategic tool. However, prior empirical studies focus only on the direct effect of various dimensions of social capital and address relational social capital at either a dyadic level or a network level. Drawing on the social capital theory and social network theory, this study fills the above-mentioned gaps by examining the role of structural and relational social capital on performance through exploring direct and interaction effects simultaneously and revealing the moderating effect of relational social capital at the dyadic and network levels (including business ties and political ties) simultaneously.

Methodology/Approach: Based on data for 393 distributors from China, a moderated regression analysis is used to test the hypotheses.

Findings: The empirical test generally supports the hypotheses and indicates that the value of structural social capital is conditional on both curvilinear and linear moderating effects of relational social capital: the moderating effects of business ties on the structural social capital–buyer performance relationship is inverted U-shaped, while the moderating effects of relational social capital at the dyadic level and political ties on the structural social capital–buyer performance relationship is positive.

Research Implications: This study incorporates all three dimensions of social capital, represents one of the first attempts to examine the interplay between structural and relational social capital in emerging economies, explores relational social capital at the dyadic and network levels simultaneously, and responses to the fact that buyer–supplier relationships (BSRs) are embedded within a larger context of social networks. By addressing these issues, this study sheds new light on the individual and joint impact of various dimensions of social capital and provides new evidence on both the positive and negative aspects of social capital in a single model.

Practical Implications: The results provide important implications for managers in addressing social capital in an emerging economy. In order to improve performance, managers should first encourage and foster frequent, diverse, scarce, and high-quality information exchange and interactions to accumulate structural social capital. Additionally, managers should not only emphasize relational social capital building and development in BSRs, but also pay attention to the cultivation of relational social capital among the business network. They should acknowledge the persistent positive effect of political ties and the potential negative effect of business ties.

Originality/Value/Contribution: First, few studies examine both the individual and synergetic effects of various dimensions of social capital in a single model or explicitly explore relational social capital in a dyadic relationship and deeply consider it at the network level in a single model. This study addresses these issues.     

The Positive Effect of Green Intellectual Capital on Competitive Advantages of Firms

No research explored intellectual capital about green innovation or environmental management. This study wanted to fill this research gap, and proposed a novel construct – green intellectual capital – to explore the positive relationship between green intellectual capital and competitive advantages of firms. The empirical results of this study showed that the three types of green intellectual capital – green human capital, green structural capital, and green relational capital – had positive effects on competitive advantages of firms. Moreover, this study found that green relational capital was the most common among these three types of green intellectual capital, and the three types of green intellectual capital of Medium & Small Enterprises (SMEs) were all significantly less than those of large enterprises in the information and electronics industry in Taiwan. In sum, companies investing many resources and efforts in green intellectual capital could not only meet the trends of strict international environmental regulations and popular environmental consciousness of consumers, but also eventually obtain corporate competitive advantages. Dr. Chen is an assistant professor in the Department of Business Administration in National Yunlin University of Science & Technology in Taiwan. His research focused on management of technology, innovation management, corporate environmental management, and patent analysis.     

A mediation model between dimensions of social capital

Our paper contributes to the growing research by examining the interrelations between the dimensions of capital and their effects on the international market share of multinational companies in the global contractors industry. Previous works on social capital have failed to study the interrelationships between its dimensions or have proposed models with direct relationships. The current study proposes a multiple mediating model and tests the mediation. In particular, we posit that the relational and resource dimensions play a mediating role in the structural dimension-international market share relationship. A variance-based structural equation modeling (Partial Least Squares) has been applied to a sample made up of 225 global contractors. Our analysis lends support to the importance of the central positions of a firm and their influence on international market share. Moreover, mediation hypotheses posit how the relational and resource dimensions play a critical mediating role in the structural dimension – international market share relationship. Analysis of the data suggest that the dimensions of social capital are interrelated in such a way that the relational and resource dimensions: (a) fully mediate the effect of centrality (structural dimension) on the international share market and (b) exert significant influence on the international market share of each company.     

The Impact of Environmental,Firm, and Relational Factors on Entrepreneurs' Ethically Suspect Behaviors

Entrepreneurs' engagement in ethically suspect behaviors (ESBs) can have seriously negative business and social consequences. Yet what defines entrepreneurs' ESBs remains unclear. Further, little is known about what factors contribute to such behaviors. This study provides conceptual clarification of entrepreneurs' ESBs and examines environmental, firm, and individual factors in relation to them. Results, based on data from 158 Chinese entrepreneurs, indicate that dynamism, firm performance, and relational social capital are all negatively related to ESBs. Firm performance partially mediates the relationship between dynamism and ESBs, and albeit with marginal support, the relationship between entrepreneurs' relational social capital and their ESBs.     

