The effect of international venturing on firm performance: The moderating influence of absorptive capacity

Companies have vigorously pursued opportunities for profitability and growth through international venturing. Yet, research evidence on the performance benefits of international venturing activities has been contradictory. Applying an organizational learning framework, we propose that the expected effects of international venturing activities on financial performance depend on companies' absorptive capacity. Data from 217 global manufacturing companies show that absorptive capacity moderates the relationship between international venturing and firms' profitability and revenue growth. These results urge executives to build internal R&D and innovative capabilities in order to successfully exploit the new knowledge acquired from foreign markets.     

Configuring a corporate venturing portfolio to create growth value: Within-portfolio diversity and strategic linkage

This study attempted an empirical investigation of whether and how a corporate investor can enhance future growth opportunities through corporate venturing investments (CVIs). Different from previous studies, we assessed the firm-level performance impact of a CVI portfolio with a focus on two configuration features: within-portfolio diversity and strategic linkage. Based on a longitudinal dataset of CVIs made by Taiwanese technology-based companies, we found that increasing CVI portfolio diversity and maintaining strategic linkages, particularly vertical ones, between the portfolio companies and the investing firm's core business will add value to the investing firm's future growth. Implications for CVI strategy and opportunities for future research are also discussed.     

An analysis of delayed formal and interlinked informal credit in agriculture

A model of interlinked credit-product contracts between small farmers and large farmers when the small farmer faces delay in getting formal credit and the large farmer does not, has been developed. The small farmer remains on the reservation income level, and his reservation income is inversely related to the length of the delay. However, this does not hamper the productivity of the small farmer. The large farmer extracts the surplus through the interlinked contract and this surplus is positively related to the length of the delay. Interlinkage and non-inter-linkage equilibria become identical if the small farmer gets the formal credit at the beginning of the crop cycle. Various subsidy policies worsen the distribution of formal credit.     

Differentiated effects of formal and informal institutional distance between countries on the environmental performance of multinational enterprises

This research examines the influence of environmental institutional distance between home and host countries on the standardization of environmental performance among multinational enterprises using ordinary least-squares (OLS) regression techniques and a sample of 128 multinationals from high-polluting industries. The paper examines the environmental institutional distance of countries using the concepts of formal and informal institutional distances. The results show that whereas a high formal environmental distance between home and host countries leads multinational enterprises to achieve a different level of environmental performance according to each country's legal requirements, a high informal environmental distance encourages these firms to unify their environmental performance independently of the countries in which their units are based. The study also discusses the implications for academia, managers, and policy makers.     

Managing international joint ventures to improve performance: The role of structural and social mechanisms

Poor performance has been a major concern in research on international joint ventures (IJVs). This study integrates the IJV management mechanisms from transaction cost theory (TCT) and social exchange theory (SET) in order to gain insights into management mechanisms that improve IJV performance. The framework consists of three structural (i.e., symmetric dependence, symmetric equity share and resource complementarity) and three social (i.e., trust, communication and cultural adaptation) IJV management mechanisms, which are considered as potential determinants of IJV performance. Based on the analysis of data collected from 89 IJVs established by Nordic firms in Asia, Europe and the USA, results indicate that TCT-based symmetric dependence and resource complementarity on the one hand and SET-based trust, communication and cultural adaptation on another significantly improve IJV performance. However, impact of symmetric equity share on IJV performance remains negative and non-significant, explaining that IJV partners may consider it rather a safeguard to their own stake and interests in IJVs. In addition, SET-based IJV management mechanisms are found to be more effective than the TCT-based IJV mechanisms in improving IJV performance.     

