The external knowledge sourcing process in multinational corporations

Research summary: We study the processes through which multinational corporations (MNCs) identify and make use of external sources of knowledge. Based on a seven‐year longitudinal study of one MNC's overseas scouting unit, we show how a simple one‐directional “channelling” process gradually gave way to three higher value‐added processes, labelled “translating,” “matchmaking,” and “transforming.” Building on these insights, we develop an integrative framework, defining the conditions under which each of the four processes is likely to transpire, and showing how the stock of social capital held by the scouting unit allows it to perform increasingly high value‐added activities over time. Implications for the MNC, external knowledge sourcing, and boundary‐spanning literatures are discussed. Managerial summary: Over the years, many multinational corporations (MNCs) have created overseas “scouting” units to tap into new ideas and opportunities in leading‐edge markets, but with mixed outcomes. In this study, we describe the development of a European telecom firm's scouting unit in Silicon Valley during the 2000s, focusing on the specific approaches used by the scouting managers to build effective connections between Silicon Valley start‐ups and the firm's business units back in Europe. We identify four distinct approaches for different types of opportunities, and we observe a clear sequencing of effort over time as the scouting managers built the necessary capabilities and credibility. Copyright © 2015 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

模块化、企业价值网络与企业边界变动

随着信息技术的发展，传统的集合型价值链发生以价值模块为基础的解构、整合和重建，形成具有差异化竞争优势的模块化价值链。不同企业的价值模块和模块化价值链在共同的界面标准内交叉连接、融合贯通，形成企业价值网络。企业价值网络集聚各成员企业的优势资源，将各能力要素协同在一个无形的网络平台上，通过不同组织模块间的协作、创新和竞争，能够产生新的竞争优势，使成员企业共享模块化经济、增强自生能力。企业价值网络的形成和拓展推动了企业边界的渗透和融合，导致企业有形边界与无形边界的分离。     

企业网络与企业边界理论

在对现有企业边界理论进程重新梳理之后，我们从管理理论中抽象出经济学意义上的企业网络概念。在此基础上，我们对企业的类型进行了重新分类，并界定了每种企业的边界以及相应的经济含义．希望对进一步理解企业和市场的关系提供新的研究视角和思路。     

论无边界企业

传统经济学认为企业是有边界的，企业的边界在于边际成本等于边际收益之处。本文认为，随着信息技术的发展，企业边界可趋于无穷。这是因为，在信息经济条件下，企业随着边界扩张，边际成本递减、边际收益递增，边际成本曲线和边际收益曲线无法随着企业规模的扩大而相交于一点。对无边界企业来讲，企业边界不再是指物质边界，而是指能力边界，企业边界的大小，取决于自身核心能力的强弱。企业要想成为无边界企业，必须将自身的核心能力打造成价值模块，并融入全球价值网络当中。无边界企业有着不同的具体形式，但是不论哪种形式，都是基于核心能力运作的，价值网络是核心能力的集大成。     

后产业组织时代的市场特性研究

“抑制规模垄断、促进市场竞争活力”是各国产业组织政策长期以来致力于解决的问题，也是产业组织理论研究的核心问题。结构学派和效率学派的主要分歧正是在抑制集中度，重视结构绩效和忽略集中度，追求行为效率方面各有侧重。今天，经济全球化和活跃的技术变革，改变着市场边界和市场竞争关系，单纯的大规模不再构成市场垄断的主要力量，我们进入了后产业组织时代。新时期的竞争关系和市场垄断特征，应该是我国正在制定中的反垄断法的主要依据。     

Online boundary work tactics: an affordance perspective

Studies of work/life balance have focussed on offline settings, and even though technology is considered as a boundary‐influencing feature, social media have not been the focus. Social technologies challenge the relationship between work and private life in new ways, due to their identified affordances: visibility, persistence, association and editability (Treem and Leonardi, 2012). In this paper, we present the results of a study of social media use (Facebook and Twitter) by employees of non‐governmental organisations (NGOs), and show how, through their affordances, these technologies influence the relationship and boundaries between work and non‐work, increasing visibility and reducing individual privacy. Consequently, we observe boundary work tactics that aim to protect private life from both public and professional scrutiny, in prohibitive, reactive or active ways. Our results call for organisations to develop explicit policies or guidelines for social media use, in both their own interests and those of their employees.     

Boundary management in an ICT‐enabled project‐based organising context

This paper explores the boundaries that emerge and exist within an information and communication technology (ICT)‐enabled project‐based organising context and the ways knowledge workers manage these boundaries through the use of technology. This is done through an exploratory qualitative case study of an early instance of the phenomenon in a knowledge‐intensive professional services organisation. Through the experiences of a group of knowledge workers who started to work in project‐based ways that were highly mediated by ICT, this study aims to understand the boundaries that they faced and the practices they undertook to manage these boundaries. In so doing, this study contributes to the existing literature on new forms of work and organisation, particularly on the issue of boundaries where ICT‐enabled project teams are used. In particular, this study extends our current understanding of boundaries through expanding the lens of investigation beyond a predominant focus on work–home boundaries and considers boundaries within the work sphere.     

2010年一季度美国经济金融运行形势分析

2010年一季度美国经济金融形势进一步好转,但经济增长动力呈现衰减迹象。同时,失业率高企、房地产市场疲软以及政府财政赤字压力巨大等问题仍然困扰经济运行,经济在刺激措施撤出之后仍然面临再次探底的风险,对未来美国经济复苏的预期仍不宜过分乐观。     

金融海啸后我国保险监管的方向和边界

席卷全球的金融海啸再次凸显出金融监管的重要性,促使我们对当前的监管模式进行反思,对今后监管的方向和边界进行定位。这场国际金融危机暴露出的监管漏洞及美国所提出的监管改革方案都对我国保险监管有一定的启示。本文结合金融海啸,探讨了我国保险监管模式的选择,以及保险监管的方向和边界。     

One foot in,one foot out: how does individuals' external search breadth affect innovation outcomes?

The “variance hypothesis” predicts that external search breadth leads to innovation outcomes, but people have limited attention for search and cultivating breadth consumes attention. How does individuals' search breadth affect innovation outcomes? How does individuals' allocation of attention affect the efficacy of search breadth? We matched survey data with complete patent records, to examine the search behaviors of elite boundary spanners at IBM. Surprisingly, individuals who allocated attention to people inside the firm were more innovative. Individuals with high external search breadth were more innovative only when they allocated more attention to those sources. Our research identifies limits to the “variance hypothesis” and reveals two successful approaches to innovation search: “cosmopolitans” who cultivate and attend to external people and “locals” who draw upon internal people. © 2014 The Authors. Strategic Management Journal published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd.