Transformational Leadership Education and Agency Perspectives in Business School Pedagogy: A Marriage of Inconvenience?

We critique transformational leadership education in university business schools based on a literature review, a study of the websites of 21 leading business schools, and an analysis of two presentations to business school students at Massachusetts Institute of Technology and Stanford University by the former CEO of General Electric, Jack Welch. Our critique draws attention to the unresolved tension between two motivating ideas that underpin much teaching in business schools: collective interest ideas that permeate transformational leadership education; and self-interest ideas derived from agency theory. Transformational leadership tends to be depicted as a process by which leaders exert a 'top-down' influence over the activities of others, while simultaneously asserting that their organizations have a common purpose and pursue a collective interest. We highlight the risk that business schools are producing graduates who will attempt to appeal to common needs (guided by precepts of transformational leadership) but who will simultaneously enact contradictory performance management systems (guided by agency theory). We encourage business school educators in leadership to adopt approaches which are more critical, relational and reflexive. We suggest some general directions for an alternative leadership prospectus, based on followership, the promotion of critical upward communication within organizations, and the recognition of leadership as a contested, discursive and co-constructed phenomenon.     

From communism to market: business models and governance in heritage conservation in Poland

The paper focuses on the effect of business model and governance changes on conservation and access outcomes in three heritage sites in Poland: Ksiaz Castle, the Shrine of Our Lady of Grace Abbey and the Jelenia Gora Valley historic palaces. It argues that the interplay between business model and governance led by relevant political, administrative and economic changes has an impact on which historic buildings are conserved for future generations, in what form, and with which functions. Findings from the case studies allow us to design three ideal business models for the management of heritage sites. The paper also explores implications for management research regarding business model and public sector change.

     

Making and Mending your Nets: Managing Relevance, Participation and Uncertainty in Academic–Practitioner Knowledge Networks

Making and mending your nets is concerned to examine, from an actor–network theory perspective, how the relevance debate concerning research and teaching is a significant non‐human actor in the development and management of industry–academic networks associated with UK business schools. By significant, we do not imply the most important because it is only one of many human and non‐human actors that may arouse interest, be problematized, enrolled and/or mobilized for such networks to become ‘obligatory passage points’ and ultimately irreversible collective assemblies. The paper then utilizes actor–network theory as a framework for examining our primary empirical research on academic–practitioner knowledge networks – nets that require a continuous making and mending in managing relevance, participation and uncertainty. We argue that the actor–network framework is more compatible than alternative knowledge diffusion or transfer models with the data we have collected on academic–practitioner knowledge networks in the UK. In accounting for the dynamic instability and precariousness of knowledge networks, it avoids raising false expectations about business knowledge and its relevance or effectiveness. If knowledge in the physical sciences and engineering unfolds slowly and unevenly in the face of many disputes, disruptions and setbacks, as actor–network theory has claimed, then how much more likely is this to be the case in the social sciences? Consequently there should be no expectations of one‐to‐one, direct causal chains between knowledge production and application, as some business school critics seemingly demand.     

Business school research: bridging the gap between producers and consumers

There has been a great deal of continuing discussion concerning the seemingly unbridgeable gap between so much of the research produced by business school professors and the needs of the business people who, ideally, would use it. Here, we examine this gap and suggest a model for bridging it. We sample four groups of people, business school academics (professors), deans of business schools, executive MBA students/recent graduates, and senior business executives. Each group rates 44 different (potential) properties of exemplary research. We analyze within-group differences, and more meaningfully, between-group differences. We then offer commentary on the results and use the results to develop the aforementioned suggestions for bridging the gap we find.     

Demand-side strategy and business models: Putting value creation for consumers center stage

Value creation for consumers, as the conditio sine qua non for value capture, is at the heart of demand-side strategy research and is a core element of almost any business model. In this paper, we discuss the unique ideas that demand-side strategy and business model research jointly contribute to the strategy literature, and we elaborate on the potential for cross-fertilization between both areas of study. We argue that both the demand-side perspective and the business model concept could jointly promote a better understanding of strategy-making by mutually relying on the distinctive insights from each stream; specifically, while research on demand-side strategy can help business model scholars gain a more robust and granular understanding of effective value propositions, business models can serve as a “bridging concept” that links the shared ideas of both areas of study to resource-based streams of strategy research.     