The role of corporate governance in FDI decisions: Evidence from Taiwan

There has been a considerable literature on the determinants of why firms undertake foreign direct investment (FDI), but very little on whether firms with different governance characteristics are more or less likely to venture overseas. For example, are family-controlled firms more predisposed to FDI than firms, with similar attributes, but different forms of ownership? Does the presence of institutional shareholders suggest a greater propensity to invest abroad? Does the composition of the Board of Directors have an impact? Most extant studies of corporate governance focus on the impact of governance factors on firm performance. However, these performance outcomes are a function of the strategic decisions made by the firms, which suggests it might be useful to consider the relationship between corporate governance factors and particular strategic decisions. One example is the decision to undertake foreign direct investment. The two main strands of IB literature on the determinants of FDI have little or nothing to say about how corporate governance factors might affect the FDI decision. Both internalisation theory and the resource-based view see FDI primarily as a means by which firms can appropriate rents in overseas markets from the exploitation of their idiosyncratic resources and capabilities. This paper extends this literature by investigating the effects of governance factors on the decision to undertake FDI. In particular, we want to assess the impact upon the FDI decision of (a) the extent of family control, (b) the presence of domestic and foreign institutional shareholders, and (c) the composition of the Board of Directors. We investigate these effects using a sample of 228 publicly listed firms in Taiwan, and our results clearly indicate that family control and share ownership by domestic financial institutions in Taiwanese firms are associated with the decision to undertake FDI. We also find that corporate governance impacts in different ways with regard to Taiwanese FDI in China in comparison to Taiwanese FDI in the rest of the world.     

Computer ethics: The role of personal,informal, and formal codes

Ethical decisions related to computer technology and computer use are subject to three primary influences: (1) the individual's own personal code (2) any informal code of ethical behavior that exists in the work place, and (3) exposure to formal codes of ethics. The relative importance of these codes, as well as factors influencing these codes, was explored in a nationwide survey of information system (IS) professionals. The implications of the findings are important to educators and employers in the development of acceptable ethical standards. Margaret Anne Pierce is a Full Professor in the Department of Mathematics and Computer Science at Georgia Southern University, Statesboro, GA. She teaches primarily computer science courses, and her research interests include computer science undergraduate education, study of random number generators, and computer ethics. Her work is found in publications such as Computers in Human Behavior, Mathematics and Computer Education, Simulation, and regional and national proceedings. John W. Henry is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Management at Georgia Southern University, Statesboro, GA. His research interests are information systems use in health care contexts, implementation of medical information systems, and the determinants of end-user technology success. His work is found in publications such as Executive Development, Computers in Human Behavior, and regional and national proceedings.     

Closing the regional equity capital gap: The role of informal venture capital

There is evidence from a number of countries that small firms encounter a shortage of long-term investment finance, particularly at start-up and initial growth. Expansion of the institutional venture capital industry has done little to fill this equity gap on account of its preference for making large investments in established companies and management/leveraged buyouts. Moreover, the supply of venture capital exhibits a high level of spatial concentration. Initiatives by state/provincial and local governments, most notably in economically lagging regions, to increase the supply of risk capital for start-ups and early stage businesses have at best provided a very partial, and often costly, solution. A more appropriate approach to increasing the supply of start-up and early stage finance is to facilitate the more efficient operation of theinformal venture capital market. Informal investors, or business angels, are private investors who provide risk capital directly to new and growing businesses in which they have no family connection. Most business angels are unable to find sufficient investment opportunities and so have substantial uncommitted funds available. There is also considerable scope for expanding the population of business angels. The most cost-effective means of closing the equity gap is therefore for the public sector to underwrite the operating costs of business introduction services whose objective is to overcome the two main sources of inefficiency in the informal venture capital market, namely the invisibility of business angels and the high search costs of angels seeking investment opportunities and entrepreneurs seeking investors, by the provision of a channel of communication between informal investors and entrepreneurs seeking finance.     

History matters: The role of history in corporate brand strategy

This article explores how an organization can use its history to define and deliver its corporate brand strategy. We specifically look at Adidas, which, having rejected its history at one stage, rediscovered and used the philosophy and ideas of its founder to provide direction for the future, legitimate strategic choices, and enrich the corporate brand. Through analysis of material evidence and interviews with senior and long-serving employees, we conceptualize the way Adidas developed a systematic approach to the use of history in its corporate brand strategy by creating the means to uncover, remember, curate, and then embed it. Combining the lessons of the Adidas case with evidence from other cases in which history was used to refocus and revitalize corporate brands, we deliver key recommendations for managers.     

