Achieving Competitive Advantage Through the Application of Open Systems Theory and the Development of Strategic Alliances: A Guide for Managers of Nonprofit Organizations

ABSTRACT

To effectively compete in today's competitive business environment, nonprofit organizations need to operate as open systems developing strategic alliances with key actors. To help managers of nonprofit organizations develop such relationships, open systems theory is explained, the phrase “strategic alliances” is defined, and a system of alliances is presented as a tool for identifying and analyzing potential relationships.     

Governance and Performance of Strategic Alliances in Africa: The Role of Institutions

ABSTRACT

This article seeks to contribute to the institutional perspective of the governance of strategic intercompany alliances in Africa, through examination and analysis of a typology of informal African institutions. We support the view that interactions in African institutions determine the pertinent choice of governance mechanisms for intercompany alliances. In African institutional environments, the success of strategic alliances is subject to differentiated interactions among the contract, institutional confidence, interpersonal confidence and inter-organizational confidence. In the area of strategic management, this article provides theoretical and managerial contributions to our understanding of the institutional approach to the governance of strategic business alliances in Africa.     

The Benefits of IT-Based Supply Chains-Strategic or Operational?

ABSTRACT

Business relationships are being revolutionized by the use of inter-organizational information systems (IOSs) that connect together separate companies' business processes through the application of Information Technology (IT). The physical value chain is now paralleled by the virtual information chain. Detailed case studies from earlier research suggest that there are huge benefits to be gained from concepts such as Electronic Data Interchange (EDI), shared product design databases and shared production scheduling systems. However, there is little empirical evidence of the overall usage and outcomes of IOS implementation. In this survey, IOS benefits are evaluated using marketing derived frameworks. Evidence from 89 United Kingdom (UK)-based organizations, a large proportion of which are trading internationally, suggests that IOSs are becoming pervasive across different business processes and across different types of industry. The analysis reveals that marketing activities are now dominated by the management of the information along the supply chain and that significant benefits can be realized. However, the time-scale for implementing such systems is of the order of 5 to 10 years and there are significant barriers to successful implementation.     

Strategic and organisational determinants of sophistication in deployed sales force automation systems within three industry sectors in the UK

Abstract

This paper investigates strategic and organisational context determinants of the sophistication of adopted sales force automation (SFA) systems in three UK industries: financial services, pharmaceuticals, and building/construction. Sophistication of adopted systems is associated with the organisation placing greater emphasis on information orientation, which is itself driven by an increased integration of IT and sales coupled with increased organisational slack. Increased integration of IT and sales is itself driven by increased strategic importance of sales coupled with increased use of internal communication networks. Importantly, a firm's marketing orientation, although also driven by the strategic importance of sales, has no impact on either information orientation or SFA sophistication. We discuss the implications of our findings to aid understanding of SFA implementation failure.     

Alliances and Networks: Creating Success in the UK Fair Trade Market

Data from a longitudinal study into the key management success factors in the fair trade industry provide insights into the essential nature of inter-organizational alliances and networks in creating the profitable and growing fair trade market in the UK. Drawing on three case studies and extensive industry interviews, we provide an interpretive perspective on the organizational relationships and business networks and the way in which these have engendered success for UK fair trade companies. Three types of benefit are derived from the networks: competitive developments through virtual integration in which the organizations remain flexible and small while projecting size to the market; intellectual developments through the sharing of intellectual capital with a diverse network of organizations in many fields; and ideological developments through an ideological network of like-minded individuals by which the companies can prevent the co-opting of the original purpose of fair trade. However, relative success at leveraging these benefits is influenced by three managerial factors: partner choice, partner use and partner management.     

Legitimizing the apprenticeship practice in a distant environment: Institutional entrepreneurship through inter-organizational networks

This paper asks how Multinational Enterprises (MNEs) engage in institutional entrepreneurship to successfully transfer the organizational practice of apprenticeship-based training from Continental Europe to the distant host environment of the United States. In our case study, we highlight the important role of inter-organizational networks to coordinate engagement with the cognitive, normative, and regulative pillars of host country institutions. This networked form of institutional entrepreneurship involves the formation of inter-organizational networks for the purpose of bringing about institutional change collaboratively. In the process of transferring apprenticeship, a particular vision of workforce training was created, support gathered, and institutional change was sustained locally around the issue of training. We argue further that networked institutional entrepreneurship is a useful strategic tool to overcome the particular kind of institutional distance between the institutional settings of more coordinated market economies (CMEs) and more liberal market-oriented economies (LMEs). We contribute to existing knowledge by showing how practice transfer is shaped by particular kinds of institutional distance, and highlighting the role of inter-organizational networks as a way of governing collective agency associated with institutional entrepreneurship and the emergence of new local proto-institutions.     

