Reflections on Ethical Concerns in Technology Transfer and Macromarketing

SUMMARY

The following theses are defended. Technology transfer is (a) a good thing; (b) reflects the universalizing and globalizing impulse of western technologically advanced culture; (c) is based on the fundamental truth of human freedom; (d) requires not only the transfer of technology but of institutions and norms such as the technological project itself, free market economies, limited government, the rule of law, individual rights, religious toleration and personal autonomy; (e) may require the radical transformation of cultures receiving the technology; (f) is impeded largely by the difficulties of the receiving culture to adjust to the full spectrum of change; (g) challenges those in macromarketing to understand the processes of cultural transformation; (h) and, finally, faces a grave threat from those who are in an adversarial relationship to the “grand narrative of western technologically advanced culture.”     

全球价值链治理、知识转移与代工企业升级——以珠三角地区为例

代工企业在全球价值链的升级具有战略性和紧迫性,其升级并不是独立自发的,而是受到了全球价值链中各经济主体之间的组织形式和关系安排的统一约束。知识经济的发展也为代工企业的升级创造了新的机遇。全球价值链、知识转移以及代工企业的升级之间存在着密切的关系,文章通过分析全球价值链治理下的全球领先企业与代工企业之间的知识转移模型,从而提出代工企业的升级建议。     

Women entrepreneurship in small service firms: motivations,barriers and performance

This article presents an exploratory study on the characteristics of women entrepreneurs and the businesses they run in the Valencia region. Following a close look at the evolution of literature on women entrepreneurs, the study shows how different internal and external factors affect the motivation, obstacles and performance of firms created by women. These results contribute towards a better understanding of business creation by women as they provide an empirical contrast of these variables (motivation, barriers and performance). Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to examine the characteristics of women entrepreneurs and the businesses they run in the Valencia Region of Spain, in order to contribute towards a better understanding of business creation by women, and the elements of motivation, barriers and success that influence and characterize the activities of women entrepreneurs. Design/methodology/approach: A random sample of businesses with women founders, in the service sector located in the Valencia Region, were surveyed with a personalized questionnaire focusing on the factors of expansion, financing, marital and family status. Findings: The results of the exploratory research show that different internal and external factors affect the motivation, obstacles to success and performance of firms created by women. It is clear that type of financial support, demographic factors, age at which the new business venture is undertaken, use of family loans and the initial size of firm are all instrumental in subsequent business success. Research limitations/implications: The research was undertaken using a relatively small sample of firms in one region of Spain. The study needs to replicated in a range of different countries in order to further test the generality and generalizability of the substantive results. The implications centre on women entrepreneurs' motivations, business success and failure. Originality/value: This paper contributes to a better understanding of business creation by women and the factors which are instrumental in their success, together with a better understanding of the potential obstacles and barriers.     

Social Media in Organizations: Leveraging Personal and Collective Knowledge Processes

By using social media, many companies try to exploit new forms of interaction, collaboration, and knowledge sharing through leveraging the social, collaborative dimension of social software. The traditional collective knowledge management model based on a top-down approach is now opening up new avenues for a bottom-up approach incorporating a more personal knowledge management dimension, which could be synergized into collective knowledge using the social-collaborative dimension of social media. This article addresses the following questions: (1) How can social media support the management of personal and collective knowledge using a synergetic approach? (2) Do the personal and collective dimensions compete with each other, or can they reinforce each other in a more effective manner using social media?

Our findings indicate that social media supports both the personal and collective dimensions of knowledge, while integrating a social collaborative dimension. The article introduces a framework that classifies social software into four categories according to the level of interaction and control. With certain tools, individuals are more in control. With other tools, the group is in control, resulting in a higher level of interaction and a diversity of knowledge and mindsets brought together. However, deploying and adopting these new tools in an organizational context is still a challenging task for management, owing to both organizational and individual factors.     

Innovation and Knowledge Transfer in Clustered Interorganizational Networks in Brazil

This article analyzes whether firm innovation is influenced by the transfer of knowledge among cluster firms. To test the hypotheses, we directly estimated the measurement and the structural model parameters where cooperation, workforce mobility, and institutions were defined as manifest indicators of the latent exogenous variable knowledge transfer, modeled as a second-order construct. Firm innovation was defined as a single item endogenous latent variable. We found knowledge transfer to be related to the way firms are managed vis-à-vis (a) the role of institutions as discussion arenas; (b) the adaptability of the workforce; and (c) the indirect cooperation among firms.     

