Interpartner Legitimacy in the Alliance Development Process*

abstract We propose a framework to understand interpartner legitimacy in strategic alliances. Interpartner legitimacy is the mutual acknowledgment by the alliance partners that their actions are proper in the developmental processes of the alliance. We argue that interpartner legitimacy is needed for cooperation to achieve alliance objectives. We propose three types of interpartner legitimacy – pragmatic, moral, and cognitive legitimacy – and discuss the dynamics of these three types in the formation, operation, and outcome stages of alliance development. Further, we discuss the salience of interpartner legitimacy in different alliance types. Finally, we derive propositions for further research, and discuss strategies that alliance managers can adopt to develop interpartner legitimacy.     

Building the BoP Producer Ecosystem: The Evolving Engagement of Fabindia with Indian Handloom Artisans

Recent research on the base of the pyramid (BoP) has called on firms to initiate market‐driven interventions directed at the BoP population with the objective of identifying and pursuing mutually profitable means of attaining meaningful poverty alleviation outcomes. In response, firms as well as scholars have engaged at length with the creation of new products and services for the BoP consumer but paid far less attention to the BoP producer—a member of the BoP population who creates value by producing goods and services for sale in nonlocal markets. Additionally, extant studies have largely focused on snapshot views of BoP interventions by firms, thereby limiting our understanding of the emergence of meaningful poverty‐alleviating outcomes over time from these interventions. This paper seeks to redirect attention toward the dynamic of the long‐term engagement between the firm and the BoP producer. Using rich qualitative data from Fabindia—an Indian handloom retailer—this paper examines how the engagement between Fabindia and communities of handloom artisans in India has persisted over a period of five decades. We found that, even as it encountered changes in the external environment and pursued newer organizational goals, Fabindia repeatedly renewed its engagement with handloom artisans and facilitated progression in poverty‐alleviation outcomes. Building on the insights from the case study, this paper presents a process model that highlights the role of innovative management practices in sustaining engagements between firms and BoP producers over time. Additionally, this paper proposes the concept of the “bridging enterprise”—a business enterprise that originates at the intersection of specific BoP communities and the corresponding nonlocal markets—as an interpreter and innovator reconciling the interests of stakeholders across the pyramid.     

Managing micropolitical risk: A cross‐sector examination

This article stresses the need for today's multinational firms to adopt their own political risk‐assessment and risk‐mitigation strategies. A comparative study of the energy, financial, and automobile sectors illustrates the need for all companies in these sectors to undertake comprehensive risk‐assessment strategies. Risk‐assessment models established by leading multinationals like British Petroleum, Bank of America, and General Motors are examined as examples that other companies in these sectors can build upon. The consistent micropolitical risk variables then lead to a proposed practical framework for examining sector‐specific micropolitical risk. © 2006 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.     

The impact of social cues on passengers’ travel experience

Despite the importance of social cues in service experience environments, little is known about the role of other customer perceptions (OCP) in the formation of passengers’ travel experience (PTE) and loyalty in public transportation. This study examines the impact of OCP on PTE and loyalty in public transportation and also investigates the moderating role of face-consciousness between OCP and PTE. Results revealed that all three dimensions of OCP have a positive effect on PTE, which consequently influences loyalty. More importantly, face-consciousness moderated the relationship between suitable behavior and PTE. Transport managers can benefit from these findings by considering the social environment as they design their services.     

Efficiency and Market Power Gains in Bank Megamergers: Evidence from Value Line Forecasts

This paper examines whether gains in bank megamergers occur due to efficiency improvements or the exercise of market power using financial statement line item forecasts from Value Line to infer the effect of the merger on prices and quantities. The average megamerger is associated with cost‐efficiency improvements. In the cross‐section, efficiency gains are limited to market expansion mergers while market overlap mergers and Too‐Big‐To‐Fail (TBTF) mergers exhibit monopoly gains. Efficiency gains dissipate when the resulting megabank size exceeds $150 billion in assets or 1.5% of gross domestic product indicating that banks thought to be TBTF are likely to be “Too‐Big‐To‐Be‐Efficient.”     

The Impact of Fundamentals on IPO Valuation

We examine how initial public offering (IPO) valuation has changed over time by focusing on three time periods: 1986-1990, January 1997 to March 2000 (designated as the boom period), and April 2000 to December 2001 (designated as the crash period). Using a sample of 1,655 IPOs, we find that firms with more negative earnings have higher valuations than do firms with less negative earnings and firms with more positive earnings have higher valuations than firms with less positive earnings. Our results suggest that negative earnings are a proxy for growth opportunities for Internet firms and that such growth options are a significant component of IPO firm value.     

Factors influencing the adoption of ICT tools in Kerala marine fisheries sector: an analytic hierarchy process approach

Adoption of a new ICT tool in the fisheries sector depends on several factors such as ease of use, affordable cost, information, and time. All these factors determine the preference of an existing tool over others for productivity enhancement. Which ICT tool is more beneficial than others is a continuing debate among researchers. However, the literature currently lacks detailed studies of fishermen criteria for selecting the best ICT tools in the marine fisheries sector. This paper is based on a framework which explains the factors influencing the adoption of ICT tools for the better fish catch, with the help of a multi-criteria decision making approach, called Analytic Hierarchy Process. Also, in the study we have compared the results of analysis using AHP with popular method TOPSIS and the obtained results were validated. The Study also assesses scientifically, which is the most important ICT tool for fishing through a case study in Northern and Southern parts of Kerala, a state in the southern India. The Study finds that Global Positioning System (GPS) is the most beneficial and important ICT tool in marine fishing. In contrast to the earlier studies, the results show that wireless set is important than other tools like mobile phone and echo-sounder for multi-day fishing. The cost-benefit analysis also supports findings of the study.     

Are exchange rates interdependent? Evidence using wavelet analysis

We examine the co-movement in daily returns of USD–INR, EUR–INR, GBP–INR, and JPY–INR currency pair futures contracts traded on the National Stock Exchange of India (NSE) using the wavelet cohesion approach. This study contributes to the literature by examining the scantly studied area of co-movement in exchange rates and using the wavelet approach, which allows us to analyse time–frequency-wise co-movement of the time series. The empirical results indicate that the currency futures markets are nearly perfectly integrated in the long run (monthly, quarterly and biannual scales) offering little potential gains from international portfolio diversification. The discrepancies between currency futures markets are small and almost fade away within 3–6 months. Moreover, international currency diversification might offer relatively higher potential gains at intraweek, weekly, and fortnightly time horizons owing to lower correlations among the currencies under consideration. Finally, our multiple-wavelet correlation and cross-correlation analysis shows that GBP acts as a potential leader/follower across scales. The results of our analysis indicate the dynamic pattern of co-movement among the major currency futures contracts, which provides several implications for portfolio managers and international investors participating in the Indian market.