社会资本对网络群体行为影响的理论和实证分析

网络群体行为的影响因素和作用机理是以虚拟社区及其情境为载体的,可以从社会资本不同维度进行研究,这个问题的研究对象、基本架构及相应的理论分析,可通过虚拟社区平台为参照来建构分析模型。文章采用SEM技术对所建构的理论模型进行了分析讨论和实证检验,得出的重要结论是,在网络群体成员的关系网络中,社会资本对网络群体行为具有正向影响作用。文章讨论了西方学者所讨论的社会资本的结构维度、关系维度和认知维度的相关论述,认为社会资本不同维度对网络群体行为的作用是不同的;关系维度对网络群体行为的正向影响最为显著,结构维度对网络群体行为的促进作用要大于认知维度对网络群体行为的促进作用;通过对社会资本三维度影响网络群体行为的研究,文章在理论上对虚拟社区的网络群体行为有了一个从理论逼近现实的认识。     

The Influence of Corporate Environmental Ethics on Competitive Advantage: The Mediation Role of Green Innovation

This study utilizes structural equation modeling (SEM) to explore the positive effect of corporate environmental ethics on competitive advantage in the Taiwanese manufacturing industry via the mediator: green innovation performance. This study divides green innovation into green product innovation and green process innovation. The empirical results show that corporate environmental ethics positively affects green product innovation and green process innovation. In addition, this study verifies that green product innovation mediates the positive relationship between corporate environmental ethics and competitive advantage, but green process innovation does not. Therefore, corporate environmental ethics can not only affect competitive advantage directly, but also influence it indirectly via green product innovation in the Taiwanese manufacturing industry. Taiwanese manufacturing companies can increase their corporate environmental ethics and green product innovation to enhance their competitive advantages.     

Antecedents and consequences of global responsiveness: An empirical examination of MNCs in the global sourcing context

As global responsiveness (GR) has been recognised as critical for global market advantage, we draw upon social capital theory and develop a theoretical model which clarifies the determinants and consequences of GR. Based upon a cross-national sample of 118 MNCs from the U.S., Europe, and Asia, we found that intra-firm structural and inter-firm relational social capital, as reflected in integrative mechanisms and joint problem solving respectively, are positively associated with GR. In addition, whilst negatively related to global sourcing barriers, GR has a positive effect on MNC performance. Our findings also indicate that GR plays an essential role by fully mediating the associations of information-based mechanisms, people-based mechanisms, and joint problem solving with global sourcing barriers and MNC performance.     

Socially Sustainable Supply Chain Management and Suppliers’ Social Performance: The Role of Social Capital

The implementation of socially sustainable supply chain management (SSCM) practices (i.e. assessment and collaboration) to tackle suppliers’ social deficiencies (e.g. the use of child labour) often requires a level of cooperation that can be difficult to establish. Despite this daunting challenge, scant scholarly attention has been paid to explore how the implementation of socially SSCM practices can be effectively facilitated and enhanced. Drawing on social capital theory, this study examines the individual impact of assessment and collaboration practices on suppliers’ social performance and explores whether and how these effects can be moderated (strengthened) by the level of social capital (i.e. relational, cognitive, and structural) embedded in the buyer–supplier relationship. Based on a survey of 119 manufacturing companies in the UK, we found that assessment practices are less likely to influence suppliers to improve social performance compared to collaboration practices. However, when relational and structural capital are manifested in the relationship, assessment practices become significant in driving suppliers’ social performance. We also found that the positive impact of collaboration practices is more pronounced when relational and cognitive capital are established in the relationship. This paper contributes to the growing socially SSCM literature by disentangling the vital and relative importance of social capital dimensions on the implementation of socially SSCM practices.

     

The evolution of inter-organisational social capital with foreign customers: Its direct and interactive effects on SMEs’ foreign performance

Taking a longitudinal approach, we analyze how the evolution of different dimensions of social capital between an SME (Small and Medium enterprise) and its key foreign customers directly influences the firm’s foreign performance growth. Moreover, we utilize a contingency approach by introducing two dyad-specific characteristics into the analysis: psychic and geographic interorganizational distances. Our findings contribute to the international business literature on social capital and suggest that while an investment in social capital with distant foreign customers always reinforces SMEs’ foreign performance development, relational and cognitive social capital have the same positive effects only for low levels of interorganizational psychic distance.     

