资产专用性、不确定性与交易的治理模式——基于农业龙头企业与农户间交易的实证研究

交易的治理模式包含正式的合约治理与非正式的关系治理两种,影响治理模式选择的因素很多,其中不确定性和资产专用性是被广泛讨论的两个主要因素,但关于他们的作用却仍然没有统一的研究结论。本文利用来自农业龙头企业与农户间交易的数据,试图在这一特定情境下,对不确定性与资产专用性将如何影响交易的治理模式进行分析。研究发现,相对合约治理来说,农业龙头企业与农户间的关系治理能够更好地应对资产专用性和不确定性带来的风险;而农业龙头企业投入的物质资产专用性的增加也应该伴随着更多的合约治理。本文的研究结果对我国农业龙头企业和农户合作的治理模式选择有一定的实践指导意义。     

中国企业技术寻求型对外直接投资研究

本文以实证的方法检验了1990-2007年中国企业技术寻求型对外直接投资对国内技术进步的促进作用,结果显示:虽然1990-2007年从国外溢入中国的研发投入量总体是在增加的,但是中国企业技术寻求型FDI不仅没有对国内的全要素生产率形成正的促进作用,反而阻碍了中国全要素生产率的提高。由于目前中国开展技术寻求型对外直接投资仍处于初级阶段,我们不能因为其存在问题和不足就否定其对技术进步所带来的促进作用。     

Cultural distance,political risk,or governance quality? Towards a more accurate conceptualization and measurement of external uncertainty in foreign entry mode research

It is well accepted that multinational enterprises (MNEs) prefer equity joint ventures (JVs) over wholly owned subsidiaries (WOSs) in foreign countries where the formal and informal external environment is highly uncertain. Many entry mode studies have modeled the external uncertainty faced by MNEs in foreign countries as the cultural distance to these countries (thus focusing on the informal environment), or as their political risk level (thus focusing on the formal environment). We argue that both approaches are suboptimal because (1) cultural distance not only reflects the external uncertainty associated with WOSs but also the internal uncertainty associated with JVs, and (2) political risk covers only one aspect of the formal external environment. We contend that the governance quality of foreign countries is a better proxy for external uncertainty. The lower this quality, we hypothesize, the higher the likelihood that MNEs will choose JVs over WOSs. An analysis of 231 entries by Dutch MNEs into 48 countries offers support for this hypothesis. We also find that cultural distance has no impact on entry mode choice and that political risk has the weakest impact of all aspects of governance quality.     

Determinants and performance impacts of external technology acquisition

An important issue technology managers face today, and a vital component of any coherent technology strategy, concerns the decision to chose between developing technical capabilities internally or acquiring them through external means. While there is a clear indication in the literature of a greater reliance on external sources of technology, the factors driving this phenomenon and the potential benefit to firm performance have received limited empirical attention. This study addresses these issues by testing the relationships between several potential determinants of external technology sourcing, and the differential impacts of external vs. internal sourcing on firm performance.The study addresses three potential determinants of external technology sourcing: discontinuous technological change life cycle stage (the stage of the resulting life-cycle patterns developed around radical technological changes, or DTC-life cycle), intellectual property protection, and internally available resources. DTC-life cycles, and the industries built around them, are characterized by patterns of competitive behavior and a few key milestones, particularly the emergence of a dominant design. For example, the early stages of the life cycle are characterized by a focus on product technologies, as firms compete to develop the technical standard for the industry, while the later stages are more concerned with process technologies, as firms compete to produce the standard at the lowest cost. We argue that DTC-life–cycle analysis can inform the “internal vs. external” decision and that the evolution from a product-based competition to a cost-based competition will affect not only the focus of that external sourcing but also the benefits received as a result. Further, we suggest that perceived intellectual property protection and the level of resources available internally to the firm will also impact the decision to source technology externally.The growing interest in external technology acquisition would appear to reflect a positive effect on firm performance. The literature, however, is equivocal and often anecdotal, focusing only on a limited perspective of firm performance. We investigate the relationship between external technology acquisition (vs. internal technology development) and firm performance from three perspectives: product-, market-, and finance-based measures of performance. Further, given that the focus of external technology acquisition will be driven in part by life-cycle stage (earlier stages focus on product technology and later stages focus on process technology), we also study the effect that focus has on related firm performance measures; i.e., how will product-related external technology acquisition affect product-based performance measures and how will process-related external technology acquisition affect cost- (or finance) based measures. Finally, we investigate the impact of internal resource capability on the existing relationship between external technology acquisition and firm performance; i.e., the absorptive capacity argument.Data collected from 188 U.S. subsidiaries of both domestic (U.S.) and foreign firms were used to test hypothesized relationships among these variables: DTC-life cycles, intellectual property protection, internally available resources, external technology acquisition, and firm performance. While not all hypotheses were supported, the results on the relationship between external technology acquisition (vs. internal technology development) and the three firm performance perspectives warrant caution for technology managers considering or currently utilizing external sources of technology. The more salient results and implications for managers are presented below.First, regarding the potential drivers for external technology acquisition, the results varied with theoretical expectations. Contrary to theory, neither DTC-life cycle nor intellectual property protection exhibited a significant relationship to external sourcing, in general. However, consistent with expectations, the level of available internal resources did exhibit a direct and negative relationship to external acquisition. Firms with greater internal resources are less inclined to source externally.Second, technology managers would be well advised to consider a number of issues when approaching the decision to acquire technology externally or develop it internally. In all cases where a statistically significant relationship between external technology acquisition and firm performance was found, the direction was negative, indicating that acquiring technology externally detracts from firm performance. Further, in limited cases, that negative relationship is compounded in the presence of internal technology capabilities. Also, a significant relationship was found between external product technology acquisition and product performance measures (and not for financial performance measures), and between external process technology acquisition and finance performance measures (and not for product performance measures), as expected, and were both negative. In other words, the dimension of performance most hindered by external technology acquisition is precisely that dimension that managers might strategically target at a given stage in the technology life cycle. The availability of technical resources internal to the firm was in all cases positively associated with product, market and financial performance measures.These results taken together suggest that firm performance is negatively impacted by external technology acquisition, firms with internally available resources typically do not tend to seek external technology, and when they do, in some cases the negative relationship between external sourcing and performance is increased. Clearly, external technology acquisition is not a panacea and great care must be taken to ensure firm success—and our findings suggest that all else equal, firms may want to err on the side of internal development.     