企业文化与思想政治工作相融合促进企业健康发展

新形势下,企业职工思想观念、价值观念的多样化,给企业思想政治工作增加了复杂性和艰巨性.加强和改进思想政治工作,探索做好思想政治工作的新途径、新方法,是企业健康发展所面临的新课题.本文分别阐述了企业文化与思想政治工作的含义与特点,介绍了两者融合的意义,从精神文化、制度文化、物质文化三个方面阐述了企业文化与思想政治工作融合的途径,目的在于指导企业将文化建设融合贯穿于思想政治工作,提升思想政治工作的新活力,促进企业的健康发展.     

The crisis of Japanese retailing at the turn of the millennium: a crisis of corporate governance and finance

The year 2000 saw a sudden rise in failures of prominent Japanese retailers. With problems of corporate finance and governance being pointed out as early as the 1970s, the recent problems as well as the continuous rise of companies up to then have to be explained. This article contends that a major explanatory factor is the weakening of the existing stable relationships between retailers and financial institutions. Banks functioned as lenders, shareholders and providers of management resources. Changes in the banking sector led to changes in the relationship at the end of the 1990s. Problems in corporate governance surfaced that might result in a major reorganization of the Japanese retail scene.     

The role of corporate identity management in the higher education sector: an exploratory case study

This paper examines the corporate identity concept and presents an empirical test of a corporate identity model in the context of the higher education sector. The various components of corporate identity are investigated and the results are presented in diagrammatic form in the proposed and updated corporate identity taxonomy. A qualitative exploratory approach was taken, comprising in-depth interviews with key informants involved in the implementation of corporate identity at a major UK university. The taxonomy illustrates communication, design, culture, behaviour, structure, industry and strategy as the main components of corporate identity. The study also demonstrates how and where issues of corporate identity are discussed within an organisation and how the results of these discussions are fed into management structure. As with any such exploratory case study, there are limits to the generalisability of the findings. Further research is required to ascertain whether the findings of this study also apply in other settings. The results will be helpful to communication professionals who deal with an organisation’s corporate identity, branding and communication and who aim to enhance the consistency of messages both written and visual within their organisation.     

Developing the selection and valuation capabilities through learning: The case of corporate venture capital

The objective of this paper is to examine the impacts of experience intensity, experience diversity and acquisitive experience on the development of selection and valuation capabilities that help the parent (investor) company generate higher short-term financial returns and improve long-term strategic performance. Based on our analysis of 2110 cases of CVC investments in the VenureXpert data base, we find that industry diversity of a CVC program's experience is positively related to its selection of portfolio companies with relatively high financial potential. The CVC program's experience intensity, stage diversity of its experience, and syndication improve its selection of portfolio companies with greater strategic potential. In addition, stage diversity may enhance valuation capability. We also find that experience accumulation is more effective when a CVC program invests in a portfolio company in the later stage rather than in the early stage.     

The impact of the information and communications technology revolution on the internationalisation of corporate technology

The rising pace of technological change in information and communications technology (ICT) has doubtless provoked the rise of “techno-globalism” at a cross-firm level by providing a new mode of diversification. As a result of the increasing process of technological interrelatedness, the specialisation in a core pervasive technology (as ICT is nowadays) allows the firm to develop tacit capabilities, which, in turn, facilitate its corporate activity in different kinds of technology across national boundaries in an intra-firm network. Therefore ICT can be view as a platform for entry into new products as well as an enabler of fusion of technology.This paper investigates whether the increased specialisation in ICT has influenced the geographical diversification or internationalisation of firms. The association between the two phenomena is found in the later (but not in the former) period under analysis. By adopting a more detailed level of sectoral aggregation within the ICT field, the econometric analysis seems to indicate computing (rather than communications) as the ICT component driving the relationship between internationalisation of research and development activity and ICT specialisation.     

