Exploring the governance mechanisms of quasi-integration in buyer-supplier relationships

This article deals with quasi-integration governance mechanisms in the context of business-to-business buyer-seller relationships. Based on transaction cost analysis and resource dependence theory, the authors identify four key elements of quasi-integration: legal contract, joint problem solving, joint planning, and collaborative communication. From the perspective of resource dependence theory, the authors examine the effects of interdependence on these four elements. Empirical evidence derived from a study of 398 Chinese companies indicates that (1) the four governance mechanisms of quasi-integration are driven by inter-firm dependence; and that (2) legal contract serves as an important foundation of joint problem solving. In addition, the authors examine the distinct effects of the four elements on two critical exchange outcomes: supplier performance and buyer commitment. Their analysis shows that legal contract, joint planning, and collaborative communication positively affect supplier's performance, while joint problem solving and collaborative communication significantly enhance the buyer's commitment to the relationship.     

Does inter-firm learning and trust promote firm innovativeness?

This paper elaborates on a theoretical framework that assesses the effects of inter-firm trust and learning on firm’s subsequent innovation output. We argue that joint problem solving arrangements play an intermediate role in firm innovativeness by promoting the sharing of complex and difficult-to-codify knowledge and information. Using survey data from a sample of 194 firms from the mainland of China, we find that inter-firm trust and learning have positive impacts on both buyer innovativeness and seller innovativeness. It is also found that there is a positive interactive relationship between trust and learning. Furthermore, their inter-effect and complementarity facilitate innovativeness by promoting joint problem solving at the firm level. Based on these findings, theoretical and managerial implications are discussed.     

Transfer of Marketing Knowledge Within Business‐Nonprofit Collaborations

Companies often develop collaborative joint ventures with nonprofits, and sometimes help their nonprofit partners with the marketing activities associated with these projects. Often, the assistance furnished is embodied in a transfer of knowledge from a firm to a nonprofit and involves knowledge about marketing techniques, strategies and methods. This article presents the results of a survey concerning the extents, natures and effectiveness of marketing knowledge transfers taking place between 291 UK enterprises and their nonprofit partner organisations. The survey covered the knowledge transfer methods that companies employed, the scope of the knowledge communicated, the factors that encouraged or impeded marketing knowledge transfer, and the considerations that determined which partner completed most of the marketing tasks associated with a project. It emerged that knowledge transfers occurred mainly through face‐to‐face communications, though with little formal teamworking. Both the extent and the effectiveness of transfers depended on the degree of marketing knowledge within the nonprofit partner, on levels of knowledge specificity and project complexity, and on the financial importance of the collaboration. The extent of knowledge transfer was additionally influenced by cultural and organisational distance. Similar considerations affected commercial partners' decisions to do most of the marketing work required by a collaboration. Such decisions were especially likely if anti‐marketing bias existed within the nonprofit organisation and if the nonprofit's staff knew little about marketing.     

Leadership for Sustainability: An Evolution of Leadership Ability

This article examines the existing confusion over the multiple leadership styles related to successful implementation of corporate social responsibility/sustainability in organisations. The researchers find that the problem is the complex nature of sustainability itself. We posit that organisations are complex adaptive systems operating within wider complex adaptive systems, making the problem of interpreting just in what way an organisation is to be sustainable, an extraordinary demand on leaders. Hence, leadership for sustainability requires leaders of extraordinary abilities. These are leaders who can read and predict through complexity, think through complex problems, engage groups in dynamic adaptive organisational change and have the emotional intelligence to adaptively engage with their own emotions associated with complex problem solving. Leaders and leadership is a key interpreter of how sustainability of the organisation ‘links’ to the wider systems in which the organisation sits, and executing that link well requires unusual leaders and leadership systems.     

“Society is Out There,Organisation is in Here”: On the Perceptions of Corporate Social Responsibility Held by Different Managerial Groups

Corporate social responsibility (CSR) has become an increasingly significant managerial concept, yet the manager as an agent of corporate bureaucracy has been substantially missing from both the analytical and conceptual literature dealing with CSR. This article, which is both interpretative in nature and specific in reference to the U.K. cultural context, represents an attempt at addressing this lacuna by utilising qualitative data to explore the perceptions of managers working in corporations with developed CSR programmes. Exploring managerial perceptions of motives for CSR initiatives, methods of stakeholder engagement, organisational integration of CSR and its impact on managerial work, this study concludes that an instrumental approach dominates, which indicates an external–internal organisational paradox in the design and execution of CSR initiatives.     