The choice of master international franchising – A modified transaction cost model

This study develops and tests a novel transaction cost model of master international franchising. Based on data from international franchise firms headquartered in six countries, we show that master international franchising is the franchisor’s preferred governance mode under the following conditions: large bilateral franchisor’s and franchisees’ transaction-specific investments, high institutional uncertainty and high behavioral uncertainty. Our model extends the literature by presenting a modified transaction cost model of master international franchising that investigates the bonding effect of bilateral transaction-specific investments and environmental uncertainty as determinants of the franchisor’s choice of international governance mode. In addition, by using primary data from international franchise companies, our study contributes to the transaction cost literature in international business and international franchising that is mainly based on secondary data.     

Open Innovation in Small and Medium‐Sized Enterprises (SMEs): External Knowledge Sourcing Strategies and Internal Organizational Facilitators

In this paper we explore how small and medium‐sized enterprises (SMEs) engage in external knowledge sourcing, a form of inbound open innovation. We draw upon a sample of 1,411 SMEs and empirically conceptualize a typology of strategic types of external knowledge sourcing, namely minimal, supply‐chain, technology‐oriented, application‐oriented, and full‐scope sourcing. Each strategy reflects the nature of external interactions and is linked to a distinct mixture of four internal practices for managing innovation. Both full‐scope and application‐oriented sourcing offer performance benefits and are associated with a stronger focus on managing innovation. However, they differ in their managerial focus on strategic and operational aspects.     

Leadership,sourcing modes and IT project management

Information technology (IT) project management has always been a major concern for firms. Researchers have demonstrated that the different characteristics of a project directly affect project management practices and have suggested that different leadership profiles are better suited to different project conditions. The aim of the proposed model is to aid in the understanding of the relationship between the type of IT project (represented by its sourcing mode) and the leadership profile adopted by a project manager. Using a case approach, we studied four successful IT projects. Our results suggest that projects using a partnership or recuperation sourcing mode require a more flexible profile of management than projects characterized by internal governance or outsourcing, which require a more control‐oriented profile of management. Copyright © 2010 ASAC. Published by John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Real options and the theory of foreign direct investment

We extend applications of real options theory to foreign direct investment (FDI) research regarding choice of location and choice of market entry mode under uncertainty. Our study is motivated by the regional configuration of multinational enterprises (MNEs), as well as observed deviations from the stages model in internationalization theory. We shed light on these issues using real option modeling and computer simulations. The results suggest that from the standpoint of pursuing business opportunities and generating real options, building a subsidiary in a nonhome region could be more beneficial than in a home region. However, high option exercise cost may reduce the option value of a nonhome-region location. Our models also imply that choice of entry mode depends on the magnitude (high vs. low) and the type (exogenous vs. endogenous) of uncertainty. When uncertainty is high and endogenous, MNEs may prefer high-commitment entry modes because they contribute to the reduction of uncertainty and provide valuable growth options.     

