A Resource-based View of Strategic Alliances and Firm Value in the Electronic Marketplace

This study relies on the resource-based view to examine how alliances of e-commerce firms affect firm value in an emerging business sector. Using an event study method, we investigate 272 alliances of 69 e-commerce firms. Our findings show that alliances of e-commerce firms in general have a positive effect on firm value. Unlike previous studies of alliances, we find that marketing alliances generate significantly greater firm value than technology alliances. Our results also show that alliances with other e-commerce partners do not have a significantly different effect on firm value than alliances with bricks-and-mortar partners. Implications and avenues for future research are discussed.     

The role of social and intellectual capital in achieving competitive advantage through enterprise resource planning (ERP) systems

Enterprise resource planning (ERP) software merges a firm's data, information flows and business processes into a single package. Vendors argue that ERP provides an extremely useful strategic resource to enhance competitiveness and make it possible for a firm to leverage its other resources more effectively and efficiently. In addition, they allege that ERP encourages a system-wide perspective that is a basis for collaboration and a systems orientation. However, an examination of ERP systems using criteria established in research on resource-based views of the firm and chaos/complexity theory indicates that these claims are overstated. Observation suggests that even if ERP is necessary to coordinate complicated, multifaceted operations, it is far from sufficient to promote a strong competitive position over the long term. Moreover, ERP systems fit best within mechanistic, clockwork organizations dominated by routine, highly programmed technologies and operations, yet it is the non-routine learning and change processes found in complex, self-organizing systems that enable firms to create distinctive competitive advantages from ERP outputs. ERP makes possible deep changes in relationships, culture, and behaviors that can be crucial sources of advantage in the knowledge economy, but the structures and cultures most able to achieve this level of change are a poor fit with ERP requirements. To reconcile this paradox, we propose a dual-core, loosely coupled organization that views ERP as an enabling technology to build and augment social and intellectual capital, rather than as an information technology (IT) solution for organizational inefficiencies. Propositions for using ERP as a foundation for social and intellectual capital formation are introduced. Implications for research and practice are discussed.     

Dominant factors impacting the development of business-to-business (B2B) e-commerce in agriculture

There is still much optimism about the potential success of e-commerce in agriculture. Three dominant factors have impacted this development: (1) industry structure; (2) product complexity; and (3) the high-touch nature of transactions. In turn, these factors have led to several different potential types of strategic options. From a mix of these strategic options, potential scenarios have been analyzed and selected. These potential scenarios are the future of business-to-business (B2B) commerce in agriculture.     

A model of e-commerce use by internationalizing SMEs

Globalization and e-commerce pose new challenges and provide new competitive opportunities, especially for small- and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) seeking to broaden their involvement into new international markets. Yet, SMEs are only beginning to embrace these new opportunities. The authors derive a model describing the use of e-commerce by internationalizing SMEs, developed by integrating findings from case studies of 12 Canadian SMEs exporting to Japan with a broad range of management theories. The cases represent two very different sectors: hospitality/tourism and high tech. The research first describes how the firms use e-commerce internationally, by examining resource commitment, web function and cultural adaptation. It then explains why the firms use e-commerce, by relating two types of environmental variables — market changes and industry norms — and three firm factors — technical capability, cultural capability and firm size — to the firms' adoption of e-commerce. Implications for SME managers are discussed and nine propositions are put forth to guide and focus future research.     

Taxonomy of ERP integrations and performance outcomes: an exploratory study of manufacturing firms

Building and deploying network capabilities of firms are crucial for sustaining competitive advantage. Enterprise resource planning (ERP) systems are useful to enhance such network capabilities thorough effective information flows. Their intended goals are measured in terms of production costs, operational flexibility and supply chain performance outcomes. However, the impact of ERP system implementation on firm performance has been reported as somewhat inconclusive. This study contends that a missing link in the story is the scope and extent of ERP system implementation after investigating how the extent of ERP integration is associated with the performance outcomes of manufacturing firms. The study also posits that restructuring in the organisation and supply chains are positively associated with manufacturing performance. Since ERP often entails restructuring in an organisation and supply chains, it is anticipated that restructuring plays an important role in inducing positive impact of ERP implementation to the firm. Using a global sample of 641 manufacturers, this research identifies four distinct ERP systems integration patterns, epitomised by different extents and directions of integration, and finds a significant association among the broadest degree of ERP systems integration, restructuring and plant performance improvement. The empirical results also show that restructuring takes place most actively in a firm that implement ERP with widest scope and scale.     

