Embedded industrial production systems: Lessons from waste management in zinc production

To meet the sustainability challenge private companies must implement corporate strategies and adopt novel technologies. The technical and social embeddedness of industrial production systems, however, complicates these systems' transition towards sustainability. In the paper, mechanisms and conditions are reported for the development and implementation of waste management options in embedded industrial production systems. The focus is on the Dutch zinc production industry, which had to deal with a major waste problem; the generation of jarosite. The industry's options were to increase the jarosite waste storage capacity, to develop a jarosite treatment process or to switch to a zinc-ore of low-iron content whereby no jarosite waste would be generated anymore. Required conditions appeared to be a combination of technological capability and technical embedding and favourable economics. Case study research, however, revealed that adequate stakeholder management is crucial to address social pressure exerted and to obtain external acceptance for any transition strategy. Whilst appropriate, internal technological capabilities are important, effective interactions with and enrolment of various firm-external actors are crucial. In the case of zinc, access to the heterogeneous external actor network was critical for the development of the jarosite treatment solution direction. In conclusion, both the technical, organizational and social embedding of new technologies are crucial for successful implementation.     

网络嵌入、绿色动态能力与企业绿色创新——环境规制和管理者环境注意力的调节作用

基于动态能力理论、社会网络理论和制度理论等,探讨网络嵌入对企业绿色创新的影响,并进一步考察绿色动态能力在其中的中介作用以及环境规制、管理者环境注意力的调节作用。运用多元回归和Bootstrap方法进行实证检验,结果显示：结构嵌入和关系嵌入对企业绿色创新均具有显著影响;绿色动态能力在结构嵌入、关系嵌入与绿色创新之间起中介作用;环境规制、管理者环境注意力均正向调节绿色动态能力与绿色创新间关系。     

The MNC as an externally embedded organization: An investigation of embeddedness overlap in local subsidiary networks

MNCs have been conceptualized as differentiated networks that, in turn, are embedded in external networks. Previous research has predominantly focused on the embeddedness of established subsidiaries into their local environment, omitting to shed light on the phenomenon of headquarters linkages to the local context which creates embeddedness overlap. We develop a model of why MNCs develop overlapping linkages to local subsidiary networks even if the subsidiaries have grown out of the initial start-up phase. Using detailed information on 168 European subsidiaries, we find that MNCs build and maintain more overlapping network ties when subsidiaries are high performers, hold important resources, operate in turbulent environments, and are closely connected to multinational actors as opposed to purely domestic firms.     

依赖性与嵌入性：产学研合作创新持续性研究

作为合作创新的重要形式,产学研合作创新为资源整合、产业优化与经济发展作出了重要贡献。基于国家重点产业专利信息服务平台,以我国电子元器件产业产学研合作发明专利为数据来源,采用Logistic回归模型实证检验依赖性与嵌入性对产学研合作创新持续性的影响。结果表明：在依赖性的3个要素中,地理邻近性对产学研合作创新持续性不具有显著影响,知识相似性和身份相似性均对产学研合作创新持续性具有显著正向影响;在嵌入性的3个要素中,结构嵌入性对产学研合作创新持续性不具有显著影响,关系嵌入性和位置嵌入性均对产学研合作创新持续性具有显著正向影响。但是,当所有因素同时进入回归模型时,只有知识相似性和关系嵌入性对产学研合作创新持续性具有显著正向影响,身份相似性和位置嵌入性的影响不再显著。     

学术印记、网络惯例与大学衍生企业产业嵌入

在大学衍生企业创业实践中,与产业主体间缺乏合作默契已成为大学衍生企业向产业网络嵌入的重要阻滞因素。针对该问题,基于网络惯例新视角,从大学衍生企业学术创生背景带来的异质性入手,构建“学术印记—网络惯例—产业网络嵌入”作用模型,探索技术动荡性的调节效应。运用多元回归分析等方法,对379家大学衍生企业调研数据进行实证检验。结果表明,大学衍生企业学术印记对网络惯例建立具有积极促进作用。同时,在向产业嵌入过程中,网络惯例对产业网络嵌入两个维度的作用机制存在差异,与结构嵌入存在倒U型关系,但正向促进关系嵌入。技术动荡性在“学术印记—网络惯例—产业网络关系嵌入”关系中具有正向调节作用。     