The supply-side of environmental sustainability and export performance: The role of knowledge integration and international buyer involvement

Most of previous studies seek to understand buyer perspectives in green supply chain relationships and devote inadequate attention to the strategic role of upstream suppliers. Drawing on a market-oriented approach to sustainability, this paper examines the enabling factors and processes that underpin how export suppliers from emerging economies leverage their strategic intent to develop knowledge integration capacity for achieving improved export performance. The results from a sample of Chinese exporters show that the relational capacity of knowledge integration mediates the performance impact of market-oriented environmental sustainability, and such a mediating process of leaning is further enhanced by international buyer involvement. We reveal that relationship efforts should be directed at developing integrative capacity involving key partners for implementing proactive environmental strategy in international business-to-business (B2B) markets. This study contributes to the research of supply chain sustainability in a global context.     

How should a company respond to a product harm crisis? The role of corporate reputation and consumer-based cues

Product harm crises such as Vioxx and Firestone can be devastating events for companies. Although lawsuits by victims tend to draw most of the attention, observers, who typically learn of product harm crises through media outlets, can also cause extensive damage to the companies involved, as they represent current and potential customers of the product.This article provides guidance to practitioners in choosing the appropriate strategy to effectively deal with a product harm crisis. The authors recommend that corporate reputation and consumer-based cues, such as gender and nationality, be incorporated in the decision-making process regarding the choice of a corporate response.     

Post-entry internationalization speed of SMEs: The role of relational mechanisms and foreign market knowledge

Prior research shows that small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) can utilize domestic networks with internationally experienced partners to accelerate their internationalization process. Yet, there is a lack of clarity and limited empirical evidence regarding the role of relational mechanisms within these networks in driving post-entry internationalization speed (PIS) of SMEs. To address this gap, this study examines the relational mechanisms-PIS relationship by drawing insights from the relational view to argue that foreign market knowledge mediates the relationship between relational mechanisms and PIS. The hypothesized study model is tested using a structural equation modelling (SEM) technique on a sample of 394 UK based manufacturing SMEs. Our results show that foreign market knowledge acquisition from domestic networks fully mediates the relationship between relational mechanisms and PIS. Additionally, the linkage between foreign market knowledge acquisition and PIS is moderated by domestic environmental hostility, such that the relationship is strengthened when domestic environmental hostility increases. We discuss the contributions and implications of our results and suggest opportunities for future research.     

供应商专项投资与感知的合作风险:关系发展阶段与控制机制的调节作用研究

This study examines the dynamic nature of suppliers’ perceived relational risks arising from transaction-specific investments (TSIs) in their relationship with manufacturers, and the moderating effects of contracts and relational norms, during the developmental process of manufacturer-supplier relationship. An empirical study was conducted with data collected from 261 suppliers and manufacturers in the Chinese consumer electronic appliances sector. We found that suppliers’ TSIs have a positive effect on their perceived relational risks, and in different phases of a relationship effect varies significantly. Results of the research also show that both contracts and relational norms have negative moderating effects on the relationship between suppliers’ TSIs and their perceived relational risks, and moderating effects during are different across various phases of a relationship. Translated from Zhongguo Guanli Kexue 中国管理科学 (Chinese Management Science), 2006, 14(1): 30–36     

企业形象广告的文化取向特征与变迁——对《南方周末》1999-2008年间企业形象广告的内容分析

本文以1999-2008年间《南方周末》上的企业形象广告为研究对象,运用内容分析法,综合分析企业形象广告文化取向的总体特点和历时性特点,探讨企业形象广告的文化取向对企业形象塑造的意义和影响,并在此基础上,针对企业形象广告策略提出了相应建议。     

The mediating role of integration of safety by activity versus operator between organizational culture and safety climate

ABSTRACT

In this study, we analyse the impact of the organizational culture and introduce a new variable, the integration of safety, which relates to the modalities for the implementation and adoption of safety in the work process, either through the activity or by the operator. One hundred and eighty employees replied to a questionnaire measuring the organizational climate, the safety climate and the integration of safety. We expected that implementation centred on the activity or on the operator would mediate the relationship between the organizational culture and the safety climate. The results support our assumptions. A regression analysis highlights the positive impact on the safety climate of organizational values of the ‘rule’ and ‘support’ type, as well as of integration by the operator and activity. Moreover, integration mediates the relation between these variables. The results suggest to take into account organizational culture and to introduce different implementation modalities to improve the safety climate.