Strategic Implications of Alliances and Networks of Horizontal Portals in Brazil

ABSTRACT

This paper contributes to recent research on strategic networks by making evident the relevance of identifying network implications for the conduct and performance of firms that are embedded in alliance networks and other strategic relationships in a typical industry of the new economy. Through a study of horizontal portals in Brazil from 2000 to 2002, it shows that an assessment of the implications for these firms' networks can provide relational insights for corporate decision-making that could not be found through traditional strategic analyses, such as those of the positioning school or the Resource-Based View.

RESUMEN. Este estudio ofrece una contribución para un análisis realizado recientemente sobre las redes estratégicas, haciendo hincapié en la importancia que se debe dar a la identificación de las implicancias inherentes a estas redes, cuanto al comportamiento y desempeño de las empresas arraigadas en la alianza de redes y otras relaciones estratégicas, en una industria típica de la nueva economía. A través del estudio de los portales horizontales en el Brasil entre los años 2000 y 2002, se demuestra que una evaluación de las implicancias para las redes de dichas empresas puede suministrar una visión relacional para la toma de decisiones corporativas, inexistentes en los análisis estratégicos tradiciones, tales como los elaborados por las escuelas de posicionamiento o bajo la perspectiva denominada Resource-Based View.

RESUMO. O presente estudo contribui para pesquisas recentes sobre redes estratégicas, evidenciando a relevância da identificação das implicaç[otilde]es da rede para a conduta e desempenho das empresas envolvidas de redes e outros relacionamentos estratégicos em um setor típico da nova economia. Por meio da análise dos portais horizontais no Brasil de 2000 a 2002, o estudo mostra que uma avaliação das implicaç[otilde]es para essas redes de empresas pode gerar insights para processos decisórios corporativos que não são encontrados por meio de análises estratégicas tradicionais, como as da escola de posicionamento ou a visão baseada em recursos.     

Pirating Pirates of the Caribbean: The curse of cyberspace

Abstract

This study investigates the factors influencing the ‘illegal’ downloading of films and TV series through peer-to-peer (P2P) networks. Specifically, it examines how social and ethical orientations and attitudes towards downloading impact on downloading intentions. The neutralisation theory and theory of planned behaviour are used to underpin the research framework. The data analysis of 284 usable responses produced several significant relationships. Facilitating conditions, social factors, collectivism, and personal moral obligation were found to predict attitudes towards ‘illegal’ downloading. Social factors, collectivism, personal moral obligation, and attitudes towards ‘illegal’ downloading were also found to influence intentions to download. The findings derived from this study will provide marketers and policymakers with strategic and managerial initiatives to counteract this persistent problem.     

The Potential and Challenge of the Network Realization Capability for SMEs in Ireland and Finland

In recognizing that the term ‘network’ can be interpreted in a multitude of ways and from a number of varying perspectives, the purpose of this article is to report the findings of a study designed to determine whether SME owner/manager see networks as an industrial relationship phenomenon. This gap, termed ‘realization capability’ refers to the SMEs’ ability to visualize the inter-organizational embedded systems that they are a part of that could enhance their marketing efforts. Bonds tie network members together and provide the context for relationships. Therefore, in measuring the level of SME realization capability the authors conceptualized the concept into social and structural bonds to ascertain the network perspective of the SME participants. To determine the level of realization of SME actors, a participatory action research method was employed in an Irish setting and compared to a control group in Finland. Findings suggest that from an Irish perspective, realization was low, highlighting that misconceptions existed amongst the SMEs regarding the nature and dynamics of networks whereby they were viewed as a predominantly personal contact structure. Conversely, the Finnish participants viewed networks as interconnected business relationships, continually operating in close collaboration with other stakeholders within their business. The findings are discussed in detail as they raise the barrier for many SMEs to participate in networks which by definition are proposed as cost effective solutions which can address many of the gaps to implementing marketing approaches by SMEs.     

The Impact of Shared IT on Efficiency and Learning

ABSTRACT

A growing percentage of enterprises around the world are implementing technologies and systems to support exchanges with suppliers. Through public and private networks, enterprises worldwide, particularly large enterprises, are increasingly connected to their suppliers. However, the role played by information systems and technologies in the context of exchanges with suppliers is not well known. Information technology (IT) has been presented as both a means for diminishing the importance of relationships with suppliers and as a means of enabling new forms of collaboration. We believe this apparent contradiction can be resolved by focusing on the impact of shared IT on firms' two key objectives: efficiency and learning. We hypothesize that shared IT increases both efficiency and learning, but through different mechanisms and under different conditions.     

A practitioner-led strategic place brand-management model

Abstract

As a relatively new field, research into place branding is predominately case-study based, focusing specifically on single place entities. This paper reports on an exploratory study that uses semi-structured interviews with place-branding practitioners working in various geographical locations (towns, cities, regions). The study tests the relevance of the components of strategic place brand management and elucidates their meaning and explores the relationships between these components. The research confirms the relevance of the components but suggests that relationships between components may be context dependent. The study makes both theoretical and managerial contributions by offering a refined, holistic, and new practitioner-led strategic place brand-management model along with structural meanings for each component that describe to those embarking on the process the key processes, activities, and success factors that are integral for an effective place-branding approach.     

Purchasing Ethics and Inter-Organizational Buyer–Supplier Relational Determinants: A Conceptual Framework

This study examines unethical purchasing practices from the perspective of buyer–supplier relationships. Based on a review of the inter-organizational literature and qualitative data from in-depth interviews with purchase managers from diverse industries, a conceptual framework is proposed, and theoretical arguments leading to propositions are presented. Taking into consideration the presence or absence of an explicit or implicit company policy sanctioning ethically questionable activities, unethical purchasing practices are conceptualized as a three-tiered set. Three broad themes emerge from the analysis toward explaining purchasing ethics from a buyer–seller perspective: (a) Inter-organizational power issues (inter-organizational power and idiosyncratic investments), (b) Inter-organizational relational issues (long-term orientation and satisfaction), and (c) Interpersonal relational issues (interpersonal ties and trust). Theoretical and managerial implications of the conceptual framework are discussed.     

The impact of increases in subsidiary autonomy and network relationships on performance

This paper uses network approaches to subsidiary theory to investigate the performance impacts of interactions among the factors of autonomy, intra-organizational network relationships, and inter-organizational network relationships. The paper offers an analysis of both direct and indirect interactions among these factors. This study develops and extends existing research that uses network-based approaches in studies of subsidiary performance by considering the roles of autonomy and network relationships. In addition, the study examines changes in terms of increases in the interactions between the main factors rather than the levels of these factors. The examination of the interactions between increases in autonomy and networks and the subsequent impact of this change on performance contributes to a better understanding of subsidiary evolution. The results, which are based on data gathered from a survey of 350 foreign-owned subsidiaries in the UK, Germany, and Denmark, reveal complex interactions between increases in autonomy and network relationships, and the subsequent impact of these changes on performance. The results also highlight the central role of inter-organizational network relationships in the interaction between the factors, which produce significant and positive effects.     

Attributions of noncooperative incidents and response strategies: The role of national character

Economic and relational equity in global inter-organizational relationships can be enhanced if partners correctly attribute the cause of noncooperative incidents and employ appropriate response strategies. Integrating attribution theory, national character theory and elements of the inter-organizational management literature, we construct a conceptual framework of global inter-organizational managers’ responses to incidents of noncooperation aimed at maximizing relationship economic and relational equity. A managerial assessment process, emphasizing the importance of inpatriation, is provided to assist firms engaged in global inter-organizational relationships in minimizing attribution error in assessing and responding to noncooperative incidents.     

How to achieve true integration: the impact of integrated marketing communication on the client/agency relationship

ABSTRACT

Reports from the advertising industry suggest that the pressure to create effective integrated campaigns across the ever-increasing mix of paid, owned and earned media is putting an enormous strain on client/agency relationships. This research identifies the main challenges that an Integrated Marketing Communication (IMC) approach places on this relationship and thereby advances the IMC literature by examining the practical challenges of implementation. Six key issues, developed from academic and industry sources, are presented to advertising experts, through a Delphi study, to stimulate debate and identify areas of agreement. The findings are brought together in a model which presents three main areas that need to be addressed, along with specific recommendations. These topics include the need for clients to provide stronger leadership in defining agency roles and responsibilities, more transparent remuneration systems to encourage teamwork across agencies as well as individual input and an increased emphasis on the strategic contribution from agencies.     