Diffusion of account planning in Indian ad agencies

Account planning is recognised as a best practice in British and American advertising. Despite reports of its global growth, information on its use around the world is limited. This study focuses on account planning in India, a region of considerable importance to international advertisers and advertising agencies. Using a two-stage organisational innovation diffusion framework, it examines planning initiation and assimilation in the Indian ad industry. It also investigates the impact of organisational factors on its diffusion. Results from the web survey (154 respondents from 101 agencies) indicate that, while initiation is widely reported in India, planning assimilation in agency activities is limited. Size and global agency affiliation (structural variables) affect initiation; leadership commitment and agency innovativeness (managerial and cultural variables) impact both initiation and assimilation. Similarities and differences with account planning use in UK and US agencies are discussed.     

Financial Institutions,the Theory of the Firm and Organisational Form

This article considers the theory of the financial firm, organisational form, and conversion from the mutual to the joint stock organisational form. It draws upon the transaction cost and property rights literature to provide an account of the existence of financial firms. Historically, the mutual emerged in response to asymmetric information. Both the persistence of mutuals and their conversion to the joint stock organisational form are explained with reference to path dependency, which arises from investment in particular assets that 'lock-in' firms to a particular outcome. Conversion is also explained as a necessary process that mutuals go through in an attempt to exploit economies of scope (synergies).     

A Multicultural Joint Venture Under the Post-Developmental State in Singapore

As a multi-cultural country with a British colonial past hosting many different ethnic groups including Westerners, Singapore juggles with the often conflicting forces of Westernization (holding the promise of economic prosperity) and Asianization (holding the promise of a distinct cultural identity). Although the endorsement of ‘Asian values’ by Singapore political leaders such as Lee Kuan Yew may be seen as a mere rhetoric device to either explain ethnic Chinese business success or the Asian crisis, the question needs to be raised as to the ways in which the Asian Values discourse affects both Western and Asian MNCs operating in Singapore. In order to address this question, this article investigates the participation of a European–Japanese joint venture in a large government-sponsored reclamation project in Singapore. It is a rather unique situation in which the state as paymaster has the upper hand over the partners. The investigation shows that reference to ‘Asian values’ is a significant boundary-marking strategy used by both the Singapore government and the joint venture partners to manipulate the power balances in this triangular relationship. The outcome is more often than not advantageous for the Singapore state.     

Philosophical Foundations of Workplace Spirituality: A Critical Approach

It is an undeniable reality that workplace spirituality has received growing attention during the last decade. This fact is attributable to many factors, socioeconomic, cultural and others [Hicks, D.A. 2003: Religion and the Workplace. Pluralism, Sprtituality, Leadership (Cambridge University press, Cambridge)]. However the field is full of obscurity and imprecision for the researcher, the practitioner, the organisational analyst and whoever attempts to systematically approach this relatively new inquiry field. This article attempts to provide a critical review of the literature on workplace spirituality by examining the underlying rationale of the main trends regarding spirit at Work and by negotiating their strengths and weaknesses. Current approaches to workplace spirituality are distinguished to the exploratory, contextual and the consequential, acontextual ones. Particular attention is given to ‚Respectful Pluralism’ proposed by Douglas Hicks, as it is suggested that this theoretical framework is the most well-founded, elaborated and systematic up to date. However, it is proposed that even ‚Respectful Pluralism’ fails to fully capture the complexity of such a multidimensional phenomenon as spirituality. Drawing on mainstream ethical and philosophical traditions (deontology, utilitarianism, virtue ethics) supporting alternative value-systems, it is suggested that a more inclusive and philosophically affluent framework needs to be developed. Finally, some propositions and thoughts are made towards this direction. George Gotsis is an assistant professor at the department of History and Philosophy of Science, University of Athens, Greece. His research interests include history of economic thought, business ethics and history of ideas. Zoi Kortezi is currently a research assistant at the department of History and Philosophy of Science, University of Athens, Greece. Her research interests include organisational theory, employee relations and work ethics.     

The organisational structure of Spanish New Settlements in the eighteenth century

This paper analyses the organisational design of New Settlements (NS) of Sierra Morena, a Spanish farming and colonist project of the eighteenth century. Using archival data, historical facts during the period 1767–1772 are identified, collected and examined to understand how these settlements were structured. The reconstructions of their practices demonstrated that, in the eighteenth century, organisations already had the disciplinary techniques and dimensions of Weber's rational-legal bureaucracy. In fact, we observed the evolution of NS through three different organisational structures (configurations) to become more effective – rational – over time. This comprehensive analysis also provides evidence of how the colonies' growth (and their organisational complexity) implied changes to the co-ordination mechanisms used.     

Towards a Custom-Made Whistleblowing Policy. Using Grid-Group Cultural Theory to Match Policy Measures to Different Styles of Peer Reporting

To be effective, whistleblowing policies should be adapted to the organisational culture. They need to be custom-made and not follow a one-size-fits-all logic, specifically when they are installed to stimulate responsible peer reporting, a highly sensitive and value-laden type of whistleblowing. This paper attempts to illustrate that grid-group cultural theory could help to construct a whistleblowing policy by linking reporting styles to the organisational culture. First, we will identify four types of policy measures that are hypothesized to be effective in four types of organisational culture. Second, we develop the hypothesis that certain organisational cultures can induce peer reporting that is harmful for the organisation. The whistleblowing policy can then be used as a catalyst for cultural change.     

Work Values of Turkish and American University Students

The first aim of this paper was to investigate how the traditional Protestant work ethic (PWE) and more contemporary work values (i.e., masculine, feminine, and entrepreneurship values) were related to one another, and differed across genders and two cultural contexts, namely Turkey and the U.S. The second aim was to elucidate the role of religiosity in PWE among the two cultural groups. Two hundred and sixty six American and 211 Turkish university students participated in this questionnaire study. The analyses examining cross-cultural differences revealed that Turkish university students reported greater scores in the PWE and all contemporary work values as compared to their American counterparts. For the Turkish sample, there were no gender-related differences in the PWE, whereas in the U.S. sample, men reported greater PWE scores than did women. With regard to gender differences in contemporary work values, our results showed that gender groups differed in feminine and entrepreneurship values in both cultural contexts; men emphasized femininity and entrepreneurship more than women in Turkey but the reverse was true in the U.S. Correlations between contemporary work values and the PWE illustrated that the PWE is associated with entrepreneurship and masculine values in both cultural contexts and with feminine values in the Turkish context. Finally, our results regarding the role of religiosity in PWE indicated that highly religious participants reported greater PWE scores than the less religious ones regardless of culture. Findings are discussed with reference both to differences in the two socio-cultural contexts and to recent change in the social structure of Turkish society. Zahide Karakitapoğlu Aygu¨n received her Ph.D. in social psychology from Middle East Technical University Turkey. She is currently an assistant professor at Bilkent University, Faculty of Business Administration. Her research interests concern values, commitment and justice. Mahmut Arslan (BSc, MA, PhD) is an Associate Professor received his graduate degree from Hacettepe University Department of Public Finance. He completed a masters degree in Business Administration at Hacettepe University Department of Business Administration and his PhD in Business at University of Leeds (UK). He has worked as a financial analyst and a research assistant. Dr. Arslan has also worked for the several reorganization projects as analyst and coordinator. He became Assistant Professor in 2000 and Associate Professor in 2003 at Hacettepe University Department of Business Administration. He teaches management and business ethics, organizational behaviour. He is also the director of Hacettepe University Centre for Business and Professional Ethics. Dr. Col. Salih Gu¨ney is an Associate Professor graduated from Hacettepe University Department of Sociology in Ankara in 1980. He received master's degree in behavioral sciences from the University of Istanbul, Faculty of Management in 1987. He finished his doctoral studies in behavioral sciences at the same university and received his PhD in 1988. He became an associated professor in 1997. He is currently the head of the behavioral sciences branch in the Turkish Military Academy. He teaches behavioral sciences, communication theory, introduction to sociology, and public relations at the Military Academy.     

Metaphors and meaning: A grounded cultural model of us entrepreneurship

A grounded cultural model of US entrepreneurship is developed by analysing the metaphors that entrepreneurs use to give meaning to entrepreneurship in their life-and-business narratives. The resultant cultural model is coherent and internally consistent, and is helpful in providing stronger insights into entrepreneurs' own perspectives, aspirations, and cognition of the entrepreneurial process. Close to Schumpeter's conception of the entrepreneur, it nevertheless contains elements that are markedly American, and can be contrasted both with European mental models of entrepreneurship, and metaphorically derived models of organisational behaviour.     

The Soviet Union’s attitude

The Soviet Union will not be represented at the North-South Summit in Cancún, even though both the developing countries and the Western industrialised countries would have liked to see it participate in the talks on solving the problem of underdevelopment. What are the USSR’s reasons for its negative attitude? Are there any prospects of involving the Soviet Union and its CMEA partners in joint development cooperation?     

