The Safeguarding Effect of Governance Mechanisms in Inter‐firm Exchange: The Decisive Role of Mutual Opportunism

This study empirically investigates the safeguarding effect of (1) administrative control, (2) a dominant power position and (3) relational norms, on opportunistic behaviour of suppliers, by means of a survey among 624 information and communication technology professionals in Dutch municipalities. The findings indicate that individual effectiveness of relational norms, particularly in terms of flexibility and solidarity, was most prominent. Administrative control and power did not show a significant impact on supplier opportunism in our sample. Research into the simultaneous use of several safeguards against opportunism generated the finding that different relational norms fortify each other's safeguarding effect. Furthermore, we demonstrate that supplier opportunism is only mitigated by a dominant power position when the buyer does not exploit its favourable position and the buyer does not behave opportunistically. Hence, power seems to have a safeguarding effect only when it is not used.     

Three's a Crowd: The Role of Inter‐logic Relationships in Highly Complex Institutional Fields

Institutional complexity is increasingly seen in terms of potential schisms between logics in pluralist fields. However, research into complexity is mostly confined to binary institutional logics that oversimplify settings where more logics interact. The reorganized mental health service we studied brought a range of expert groups together in a highly complex institutional field. Three logics were seen to be continually in play: a health logic based on expert medical values, a care logic of holistic values, and a logic of integration based partly on managerial priorities but also shared more broadly. The paper identifies how the pattern of conflicting and reinforcing inter‐logic relations that underpinned this field was constituted and further explores a number of critical implications for complexity theory.     

Cultural Intelligence and Institutional Success: The Mediating Role of Relationship Quality

As managerial rationality is always bounded, managers utilise their cognitive abilities and social relations to manage their operational environmental uncertainties. We posit that relationship quality (RQ) mediates the association between cultural intelligence (CQ) and success in managing challenges arising out of differences in the institutional environments i.e. institutional success. Our CQ measure comprises cognitive, metacognitive, motivational and behavioural CQs. We included the interactive effects of two inter-related mental capabilities, namely cognitive and metacognitive CQs, and motivational and behavioural CQs while examining the mediating role of RQ between CQ and institutional success. Based on data from 186 Indian senior managers doing business with New Zealand, we find mixed support for our hypotheses. We find indirect-only mediation effects for interactive effects of cognitive and metacognitive CQs, and complementary mediation effects for motivational CQ. Contrary to expectations, we find negative direct-only non-mediation effects of behavioural CQ.     

The Distinctive Patterns of Dynamic Learning and Inter‐firm Differences in the Indian Pharmaceutical Industry

Technological or institutional change has proven to be a major cause of the failure of established firms, and history is full of examples. In a globalized world the capability of a firm to reconfigure existing competencies and create new knowledge for innovation has emerged as a dynamic capability to succeed. I examine the learning processes involved in the development of innovative R&D capabilities in Indian pharmaceutical firms as a response to the strengthening of patent law. The strong patent law represented a major institutional change for Indian firms which had grown in a weak patent era. The analysis shows that the development of new capabilities involved the removal of rigidities and the acquisition of new knowledge, and reveals that Indian firms are adopting strategies such as hiring of Indian scientists educated or working overseas in pharmaceutical R&D and collaborative R&D to acquire innovative R&D capabilities. It further points out the inter–intra firm heterogeneity in learning processes and suggests that the move from basic to advance level capabilities is neither linear nor automatic. It requires a deliberate effort and investment by firms in different mechanisms of learning. The Indian pharmaceutical firms' responses provide important insights for firms from other developing countries.     

Self‐Service Operations at Retail Stores: The Role of Inter‐Customer Interactions

Inter‐customer interactions are important to the operation of self‐services in retail settings. More specifically, when self‐service terminals are used as part of customers’ checkout processes in retail operations without the explicit involvement of retailers as the direct service providers, inter‐customer interactions become a significant managerial issue. In this article, we examine the impact of inter‐customer interactions at retail self‐service terminals on customers’ service quality perceptions and repeat purchase intentions at retail stores. We conduct a scenario‐based experimental design (N = 674) using a 2 × 2 factorial design in which inter‐customer interactions are divided into “positive” vs. “negative” and occur during the “waiting” or during the actual “transaction” stages of self‐services at a retail store. We use attribution theory to develop the hypotheses. The results demonstrate that, through their interactions, fellow customers can exert influences on a focal customer's quality perceptions and repeat purchasing intentions toward a retail store. Furthermore, these influences were impacted by how customers attribute blame or assign responsibility toward the retail store. Service operations managers should leverage these interactions by designing into self‐service settings the capacities and interfaces that are best suited for customers’ co‐production of their self‐service experiences.     