Managing Knowledge,Learning, and Time in Relationships Between Western and African Organizations

ABSTRACT

Time as a strategic variable has gained a great deal of attention in recent literature, but little has been reported on how to effectively manage time between strategic partners in a global context. In addition, there has been virtually no attention paid to time as a critical strategic variable when doing business in African countries. This paper examines the importance of time in developing effective operating relationships between Western and African countries. We posit the concept of strategic timescapes to provide managers with a way of visualizing the various dimensions of time that could vary from one culture to another. In addition, a means to effectively manage knowledge and learning between Western and African organizations is presented using the concept of “virtual” organizations to serve as the coordinating vehicle.     

The Effects of Learning on Relationship Value in a Business Network Context

ABSTRACT

In today's intense global competition, a firm's ability to learn from its networks of business relationships is an important source of sustainable competitive advantage. Learning in a network of relationships involves a constellation of resource linkages among business partners tied together by interconnected resources. This has the potential of increasing the relationship value of a firm in terms of knowledge created through interactions among firms in the business network. Prior research has not yet examined the effects of learning in and through relationships in a business network context. Interdependence of firms in business networks gives rise to learning effects of adaptation and coordination that can have implications for relationship value. An empirical study of 215 business relationships from a network of nine high-technology companies in the United Kingdom shows that learning in and through relationships as a result of interactions and resource interdependencies in networks of relationships has a positive effect on a firm's relationship value. Furthermore, an understanding of the network context through interactions among firms facilitates learning and development of the firm's learning capabilities that enhance relationship value.     

SME Internet use and strategic flexibility: the moderating effect of IT market orientation

Abstract

One of the most important topics in the marketing literature has been the concept of market orientation. However, questions remain as to the dynamics of how market orientation translates into intermediate capabilities. This study explores relationships among different types of Internet usage, IT market orientation (the extent to which IT is aligned to manage customer and competitor information and internal activities), and strategic flexibility (firm capability to respond to the need for change). Specifically, use of the Internet for communication with relevant stakeholders, owing to its market-sensing potential, should be positively and significantly related to strategic flexibility for SMEs with more IT market-oriented alignment. The market-sensing potential of Internet communication to impact strategic flexibility positively for SMEs is likely to be lost under low IT market-oriented-alignment conditions. In contrast, IT market orientation should not moderate the relationship between Internet use for transactions with relevant stakeholders and strategic flexibility, given that the typical order taking and processing is a static, routine function for SMEs. Results supported hypothesised relationships. By delineating the type of Internet usage and required IT alignment that contribute to leveraging the Internet effectively, findings hold implications for future research by clarifying boundary conditions for Internet effects. Specifying how and when Internet use promotes strategic flexibility, an important enabler of competitive advantage, helps small business owner/managers better utilise their limited resources.     

Strategies for Business Format Franchisors to Expand into Global Markets

Abstract

Franchising is emerging as a highly effective strategy for growth, job creation, and economic development and is spreading rapidly around the globe. However, the pursuit of global markets by franchisors has traditionally relied on employing just three generic franchising options (i.e., direct franchising, master franchising, area development). This paper presents a more expansive view of strategic choice for franchisors by presenting first-mover, platform, and conversion strategies as additional strategic approaches that may be utilized to meet the challenge of expanding into international markets. Propositions are advanced to first suggest which strategic approaches aremost appropriate under varied foreign market conditions and then how these approaches should be linked to the three generic licensing options to create combination strategies based on franchisor experience/capabilities and similar/dissimilar markets. A contingency model of global franchising is presented, which depicts the above relationships and provides an overall framework that can assist franchisors in solving the foreign expansion and distribution question. Managerial and research implications are then provided.     

Toward a gatekeeping perspective of insider–outsider relationship development in China

The aim of this study is to explore how relational gatekeepers facilitate the development of relationships between out-group members and in-group members in an intercultural business environment, and to bring to the surface the inter-cultural and inter-networked nuances of guanxi. Based on interviews with managers from China and New Zealand, the workings of Chinese–Western business relationships and the roles of relational gatekeepers are explored. Empirical findings reveal three key gatekeeping roles, namely reciprocal, adaptive and symbolic, used for enabling the development of intercultural business relationships. We offer a structural hole explanation of intercultural gatekeeping in a seemingly contradictory and irreconcilable inter-networked environment. Our study also provides strategic implications of intercultural gatekeeping for foreign outsiders and recommends practical approaches for reaching the decision makers and resource integrators in jealously protected local business networks.