EFFECTS OF BUDGETARY CONTROL DESIGN ON MANAGEMENT DECISIONS: SOME EMPIRICAL EVIDENCE*

An examination of budgetary slack behavior reveals that managerial characteristics and the economic environment may contribute to the failure of budgetary control systems. Large management-controlled firms that operate in industries with high barriers to entry behave as if they allocate more slack resources when compared with owner-controlled firms of similar size and market power. The results confirm that accounting operating-income numbers reflect manifestations of slack behavior in the budgetary process. Management-controlled firms in particular seem to act as if they fail to release and redistribute slack resources. It is concluded that budgetary slack behavior points to failures in the organization design that may lead to inefficient allocation of resources and to inferior profit performance.     

The Bias of Structures: How Multidivisional Organizations Work in the Public Sector

This paper discusses the unexploited possibilities that organization theory offers for explaining the policy output of public-sector organizations. Although political scientists frequently argue that organization matters, exactly how it matters remains unresolved. To investigate this issue, the concept of the multidivisional organization (M-form) is applied to the public sector. Three dimensions of the M-form are identified for closer inspection: 1) the structure-strategy relationship, 2) the managerial or leadership dimension, and 3) the external-relations dimension. Several empirical examples are used to demonstrate that the M-form exerts an independent impact on policy output. While the M-form allows a single organization to perform multiple functions, it also works against crosscutting policies and is inclined toward clientelism and capture. The use of the M-form concept is beneficial for political science analyses in that it requires paying greater attention to the “internal life” of governmental and public-sector organizations.     

Innovativeness as an Unintended Outcome of Franchising: Insights from Restaurant Chains

A growing trend in improving innovation outcomes is to go outside the firm's boundaries. One mechanism by which firms extend organizational boundaries is through franchising their channels. Yet, the effects of franchising on innovation outcomes have been overlooked in the literature. We propose that a firm's emphasis on franchising will affect its organizational innovativeness, conceptualized as product and process innovativeness, independently and with other firm characteristics—franchising experience, firm size, financial leverage, and slack resources. We find support for our hypotheses using a nonlinear seemingly unrelated regression model estimated using panel data from 38 U.S. restaurant chains between 1992 and 2005. The positive effect of the emphasis on franchising on product innovativeness is stronger for firms with high financial leverage, but weaker for firms with high slack resources. For process innovativeness, the effect is stronger for firms with high financial leverage but weaker for large firms, and for firms with high franchising experience and high slack resources. The findings indicate that a firm's emphasis on franchising has contingent effects on product and process innovation outcomes. Thus, franchising emerges as a competing mechanism (to alliances and joint ventures) that extends organizational boundaries and affects organizational innovativeness.     

Managerial incentive, organizational slack, and performance: empirical analysis of Japanese firms’ behavior

The main purpose of this study is to investigate how organizational slack is created and how it affects a firm’s performance. To address these questions, we construct three equations: managerial incentive function, organizational slack formation function and performance function, and we apply 3SLS simultaneously to these functions by using the data sets of 2,791 Japanese firms from the years 2001 and 2006. From the empirical analysis of these Japanese firms, we obtain the following results: a firm’s performance declines as organizational slack increases; organizational slack is affected by annual change rate of revenues but not by managerial incentive; managerial incentive decreases as a firm’s performance improves while it increases as the structure of corporate governance is strengthened.     

基于M型组织结构的企业内部激励机制与兼并效应

在寡头竞争环境下,引入企业内部激励机制激励参数变量,建立了一个替代性产品M型制下企业兼并二阶段Cournot竞争博弈模型:第一阶段,兼并企业采用M型制并选择基于利润和销售收入内部激励机制的激励参数;在第二阶段,兼并后各企业的决策者根据企业提供的内部激励机制进行产量竞争。在此基础上,分析了兼并对各企业利润、产量与价格带来的影响。证明对于替代性产品行业,存在一个兼并临界规模(1)只有当兼并规模小于临界规模时,兼并企业才适合采用M型组织结构;且企业普遍存在兼并动机,产品替代化程度越高,兼并动力越大;(2)当兼并企业采用M型组织结构且兼并规模小于临界规模时,兼并对外部企业产生负外部性,但对消费者带来有利影响。本文还进一步讨论了兼并企业采用M型组织结构时内部激励机制激励参数的选择问题,证明激励参数受行业利润率、兼并规模与产品替代性程度的影响。     