Technology sourcing for website personalization and social media marketing: A study of e-retailing industry

Extant streams of literature on technology sourcing, website personalization and social media marketing are distinct from one another and hence are unable to explain the impact of technology sourcing for website personalization and social media marketing on sales. To address this gap, we use various concepts such as efficiency, adaptability, risks of dependency, lack of quality control, asset-specificity and tacit knowledge to hypothesize the direct effect of technology sourcing on sales as well as the indirect effect through social media performance. Using survey data from 105 U.S. e-retailers, we show that e-retailers using mixed technology sourcing for website personalization have greater sales than e-retailers that use either internally or externally developed technology. On the contrary, e-retailers selecting externally developed technology for social media marketing have greater sales than e-retailers that offer social media marketing that uses either internally developed technology or mixed technology sourcing.     

中国企业国际采购发展阶段特征的案例分析

随着中国企业国际化的发展,国际采购必将为中国企业国际竞争力的提高与可持续发展作出越来越重要的贡献。国际采购不仅是企业的运作职能,更是企业的战略职能。运作层次国际采购向战略层次国际采购的发展可以划分为不同阶段。本文采用案例研究方法对不同阶段中国企业国际采购的特征进行实证分析。研究结果表明,中国企业国际采购发展的初级阶段主要是追求海外供应的高质量和高技术,随着国际采购阶段的深入,中国企业国际采购能力建设将更为完善,将追求更为多样化的战略利益。中国企业国际采购所面临的硬性成本与外部障碍的重要性下降,软性成本和内部障碍越来越重要。对于国际采购发展程度较高的企业,内部障碍对企业国际采购能力建设提出了更高的要求。但软性成本的阶段性特征表现得不明显,文化与商业习惯差异是比较普遍的软性成本,其他软性成本类型主要与企业特征或行业类型有关。     

Sourcing ethics in the textile sector: the case of C&A

During the last years competition in the textile sector has increased, putting financial returns under considerable pressure. As a result, production has shifted to low wage countries in the third world. This has raised the relevance of ethical procedures. This paper analyses how C&A, as one of the largest Western apparel companies, organises its sourcing ethics, notwithstanding the financial pressure in the market. Based on interviews with Asian suppliers of C&A during the second half of 2000, we review the opinions of external stakeholders about the sourcing ethics of C&A. Finally, we evaluate C&A's sourcing ethics from a theoretical perspective.     

Disentangling the effects of organizational capabilities, innovation and firm size on SME sales growth

This paper focuses on certain drivers of SME sales growth related to knowledge and innovation. Building on the dynamic capabilities literature, we test whether two organizational capabilities (external sourcing and employee involvement in renewal activities) predict sales growth, and if so, whether such effects are mediated by process and/or product innovation. Based on survey data from a panel study of Dutch SMEs, and controlling for several firm characteristics (firm size, sector, age and family business), we conclude that external sourcing has direct effects on both product and process innovation, with an indirect effect (mediated by process innovation) on sales growth. In line with our hypothesis development, we also find that employee involvement, while positively affecting process innovation, has a negative effect on sales growth. Firm size moderates the effects of two of the variables (external sourcing and product innovation) on sales growth, with more positive effects found for the smallest firms, results supporting the nimbleness (versus resource-based) view.     

Exploring the effects of international sourcing on manufacturing versus service firms

As the extent of international sourcing rises and the number of functional activities spreading across-national borders increases, there is a call for a better understanding of its impact on structural change. In this work, we explore the effects of international sourcing comparatively and look for differences between manufacturing and service firms. This study is based on a unique Slovenian data set that links the recently conducted Eurostats survey on international sourcing with a detailed financial firm-level data. The results from the matching methodology suggest that service firms involved in international sourcing gain an improvement in the quality and technological learning, resulting in the employment growth and development. This is not the case for manufacturing firms driven primarily by cost cutting. In our view, a better understanding of these effects is vital for both manufacturing as well as service firms that are influenced by this new trend.     

Pattern of information technology use and relationship learning in international customer-supplier relationships

While information technology (IT) has been widely applied in global supply chain relationships, academic research in this area is still limited. Drawing on resource-based view (RBV) and interpartner learning theory, we investigate how different pattern of IT use (IT exploitation and IT exploration) influences relationship learning and performance in international customer-supplier relationships. Further, we look into two contingent conditions including technological uncertainty and cultural distance in the proposed model. Based on 240 Taiwanese-based electronics suppliers, this empirical study reveals that only exploration side of IT use was significant on relationship learning and finds significant positive relationship between relationship learning and relationship performance. Moreover, the effect of IT exploration on relationship learning was positively moderated by technological uncertainty but negatively moderated by cultural distance. However, the effect of IT exploitation on relationship learning was negatively moderated by technological uncertainty but positively moderated by cultural distance.     

