Corporate Governance and returns on information technology investment: evidence from an emerging market

Prior studies have reported mixed findings on the impact of corporate information technology (IT) investment on firm performance. This study investigates the effect of corporate governance, an important management control mechanism, on the relation between IT investment and firm performance in the Taiwanese electronics industry. Specifically, we explore board independence and foreign ownership, which have increasingly become salient factors concerning corporate governance in emerging markets. We address their roles across firms of different sizes and in industries where degrees of competitiveness run a wide gamut. Our results show a positive moderating effect of board independence on the IT investment‐firm performance relation, especially when competition intensifies. Furthermore, we find that the greater the foreign ownership in small firms, the more positive the IT investment‐firm performance relation, suggesting that foreign investors may bring IT expertise to help small firms reap the benefits of using IT. Copyright © 2010 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Actions speak louder than modes: antecedents and implications of parent implementation capabilities on business unit performance

Firm boundaries and strategic execution affect the firm's ability to generate rents, grow, and survive. Boundaries are determined through governance mode choices, such as whether to make or buy a particular good or activity. While significant work has addressed the performance implications of this fit, less attention has been directed toward strategic execution, or implementation. In particular, the impact of corporate parents has been understudied. We suggest that parent‐level implementation capabilities of operating expertise gained through related experience and coordination from collocation combine with governance mode choices to jointly affect performance. By employing theories of organizational economics and testing predictions in casual dining chains, this paper unpacks the relationship between implementation, governance mode choice, and performance. Our findings suggest that parent capabilities may be more important than mode choice fit and that parent benefits are contingent upon mode choice and type of performance. Copyright © 2011 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Social and cultural capital in project marketing service firms: Danish architectural firms on the German market

This article analyses the marketing activities of three Danish architectural firms in Germany during the 1990s from a perspective that is new to project marketing, in that the Bourdivan concepts of social and cultural capital are applied to the offerings and activities of firms. In architecture, cultural capital accumulation entails such things as building visible buildings, winning design competitions, or obtaining important tenders, whereas social capital is accumulated through the recognition by other construction industry actors that one is a member of their circles. The cases presented provide support for our claim that the accumulation of social and cultural capital is crucial to acquiring architectural projects, while also indicating that cultural and social capital are internationally transferable to a limited extent only. This in turn suggests that national construction industries are best viewed as distinct project marketing milieus.     

Food for tourists—determinants of an image

Eating is a physical necessity, but catering services and food image are also very important ingredients of cultural tourism. Food and tourism are increasingly being combined, e.g. in agri‐tourism, wine tours and the sale of food products as souvenirs. However, as this paper illustrates, the development and standards of food for tourists are not determined uniformly by tourism policies, but more significantly by national economic, agricultural and food policies. A comparison between Denmark and Italy illustrates core elements in food cultures. Particularly in Denmark, food production is a major economic activity, and the power of the agricultural and food processing industries has in many cases compromised the quality image. In Italy, on the other hand, food policies and traditions, which give a high priority to freshness, intrinsically allow consumers to stay in control of food to a much larger extent than in Denmark. In both countries, a concentration of tourists in space and time tends to result in a decline of food profile. The paper concludes that only residents are in a position to put a more permanent pressure on food suppliers, and only if they are given the appropriate instruments. Further improvement of the food heritage in both countries (but especially in Denmark) will have to include a reconsideration, and probably changes, in food policies in more global terms. Copyright © 2000 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.