Understanding the Processes Underlying Inter‐firm Collaboration: Mutual Forbearance and the Principle of Congruity

This paper makes a theoretical innovation by integrating two key principles – mutual forbearance and the principle of congruity – into one general process model. It examines the micro‐mechanisms underlying the formation of a mutual‐forbearance agreement and explicates the role of time and of individual actions. We further understanding of the process of cooperation building by drawing a parallel between early stages of the formation process of mutual forbearance and cooperation, and argue that mutual forbearance may, under certain conditions, lead to long‐term cooperation or, if mismanaged, completely smother any chances of it. A prospective agreement may be put at risk when potential contributions are evaluated differently by each party and no action to mitigate the consequences is taken; even more so in a mutual‐forbearance context when the parties can only observe their counterparts’ actions through the market. Our model takes into account the micro‐mechanisms associated with the time between the actions of one entity/individual (e.g. the top manager) and the reaction of another entity/individual, the boundary conditions of the background to those actions and the alternative actions available during this time. Propositions for further exploration and implications are drawn.     

Inter‐organizational Cooperation and Environmental Change: Moderating Effects between Flexibility and Innovation Performance

The paper investigates the moderator effect of inter‐organizational cooperation in the relationship between workplace flexibility and innovation performance. This research question is important because innovation is dependent on the strategic integration of technological knowledge, requiring organizations to acquire new capabilities rapidly or to ensure the presence of knowledge that may be beyond existing internal capabilities. Inter‐organizational cooperation constitutes a relevant mechanism for a firm to increase its knowledge base concerning new products and processes. High‐cooperation firms may have more opportunities to take advantage of flexibility for innovation performance because it facilitates the access and dispersion of knowledge within the firm. We test the research hypotheses in a sample of manufacturing and service firms. The results contribute to the literature on flexibility and innovation because they demonstrate that inter‐organizational cooperation moderates the relationship between flexibility and innovation performance. We discuss the implications of these results for future research and managerial practice.     

Inter‐Firm R&D Networks: the Importance of Strategic Network Capabilities for High‐Tech Partnership Formation1

We examine the role of different network capabilities of companies that influence the formation of R&D partnerships in pharmaceutical biotechnology. Strategic network capabilities, specifically centrality‐based capabilities and the efficiency with which companies choose their partners, are found to facilitate the formation of new partnerships. Unlike general experience with partnering, these strategic network capabilities play a crucial role in enabling companies to continue to interact with other companies through partnerships in a complex network setting.     

Converging and Diverging Governance Mechanisms: The Role of (Dys)Function in Long‐term Inter‐organizational Relationships

This paper explores the dynamic interplay of formal/informal governance mechanisms, in terms of functional and dysfunctional consequences for both sides of the dyad, in long‐term inter‐organizational relationships. Using two longitudinal cases of UK defence sector procurement (warship commissioning) we move beyond notions of complementarity and substitution in governance towards a more nuanced view where the governance mix of inter‐organizational relationships can be convergent or divergent. Our findings, showing that relationships can exhibit functional and dysfunctional behaviour simultaneously, lead us to conclude that mismatches in governance mechanisms can be positive as well as negative. In building a context‐dependent understanding of governance we both summarize the (dys)functions associated with formal and informal governance mechanisms and explore their impact on relationship exchange performance over time.     

Emerging Market Multinational Companies and Internationalization: The Role of Home Country Urbanization

We develop a multilevel theoretical framework for investigating the role of home country urbanization for emerging market multinational companies' (EMNCs) international expansion. We propose that more urbanized home environments directly increase EMNC's proclivity to internationalize and moderate the effects of firm intangible and tangible resources. The empirical counterpart studies 592 EMNCs from 18 different countries in 2010 and an unbalanced panel of a subsample of these firms over the period 2006–2010. Our hypotheses are confirmed in both datasets. We find that while urbanization complements firm financial resources when expanding abroad, it appears to substitute to some extent for internal R&D capabilities. Our findings further our understanding of the drivers of internationalization of EMNCs.     