A concept of an integrated transport model

This paper is one of a series being produced on the application of Operational Research techniques in the integrated planning of public service resource provision and consumption. It describes a conceptual basis for planning transportation services within the context of a public service, the others are related to Health Services, Educational Services and community development services.Two sub-models, a linear sub-model and a dynamic sub-model are linked to form the integrated approach to the planning problem. The overall concept is to evaluate in terms of penalties and benefits the alternative plans of resource provisions.It is of interest to know that the principles of the Linear model described here has been applied to long range planning in the Health Service in the U.S.A. and U.K., and has been reported at the NATO conference, Portugal (1974). The Dynamic model has been used, in a more unstructured fashion than described here, by the Greater London Councils. The model in this paper is to form the basis of a more detailed evaluation of alternative transportation plans.     

Strategies for business model innovation: How firms reel in migrating value

This paper brings together firm-level research on business models and industry-level research on value migration to examine patterns of business model innovation. We draw on qualitative data from 14 cases and 68 interviews in the computer and telecommunications industries to demonstrate how business model innovation is sensitive to industry-wide forces of value migration. Based on our analysis we conclude that when value is rapidly migrating across industries and between firms, proactively substituting key elements of the primary business model provides a better fit with the new value landscape than launching secondary business models in parallel. We suggest four underlying mechanisms that link business model innovation, value migration and subsequent outcomes. Unpacking business model innovation allows us to discuss contingencies for the main business model strategies, specifically in terms of limitations to—and opportunities of—changing the primary business model and the practice of parallel business models.     

Explaining performing R&D through alliances: Implications for the business model of Italian dedicated biotech firms

In recent years management scholars and practitioners have been interested in Research and Development (R&D) partnering, especially in high-tech industries. While the motivations of research partnership formation have been widely explored in literature, little attempt has been undertaken to examine the effects of research partnerships on R&D productivity and the implications for business models of the new ventures. In this paper we try to shed some light on the business models of the young ventures involved in R&D partnerships and their effect on R&D productivity. Our hypotheses are that experience in previous alliances, repeated partnerships and tight relationships have positive effects on R&D productivity while rigid governance structures and public R&D subsidies have negative effects on such productivity. We discuss how these aspects affect the business models of biotech firms. We test our hypotheses on a sample of 55 Italian DBFs (Dedicated Biotech Firms). Results support our hypotheses. Managerial implications and further issues for future research are discussed.     

Business models and organization design

Despite a voluminous literature, business model research continues to be plagued with problems. Those problems hinder theory development and make it difficult for managers to use research findings in their decision-making. In our article, we seek to make three contributions. First, we clarify the theoretical foundations of the business model concept and relate them to the five elements of a business model: customers, value propositions, product/service offerings, value creation mechanisms, and value appropriation mechanisms. A clear definition of a business model enables theory to develop systematically and provides coherent guidance to managers. Second, we suggest that value configuration is a contingency variable that should be included in future theorizing and model building. Each of the elements of a business model is affected by a firm's value configuration depending on whether the firm is a value chain, value shop, or value network. Third, we link business models to organization design. We show how organization design is affected by value configuration and how new collaborative organizational forms enable open and agile business models. We derive the implications of our analysis for future research and management practice.     

Changing Business Models and Employee Representation in the Airline Industry: A Comparison of British Airways and Deutsche Lufthansa

In recent years, the notion of business models has gained momentum in management research. Scholars have discussed several barriers to changing business models in established firms. However, the national institutions of market economies have not yet been discussed as barriers, even though they can constrain the latitude of action of a firm's management. Based on interviews and a longitudinal content analysis, we analyse the extent to which full service carriers in two countries (British Airways in the UK and Deutsche Lufthansa in Germany) have adopted elements of a low cost model over time. Furthermore, we investigate how this process has been influenced by the differences in each national institutional context. We particularly focus on the role of the rights of employee representatives in changes in business models. Our results show that British Airways has moved its business model more in the direction of low cost carriers than Deutsche Lufthansa, although the business model of the former airline still differs significantly from that of a typical low cost carrier. We identify national institutions that potentially strengthen the position of employee representatives as a factor that can influence, and also act as a barrier to, business model change.     

