Role of overseas ethnic and non-ethnic ties and firm activity in the home country in the internationalization of returnee entrepreneurial firms

Using a sample of 210 Chinese returnees' entrepreneurial firms, we examined how the overseas ethnic and non-ethnic ties of the returnee entrepreneurs affected their firms' internationalization in the returnees' former host countries. We found that both types of overseas ties were correlated with increased levels of internationalization and they interact positively. We then investigated whether the impacts of overseas ethnic and non-ethnic ties on firm internationalization were moderated by the length of the firms' domestic operations. We found that longer domestic operations were correlated with increased positive impacts of overseas ethnic ties, but decreased positive impacts of overseas non-ethnic ties on firm internationalization. These findings indicate that the returnees' host country ties and firm activity in home country had joint effects on returnee entrepreneurial firms seeking to internationalize their businesses.     

Brokering knowledge: Linking learning and innovation

This paper presents a model of innovation, knowledge brokering, that explains how some organizations are able to routinely innovate by recombining their past knowledge in new ways. While existing theories of organizational learning and innovation are useful, the links between them are crucial for understanding how existing knowledge becomes the raw materials from which individuals in organizations construct innovative solutions. This model develops these links by grounding processes of learning and innovation in the larger social context within which they occur. Using a microsociological perspective, this article draws together research spanning levels of analysis to explain innovation as the dissembling and reassembling of extant ideas, artifacts, and people. Previous research has suggested that firms spanning multiple domains may innovate by moving ideas from where they are known to where they are not, in the process creating new combinations of existing ideas. This paper more fully develops this process by linking the cognitive, social, and structural activities it comprises. Knowledge brokering involves exploiting the preconditions for innovation that reside within the larger social structure by bridging multiple domains, learning about the resources within those domains, linking that knowledge to new situations, and finally building new networks around the innovations that emerge from the process. This article also considers the origins of knowledge brokers as firms committed to this innovation strategy, the structural and cultural supports for the knowledge brokering process, and several obstacles to the process that these firms experience. Finally, I discuss the implications of this model for further research on innovation and learning, and the implications for other organizations seeking to establish their own capabilities for brokering knowledge.     

Die Identifizierung von Lead Usern über soziale Netzwerke: Eine empirische Untersuchung unter jungen Konsumenten

In recent years, the lead user concept has received a great deal of attention in both academic research and corporate practice. Despite broad empirical evidence regarding the high potential of lead users for new product development, we still lack a full understanding of their nature and what enables individual consumers to become lead users. Our study addresses these fundamental issues in lead user research and examines them from a perspective which focuses on the social context of individual consumers. This angle is promising and fruitful as individual creative processes are couched in social networks. As a result, our investigation is guided by the following research question: Do lead users have a distinct social ‘footprint’ in social networks? We chose 34 groups of 804 young consumers as the empirical setting for our study, which yields two general findings: First, lead users are positioned as bridging links between different clusters of people. Being in this ‘boundary-spanning’ position implies that lead users have a wider reach and variety in receiving and distributing information and knowledge. Second, this finding is robust across different age groups. The insights from our study contribute to developing new means of identifying lead users in different settings, including Web 2.0 communities.     

基于企业学习策略的集群持续创新机制及实证研究

由于集群网络的复杂性,集群创新机制的研究目前较为缺乏,有限的研究也往往假设集群企业具有同质性.本文提出,集群企业依据其在集群网络中的位置采用不同的学习策略,领导型企业更加侧重于探索式学习,跟随型企业更加侧重于利用式学习,两者的分工和异质性互动构成了集群持续创新的内在机理.本文在个体和企业层次双重学习研究的基础上,结合集群特有的组织条件,提出集群双重学习的机制,据此将集群企业进行分类,并建立集群中企业学习的理论模型,接着选取国内某地化工产业集群的236家企业作为样本,运用结构方程模型对集群中企业进行分类检验和比较研究.研究结果表明,集群中不同类型企业的学习策略存在差异,集群网络的作用是产生这一差异的可能原因;集群中不同类型企业的学习策略具有互补性,有利于企业间互动和集群的持续创新.     