The Management of Innovation in Project-Based Firms

How relevant are traditional innovation ideas for project-based firms? This paper asks if project-based firms provide a context supportive of innovation or indeed if they view it as useful. Based on research in firms from a variety of sectors, including telecommunications, information systems, computers, financial services and engineering, procurement and construction, the paper reveals that the very project control systems around which the firms operate serve to stifle innovation. Project-based firms—regardless of sector—prioritise efficient management of projects, tolerating the use of slack resources only when absolutely necessary. Finally innovation is not seen as universally useful, but primarily as costly and dangerous. It concludes that the space at which ‘innovation’ and ‘projects’ comes together is still dominated by ideas on how to correctly manage projects, rather than how to effectively manage innovation. Innovation of ideas on managing innovation projects may be merited.     

冗余资源配置条件下的企业技术创新激励合约研究

基于多任务委托代理模型的分析框架,建立了企业同时采用新增资源投入和搜寻企业冗余资源进行技术创新的信息不对称条件下的委托代理模型。通过对模型的分析,得出了企业技术创新所需的新增资源和冗余资源投入的优化配置条件,以及2种资源组合配置模式下的企业员工技术创新活动的最优激励合同条件。企业可以根据新增资源的边际收益、边际成本,以及各行动之间成本函数的相互依存性的不同组合,采取适度激励、重度强化激励、轻度强化激励、重度弱化激励和轻度弱化激励等优化激励组合方案来激励员工进行技术创新活动,从而使企业技术创新资源的配置有更多优化方案选择,以降低企业创新的风险和成本,提高资源效率和创新绩效。     

An organizational learning approach to digital and non-digital firm acquisition behavior

Drawing on organizational learning theory, this study investigates whether, and how, digital firms' characteristics can alter the determinants of exploration and exploitation activities through acquisitions. Considering that digital firms intrinsically differ from non-digital firms as regards their resource bundles, cost structure, and growth strategy, we argue that these distinctive characteristics can moderate the effects of slack resources and performance feedback on the propensity to conduct explorative and exploitative acquisitions. Comparing large, U.S. publicly traded digital and non-digital acquiring firms, we empirically show that consistent with our predictions, digital firms' characteristics mitigate the effects of slack resources and performance feedback on the propensity to conduct explorative acquisitions. Yet, contrary to our predictions, the findings also indicate that digital firms' characteristics reinforce the effects of these determinants on the propensity to conduct exploitative acquisitions.     

The Economic Characteristics of De-diversifying Firms

During the 1980s, many diversified firms reduced their diversification by refocusing on their core businesses. This research note tries to identify the characteristics that distinguished the companies that refocused from those that did not. It is found that relative to their industry counterparts, the refocusing firms were characterized by high diversification and poor performance. In addition, a firm was more likely to refocus if its core industry was ‘attractive’.     

Does exposure to a traumatic event make organizations resilient?

Why do some organizations bounce-back from traumatic events more quickly than others? While the research on organizations offers extensive insights on recovery from economic or technological shocks, there is limited understanding of how organizations recover from life-threatening events such as terrorist attacks. In this study, we build on the research on resilience and argue that organizational recovery from a traumatic event is informed by the perception of threat. Higher perception of threat increases inter-organizational collaboration and the care associated with the deployment of slack as well as to learning. We tested our arguments with a sample of US and non-US firms before and after the 9/11 terrorist attacks and found that, due to spatial proximity, US firms’ higher perception of threat led to a larger increase in the frequency of inter-organizational alliances than that of non-US firms. This preference was more frequently directed towards local partners and demonstrated a distinct emphasis on slack and learning. Contrary to conventional wisdom, our findings suggest that organizational resilience in the face of a traumatic event benefits not from immunity but from spatial proximity to the threat. Proximity increases the perception of threat, and with it, the impetus for adaptation.     

