Organisational determinants of employee turnover for multinational companies in Asia

High employee turnover rates among multinational companies (MNCs) in Asia have become an organisational issue, which cannot be sufficiently addressed at the individual level. In this paper, we examine the issue of employee turnover at the organisational level. A group of organisational variables (e.g., training, size, age, industry, percentage of expatriate managers and headquarters’ national base) were tested, using a sample of 529 MNCs in six Asian countries. The standard multiple regressions show that training, size, the length of operation in local subsidiary and nature of industry are significantly related to turnover. An effect of the percentage of expatriate managers present in the local subsidiary on employee turnover appears to be moderate. These results fill a research gap by identifying organisational variables (as opposed to individual characteristics) and contribute to better explanation of employee turnover at firm level. Implications to MNCs in the greater Chinese region and Asia are discussed.     

The threat of organizational downsizing on the innovative propensity of R&D professionals

Downsizings, re‐engineering, and restructuring continue to be strategic initiatives employed by the management of US companies. Although the lay‐offs that result from these activities have yielded some short‐term benefits for companies, over the long term, the ability of the firm to innovate new products and processes may be compromised.
In this article four antecedent variables of individual innovation are identified: a willingness to take risks, a willingness to make suggestions, the degree to which one is motivated by the job, and the degree to which one is motivated by fear. A model is developed and hypotheses proposed to test the effect of the threat of downsizings on these four factors. The results of our study revealed that these threats have a significant effect on all four factors in a direction which is detrimental to the propensity of R&D professionals to be innovative.
The article concludes with suggestions for R&D managers in a downsizing environment to foster the innovation process at the individual level.     

Beyond high tech: early adopters of open innovation in other industries

Companies have historically invested in large research and development departments to drive innovation and provide sustainable growth. This model, however, is eroding due to a number of factors. What is emerging is a more open model, where companies recognize that not all good ideas will come from inside the organization and not all good ideas created within the organization can be successfully marketed internally. To date, Open Innovation concepts have been regarded as relevant primarily to 'high-technology' industries, with examples that include Lucent, 3Com, IBM, Intel and Millenium Pharmaceuticals. In this article, we identify organizations in industries outside 'high technology' that are early adopters of the concept. Our findings demonstrate that many Open Innovation concepts are already in use in a wide range of industries. We document practices that appear to assist organizations adopting these concepts, and discover that Open Innovation is not ipso facto a recipe for outsourcing R&D. We conclude that Open Innovation has utility as a paradigm for industrial innovation beyond high tech to more traditional and mature industries.     

Technology management and collaboration profile: virtual companies and industrial platforms in the high‐tech biotechnology industries

In this paper we discuss collaboration in the area of technology management. We propose the concept of collaboration profile to describe various forms of networks along key differentiating characteristics. The collaboration profile is then applied using two examples to illustrate different forms of collaboration in the biotechnology industries, the ‘virtual company’ and the ‘industrial platform’. Based on interviews with members of a virtual company as well as members of industrial platforms and drawing conclusions from theoretical insights, the advantages and disadvantages of these forms and their suitability for different stages of the technology life cycle will be discussed. Specifically, we address the following questions: What kind of collaboration profile applies to virtual companies and industrial platforms? How does the suitability of collaboration forms vary with the stage of technology development? Furthermore, we demonstrate the usefulness of the collaboration profile for analysing features and potential problems of collaborations by describing two examples. Focusing on the key characteristics of a collaboration helps to check the appropriateness of the collaboration form and to identify and manage respective problems.     

A model of corporate innovation management: some recent high tech innovations in Japan

The various models of Japanese corporate innovation management reported in literature are reviewed to identify the major elements of the innovation process. An integrated model is presented examining the recent examples. The Japanese corporate innovation process is highly interactive and involves comprehensive organizational intelligence, quick organizational learning, rapid technology diffusion, horizontal information flow systems, fusion of different technologies to obtain innovations quickly, concurrent engineering and quick utilization of core competence for new business development. The innovation system is quick to respond to competition and concentrates on developing core competence that is used for commercializing new products quickly.     

高油价下国际大物探公司的发展动向

近几年,受高油价带来的高利润的驱使,石油公司纷纷加大勘探投资力度。全球油气勘探开发市场异常活跃,物探公司盈利增加、物探市场规模不断扩大以及物探行业的技术进步都为物探行业的发展带来了机遇。但是,受资源国加强资源控制、重点勘探地区进入难度和风险加大、勘探成本上升、人力资源短缺等因素的影响,物探公司也面临一些新的挑战。为此,国际大物探公司纷纷调整发展战略和经营策略,主要动向包括;1）通过兼并收购提高综合竞争力;2）实施蓝海战略,实现价值创新;3）积极塑造物探技术品牌形象;4）重视价值链的纵向和横向延伸;5）重新处理旧数据体增值;6）采用新技术、新设备,实现增效降本。我国石油物探企业应借鉴国际大物探公司的成功经验,密切关注物探市场变化趋势,抓住市场机遇,结合企业实际,不断调整发展战略。     

营造氛围 选好定位——浅议中小企业发展形势

改革开放的二十年，是中国经济腾飞的二十年，同时也是我国中小企业不断发展壮大的二十年。二十年来，我国的中小企业在国民经济发展中发挥了重要的作用，主要表现在：     

并购中高科技企业价值评估难点的思考

本文根据高科技企业收入和赢利成长模式有别于一般产业的特点,指出了在高科技企业价值评估中出现的几个难点.     