试论工商管理学科的案例研究方法

案例研究是世界工商管理学科发展的重要的研究方法之一。对案例研究的重视可以追溯到哈佛商学院所代表的案例学派和早期的经验学派。目前我国工商管理的研究普遍存在研究方法不规范的问题,研究成果很难被国际学术界承认,规范性研究方法是世界学术交流的共同平台。本论文旨在通过案例研究与案例教学、研究案例与教学案例的区别,在结合笔者从事案例研究与编写教学案例的经验基础上,探讨规范性案例研究的内容与方法,以及相应地案例研究的步骤与评价标准等,以促进我国工商管理学科的案例学派的学术研究与国际接轨,走向规范化。     

Optimal Experimental Design Strategies for Detecting Hormesis

Hormesis is a widely observed phenomenon in many branches of life sciences, ranging from toxicology studies to agronomy, with obvious public health and risk assessment implications. We address optimal experimental design strategies for determining the presence of hormesis in a controlled environment using the recently proposed Hunt‐Bowman model. We propose alternative models that have an implicit hormetic threshold, discuss their advantages over current models, and construct and study properties of optimal designs for (i) estimating model parameters, (ii) estimating the threshold dose, and (iii) testing for the presence of hormesis. We also determine maximin optimal designs that maximize the minimum of the design efficiencies when we have multiple design criteria or there is model uncertainty where we have a few plausible models of interest. We apply these optimal design strategies to a teratology study and show that the proposed designs outperform the implemented design by a wide margin for many situations.     

Customer complementarity in the digital space: Exploring Amazon’s business model diversification

In spite of the striking evidence that many firms run multiple business models, scholars and practitioners still lack a comprehensive understanding about business model portfolio dynamics, particularly when this happens in the digital space. Prior research on business model diversification tends to focus on supply-side complementarities, such as a firm's synergies among resources and capabilities. Yet, the demand-side with its customer complementarities remains theoretically and empirically underexplored, despite offering interesting opportunities for firms' competitive advantage. By developing a qualitative, longitudinal (1995–2018) analysis of the various business models developed by Amazon.com, we identify and map how customer complementarities—network effects and one-stop shop effects—can support firm growth and competitive advantage, particularly in the digital space. We identify what we term the ‘integrative business model,’ defined as the business model in a portfolio exhibiting the most (predominantly positive) customer complementarities with other business models. We propose mechanisms for the integrative business model to contribute to sustainable competitive advantage via a causal loop diagram and discuss implications for theory and practice.     

The outsourcing of IT-enabled business processes: A conceptual model of the location decision

As business process outsourcing (BPO) becomes more widespread, customers, the general public and politicians have increasingly questioned and criticized firms' outsourcing decisions to foreign locations. In this paper, we develop and apply theory to improve understanding of the outsourcing location decision for IT-enabled business processes. We do this by adding a human capital dimension and moderating factors to the Dunning [Dunning, J.H., 1988. Explaining International Production. Unwin Hyman, London.] framework of infrastructure, country risk and government policy. The inclusion of a human capital dimension is justified due to the nature of IT-enabled business processes, with their inherent tradeoffs between high tech and high touch. The model also incorporates firm-specific moderating factors, such as the firm's outsourcing objectives and experience, and situation-specific moderators including the nature of the business process and customer expectations. The model provides a way for firms and researchers to take a more systematic and comprehensive approach to outsourcing location decisions. We conclude with a discussion of the managerial and research implications.     

Assessing the performance of business colleges in Taiwan using data envelopment analysis and student based value-added performance indicators

The purpose of this study is to construct a student-based performance evaluation model for business schools in Taiwan. College graduates’ starting wage and their multiple abilities cultivated in school are used as performance indicators. The value-added forms of these indicators are employed to assess the pure impact of school on graduate's performance. To prevent impractical indicator weights, we incorporate job market recruiters’ weights from an AHP survey into the assurance region data envelopment analysis (AR-DEA) for empirical analysis. Empirical results show that the public schools on average outperform the private schools. However, there are still some private schools that perform better than the public ones. Besides, in regard to the discriminatory power and the distribution of output weights, the proposed AR-DEA is better than DEA in measuring the performance of the business colleges in Taiwan.     