Indulgence and risk-taking behavior of firms: Direct and interactive influences

This study examines the impact of Hofstede's indulgence vs restraint national culture dimension (IVR) on firms' risk-taking behavior. We argue that firms in more indulgent societies will show greater risk-taking behavior given their tendencies to be less rigid and their greater inclination for discounting risk-taking losses. We further argue that the buffers that slack resources provide against risk-taking losses and the positive expectations of potential gains from risk-taking provided by growth opportunities will further increase firms' risk-taking behavior when interacting with indulgence mechanisms. Our findings from a 37-country study support these arguments. They show that high indulgence does increase firms' risk-taking behavior and slack resources and growth opportunities intensify this causal effect. Tests of three-way interactions further reveal that the positive impact of indulgence on firms' risk-taking behavior is strongest when both slack resources are abundant and the growth opportunities are high. We extend current knowledge about culture's effect on firm behavior.     

The business portfolio approach—Where it falls down in practice

During the past decade the SBU (or portfolio) concept has enjoyed widespread popularity as a basis for corporate-wide strategic planning systems within large, diversified firms. This article discusses the implementation of such systems on the basis of 3 years of clinical and small sample research. A ‘basic model’ of implementation is used as a basis for comparison to progressive practice as observed in a sample of 13 firms. Furthermore, a new conceptual perspective for the portfolio concept is developed as a complement to the observed approach to implementation.     

Corporate Political Activity and Firm Performance: The Moderating Effects of International and Product Diversification

Prior research has found that corporate political activity (CPA) can both positively and negatively impact firm performance. Combining agency theory with the resource-based view, we examine the relationship between domestic lobbying (a key form of CPA) and firm performance by explicating the moderating effects of international and product diversification. We argue that expansion into international and product markets increases a firm's resources and reduces agency costs in domestic lobbying. Our results, based on a sample of 737 firms, show that lobbying is positively associated with performance for firms that are diversified in both international markets and along product-lines; whereas lobbying is counter-productive for purely domestic and undiversified firms. Our results contribute to the literature on the firm performance implications of corporate political activity by highlighting the roles of international and product diversification.     

组织冗余的利用对中国企业创新产出的影响

从冗余的控制权的角度将企业已吸收的冗余划分为分散冗余和组合冗余,分析了这两种冗余的利用对企业创新的影响,构建了一个包含冗余、吸收能力与创新之间关系的结构方程模型,并运用在607家企业进行的问卷调查所获取的数据实证检验了这个模型。结果显示,分散冗余和组合冗余分别与产品创新和过程创新存在显著的正相关关系,不同的冗余与不同的吸收能力之间存在一定的匹配关系,这种关系能够导致不同的创新产出。结果表明,中国企业的冗余与西方企业的冗余一样,都能够促进企业的创新产出,因此,广泛采用一刀切式的“减员”手段未必是中国企业“增效”的最有效率的策略。     

CEO Duality,Agency Costs,and Internal Capital Allocation Efficiency

This study examines the impact of CEO duality on firms’ internal capital allocation efficiency. We observe that when the CEO is also chair of the board, diversified firms make inefficient investments, as they allocate more capital to business segments with relatively low growth opportunities over segments with high growth opportunities. The adverse impact of CEO duality on investment efficiency prevails only among firms that face high agency problems, as captured by high free cash flows, staggered board structure and low board independence. Depending on the severity of the agency problem, CEO duality is associated with a decrease in industry‐adjusted investment in high‐growth segments of 1% to 2.1% over the following year, relative to that in low‐growth segments. However, CEOs’ equity‐based compensation curbs the negative effect of CEO duality on internal capital allocation efficiency. Overall, the findings of this study offer strong support for the agency theory and postulate the internal capital allocation policy as an important channel through which CEO duality lowers firm value in diversified firms.     