从6Wind看中小企业国际化

作为6Wind公司——一个中小企业的CEO,Alain当初并没有想过公司会走向国际化。借助于前沿的嵌入式IP-Agnostic (互联网协议无关)网络软件技术授权,6Wind分别在加州、马萨诸赛州和印度设有研发中心。虽然仅仅成立     

The development of consulting in goods-based companies

The article focuses on the developments in several B2B companies which traditionally produce goods and based on this experience are trying to enter the business of management consulting. It is the aim of the paper to identify the specific challenges that these companies are facing regarding marketing and selling their management consulting services. Furthermore hypotheses are developed that should give direction how to overcome those challenges successfully. Due to the lack of current research results, an explorative case study approach is chosen referring to two companies from the IT industry having gained relevant experience in this business area. In addition, theoretical frameworks demonstrate the plausibility of the hypotheses developed. If further research supports these hypotheses, it will have significant impact on the market strategy, marketing communication and sales organization of companies going to increase their consulting services.     

The network perspective and the internationalization of small and medium sized software firms from Syria

This study has employed a case-based approach to explore the relevance of relational factors in explaining the internationalization of six software B2B SMEs from Syria. It contributes by providing rare empirical insights on the internationalization behavior of Middle Eastern SMEs and redressing, albeit slightly, the apparent research gap in the internationalization of knowledge-based SMEs from developing countries. Analysis results suggest the importance of the relational perspective in explaining the initial internationalization, market selection and internationalization speed of the investigated software firms. It emerged that the case firms either reacted to the cross-border opportunities offered by their relational contacts or proactively pursued overseas opportunities through existing and newly developed relationships. Their market entry decisions and internationalization pace also appear to have been influenced by these relationships. Both social and business networks were found to be important, but social ties seemed more influential at initial stages, with business networks becoming more dominant subsequently. The article concludes with appropriate recommendations for managerial decision making and future research.     

高油价下美国主要石油公司投资特点和行为分析

通过分析1974-2005年美国主要石油公司的投资数据,总结出在不同的原油价格下美国主要石油公司的投资特点和主要业务板块的投资行为;总投资油价高度关联、总业务板块的投资额和投资比例随着油价变化而调整、油价剧烈变化时容易发生公司并购.近30年来,美国主要石油公司的油气生产业务更倾向国外,注重天然气和海上油气的开发.在炼油业务方面,美国主要石油公司炼厂数量减少,规模扩大,技术升级加快,开工率提高,环保成本大幅度上升,炼油操作成本持续降低,在毛利稳定.油品销售方面,加油部数量下降,单站销量上升,加油模式开始转型,单站投资增加,零售利呈下降趋势.在油价持续高涨、环保压力越来越大的情况下,美国主要石油公司开始重视非常规石油资源和可再生能源的发展,重视恪守社会责任,宣传清洁能源和经济能源.     

中国民营钻井队伍发展现状调查

钻井在油气勘探开发中占有重要地位。在国内,除中国石油、中国石化、中国海油等国有公司从事钻井活动外,民营钻井队伍在钻井服务市场所占的份额也越来越大。本文从公司规模、钻井能力、工程技术服务能力、市场开发能力和技术创新能力五个方面对排名前十位的民营钻井公司进行了分析,概述了中国民营钻井队伍的总体发展情况。预计未来国际国内钻井市场前景向好,中国民营钻井队伍发展前景广阔。     

跨国石油公司尼日利亚商业贿赂案例分析

近年来,一些世界闻名的跨国石油公司在尼日利亚的油气业务陆续爆出商业贿赂丑闻.典型的贿赂案例包括哈里伯顿公司巨额贿赂案、壳牌和埃尼涉嫌OPL245区块贿赂案、壳牌和泛亚班拿公司在尼日利亚行贿案.石油领域商业贿赂在尼日利亚的发展特点是:贿赂行为日趋普遍化;牵涉面广,涉案金额巨大;操作方法复杂,手段隐蔽;跨越国界限制,给司法治理带来难度.为净化国际油气市场,应加大治理商业贿赂的国际合作力度,建立长效机制,引导企业自律,营造公平竞争的市场环境.     

EMS企业急需服务升级

随着中国日益成为全球电子制造的中心,这一市场的走向也牵动着全球电子业的神经。 2006年中国电子信息产品整机市场将呈现加强研发、走向高端、转型升级的景象,数字音视频、图像处     

Career orientations of R&D professionals in Korea

This study empirically examined the relationships between career orientations of R&D professionals in Korea and other personal characteristics such as demographic factors, work-related outcomes, and reward preferences. The results, based on the survey about 1,240 technical people in 15 R&D organizations, revealed five distinctive and independent career orientations: technical, manager, project, technical transfer, and entrepreneurial orientations. The career orientations of R&D professionals are found to be different between private and public sectors and to be associated with their education level and organizational tenure. It is also observed that R&D professionals with different career orientations exhibit different work-related outcomes and reward preferences. For instance, technical-oriented professionals tend to be more educated, to exhibit better job attitudes and technical performances, and to favor professional rewards. While those with manager and transfer orientations are longer-tenured, have more positive job attitudes but lower technical performances, and prefer social status and prestige and career rewards in their organization. Both project- and entrepreneur-oriented professionals exhibit a less positive attitude toward their organizations, but seek different reward schemes: the former pursues challenging R&D projects with autonomy and the latter favors financial returns. Finally, the implications of these findings for managing careers of R&D professionals are discussed.     

国有石油石化企业财务转型初探

随着外部环境的变化,国有石油石化公司面临着转型的压力和要求.在IBM财务价值模型基础上,根据国有企业的实际情况,在财务效率和商业洞察两个维度上提出了国有石油石化企业转型的路径.在转型方向上,业务财务最具有紧迫性和优先级,要向业务财务深度融合发展,财务人员应深入业务活动环节,成为业务决策和管理的好助手和好伙伴;财务会计要向全球统一流程和政策发展,持续提升共享中心的自动化水平和延伸度;税务合规向高质量的税务控制架构发展,侧重区域税务政策研究和税务职能分层管理.根据国有企业的治理特点,财务转型要转变理念,谨慎应对转型风险,建议进行改良性的转型,分步骤搞好财务转型的实施和落地.     

中外石油公司上游产业竞争力评价

通过相应的研究方法对中外石油公司上游勘探开发竞争力进行量化分析,有助于精确测度中外石油公司的差距,从而对国内石油公司适时进行战略调整.评价中外石油公司上游产业竞争力可以从规模竞争力和产业素质竞争力两个方面进行.规模竞争力是指产业在要素投入、产出等方面的相对竞争力;素质竞争力是指产业在运行质量和运行效率方面的竞争力.对产业规模的评价采取主成分分析法,选用原油储产量、天然气储产量等6项指标进行评价;对产业素质的评价运用灰色系统理论,选用销售收入、营业利润、勘探开发成本、操作成本、储采比等8项指标进行评价.分析石油公司的综合竞争力应将两种评价结果相结合.无论是规模竞争力评价还是产业素质评价均具有相对性.竞争力评价关注的是各个公司进步的相对速度.模型评价结果显示,上游产业规模竞争力和产业素质竞争力在多数情况下是成正比的;老牌国际大石油公司之间、中外石油公司之间的差距有逐步缩小之势.     

Critical success factors of Six Sigma implementations in Italian companies

The present paper discusses the results of a research project going on at Politecnico di Milano, aiming at analysing the idiosyncrasies of Six Sigma implementations in Italian companies. In particular, the project addresses the following research questions, regarding the approach of Italian companies towards Six Sigma: are Italian companies implementing Six Sigma exactly as it was originally conceived at Motorola or, rather, is there an Italian way to Six Sigma? do Italian companies which implemented Six Sigma recognize the same set of critical success factors singled out in the international literature?Bibliographic analysis showed a lack of literature concerning Six Sigma implementation in Italian companies. The research was then based on the study of real life application of Six Sigma in an Italian company and on discussion through a set of workshops organized at Politecnico di Milano with Six Sigma experts. In particular, we will concentrate on a set of case studies and on one workshop specifically addressing the second research question.The insights coming from the analysed case studies and discusses with industry experts - if further explored, validated and reorganized - could constitute a Road Map for Six Sigma implementation in Italian companies; the validation and re-organization process is still on-going and its completion could constitute a further research objective.     

油价下跌环境中石油企业的融资决策

J.P.Morgan企业金融咨询部对比研究了1983年以来石油行业经历的7次原油价格跌幅超过40％的冲击,发现资本结构较保守的石油企业在油价下跌时具有融资成本相对较低的优势.面对油价下跌,石油企业会通过削减资本支出、停止股票回购等内部融资,或发行债券和股票等外部性融资方式提高企业流动性,或者进行战略性兼并或收购,扩大规模,维持其资产负债表实力.石油企业在油价低迷时期的融资决策取决于其对油价恢复速度的判断.当前一些石油企业较保守的融资行为表明,他们认为低油价情形仍将持续.