Unpacking the effect of exploration during environmental uncertainty: Evidence from the information technology sector

Environmental uncertainty can render managerial decision‐making about resource deployment particularly difficult. Integrating the knowledge‐based view of the firm and the organizational learning literature, we make a case for deploying specific knowledge‐based resources to cope with specific types of environmental uncertainty. We unbundle knowledge‐based resources into technology‐based and social‐network‐based resources and, using Milliken's (1987) typology of environmental uncertainty, we hypothesize that (a) technological exploration will be more effective during state uncertainty and (b) while being generally beneficial, social exploration will prove more effective during response uncertainty. An analysis of the financial performance of information technology (IT) firms in the United States over the period 1995–2004 generally supports our hypotheses. Copyright © 2015 ASAC. Published by John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Using Country Sustainability Risk to Inform Sustainable Supply Chain Management: A Design Science Study

The sustainability of our global supply chains is an essential concern in strategic supply chain management research. Modern information and communication technologies enable stakeholders to punish buying firms for any sustainability‐related grievances at their suppliers, even in remote locations. This study investigates how the notion of country sustainability risk can inform sustainable supply chain management, in particular with respect to sustainability risk assessment at the individual supplier level. Drawing on institutional theory, we provide insights surrounding the emergence of environmental, social, and governance‐related country‐level sustainability risks and show their implications for and application in sustainable supply chain management. The study employs a design science methodology, based on cooperation with a multidivisional German technology firm, to develop a supply chain sustainability risk (SCSR) map as technological solution design. This article contributes to the study of SCSR by reconciling the scholarly SCSR discourse with the buying firms’ pursuit of efficiency. Moreover, it elucidates the augmentation of a research agenda through a design science approach. In practical terms, the technological solution design can directly inform managers about SCSR at the country level and serves as a decision basis for the management of individual suppliers.     

中国科协建设高端科技创新智库的SWOT分析

建设高端科技创新智库是中国科协走中国特色群团发展道路的重大举措,对中国科协建设高端科技创新智库面临的内外环境进行分析具有重要的现实意义。本文采用SWOT分析法对中国科协建设高端科技创新智库面临的优势、劣势、机遇和挑战进行分析,研究结果表明：中国科协在组织网络、科技工作者状况调查、民间科技外交、智库成果宣传等方面具有自身优势,但同时也存在着智库网络未充分发挥作用、人才队伍结构有待完善、体制机制障碍、智库成果水平有待提升等劣势。深度参与全球科技治理、深化科技体制改革、科协事业转型升级、大数据技术发展是中国科协面临的机遇;国际竞争格局剧烈变动、全球科技治理领域话语权有限、国内外科技智库发展迅速是中国科协建设高端科技创新智库需要应对的挑战。     

Strategic and institutional effects on foreign IPO performance: Examining the impact of country of origin,corporate governance,and host country effects

Integrating signaling and institutional perspectives, we develop and test hypotheses relating institutions and corporate governance to foreign IPO success. Our investigation highlights the importance of three important drivers of foreign IPO success: home country legal institutions, corporate governance, and host capital market choice. This research demonstrates that board independence and country of origin effects are powerful signals. However, these factors do not have a universal impact on foreign IPO success. Instead, the value of home country institutions along with corporate governance signals are contingent upon the institutional environment in which international entrepreneurs choose to seek capital resources.     

Corporate risk and external sourcing: A study of Scandinavian multinational firms

External sourcing from foreign suppliers is an important aspect of the firm’s internationalization. However, data on such sourcing is available from neither databases nor annual reports. Thus, the corporate risk implications of such sourcing have not been studied previously. We obtain the necessary data by surveying Scandinavian non-financial firms. We find that highly international firms reduce corporate risk by externally sourcing from foreign suppliers both compared to sourcing from own production facilities abroad (due to superior flexibility) and compared to domestic sourcing (due to off-setting cash flows). Our results are statistically significant, are economically meaningful, and have important policy implications.     

Governance decisions for the offshore outsourcing of new product development in technology intensive markets

This study addresses how buyers organize their offshore outsourcing new product development relationships. Building on transaction cost economics and resource dependence theories, we propose a model of the influence of key new product development offshore outsourcing factors on two important buyers’ governance decisions (i.e., supply concentration and degree of supplier involvement). The antecedents, drawn from the marketing, management, and international business literatures, include: three sources of asset specificity (degree of modularity, strategic value of the project, and technology specificity) and two sources of uncertainty (cultural distance and technological discontinuity). The results, derived from an analysis of 200 offshore outsourcing new product development relationships, provide new insights for academics and practitioners.