An attention-based view of short-termism: The effects of organizational structure

Debates about short-termism in business tend to center around the role of shareholder pressures and managers’ incentives, while the role of organizational structure remains understudied. In our paper, we adopt an attention-based lens to elucidate the role of organizational structure in directing the attention of management towards pressures for short-term results at the expense of the long term. Specifically, we argue that greater scale of operations, hierarchy, bureaucracy, and workforce flexibility reduce slack resources available to senior managers and increase the complexity of information presented to them in different ways. As a result, the senior managers shift their attention to short-term pressures, which are more easily understood, at the expense of attention for long-term considerations. Analysis based on a survey of senior managers in 3221 private firms in the Netherlands provides support for our arguments.     

Effects of Firm-specific and Country-specific Advantages on Relative Acquisition Size in Service Sector Cross-Border Acquisitions: An Empirical Examination

Using a sample of 348 service sector cross-border acquisitions by U.S. firms in 44 countries during 1990–2006, our study seeks to identify factors that influence relative acquisition size (acquisition transaction value as a percentage of acquiring firm's asset value). Our findings indicate that firm-specific advantages (FSAs) in the form of available financial slack and target industry knowledge were positively associated with relative acquisition size. However, contrary to expectations, we observed a negative relationship between cross-border acquisition experience and relative acquisition size. In addition, our results suggest that country-specific advantages (CSAs) associated with higher market potential, lower political risk, and greater cultural similarity contributed to increased relative acquisition size in service industry cross-border acquisitions. Finally, our analysis reveals that the relationship between available financial slack and relative acquisition size is contingent on cultural similarity with the relationship being more pronounced when cultural similarity is high.     

Agency conflict in diversified business groups and performance of affiliated firms in India: Contingent effect of external constraint and internal governance

This study examines how diversification in Indian business groups creates multiple forms of agency problems and has performance implications for group-affiliated firms. Departing from prior literature which emphasizes the principal–principal agency conflict in business groups, we argue that business group diversification leads to dual agency problems between controlling and minority shareholders (principal–principal) and shareholders and managers (principal–agent) in affiliated firms. Both these agency problems arise in diversified business groups through cross-subsidization of affiliated firms by inefficient capital investment, continuing presence of affiliated firms in declining industries, tunneling of resources from profitable affiliated firms, lack of attention by business group headquarters to affiliated firms, and affiliated firm managers' sense of perceived security, which negatively impacts affiliated firms’ performance. These agency issues are reduced with the increase in product market competition from exposure to international markets and through concentrated promoter ownership in the affiliated firms. Our hypothesized model finds empirical support in a sample of 828 business group–affiliated firms in India.     

Diversification strategies of developing country firms

Large diversified firms have been a dominant factor in the economies of many developing countries. Nonetheless, they have received only limited research attention, and consequently our knowledge of the nature and extent of their behaviour is limited. This research sought to contribute to filling this gap. Analysis of 163 diversification moves undertaken by 44 firms in various developing countries shows a considerable variation across developing regions and over time in terms of the objectives that drive the diversification activities and the strategies pursued to implement them. This variation can largely be attributed to specific characteristics of countries and regions that affect the behaviour of firms.     

基于三方期权博弈的动漫企业合并决策分析

在三方期权博弈模型的结构下,分析了动漫产业竞争条件下的企业合并决策,得出市场均衡条件下企业的利润函数。进一步构建了实物期权模型,分析企业在动态环境下合并的时机和合并的可能性。结论表明,中资企业的合并决策为外资企业提供了搭便车的机会,并且企业的竞争优势越大,产品的差异化程度越小,则合并后外资企业会获得越大的相对收益。并且,企业的竞争优势越弱,中外产品的差异化程度越高,则合并的时机会越早。企业的外部环境较好会促使企业合并的产生。所得出的结论为我国的动漫产业在通过合并去扩大规模的过程中如何避免外资企业出现搭便车的行为提供了有益的参考。