Government and family Guanxi in Chinese private firms: perceptions and preference

This paper examines the role of family ties in private firms in China. Drawing on social capital theory, we argue that family ties can be valuable assets for running businesses, and should be studied as a separate type of managerial ties. Government ties are then used as a benchmark to demonstrate the difference between family and government ties in four dimensions: face, affection, reciprocity and trust. Taking the resource-based view, we argue that Guanxi network is a dynamic capability that evolves in response to the changing operating environment and a firm’s lifecycle. A survey of 296 private firms in China is utilized to explore antecedents of managers’ perceptions and their preference between government and family ties. We find that a volatile operating environment is the most important factor that is linked to the perceived importance of government and family ties. In addition, we find younger firms are more likely to value family ties highly, while perceived importance of government ties increases with the size of the firm. This study contributes to the literature by adding an extra domain, family ties, to managerial ties and highlights the importance of family ties for fledgling firms. It provides further evidence on the role of managerial ties in mitigating operational uncertainties, and sheds light on the different roles that family and government ties play.     

Innovation in Small,Project‐Based Construction Firms*

Relevant literature is synthesized to provide a holistic picture of our current knowledge of innovation in small, project‐based firms, highlighting significant gaps in the broad areas of ‘focus and outcome’, ‘organizational capabilities’, ‘context’ and ‘process’. Research findings from fieldwork focused on the construction industry are offered to address these gaps. In particular, a consensus model is given of the organizational factors dynamically at play. It is shown that typically the innovations of small, project‐based firms are closely tied to their operational activities and are pushed forward by owners who utilize very scarce resources to make progress in the interstices of normal business. This leads to an emphasis on taking up established technologies through ‘learning on the job’. Growth per se is not an important target. The motivation to act is generally to get past a survival mode of operating and to achieve stability by satisfying clients. These characteristics contrast with large organizations, especially in terms of the role of the owner, the close focus on niche markets and the lack of slack resources to innovate in parallel with normal business. It is hoped that these results will be of interest to other sectors where small, project‐based firms operate.     

How do boards of directors contribute to family SME export intensity? The role of formal and informal governance mechanisms

Internationalization is a strong challenge that firms have to face today. However, small and medium-sized family firms internationalize their business after consolidating their position in domestic markets. Family SMEs approach international markets usually through export activities. Considerable academic attention has been given to family SME export behaviour, however, the debate is still inconclusive. Therefore, more attention on family SME unique governance mechanisms may shed a new light on this issue. The paper analyses family SME export intensity by showing how the board of directors could provide assistance in the selection and implementation of this strategy. We explore whether, and to what extent, both formal and informal features of boards of directors (dual governance) influence family SME export intensity. This is explored in a sample of 101 Norwegian family SMEs. Export intensity is the dependent variable and hypotheses on the positive effect of independence in board behaviour (formal governance mechanism), relational norms and trust (informal governance mechanisms) are supported. The paper has substantial theoretical contributions and practical implications. The results show that formal and informal governance mechanisms can co-exist complementing and supplementing each other, thus positively influencing family SME export intensity.     

The reconstitution of broken interfirm relations

Why do firms re-establish previously dissolved relations with other firms? In this paper we explore this phenomenon in a customer-supplier context. Organization and strategy theorists have focused primarily on the formation, evolution, and dissolution of interfirm ties, but few have examined their reconstitution, despite evidence that tie reconstitution can have benefits for firms. We address this gap through an examination of strategic customer-supplier relations among 26 Scandinavian firms. Based on 95 open-ended interviews with executives of these firms, we show that four factors promote the reconstitution of previously dissolved ties: the existence of relation-specific investments in the earlier tie, accompanied by a history of reliability and coordination; concerns regarding the uncertainty and risk associated with the initiation of a new relation from scratch; the maintenance of social ties between firm officers during the period of dormancy; and a major structural change such as a reorganization, merger, or acquisition in one or both firms. The results suggest that reconstituted interfirm relations represent a type distinctly different from newly-formed, currently active, or repeated ties. Successful reconstitution requires that the firms overcome whatever difficulties led to the cessation of their relation in the first place. How the ties were dissolved has an impact on their reconstitution at a later stage. A dormancy stage may provide new and unexpected knowledge, novel information, and other new resources that can lead to substantial benefits after the firms achieve a successful reconstitution.     

The role of trust and contracts in the internationalization of technology-intensive Born Globals

The purpose of this paper is to study the roles of trust and contracts in technology-intensive Born-Global firms (BGs). By definition these firms compete in the area of knowledge and cutting-edge innovation, use external resources, and internationalize at inception or soon thereafter. For entering global markets successfully, these firms typically need partners. However, attracting them requires disclosing critical knowledge, and thus BGs encounter the risk of losing their potential competitive advantage. Their global business environment is very competitive and dynamic, therefore traditional ways of operating may be too time-consuming to manage these risks. Consequently, we argue that for technology-based BGs, the role of trust and contracts are closely intertwined. The paper puts forward three propositions that highlight the roles of trust and contracting for technology-intensive BGs.     