Realizing Benefits from Enterprise Resource Planning: Does Strategic Focus Matter?

A key driver of the recent wave of enterprise resource planning (ERP) implementations was the assumption that the integration of business information would provide firms with a competitive advantage, yet concrete business benefits have been uneven across adopting firms. A possible explanation is that although the resource‐based view holds that competitive advantage is derived from inimitable resources, ERP software has become a commodity. Socio‐technical theory suggests that internal organizational resources based on a foundation of ERP technology may be the true drivers of ERP benefits. A firm's strategic configuration is posited to influence the portfolio of organizational competencies available to leverage the benefits of integrated business information, and a number of hypotheses are developed based on the notion that firms with different strategic objectives will realize different operational benefits from the adoption of ERP systems. Survey data from North American manufacturing firms that have implemented ERP systems demonstrate that ERP adopters seeking operational performance improvements are likely to realize these benefits. On the other hand, those seeking external market and supply chain performance improvements must first establish a foundation of internal operational performance improvements before customer satisfaction and supply chain benefits can be realized.     

动态市场竞争环境下电子商务企业盈利能力的影响因素研究

为找到电子商务企业高投入、低投资回报现象存在的原因,本文首先运用数据包络分析（DEA）模型计算了电子商务企业投入对产出的过度效应,即投入拥挤,然后将之与行业内的市场竞争程度和移动电子商务的发展相结合,通过构建面板数据回归模型,详细探讨了动态市场竞争环境下电子商务企业盈利能力的影响因素。研究结果证实了资产规模过大对传统电子商务企业盈利能力具有削弱作用,而市场集中度和移动电子商务的发展则对传统电子商务企业盈利能力具有推动作用。这些发现启示企业经营管理者应聚焦于移动电子商务发展带来的新机遇,消除投入拥挤,通过调适生产规模和新业务模式的创新,开辟新的营销渠道和盈利模式。     

From technology race to technology marathon: A behavioral explanation of technology advancement

In industries characterized by continual progress from lower to higher generations of technology, firms seek to solidify their competitive position by deploying technologies more advanced than their current ones. This study attempts to provide behavioral explanations for the degree of technology advancement pursued by a firm. Using data from the flat panel display industry, we find that the extent of a firm's technology advancement is largely determined by how far it falls below the industry average. Our findings complement prior research on technology races by suggesting that firms in the thin-film-transistor liquid-crystal display (TFT-LCD) industry largely attempt to run a “marathon” rather than a sprint: the degree of technology advancement is mainly guided by a desire not to fall behind the pack as opposed to trying to move ahead of the pack in order to win the race. By the same token, firms exceeding the industry average in their technology reveal little motivation even to maintain their lead, much less extend it.     

Implementation of new technology: towards greater manufacturing flexibility

Changes in market characteristics over the past several years are forcing firms to eliminate/minimize dependency on costly buffers of capacity, lead time, or inventory. One way to accomplish this is via appropriate adaptation and enhancement of existing technological infrastructure. Recent technological advances present firms with a wide array of alternative technologies. In this paper, we discuss the impact of new technology on the manufacturing environment and the problems associated with its implementation. We present an integrated framework for implementing such technology based on a consistent hierarchy of organizational objectives and a general foundation of constraint theory.     

电子商务市场特征对产品创新影响的实证研究

根据电子商务价值理论,电子商务企业进行产品创新能有效提升或创造客户价值,但电子商务市场环境因素可能会影响电子商务企业的产品创新,而已有关于产品创新的研究大多聚焦于传统市场。依据电子商务客户价值、从众行为、多重创新、组织学习和信息过载等理论,以电子商务市场的两个主要特征市场信息和竞争强度为前导变量,构建它们对于电子商务企业产品创新倾向和电子商务企业绩效的影响模型,并提出变量间关系假设。通过收集中国最大B2C平台天猫商城内309家电子商务企业的数据,应用多元回归分析方法实证检验电子商务市场特征对产品创新的影响。研究结果表明,电子商务企业产品创新正向影响企业绩效;市场信息促进电子商务企业产品创新,但其效用受竞争强度的反向调节;竞争强度显著加强电子商务企业的产品创新倾向且不会影响企业创新绩效,因为在当前电子商务发展阶段和电子商务市场特性的作用下,产品创新能获得熊彼得租金,主导产品创新的是竞争脱离效应而非熊彼得效应。本研究结论对电子商务企业实践具有一定的指导意义。     

How Japanese partners help US manufacturers to raise productivity

Cross-border alliances are useful strategies for technological innovation and as a basis for the adaptation of foreign technologies. This study provides evidence that through strategic alliances US automotive firms are effectively adopting manufacturing technologies from Japan, and are adapting them to the US industrial context.

