Motivation matters: Corporate scope and competition in complementary product markets

Research summary : We argue that a pure capabilities‐based view does not accurately explain the competitive dynamics of increasingly common settings in which firms act as both complementors and competitors. We propose that the Awareness‐Motivation‐Capability framework is more appropriate for these settings. We derive predictions from both a pure capabilities view and the AMC framework, and test those predictions in the U.S. auto leasing market, in which the leasing subsidiaries of car manufacturers directly compete with the same independent lessors who provide complements to the manufacturers. Although our results are consistent with capabilities playing an important role, motivation appears to be a critical factor explaining the competitive dynamics of the market. Managerial summary : Firms that compete with business units owned by larger corporate parents face additional considerations. Such subsidiary competitors can be motivated by broader corporate considerations, shifting their objectives, and consequently, their strategic actions. Expecting subsidiary competitors to pursue business unit profitability can mislead managers toward pricing, product mix, or market entry errors. We present an important example from consumer finance, where independent auto lessors, such as Bank of America (BoA), compete with captive leasing subsidiaries like Ford Motor Credit (FMC). Since FMC is motivated to subsidize and support vehicle sales for its manufacturer parent, a cost advantage is not enough for BoA to dominate the market. Understanding broader corporate motivations of competitors helps managers anticipate competition levels in potential markets, thereby improving decision‐making and performance. Copyright © 2015 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Learning to let go: Social influence,learning, and the abandonment of corporate venture capital practices

Research summary: This study examines the abandonment of organizational practices. We argue that firm choices in implementing practices affect how firms experience a practice and their subsequent likelihood of abandonment. We focus on utilization of the practice and staffing (i.e. career backgrounds of managers), as two important implementation choices that firms make. The findings demonstrate that practice utilization and staffing choices not only affect abandonment likelihood directly but also condition firms' susceptibility to pressures to abandon when social referents do. Our study contributes to diffusion research by examining practice abandonment—a relatively unexplored area in diffusion research—and by incorporating specific aspects of firms' post‐adoption choices into diffusion theory. Managerial summary: When do firms shut down practices? Prior research has shown that firms learn from the actions of other firms, both adopting and abandoning practices when their peers do. But unlike adoption decisions, abandonment decisions need to account for firms' own experiences with the practice. We study the abandonment of corporate venture capital (CVC) practices in the U.S. IT industry, which has experienced waves of adoption and abandonment. We find that firms that make more CVC investments are less likely to abandon the practice, and are less likely to learn vicariously from other firms' abandonment decisions, such that they are less likely to exit CVC when other firms do. Staffing choices also matter: hiring former venture capitalists makes firms less likely to abandon CVC practices, while hiring internally makes abandonment more likely. Plus, staffing choices affect how firms learn from the environment, as CVC managers pay attention to and learn more from the actions of firms that match their work backgrounds; i.e., firms that staff CVC units with former venture capitalists are more likely to follow exit decisions of VC firms, while those that staff with internal hires are more likely to follow their industry peers. Our results suggest that firms wanting to retain CVC practices should think carefully about the implementation choices they make, as they may be inadvertently sowing seeds of abandonment. Copyright © 2015 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

A study on the competitive strategy of the universal postal service provider

We analysed how the universal postal service providers could employ their specificities to achieve an advantage over the growing competition. The basic input for the model is expert opinions. We interviewed 18 experts in five stages. As a multiple criteria decision support method, we used an analytic hierarchy process. Further, we proposed a geometric method for determining the business area where a company should focus its biggest attention to achieve the best result. By implementing the proposed model, a company should obtain two types of business directions, the first related to the proposed activities and the second to the business areas. To demonstrate the applicability of the proposed methodology, we tested and verified it in the case of the Serbian universal postal service provider which is a state-owned company called the Post of Serbia.     

新常态下辽宁沿海经济带对外开放程度测算——基于与沈阳经济区比较视角

以厘清新常态的本质作为切入点,基于外贸依存度、出口依存度、进口依存度以及外资依存度等视角对新常态下辽宁沿海经济带对外开放程度进行测算,并与同为国家区域经济发展战略试验区的沈阳经济区进行比较。测算与比较的结果为辽宁沿海经济带在未来进一步扩大对外开放的进程中更为精确地找准定位和明确发展思路提供新鲜而又客观的经验分析与丰富的数据支撑。     

技术进步、市场自由度与物流成本的关系

在单位根检验、最优滞后期选择、协整检验的基础上,建立向量误差修正模型,分析技术进步、市场自由度与物流成本三者之间的长期动态关系,并进行脉冲响应分析和方差分解。结果如下:从长期来看,技术进步有助于降低物流成本、提高市场自由度;市场自由度的提升可使物流成本增加,但市场自由度和物流成本的变化对技术进步的作用微弱;物流成本的增加在初期可提升市场自由度,在后期会阻碍市场自由度的提升。     

民办高校骨干教师职业生涯路径探析

民办高校骨干教师的职业生涯管理,既关系到骨干教师自我发展的需要,又关系到民办高校的内涵式发展,是民办高校人力资源管理工作的重点。将骨干教师和职业生涯管理理论相结合,针对某民办高校教师队伍现状,探讨骨干教师职业生涯路径,目的在于更好地开发骨干教师的潜能,更好地帮助骨干教师实现自我价值,促进民办高校的内涵式发展。     

High-involvement practices in human resource management: concept and factors that motivate their adoption

Using data on 250 Spanish firms, we examine the incidence of high-involvement practices and investigate what variables are associated with the adoption of these practices. Particularly, we analyse the influence of size, age, competitive advantage, activity sector, the existence of a recent crisis, culture, leadership style and the competitiveness of the environment on the adoption of high-involvement work practices. With all this, we try to offer an exploratory view of nature of the contexts that condition the adoption of such practices, with the aim of motivating future research more thoroughly.     

浅议心理资本开发的培训设计

培训对企业竞争优势的支撑，关键在于员工心理资本的形成和积累。在人力资源培训设计上，企业要强调对员工心理资本的开发，即从提高员工的自我效能感、希望、乐观和坚韧性四个方面改变员工的心理状态，能够有效激发出员工的潜力和忠诚，形成企业独有的竞争优势。     

金融危机背景下汽车企业竞争优势来源研究

在综合和阐明竞争优势内涵的基础上,重点对汽车企业竞争优势的来源进行研究。从效率、品质、客户响应和创新等四个构成要素切入,对通用汽车和丰田汽车的竞争优势开展了比较分析。由此得出三点结论:同种类型的企业在相同的环境中可能表现各异,竞争优势构成要素之间存在关联性,企业的创新能力是实现竞争优势可持续性最根本的保证。