全球价值链中的知识转移与我国制造业升级路径

从全球价值链中的知识转移、知识扩散和组织学习角度出发分析了发展中国家本地企业技术能力的形成过程和产业升级的机制,从创新类型和技术专有性两个维度构建了价值链升级的坐标体系,从工艺、产品、功能和跨越价值链四个角度提出了具体的产业升级路径。最后以联想公司为例分析了我国制造业如何在价值链中攀升从而获得持续的竞争优势。     

Role-Based Experiences, Media Perceptions, and Knowledge Transfer Success in Virtual Dyads

Knowledge transfer (KT) is the process through which one is affected by the experience of another. While many of the challenges of KT have been discussed in the literature (e.g., incentives, cognitive limitations), the challenge of KT in virtual settings has received limited attention. In this paper, our interest lies in exploring asymmetric KT where a sender has more knowledge about a topic than a receiver. We focus on a dyadic relationship between geographically dispersed sender and receiver units, supported by a multi-media technology environment. Drawing from the KT literature and Channel Expansion Theory, we specifically explore the evolution of and relationship between role-based experiences (e.g., with partner, topic, media) and media richness perceptions. Our results provide evidence that KT roles do matter relative to the acquisition of experiences and expansions in media richness perceptions. Despite some differences in acquired experiences, our results also suggest that KT partners converge in their perceptions of acquired experiences and evolve to shared (or congruent) perceptions of media richness. Finally, our results provide evidence that sender-receiver congruence in media richness perceptions influences KT success.     

知识密集型服务业集群内企业间知识转移影响因素——环同济建筑设计产业带的实证研究

在回顾国内外相关研究的基础上,构建知识转移的影响因素模型。然后,基于知识密集型的环同济设计产业集群的调研数据对上述理论模型进行实证研究。研究结果显示:企业间亲密的关系和企业浓厚的学习文化对知识密集型服务业企业之间的知识转移有重要的促进作用;企业较强的吸收能力、企业间较近的组织距离对产业集群内知识密集型服务业企业之间的知识转移有较大促进作用;知识的模糊性对知识密集型服务业集群内企业之间的知识转移有阻碍作用;中等的知识距离比较远的知识距离更有利于产业集群内知识密集型服务业企业之间的知识转移。     

装配生产型供应链上下游企业间的联系与知识传递

在装配生产型供应链中,生产商与供应商之间技术关联程度较高,随着技术变化速度加快,它们之间的知识传递问题也越来越重要。本文综合装配生产型供应链的产品特征、供应链组织结构、上下游成员间关系、知识传递的行为和知识创造,针对上下游企业之间的知识传递问题构建了一个广泛的研究框架,并且对各个概念进行了细化分析,讨论了影响知识传递的重要因素和影响方式。     

Towards a Framework of Reverse Knowledge Transfer by Emerging Economy Multinationals: Evidence from Chinese MNE Subsidiaries in the United States

This article extends the research on knowledge transfer by emerging‐economy multinationals (EEMs) by exploring the determinants of successful reverse knowledge transfer (RKT) in Chinese enterprises operating in the United States. Building upon organizational evolution and learning literature, we propose a model linking strategic asset‐seeking motivations, headquarters (HQ) control, and subsidiary age to RKT. The model is empirically tested in the context of Chinese enterprises in the United States and further justified by four cases of Chinese multinationals. Our exploratory study provides initial evidence that strategic asset‐seeking motivations and HQ control are significantly and positively related to RKT. Furthermore, our empirical evidence indicates a negative relationship between subsidiary age and RKT. We discuss the implications for theory development and practice for managing and organizing EEMs and their subsidiaries and suggest avenues for future research on this emerging phenomenon. © 2016 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.     