The results show that US firms without foreign affiliations use fewer modern manufacturing technologies than US firms with Japanese strategic alliance partners. Furthermore, US firms with Japanese strategic alliance partners believe that manufacturing cycle times for product introduction are more efficient that US firms without foreign affiliations.     

A process-oriented perspective on differential business value creation by information technology: An empirical investigation

The relationship between information technology investments and firm value as an area of inquiry has sustained interest among IS researchers over the past decade. More recently, some have challenged the notion differential value among firms through Information Technology (IT) as it evolves into a ubiquitous utility-like set of technologies. This study examines the relationship between IT and business value from a process-oriented perspective, and also helps to identify the underlying links between IT and its differential business value to firms. By drawing upon economic and organizational theories, this paper develops a process framework to assess the intermediate organizational process capabilities and overall performance of firms that effectively deploy and use IT. Using data from over 80 firms, the study finds empirical support for the differential business value created by IT along a number of process oriented dimensions. These findings are discussed as these results set an optimistic tone for IT as a major causal driver of differentiation.     

Additive manufacturing technology adoption: an empirical analysis of general and supply chain-related determinants

Despite experiencing immense growth in the past decade, additive manufacturing (AM) technologies—colloquially known as 3D-printing—are still rarely used in industrial fabrication. Being at the interface between technology, innovation, behavioral science and operations management research, this paper identifies multifaceted factors that determine the decision to adopt AM technologies for the production of industrial parts. A review of the relevant literature revealed eight potential factors. These can be classified into four interdisciplinary categories: technology-related factors, firm-related-factors, market structure-related factors, and supply chain-related factors. Special focus is placed on the impact of supply chain-related issues, because there are indicatives that these aspects have an influence on the decision to adopt AM technologies since AM may offer distinct opportunities for both, the supply- and demand-side of a firm’s operations. No work in the field of manufacturing technology adoption has examined the role of such inter-organizational factors before. The results of an empirical study among 195 firms indicate that demand-side benefits and compatibility are the main determinants of AM technology adoption. This suggests that not only intra- but also inter-organizational factors should be considered when investigating the adoption of technological innovations. Furthermore, it is carved out that the adoption of AM technologies has an interdisciplinary nature.     

CAX-ICT/ERP技术对敏捷制造战略决策的调节效应

本文从战略的市场观出发,探讨敏捷制造战略的决策机理,以及数字化制造技术对决策模型的影响.通过对敏捷制造战略、制造战略一致性、使能技术等理论的研究,本文认为竞争优先权在市场环境认知对敏捷制造战略的作用中不仅仅起到了间接效应,还有可能起到中介效应.而且企业数字化制造技术和信息技术的应用程度对于敏捷制造战略的决策起到了调节作用.在理论假设的基础上,本文构建了结构方程模型,包括市场环境认知对敏捷制造战略的总效应模型,以及竞争优先权的中介效应模型.在国际制造业战略调查2005(International Manufacturing Strategy Survey,IMSSⅣ)的支持下,本文对假设进行验证分析.实证结果显示,竞争优先权具有显著的中介效应,甚至是完全中介效应.而数字化制造技术和信息技术的应用程度,也对敏捷制造战略的决策起到了显著的调节效应.     

Case studies of technology roadmapping in mining

Mining is a long established art with legacy processes and institutional structures that face rapidly changing technological environments. The perception is that technology planning and forecasting receives priority attention only as far as they may be linked to making production tonnage in the short term, thus giving the impression that new technology may be introduced without developing a culture and operational requirements that influence successful implementation of new technologies. With depleting ore grades of existing mines, and the prevailing global financial crisis making it prohibitive to develop richer sources, mining is considered to be short-term risk averse and this accentuates a more conservative approach towards technology planning and forecasting. Based on surveys and interviews with practicing miners, this paper discusses three case studies on the practice of technology planning and forecasting in mining firms. It is evident that technology planning and forecasting, and particularly the use of the roadmapping approach, is not a ‘culture’ common to mining firms.     

