Distribution Channel Network and Relational Performance: The Intervening Mechanism of Adaptive Distribution Flexibility

Network theories argue that organizations can enjoy information and control benefits from the network in which they are embedded. Focusing on distribution channel networks with strong, prominent, and central ties, this article argues that distribution flexibility, composed of logistics and relationship flexibility, is a response to environmental uncertainty that mediates the effect of channel network embeddedness on relationship performance. Results show that logistics flexibility and relationship flexibility fully mediate the effect of channel network embeddedness on relationship satisfaction, but that only relationship flexibility mediates the effect of channel network embeddedness on long‐term relationship orientation. Furthermore, not only is the effect of tie strength on logistics flexibility stronger in an uncertain environment, but relationship flexibility also decreases as the congruence between uncertainty and tie strength increases, suggesting a complex higher‐order contingency model.     

组织顾客创新、供应商反应性与项目绩效的关系研究:基于组织服务市场的实证分析

随着用户创新研究与实践的日益增加,组织市场(B2B)上有关组织顾客创新的理论研究与实践活动也受到了前所未有的关注。本文对组织服务市场上有关组织顾客创新及其对项目创新绩效与项目运营绩效的影响进行了研究,剖析了供应商认知反应性和情感反应性在上述影响中可能扮演的调节作用。同时,本文还以中国电信工程服务业为实证研究背景,分别从组织顾客与供应商两个不同的视角收集数据,验证了组织顾客创新对项目创新绩效和项目运营绩效所产生的差异性影响,检验了供应商反应性所扮演的调节作用,并对顾客样本和供应商样本的分析结果进行了简单的比较。     

Toward a Typology of Buyer–Supplier Relationships: A Study of the Computer Industry*

Buyer–supplier relationship typologies are useful analytical tools for purchasing managers in managing exchange relationships with suppliers and monitoring their purchasing portfolios. Existing buyer–supplier relationship typologies are mainly focused on either relational contents or power‐dependence and have limited empirical support for their performance implications. In this study, we developed an alternative buyer–supplier relationship typology that integrates both relational content and power‐dependence dimensions, resulting in four generic relationship types: market, power, autonomous‐link, and constrained‐link relationships. We then performed a longitudinal exploratory investigation of eight leading firms in the U.S. computer industry to explore the performance implications of the typology, using a combinatorial qualitative approach that leverages the strengths of case study research, content analysis, and quasi‐experimental design. The results suggest three theoretical propositions. First, the association between the type of buyer–supplier relationships and buyer firm performance varies such that constrained‐link relationships are superior in terms of operational efficiency while autonomous‐link relationships are superior in terms of product innovation. Second, the positive association between buyer–supplier relational contents (i.e., relationalism) and buyer firm operational efficiency is strengthened as the suppliers' dependence on the buyer firm increases. And finally, the positive association between buyer–supplier relationalism and buyer firm product innovation is weakened as the suppliers' dependence on the buyer firm increases.     

企业网络能力结构的测评及其对企业创新绩效的影响机制研究

针对企业网络能力有效测度和实证研究的不足,本文从网络愿景、网络构建、关系管理和关系组合四个维度开发和设计了企业网络能力的测度量表,运用来自中国企业的346个调查数据和结构方程方法实证检验了这些因素通过外部网络结构的中介作用对企业创新绩效的影响机理。研究表明:网络愿景、网络构建、关系管理和关系组合对企业创新绩效具有明显促进作用,而联系强度和网络位置在两者之间起到了部分中介作用。     

敏捷供应链背景下企业合作关系对企业绩效的影响

现有理论文献认为,良好的企业合作关系能够提高企业绩效,但对于其作用效果和作用路径仍缺乏实证研究的支持.本文以重庆市的242家企业为研究样本,通过因子分析和结构方程模型研究了企业合作关系、敏捷供应链和企业绩效三者之间的关系,验证了企业合作关系对敏捷供应链效益、企业绩效水平具有显著的正向影响,而敏捷供应链效益可以很好地提高企业的绩效水平.     

技术创新网络中企业间依赖、企业开放度对合作绩效的影响

技术创新网络中企业的合作绩效受到企业间依赖关系与企业开放度的影响。本文在对相关文献梳理的基础上,提出了网络内企业间依赖与开放度对合作绩效影响的理论假设,利用我国企业技术创新合作过程中的实际数据,对其进行了实证检验。结果表明,技术创新网络中企业间联合依赖与不对称依赖的程度会影响到企业在合作过程中的开放度,同时也会影响到企业的合作绩效。进而,作为企业间依赖与企业合作绩效间重要的中介,开放度也显著影响着企业合作的绩效。     

Information Technology and Process Performance: An Empirical Investigation of the Interaction Between IT and Non‐IT Resources*

Drawing on the resource‐based view, we propose a configurational perspective of how information technology (IT) assets and capabilities affect firm performance. Our premise is that IT assets and IT managerial capabilities are components in organizational design, and as such, their impact can only be understood by taking into consideration the interactions between those IT assets and capabilities and other non‐IT components. We develop and test a model that assesses the impact of explicit and tacit IT resources by examining their interactions with two non‐IT resources (open communication and business work practices). Our analysis of data collected from a sample of firms in the third‐party logistics industry supports the proposed configurational perspective, showing that IT resources can either enhance (complement) or suppress (by substituting for) the effects of non‐IT resources on process performance. More specifically, we find evidence of complementarities between shared business–IT knowledge and business work practice and between the scope of IT applications and an open communication culture in affecting the performance of the customer‐service process; but there is evidence of substitutability between shared knowledge and open communications. For decision making, our results reinforce the need to account for all dimensions of possible interaction between IT and non‐IT resources when evaluating IT investments.     

An Evaluation of the Role and Performance of a Decision Support System in Business Education*

With the rapid growth in end-user computing, there has been an increasing demand on business schools to train managers in the use of computers for effective decision support. While computer-aided instruction (CAI) has been in vogue for over a decade, there are very few studies that evaluate the impact of computers on decision-making skills in a business education context. The study makes use of a controlled experiment to evaluate the impact of computers on the accuracy and quality of decision making in a business decision support context. It also addresses the relationships between decision performance and various student characteristics such as aptitude, attitude, domain experience, domain expertise, gender, and system experience. The study revealed that computer support positively influenced both dimensions of decision performance.