Reverse Knowledge Transfer on Emerging Market Multinationals: A Case Study of the Largest Private Bank in Latin America

Knowledge transfer between headquarters and subsidiaries and the study of emerging market multinationals (EMMNE) are two important and rapidly growing research topics in International Business (IB) studies. This research analyzes, through an in-depth single case study, the Reverse Knowledge Transfer (RKT) processes of an emerging market multinational, more specifically the largest private bank in LATAM—Banco Itaú Unibanco S.A.—to understand how emerging market parent companies benefit from their subsidiaries’ knowledge. Our findings validate important concepts in the IB and RKT literature, contribute with valuable insights to theory generation, and indicate possible avenues for future research.     

虚拟企业知识协同效应的形成机理与综合评价

以企业资源理论和协同效应理论为基础,运用层次分析法(AHP)并结合实例,分析虚拟企业的优势资源,并对各类优势资源的作用情况进行评价,不难看出:虚拟企业是以知识经济为主要元素的各成员企业以各自的优势知识资源为条件参与的虚拟联盟;在虚拟企业平台上,通过整合运用各种优质知识资源,能够发挥它们在不同领域的协同效应,其"合力"是构成虚拟企业整体的知识协同效应的关键。     

The Direct and Indirect Effects of Organizational Justice on the Human Factor through Mutual Commitment in Ghana and India: A Comparative Analysis

This study compares the influence of perceived procedural justice, interactional justice, and mutual commitment on the human factor in Ghana and India. The study further compares how mutual commitment mediates the relationship between procedural and interactional justice, and the human factor in the two countries. The findings indicate that the influence of both procedural and interactional justices on mutual commitment in Ghana and India are similar. However, the influence of procedural and interactional justices on the human factor, and the impact of mutual commitment on the human factor in Ghana and India are significantly different. While mutual commitment mediates the relationship between procedural and interactional justice in the two countries, the findings from Ghana is different from that from India. We discuss the implications of our findings.     

Knowledge Management in Supply Chains: The Role of Explicit and Tacit Knowledge

We theorize, building on the knowledge‐based view and the theoretical distinction between explicit and tacit knowledge, that knowledge management capability across the supply chain manifests itself in explicit and tacit knowledge, which in turn effectuates supply chain performance. The model is tested with survey data from 195 small‐ and medium‐sized enterprises reporting on their primary supply chain. The results indicate that the supply chain's knowledge management capability manifests itself in both explicit and tacit knowledge, with the latter being influenced more strongly. Moreover, it was found that while both explicit and tacit knowledge influence supply chain performance, the latter exerts a significantly greater impact than the former. Exploratory post hoc analyses add robustness to these findings and investigate mechanisms inherent to the transformation of tacit into explicit knowledge. Overall, this research contributes to academic theory development in logistics and supply chain management by the dichotomization of knowledge types and the demonstration of their differential magnitude of effects, and to managerial practice by providing important guidance for logistics managers structuring their knowledge management efforts across supply chains.     

集群知识扩散及其规模成长效应：以知识扩散的势差边界为度量依据

本文以知识位势为基础,利用知识扩散的势差边界为测量知识扩散效果和集群成长规模的依据,通过建立相关模型与求解,分析了产业集群内的知识扩散的效果以及集群规模的成长,认为区域产业集群要想在全球价值链中实现价值提升,避免被锁定的风险,必须实现创新能力的提高。     

基于农民异质性的土地流转、专业合作社与农业技术推广研究——以江苏泗阳县X镇为例

土地规模经营与农业先进技术的应用是推动我国农业可持续增长的重要因素。基于农民在经济和社会方面的异质性特点,通过分析江苏泗阳县X镇的案例,研究发现:将土地流转与农民专业合作社结合的模式,不仅可以缓解土地分散经营对农业规模效益的不利影响,而且可以使农民在互相信任的环境中通过"干中学"、接受集中培训等方式推广农业生产技术。因此,政府应推动土地流转并引导农民建立合作组织。     

Hypocrisies of Fairness: Towards a More Reflexive Ethical Base in Organizational Justice Research and Practice