FAMILY VALUES AND THE REGULATION OF LABOR

To be efficient, flexible labor markets require geographically mobile workers. Otherwise firms can take advantage of workers' immobility and extract rents at their expense. In cultures with strong family ties, moving away from home is costly. Thus, to limit the rents of firms and to avoid moving, individuals with strong family ties rationally choose regulated labor markets, even though regulation generates higher unemployment and lower incomes. Empirically, we find that individuals who inherit stronger family ties are less mobile, have lower wages and higher unemployment, and support more stringent labor market regulations. We find a positive association between labor market rigidities at the beginning of the 21st century and family values prevailing before World War II, and between family structures in the Middle Ages and current desire for labor market regulation. Both results suggest that labor market regulations have deep cultural roots.     

The Effects of Interfirm Ties on Illegal Corporate Behavior

Although numerous benefits are associated with interfirm ties, these external relationships can also have negative consequences. Theoretically based in the relational component of social capital, we identify one potentially serious consequence of interfirm ties, propensity of firms engaging in illegal behavior. Results of our study of S&P 500 firms suggest that companies benefit from a lower likelihood of illegal behavior when they have numerous weak ties to other firms. Conversely, when they become overly embedded in a network of strong ties, they are more likely to engage in illegal behavior. We also found evidence that reciprocity and status similarity influence firms’ propensity to engage in illegal behavior.     

Diaspora Ownership and Homeland Firms' Internationalization

Although the contribution of diaspora to international business is becoming more evident, little is known about the channels used by individual firms to benefit from diaspora. In this paper, we propose equity ownership as a form of connection between the homeland firms and diasporans (i.e. diaspora members). Specifically, we draw on the literature on diaspora combined with an owners-as-resources perspective to theorize about how diaspora owners can affect the homeland firm's internationalization. We suggest that the anticipated entry costs deriving from the liability of foreignness faced by homeland firms explain how the impact of diaspora owners varies depending on entry mode. Finally, we compare diaspora owners to other types of foreign owner which we argue have lower levels of motivation and ability to help homeland firms to internationalize, and contribute relatively less to their internationalization than diaspora owners. We test and confirm our predictions using data on 2608 domestically controlled Indian firms and their internationalization in 2006–2012.     

Supported,detached, or marginalized? The ambivalent role of social capital on stress at work

Relationships with work colleagues can mitigate job stress; this article proposes a new perspective on such effects, in accordance with social capital theory, to delineate the potentially distinct impacts of the two dimensions of relational and structural social capital. A partial least squares analysis of network data in a medium-sized company (N = 343) offers evidence of an effect of the relational dimension (tie strength), through social support. The structural dimension (bridging ties, i.e. whether an employee has social ties with members of other departments) reveals a dual effect involving reduced stress but also diminished social support, which can increase stress. These dual effects reflect the two levels on which bridging ties act, namely, cognitive (selfdistancing) and social (marginalization from the immediate work context) levels. Next, with two scenario-based experiments (N = 289 and 245), the authors manipulate bridging ties and gain further evidence of the proposed mechanisms. These findings highlight the social underpinnings of stress and the critical role of the structure, not just the quality, of work relationships. They also identify a dark side of bridging ties, which can enhance individual performance but also create the potential for negative wellbeing outcomes.     

Building Industry–University Research Centers: Some Strategic Considerations

This paper reviews the importance of industry–university relationships and the strategic considerations within the context of these partnerships in university research centers. We have identified several factors that are particularly important to industry in building relationships with university centers. These include: acquiring skills, knowledge and gaining access to university facilities; organizational cultures that are more organic; flexible university policies for intellectual property rights, patents and licenses; and the presence of champions. Firms also have explicit collaborative strategies for partnering with universities where firms can be segmented into three distinct clusters: Collegial Players, Aggressive Players and Targeted Players. Collegial Players are often large firms working with universities and university-sponsored consortia on topics of interest that have long-term value rather than promise immediate commercial opportunities. Aggressive Players are both large and small firms who employ university relationships specifically to develop and commercialize a wide range of marketable products and services. Targeted Players are often smaller firms, largely interested in using university relationships to address specific issues central to their business. We conclude by discussing key implications for both industry and universities.     

强关系与弱关系: 企业成长的社会关系依赖研究

将企业成长问题与资源依赖理论、社会关系理论相联系,认为社会关系可以为企业成长提供一定的社会资源基础.在理论界已有的"弱关系的力量"和"强关系的力量"假设基础上,提出了强弱关系均是企业成长可以依赖的重要社会关系类型,以及强弱关系重要性受限于企业的结构约束因素和组织因素的影响的假设.基于250个企业样本的实证统计分析结果支持了这些假设.     