环境不确定性下农产品电子商务能力对企业绩效影响的实证研究

农产品电子商务是拓展农产品销售渠道、促进农业产业兴旺的重要力量。然而农产品电子商务企业亏损经营、甚至倒闭正成为该行业面临的巨大挑战。如何在复杂的市场环境下顺利开展农产品电子商务并获得企业绩效,亟需引起产业界和学术界的重视。基于动态能力理论,文章从组织敏捷性视角构建了环境不确定性下农产品电子商务能力对企业绩效的影响模型,讨论农产品电子商务能力对企业绩效的作用机制。实证结果表明,组织敏捷性对农产品电子商务能力和企业绩效之间的关系存在中介作用;环境不确定性的三个维度环境敌意、环境动态性和环境复杂性均阻碍了组织敏捷性对企业绩效的积极影响,但对农产品电子商务能力与组织敏捷性之间的关系没有显著调节作用。因此在环境不确定性下企业应合理配置自身的农产品电子商务能力,以此来提高组织敏捷性并获取竞争优势。     

Local Responsiveness Pressure, Subsidiary Resources, Green Management Adoption and Subsidiary’s Performance: Evidence from Taiwanese Manufactures

This study aims to explore if local responsiveness pressure and subsidiary resources influence green management adoption of overseas subsidiaries, and to investigate the relationships between the level of green management adoption and performance. The 101 effective samples were collected from 583 Taiwanese firms, which are listed in the top 1000 manufactory firms and have invested in China. Through structural equation model (SEM) analysis’ empirical results indicate that local responsiveness pressure and subsidiary resources both have positive effects on the level of green management adoption of the subsidiary. This study also suggests that the level of green management adoption is positively related to the subsidiary’s performance. Peng, Yu-Shu is an Associate Professor in the Department of International Business in the School of Management, National Dong Hwa University in Taiwan, R.O.C. He has published in the areas of the international business, strategic management, and business ethics. He received his Ph.D. in Business Administration from the National Chengchi University in Taiwan, R.O.C. Lin, Shing-Shiuan is a graduate student in the Department of International Business in the School of Management, National Dong Hwa University in Taiwan, R.O.C. Her research topics focus on environmental management.     

How do relational bonds affect user engagement in e-commerce livestreaming? The mediating role of trust

E-commerce livestreaming depends heavily on user engagement. However, the effect of relational bonds (i.e., financial bonds, social bonds, and structural bonds) on user engagement in e-commerce livestreaming has not been well understood. Our study develops a conceptual model to investigate the impacts of relational bonds on user engagement and addresses the mediating role of trust. We collected data from users of the DianTao App. The results show that social bonds and structural bonds positively affect user engagement, while financial bonds have no direct impact on user engagement. Financial bonds, social bonds, and structural bonds are positively related to trust in the broadcaster. Similarly, financial bonds, social bonds, and structural bonds are also positively associated with trust in the platform. Furthermore, trust in the broadcaster and trust in the platform directly affects user engagement, fully mediating the impact of financial bonds on user engagement, while partially mediating the impacts of social bonds and structural bonds on user engagement. In addition, we find that experience moderates the mediating effects of trust between relational bonds and user engagement. The findings of this study provide useful insights for operators who should invest in building relational bonds and user trust to improve user engagement in e-commerce livestreaming.     

Examining Corporate Communications of Environmental Responsibility on Corporate Websites: Main Themes,Linguistic Features,and Text Reuse

Abstract

The present study intends to examine environmental corporate social responsibility (ECSR) disclosure on official corporate websites within and across a collection of companies. Through an automated content analysis, the findings suggest two broad themes underlying corporate disclosure, and significant associations between personal pronoun usage/lexical diversity and corporate CSR performance were found. In addition, text reuse analysis illuminated certain communication patterns across different industries. Overall, the present study implicates not only theoretical research on ECSR disclosure, but also practical ECSR reporting on corporate websites.     

Big data analytics and firm performance: Effects of dynamic capabilities

Drawing on the resource-based view and the literature on big data analytics (BDA), information system (IS) success and the business value of information technology (IT), this study proposes a big data analytics capability (BDAC) model. The study extends the above research streams by examining the direct effects of BDAC on firm performance (FPER), as well as the mediating effects of process-oriented dynamic capabilities (PODC) on the relationship between BDAC and FPER. To test our proposed research model, we used an online survey to collect data from 297 Chinese IT managers and business analysts with big data and business analytic experience. The findings confirm the value of the entanglement conceptualization of the hierarchical BDAC model, which has both direct and indirect impacts on FPER. The results also confirm the strong mediating role of PODC in improving insights and enhancing FPER. Finally, implications for practice and research are discussed.     