Despite becoming one of the most active research areas in organizational behavior, the field of organizational justice has stayed at a safe distance from moral questions of values, as well as from critical questions regarding the implications of fairness considerations on the status quo of power relations in today’s organizations. We argue that both organizational justice research and the managerial practices it informs lack reflexivity. This manifests itself in two possible hypocrisies of fairness. Managers may apply organizational justice knowledge but fail to increase the actual levels of fairness in employment relations. Researchers, on the other hand, may claim to promote fairness through their work while actually providing managers with tools that enable or even encourage them to feed the hypocrisy of fairness identified above. As␣part of our argument, we identify three types of mechanisms managers may use to influence and manage the formation of fairness perceptions. We consider how the exercise of power is related to the potential application of organizational justice knowledge across individual, interpersonal and social levels. Our approach makes power dynamics and moral implications salient, and questions the purely subjectivist view of justice researchers that deliberately discards normative aspects. The questions opened up by considering alternative mechanisms for creating fairness perceptions have led us to formulate a research agenda for organizational justice research that takes multiple stakeholder interests, power dynamics and ethical implications into account. We believe that the fields of organizational justice and normative justice can benefit from combined research. Marion Fortin (Ph.D., Trinity College Dublin) is Lecturer in Organisational Behaviour at the Durham Business School, Durham University. Marion previously worked in the financial industry and also was a visiting scholar at the Stern School, NYU. Marion’s main research interest lies in the role of justice judgments in the workplace. Her current and past research projects also involve issues of organizational change, power mechanisms, and the role of emotions in organizations. Martin R. Fellenz (Ph.D., The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill) is Lecturer in Organisational Behaviour at the School of Business, University of Dublin, Trinity College. His research interests include organizational justice, organizational transformation and change, teaching and learning, and the development of theory and theory schools. He regularly contributes to executive education programs in a variety of countries and consults with leading international public, private and not-for-profit organizations on matters of leadership, management development, and organizational transformation. A previous version of this paper was originally presented at the IESE Business School, University of Navarra, for the 14th International Symposium on Ethics, Business and Society: “Towards a Comprehensive Integration of Ethics Into Management: Problems and Prospects”. May 18–19, 2006).     

Building External Manufacturing Capability in Emerging Markets: Honda's Knowledge Transfer and the Role of Local Suppliers' Responsiveness

ABSTRACT

This study explores Honda's knowledge transfer to local suppliers in Vietnam. It argues that local suppliers' responsiveness can be a supplementary condition to absorptive capacity when considering buyer-supplier relation of knowledge transfer. In Vietnam where local suppliers were less capable or limited, Honda has exploited the supplier responsiveness to develop external manufacturing capabilities which contributed to Honda Vietnam's performance. Responsiveness enabled Honda to use a hands-on approach as an effective mechanism to transfer key principles and tacit technical knowledge to local suppliers in the initial stages of establishing a relationship. As a result, Honda is both beneficial from suppliers' specific absorptive capacity and continuous responsiveness.     

The design of licensing contracts: Chemicals,pharmaceuticals, and electrical engineering in imperial Germany

The article investigates a sample of 180 technology licensing contracts closed by German chemical, pharmaceutical, and electrical engineering companies between 1880 and 1913. The empirical results suggest that strategic behaviour is relevant for the design of licensing contracts, whereas inventor moral hazard and risk aversion of licensor or licensee seem to be less important. Moreover, the results suggest that uncertainty regarding the profitability of licensed technology influenced the design of licensing contracts. More specifically, profit-sharing agreements or producer milestones were often included in licensing contracts to solve this kind of problem.     

Whistleblowing in Organizations: An Examination of Correlates of Whistleblowing Intentions,Actions, and Retaliation

Whistleblowing on organizational wrongdoing is becoming increasingly prevalent. What aspects of the person, the context, and the transgression relate to whistleblowing intentions and to actual whistleblowing on corporate wrongdoing? Which aspects relate to retaliation against whistleblowers? Can we draw conclusions about the whistleblowing process by assessing whistleblowing intentions? Meta-analytic examination of 193 correlations obtained from 26 samples (N = 18,781) reveals differences in the correlates of whistleblowing intentions and actions. Stronger relationships were found between personal, contextual, and wrongdoing characteristics and whistleblowing intent than with actual whistleblowing. Retaliation might best be predicted using contextual variables. Implications for research and practice are discussed.