电商平台自营和制造商直销的多渠道竞争策略研究

近年来电商平台自营产品和制造商开辟直销渠道已非常普遍。电商平台的自营行为，必然会产生与制造商销售渠道（通过平台销售的渠道或直销渠道）的竞争问题；制造商的直销行为，必然会产生与电商平台自营渠道的竞争问题。这种全新的渠道竞争行为非常值得研究，也是本文的研究核心。因此，运用博弈论的相关原理，本文得出并分析了不同情况下电商平台和制造商的博弈均衡策略。研究表明，当直销成本较低时，最终博弈均衡策略为：电商平台自营，制造商同时经营两条渠道；此时如果制造商的两条销售渠道竞争力都强，双方陷入囚徒困境，否则，电商平台利润改善，制造商利润降低。当直销成本适中时，最终博弈均衡策略为：电商平台自营，制造商只直销；此时，如果制造商的两条销售渠道竞争力都强、或平台渠道竞争力适中且直销渠道竞争力强，双方陷入囚徒困境，否则，电商平台利润改善，制造商利润降低。当直销成本较高时，若直销渠道竞争力强，双方将陷入斗鸡博弈。否则，最终博弈均衡策略为：电商平台自营，制造商不直销；此时，电商平台利润会改善，制造商利润会下降。     

Survival and the introduction of new technology: A patent analysis in the integrated circuit industry

Utilizing a database containing all US patents issued to integrated circuit (IC) manufacturers from 1975 to 1994 we analyze a firm's decision to pursue a technology across varying levels of technological turbulence. We examine the effects of the value of a firm's technological advancement, the newness of its technology, and industry turbulence on the probability of failure. We find during periods of low technological turbulence, firms utilizing new technologies to create significant technological advances, face a higher probability of failure. During periods of high technological turbulence, firms using older technology to develop significant technological advancements face lower probabilities of failure.     

B2C电子商务环境下订单拣选与配送联合调度优化

如何在顾客下单后协调好拣选和配送环节,在最短的时间、以较低的成本将商品从货架上拣出、打包后配送到顾客手中,已成为B2C电子商务物流管理中亟待解决的问题。本文尝试以最小化订单履行时间为目标,构建非线性拣选与配送联合调度模型,以解决订单拣选顺序、拣选作业方式、车辆行驶线路等联合决策。为求解此NP难问题,设计了三阶段启发式算法：首先采用“聚类-路径优化”思想,依据顾客位置进行配送方案确认;然后采用基于相似度聚类的订单分批规则对每条配送线路的订单进行分批合并;最后调整拣选任务与配送线路顺序。通过数据实验对模型进行验证,并与传统拣选与配送分开优化的结果进行对比。结果表明,三阶段算法能够有效缩短订单完成时间、降低配送车辆等待时间、改善配送资源利用率。     

考虑电商平台服务投资的平台渠道引入策略

针对由单个制造商和单个电商平台组成的在线销售系统,构建了电商平台无服务投资下是否引入平台渠道、电商平台服务投资下是否引入平台渠道的四个决策模型,运用博弈论方法,探讨了电商平台服务投资决策对平台渠道引入决策的影响。发现：电商平台服务投资可促进平台渠道的引入,且促进效应随着消费者对服务敏感程度的增加而增加;只有当平台渠道的佣金费率处于中等范围且平台渠道的销售成本较小时,在线销售系统中才有可能引入平台渠道;电商平台服务投资是一种占优策略,且可实现帕累托改进。最后,研究表明制造商使用两部定价策略可以促使电商平台提供使系统收益最大化的服务水平,进一步实现双赢。     

EXPLORING THE LIMITS OF THE TECHNOLOGY S-CURVE. PART I: COMPONENT TECHNOLOGIES

The technology S-curve is a useful framework describing the substitution of new for old technologies at the industry level. In this paper I use information from the technological history of the disk drive industry to examine the usefulness of the S-curve framework for managers at the firm level in planning for new technology development. Because improvements in over-all disk drive product performance result from the interaction of improved component technologies and new architectural technologies, each of these must be monitored and managed. This paper focuses on component technology S-curves, and a subsequent paper, also published in this issue of the journal, examines architectural technology Scurves. Improvement in individual components followed S-curve patterns, but I show that the flattening of S-curves is a firm-specific, rather than uniform industry phenomenon. Lack of progress in conventional technologies may be the result, rather than the stimulus, of a forecast that the conventional technology is maturing, and some firms demonstrated the ability to wring far greater levels of performance from existing component technologies than other firms. Attacking entrant firms evidenced a distinct disadvantage versus incumbent firms in developing and using new component technologies. Firms pursuing aggressive Scurve switching strategies in component technology development gained no strategic advantage over firms whose strategies focused on extending the life of established component technologies.