Information Technology Acceptance by Individual Professionals: A Model Comparison Approach*

The proliferation of innovative and exciting information technology applications that target individual “professionals” has made the examination or re‐examination of existing technology acceptance theories and models in a “professional” setting increasingly important. The current research represents a conceptual replication of several previous model comparison studies. The particular models under investigation are the Technology Acceptance Model (TAM), the Theory of Planned Behavior (TPB), and a decomposed TPB model, potentially adequate in the targeted healthcare professional setting. These models are empirically examined and compared, using the responses to a survey on telemedicine technology acceptance collected from more than 400 physicians practicing in public tertiary hospitals in Hong Kong. Results of the study highlight several plausible limitations of TAM and TPB in explaining or predicting technology acceptance by individual professionals. In addition, findings from the study also suggest that instruments that have been developed and repeatedly tested in previous studies involving end users and business managers in ordinary business settings may not be equally valid in a professional setting. Several implications for technology acceptance/adoption research and technology management practices are discussed.     

Business model diversification: Demand relatedness,entry sequencing,and curvilinearity in the diversification-performance relationship

This study integrates research on business model diversification (BMD) and demand-side theory to examine the relationship of BMD to performance and the sequencing of business model additions. We begin by explaining and demonstrating that the overall degree of BMD has an inverted U-shaped relationship with firm performance. We next highlight the particular role that demand relatedness plays in BMD. We first provide evidence that the inverted U-shaped relationship flattens in times of financial shocks, consistent with arguments that the benefits of BMD from consumers’ willingness-to-pay for simultaneous use of multiple business models may diminish during shocks. Second, we argue that firms tend to sequence the addition of new business models based on demand relatedness, and we provide evidence that the degree of demand relatedness between a core and a target business model enhances the likelihood of diversification into that target business model.     

Beyond Transparency: Information Overload and a Model for Intelligibility

The role and evaluation of the modern corporation is being challenged by multiple stakeholders, changing markets and public expectations. Unfortunately, corporate governance, regulation and accounting have played a prominent role in business failure for the past decade resulting in a growing lack of public confidence in our markets. We present a new model that contributes to improving the quality of corporate information by providing not more, but better information through increased intelligibility of overall information, benefiting both the firm and its broad array of stakeholders. It has become apparent that boards, management and regulators have been unable to cope with the rise of business failures by adding increasing layers of regulation that have often served only to exacerbate the complexity and further cloud the transparency of needed information. We have identified a growing number of forward‐thinking firms that have found alternative means to provide betterinformation and strengthen their companies. We offer a stakeholder‐centric model for improving information intelligibility based upon the extensive scope and variety of external input derived from the growing social movement organizations. With the added focus on intelligibility, these groups can help foster greater corporate responsibility, meaningful transparency, increased stakeholder benefits, and improved overall performance of the firm.     

How are Methodologies and Tools Framing Managers' Strategizing Practice in Competitive Strategy Development?

Criticisms have been levelled at the use of traditional strategic tools such as SWOT, PEST and BCG in contemporary business environments. In light of these criticisms, the objective of this research is to understand how senior executives engage with methodologies and tools as they develop competitive strategy. Within a broader strategy‐as‐practice approach, we use an activity theory framework to capture strategizing insights of senior executives in the UK responsible for competitive strategy. Our sample includes executives leading manufacturing organizations embedded in networks and CEOs reported in the financial press as adopting innovative business models. Our data suggest there is no one preferred practice approach by these highly regarded executives. Rather, methods and tools are adapted as they are contextualized in alternative practices. Three dominant strategizing practice models emerged from the data reflecting alternative applications of methodologies and tools. The first model captures routinized behaviour adopted by those who view their future as predictable, and an extension of the current environment. The second model posits reflective interaction between the strategist, organizational processes, culture, relationships and practice, and the final model shows an imposed engagement with strategizing methodologies and tools that bypass the organization's collective structures. These practice models suggest strategy leaders' activities depend upon their interpretation of the operating environment.     

PRICING,PRODUCTION, AND PERSISTENCE

Though built with increasingly precise microfoundations, modern optimizing sticky price models have displayed a chronic inability to generate large and persistent real responses to monetary shocks, as recently stressed by Chari, Kehoe, and McGrattan (2000). We trace this lack of persistence to a standard view of the cyclical behavior of real marginal cost built into current sticky price macro models. Using a fully articulated general equilibrium model, we develop an alternative perspective on real marginal cost that leads to substantial persistence. Based on an important role for materials input, variable capacity utilization, and labor adjustment on the extensive margin, this alternative view also makes the sticky price model display volatility and comovement of factor inputs and factor prices more closely in line with conventional wisdom about business cycles and various empirical studies of the dynamic effects of monetary shocks. (JEL: E31 E32)