Forms of Network Resource: Knowledge Access and the Role of Inter‐Firm Networks

The leveraging of inter‐firm networks is increasingly considered to be a strategic resource that can potentially be shaped by managerial action. In recent years, scholars have turned to the concept of social capital to understand how the transfer of knowledge occurs within and across firms. However, this has resulted in an overstretching of the social capital concept. The aim of this paper is to refine and add specificity to the current broad application of the social capital concept. It is argued that although the social capital concept explains investments in networks based on a network logic relating to sociability and socialization, it does not explain investments in networks based on a logic relating to economic expectations. These expectations result in network participation that is more calculative than networks containing social capital. The paper introduces the notion of ‘network capital’ to explain the resources contained within inter‐firm networks that do not necessarily equate with the type of trust and obligations associated with social capital. Network capital is defined as an investment in calculative relations through which firms gain access to knowledge to enhance expected economic returns. It is argued that while network capital can be strategically managed, particularly to influence knowledge flow, the nature of social capital is such that it is very difficult to manage. It is concluded that the network capital–social capital framework opens a number of avenues in terms of future research, especially in relation to the extended resource‐based view of the firm and theories of open innovation.     

Inter‐temporal and Inter‐industry Effects of Population Ageing: A General Equilibrium Assessment for Canada

Abstract. This paper examines the inter‐industry and labour market occupational effects of future demographic changes in Canada, using a computable overlapping‐generations model. In addition to the impact of slower labour force growth, the model captures the shift in sectoral composition of final demand of older individuals. The simulation results indicate that the growth in real GDP per capita could decline by nearly one percentage point between 2006 and 2050. The results also suggest that the equilibrium unemployment rate is likely to decline by more than two percentage points in the long run. However, the impact varies significantly at the occupational level.     

The Role of Project and Organizational Context in Managing High‐tech R&D Projects

High‐tech organizations often struggle to manage different types of R&D projects. Evidence from research and practice suggests that managers frequently categorize and manage projects based on the extent of change triggered in product, process, technology, and market dimensions. However, this can create challenges in high‐tech organizations. This study investigates how high‐tech organizations manage R&D projects based on their learning goals. First, we argue for the benefits of categorizing R&D projects based on the degree of exploration and exploitation learning goals. A qualitative case study from four high‐tech business units involving 10 R&D projects helps understand the different types of projects based on their learning goals. The case study shows that R&D projects in high‐tech organizations typically fall into three categories based on their learning goals: Radical innovation projects, Incremental innovation projects, and Hybrid projects. Second, we iterate between literature and evidence from our qualitative data to theorize how project context and organizational context affect project performance depending on the type of project. The data for the empirical analysis come from a multilevel survey of 110 R&D projects across 34 high‐tech business units. Results show the importance of designing project and organizational context differently for the three types of R&D projects. Collectively, this study offers a new perspective on how to manage high‐tech R&D projects.     

The Formation,Consolidation, and Transition of International Brokerage Networks: The Case of an International New Venture in an Emerging Market

Brokerage has been considered an important source of opportunity in international entrepreneurship. While extant research focuses on pre-existing social capital that underlies the brokerage position, little attention has been paid to the evolutionary process and the contextual conditions of becoming a broker and its transition over time. This study addresses these issues through a single case study of an international new venture (INV) founded in the emerging electric vehicle industry in China, an emerging market. The findings show that by reducing transaction costs, INVs can build initial brokerage positions by integrating technological capabilities with marketing capabilities, consolidate the brokerage network by leveraging a diverse customer base and supplier networks, and transition from a bridging focus to a coordination focus through trust-building and knowledge diffusion as structural holes close over time. This path is more effective in international business, emerging markets, and emerging industries, as these contexts have high transaction costs arising from unclear labor division, fragmentation, ambiguous standards, information asymmetry, and potential opportunistic behaviors. This study contributes to the international entrepreneurship and brokerage literature by examining the process of formation, consolidation, and transition of international brokerage networks through the evolutionary and the contextual lens.     