Not All Differences Are the Same: Dual Roles of Status and Cultural Distance in Sociocultural Integration in Cross-border M&As

Despite, or perhaps due to, its central role in international business research, cultural distance is a widely debated and criticized construct. In this paper, I will examine the conditions under which two specific assumptions regarding the cultural distance construct (viz., symmetry and discordance) can get illusionary and misleading. Understanding the reasons behind the (in)admissibility of these assumptions is especially important to guide future cross-cultural research to take necessary steps towards conceptual and methodological adjustments and remedies. Towards that end, I introduce the idea of status heterogeneities between social actors who interact in a multicultural context, and how these heterogeneities can mold the mutual perceptions and attitudes between individuals. As the primary means with which firms internationalize, cross-border mergers and acquisitions are used as the context within which dual roles and implications of status and cultural distance are theorized. Auxiliary insights provided by status theories can explain why and when assumptions of symmetry and discordance could be wrong and misleading. Furthermore, incorporating status into the extant literature can reconcile inconsistent empirical results and help future research avoid under-specified models that do not account for systematic biases in their sample sets.     

Entrepreneurial orientation and social ties in transitional economies

Recent research suggests that entrepreneurial orientation (EO) has a more complex effect on performance (i.e. non-linear instead of linear) than previously considered. We extend this view by examining the non-linear effect of each individual dimension of EO (i.e. innovativeness, proactiveness, and risk-taking) on firm performance in the context of a transitional, collectivist economy. Drawing upon social capital theory, we also examine under which social capital conditions (i.e., business and political ties) each dimension of EO is most effective. Using survey data from 137 firms in Vietnam Top 500 Companies, this study shows that innovativeness and proactiveness have inverted U-shaped relationships with firm performance, while the effect of risk-taking on firm performance is also non-linear but in the form of increasing returns. Findings also show that social capital from business ties differentially moderates the effects of EO dimensions on performance. Similarly, social capital from political ties has different moderating effects on the innovativeness-performance and proactiveness-performance linkages. The findings urge managers of firms operating in transitional economies to take the levels of social capital from business ties and political ties into consideration when making their decision on which entrepreneurial strategy to pursue.     

Internationalizing managers: Speeding up the process

Most multinational companies agree that their managers need international expertise; but a recent survey surprisingly revealed that more than half of the large European corporations participating in the study lacked a strategy — either in writing or as a commonly articulated value — for internationalizing their managers (Price Waterhouse/Cranfield, 1991, p. 14). Not only must cutting-edge companies implement this process, but they have to find ways to speed it up to stay competitive.Brooklyn Derr and Gary Oddou report a 1991 survey conducted with 105 European multinationals employing an average of 30,000 workers each. The respondents, usually directors of human resource management and management development, identified the current strategies most frequently used to internationalize their firms, the importance assigned these strategies (not necessarily the same thing), and short-range trends. The article also explores the different challenges presented by attempting to internationalize senior managers as compared to junior managers.Expatriation/repatriation has been the traditional means of internationalizing managers, but companies are not doing a uniformly able job in preparing their managers for expatriation nor in taking advantage of their expertise after they return. In addition to making recommendations about expatriation/repatriation, the authors suggest newer, faster practices for internationalizing managers.     

Resisting Organizational Inertia: The Evolution of Industrial Districts

Industrial district success in Italy is often explained as a function oftraditional, homogenous communities, where close social ties and communityinstitutions supposedly create the trust necessary for collaborativeinter-firm relationships among small firms. However, such a functionalistapproach fails to explain why some districts prosper over time bydeveloping new process and product innovations, while others stagnatebecause they fail to respond to rapidly changing markets. We argue thatgreater attention to firm networks – both those internal and external to the district – and the role of key firms represents a more usefulanalytical method for understanding the evolution and formation ofindustrial districts.     

ECONOMIC INTEGRATION,POLITICAL INTEGRATION OR BOTH?

We study the effects of economic and political integration by presenting a model in which firms compete with each other in both an economic market—where they produce a good and compete for market share—and in a political (rent seeking) market—where they compete for transfers from the government. Growth is driven by firms’ cost‐reducing innovation activity and economic and political integration affect firms’ incentive to innovate differently. In this setting, economic and political integration can be seen as complementary. Economic integration, when not accompanied by political integration, can lead to less innovation and slower growth as firms respond to increased competition in the economic market by focusing more on rent‐seeking activity. When economic integration is accompanied by political integration, innovation and growth will be stronger and welfare higher.