多重知识网络嵌入性对团队创新绩效的“双刃剑”效应——失败学习的中介作用

基于网络嵌入理论和经验学习理论,遵循“资源―行为―绩效”框架,从团队视角探讨多重知识网络嵌入性对创新绩效的影响机制。采用PROCESS宏程序和MEDCURVE宏程序分析技术,对多时点收集的277套创新型团队领导―成员配对数据进行分析,研究发现多重知识网络嵌入性转化为团队创新绩效的4条路径：①内部和外部知识网络嵌入性均对团队创新绩效存在倒U型影响;②利用式失败学习在内部知识网络嵌入性与团队创新绩效的正向关系中具有显著中介作用,在外部知识网络嵌入性与团队创新绩效的倒U型关系中具有显著中介作用;③探索式失败学习在两个维度的知识网络嵌入性与团队创新绩效的倒U型关系中具有显著中介作用;④两个维度的知识网络嵌入性顺次通过利用式失败学习、探索式失败学习对团队创新绩效发挥间接作用,利用式失败学习和探索式失败学习在其中起链式中介作用。     

A quintessential immigrant niche? The non-case of immigrants in the Dutch construction industry

Students of immigrant entrepreneurship show a distinct preference for ethnic concentrations. They focus on small entrepreneurship in sectors with large concentrations of immigrant businesses or on ethnic commercial precincts. This preference stems from practical and theoretical considerations. It seems that the study of such concentrations, or niches, is essential to the theoretical understanding of the structural determinants of small entrepreneurship and the processes of economic incorporation of immigrants. This paper challenges this orthodoxy. It argues that it is important to assess the factors and processes that positively and negatively affect the formation of niches. This argument is corroborated by an analysis of the construction industry in the Netherlands. According to Waldinger (1995: 577), ‘construction represents the quintessential ethnic niche’, but immigrants in the Netherlands did not carve out a niche. This exceptional situation can be attributed to a sector-specific configuration of social, economic and institutional processes.     

网络嵌入、集聚模仿与大学衍生企业知识溢出——基于中国三大海洋工程装备制造业集群的实证研究

引入新网络特征——空间集聚结构发现,我国企业集群知识溢出存在空间模仿效应。为此,利用空间计量模型修正社会网络分析结果,考察大学衍生企业网络嵌入演进对企业集群知识溢出的真实影响。结果表明,产业关联、信任、关系联结规模和中介中心度有助于提高企业集群知识溢出水平,知识认同度和互惠程度对知识溢出的影响存在最优均衡;网络嵌入对知识溢出的影响存在明显的空间模仿效应,在连续性知识空间更多表现为邻近效应,在间断性知识空间则表现为异质效应,集群内空间模仿效应强于集群间;在控制空间效应后,仅在波纹状集聚结构的环渤海集群存在结构洞与知识溢出的负向关联。基于上述结果,结合我国国情提出海洋装备集群未来发展政策及启示。     

演化视角下全产业链创新网络结构及核心企业行为对创新绩效的影响——以苹果公司网络为例

从理论上分析了全产业链创新网络结构特点以及核心企业行为模式与创新绩效的关系,提出相关假设;从开放性的2个维度,即开放广度和开放深度量化核心企业开放式创新的行为模式。依据偏最小二乘法,将结构和行为模式的表征变量作为自变量,创新绩效的4个表征变量作为因变量,进行交叉检验;最后选取1个主成分进行回归分析,检验理论假设。     

The development of critical capabilities in foreign subsidiaries: disentangling the role of the subsidiary’s business network

Within business literature in general, capabilities have advanced to the prime determinant of the corporation’s economic rents. Within international business literature, it is further assumed that multinational corporations can enhance their pool of capabilities through foreign subsidiaries. Foreign subsidiaries are seen as means to assimilate new capabilities from their local, external network and integrate these capabilities into the multinational corporation. Data from more than 2000 foreign subsidiaries shows that some foreign units actually are endowed with superior capabilities which are useful for other corporate entities. It is argued that the development of critical capabilities within these subsidiaries is driven not only by internal corporate actors, but also by external actors. The analysis provides evidence that the role of different internal and external network partners for capability development varies according to the functional activity under consideration. Thus, subsidiaries benefit from various internal and external network actors in very different ways. The contribution ends with some conclusions and some avenues for future research.