Cross-cultural Comparisons of Managerial Perceptions on Profit

The study investigated the effects of three cultural variables – country of employment, race/ethnicity and religion – on managerial views of profit and 15 other business priorities. In total, 203 responses were obtained (120 randomly and 83 by quota) from executives and managers belonging to either of two race/ethnic groups (Caucasian and Chinese) and three religious denominations (Christian, Buddhist and Malay Muslim) located in three different countries (Australia, Singapore and Malaysia). Findings indicated that these three different cultural variables affected (to varying degrees) the attitudes of managers towards profit and other related business concerns. Managers working in Malaysia, the Malay Muslims and Caucasians in particular, had the highest regard for profit whilst those employed in Australia were found, on the whole, to be the most (socially) considerate toward their employees, customers and environment. This study pointed to the need for cultural ethics as a complementary function in business. After majoring in Psychology and Sociology in the Bachelor of Arts (Multidisciplinary) Program at Victoria University, I went on to do my Master of Arts in Applied Social Research at Monash University. With these given areas of specializations and with the support of a scholarship from Victoria University, I was able to complete my doctoral studies in business ethics and foreign labour employment in 2006.     

Conflict resolution strategies in joint purchase decisions for major household consumer durables: a cross‐cultural investigation

Previous studies on joint purchase decisions have investigated the types of conflict resolution strategies used by spouses, the usage frequency of different conflict resolution strategies, and the effects of demographics and various other variables, on the uses of conflict resolution strategies. Despite efforts to address this largely unexplored area, the role that culture plays in the use of conflict resolution strategies has been significantly ignored. Using a cross‐cultural perspective, this study addresses the gap in our understanding of the joint purchase decisions in the family by examining how husbands and wives of three ethnic groups in Britain – British Whites, Indians and African Blacks – use different conflict resolution strategies while jointly purchasing major household consumer products. The total sample comprised 583 husbands and wives of British White, Indian and African Black origin residing in London and Manchester in Britain. Our results showed that three conflict resolution strategies are used by both husbands and wives: bargaining, assertiveness and playing on an emotion. In addition, disengagement emerged as a strategy for husbands, whereas supplication emerged for wives. The study presented in this paper also provides substantial evidence of differences in the use of conflict resolution strategies by husbands and wives from the three ethnic groups, which greatly improves our knowledge on a cross‐cultural perspective of joint purchase decisions.     

Stakeholder dialogue and organisational learning: changing relationships between companies and NGOs

This article presents a critical examination of the process of stakeholder dialogue in the Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) field. It utilises data from a three-year research project into stakeholder dialogue processes to discuss three central themes: first, what is meant by the term 'dialogue', both from a theoretical perspective and from its practical application within CSR; second, the challenges of creating effective dialogue; and third, measuring and assessing the potential outcomes of dialogue. In providing a critical overview of these themes, the article examines the nature of organisational learning through stakeholder engagement and dialogue. It questions the motives behind engagement in dialogue and highlights some of the potential challenges for organisational learning posed by opting for a stakeholder dialogue approach. It argues that organisations engaging in stakeholder dialogue must have a clear understanding of the implications of undertaking a dialogue process and have a long-term perspective regarding the outcomes and learning likely to emerge from it. While stakeholder dialogue may produce significant results, it is argued, many of these may be difficult to quantify on a short-term basis.     

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.     

Culture and Economics

The question of how far it is necessary to include cultural factors in the analysis of economic processes has become topical again in recent years. The first contribution to this Forum introduces a cultural approach to economics. This is followed by an article that examines the transition processes in central and eastern Europe from an econocultural perspective. The next article deals with the concept of a country-specific national tax culture and its implications for tax policy, especially in the context of transformation processes. The final paper discusses Turkey’s economic culture and its possible impact on the country’s integration into the European Union. * This outline is in its main parts the result of cooperation with Bernd Remmele and Joachim Zweynert. The author wishes to express his indebtness to Inga Fuchs for central insights on this subject, and to Michael Wohlgemuth, who helped to finish this paper in a short period of time. ** This article originates in a research project on the historical and cultural path dependence of the transition processes in Central and Eastern Europe (with special focus on the Baltic Sea region). The project is carried out jointly by the Hamburg Institute of International Economics and the University of Hamburg and funded by the VolkswagenStiftung.