The Practice of Scenario Planning: An Analysis of Inter‐ and Intra‐organizational Strategizing

Strategic activity is often punctuated through the application of strategy tools. Despite widespread use, a lack of understanding exists regarding the impact such tools and their practices have on an organization's strategy process. Of the growing body of research tackling the phenomenon, none appears to extend beyond an intra‐organizational setting. Acknowledging the importance of multi‐organizational partnerships, particularly in the public sector, in this paper an attempt is made to help fill this void through examining the application and effect of a scenario planning process at an inter‐organizational level. Conceptualizing scenario planning as a practice of simplexity, where complexity of thought combines with simplicity of action, an in‐depth, longitudinal case study is used to demonstrate the importance and interaction of sensemaking, storytelling and organizing in creating meaning within strategizing activities at the inter‐organizational level. However, also demonstrated is the relative weakness of the output of the scenario planning process ? the stories ? as a boundary object capable of transferring knowledge and meaning to the intra‐organizational level. Through empirical and theoretical integration a model is developed presenting the flow of practices and artefacts used in sensemaking within inter‐ and intra‐organizational strategizing.     

The Role of the State in Explaining the Internationalization of Emerging Market Enterprises

While the competitive advantages of firms from developed economies are well understood, knowledge of the advantages that enable emerging market enterprises (EMEs) to expand overseas remains limited. Our analysis goes beyond theorizing that focuses on firm resources, enhancing the understanding of how EMEs expand abroad by internalizing home‐country institutional advantages that extend beyond the firm boundaries. More specifically, we examine how the state and institutional idiosyncrasies in the home country help EMEs internationalize. We demonstrate that state ownership has a strong independent effect on the international expansion of EMEs. This effect, however, is contingent upon firms' own resources and other location‐ and industry‐specific forces pertaining to the market orientation of each subnational region and the institutional policies within a given industry.     

公共服务供给对公共服务感知绩效的影响机理——政府形象的中介作用与公众参与的调节效应

锦标赛式的公共投入扩张、以政府购买服务为主的公共服务市场化改革未能明显改善公共服务。本文试图打破从政府内部究"原因"、由供给模式找"突破"的思维定势,分析公共服务供给对公共服务感知绩效的影响,重点考察政府形象的中介作用和公众参与的调节效应。研究发现:公共服务供给对感知绩效具有显著的正向影响,并部分通过政府形象的中介作用产生;相比低程度公众参与,较高程度的公众参与下,公共服务供给对政府形象和感知绩效的正向影响增强,而政府形象对公共服务感知绩效的正向影响减弱。结果表明:公共服务供给特征是公共服务感知绩效的主导因素,良好的政府形象、深入的公众参与能促使公共服务供给更大程度上提升公共服务感知绩效。因此,在加大公共服务投入的同时,应注重改善政府形象、深化公众参与。     

Foreign Competition and Innovation: The Mediating Role of Imitation

This study examines the extent to which foreign competition affects the innovation performance of domestic firms through imitation, given firms’ absorptive capacity. In analysing longitudinal firm‐level data from the UK, we find a mediating effect of imitation on the relationship between foreign competition and local firms’ innovation performance, and an inverted U‐shaped relationship between imitation and the innovation performance of local firms. Our findings further reveal that absorptive capacity moderates the mediating effect of imitation, diminishing innovation gains at moderate levels of imitation and mitigating the diminishing innovation performance at high levels of imitation.     

Subnational Location Capital: The Role of Subnational Institutional Actors and Socio‐spatial Factors on Firm Location

Firms do not simply locate, but rather seek to accrue location‐based advantages such as knowledge, market insidership and resource utilization. Adopting the lens of social capital, this paper explores how subnational institutional actors facilitate location capital for firms. Using qualitative case study analysis of six multinational companies (MNCs), we highlight the important role of subnational institutional actors in fostering three dimensions of subnational location capital – structural, relational and cognitive. We show that subnational location capital, defined as the economic and social assets accessible through relationships within a subnational location, enable firms to derive advantages via subnational engagement. These findings contribute to the growing literature on the dynamic interaction of firms with subnational location, particularly the nuanced role of subnational institutional actors with MNCs.