Green Innovation and Performance: The View of Organizational Capability and Social Reciprocity

Synthesizing insights from a dynamic capability perspective and social network theory, this study identifies the factors influencing green innovation and examines the relationships between influencing factors, green innovation, and performance. This study uses structural equation modeling to test the research hypotheses. The results indicate that dynamic capability, coordination capability, and social reciprocity are significant drivers of green innovation, including green product innovation and green process innovation. Green product and process innovation have positive effects on environmental performance and organizational performance. These findings are relevant to firms in quest of green management and innovation.     

渠道关系中社会资本对战略绩效的作用路径研究

目前社会资本在促进渠道成员的合作中扮演了重要作用，但有关社会资本对企业绩效之间的作用机制还需要做进一步探究。针对这一现象，文章基于渠道关系视角，探讨了结构社会资本和关系社会资本对战略绩效的作用路径。基于393家中国计算机及其零件行业的企业数据，引入知识冗余和共同解决问题两个中间变量，建立了社会资本、共同解决问题、知识冗余和战略绩效间的关系模型，实证研究结果发现：结构社会资本和关系社会资本会通过促进知识冗余和共同解决问题进而提升战略绩效。研究结论拓展了渠道关系管理、社会资本领域的研究，并对企业实践具有指导意义。     

The Impact of Relational Capital on the Success of New Business Start‐Ups

This study seeks to highlight the key role played by relational capital in new business start‐ups. Following a review of previous research examining the success factors of new ventures and the role played by intellectual capital, our study sets out to achieve this objective by analyzing the impact of a set of intangible relational assets on the initial success of new business start‐ups. Based on a study of 130 firms, we analyzed six hypotheses regarding the possible positive relationship between the relational capital of a start‐up company and its success in its first few years of business.     

Paradox strategic cognition and ECSR in China: a three-tripod perspective

Literature rooted in institutional theory and stakeholder theory offers conflicting views on the relationship between environmental corporate social responsibility (ECSR) and financial performance. However, both failed to explain why firms interpret this relationship variously which is subjective to a firm’s strategic cognition. How firms interpret this relationship affects the ECSR decision and implementation. Drawing on the paradox theory, four hypotheses were proposed and examined using data from 170 manufacturing firms in China. This study found paradox strategic cognition positively affects ECSR. Legal enforcement inefficiency, competitive intensity and industrial power weaken the effect of paradox strategic cognition on ECSR.     

知识动态能力视角的电商平台大数据分析价值链战略

电子商务领域信息技术的开放性提高了服务创新的可见性,为适应多维度要素交互的平台竞争环境,需要基于电商平台丰富的数据资源,通过大数据分析提高战略规划的动态性、灵活性和响应敏捷性,形成一种能够快速集合与组织资源的模式,实现业务价值传递的可持续,满足竞争对抗与互动以及时间轴动态演化的需要。鉴于此,基于大数据分析、知识管理、动态能力、业务流程理论和指向性网络调查数据,构建大数据分析价值链战略研究模型,探讨大数据分析、动态能力、流程级创新与核心竞争力及战略绩效之间的关联。研究结果表明,大数据分析能实现有效的内生源和外生源知识管理,帮助企业形成动态能力,构建核心竞争力,进而提高战略绩效;大数据分析能提高企业组织的灵活性,可作为企业在竞争中赖以生存发展的战略投资;外生源知识管理和内生源知识管理均可单独运作产生知识动态能力,但外生源知识管理的作用更显著有效,更值得重视;知识共享是流程级创新的潜在障碍,与合作商进行知识共享需要选择合适的路径;动态能力既可直接影响流程级创新与核心竞争力,也可调节知识资产对竞争力的影响。总之,大数据分析能够通过影响动态能力和流程级创新来提高核心竞争力,且动态能力在知识管理与流程级创新及核心竞争力(战略绩效)间具有中介作用,电商平台应客观认识大数据分析潜在价值,将之纳入信息技术战略,通过梳理大数据分析→动态能力→核心竞争力→战略绩效的价值链过程,形成战略协同,最终提高知识创新的边际绩效。