Mentoring,skill development,and career success of foreign expatriates

Previous literature on foreign assignments shows a high relevance of mentors for expatriates’ success. In this study we analyse the impact of different mentor-related factors on skill and career development. Drawing on social exchange theory, we develop five research hypotheses and test them using a sample of 59 US expatriates on assignments in Germany. Linear regression modelling reveals that organizational distance between the mentee and the mentor as well as the mentor’s involvement in career planning are positively related to skill development. Furthermore, there is a positive relationship between skill development and career development. We derive important implications for the implementation of mentoring in multinational corporations. The study is of value for researchers and practitioners in the areas of human resource management and organization.     

Success and Failure in Professional Projects: The Nature,Contours and Limits of Consulting Professionalism

This paper offers an analysis of the professional project that was pursued by the Institute of Management Consultants (IMC) on behalf of its members. The paper builds on Sturdy's (2011) call to develop empirically grounded accounts of the ways and means of consulting. In addition, it responds to the analysis of the Association of Project Management (APM) developed by Hodgson, Paton and Muzio (2015), which invited further comparative study of professional projects. Drawing on archive data, this paper develops a comparative analysis that considers four key themes: (1) the professionalization strategies developed by the IMC and the APM; (2) jurisdictional issues and shifts in the fields of consulting and project management; (3) the structure of credentials developed for practitioners in both arenas; and (4) the attitudes and actions of key stakeholders shaping policy in the APM and the IMC. The paper examines the contrasting fortunes of the APM and the IMC, yet observes similarities in working practices across these apparently distinct settings. Reflecting on this comparison, the authors consider the nature, contours and limits of consulting professionalism and conclude with the suggestion that, within the analysis of professional projects, conventional conceptualizations of ‘success’ and ‘failure’ should be considered as ‘impostors’.     

Mapping IS failure factors on PRINCE2® stages: an application of Interpretive Ranking Process (IRP)

The social, political and cultural issues faced by organisations and their senior management team in the delivery and adoption of strategic projects, is highly complex and problematic. Despite a mature body of literature, increasing levels of practitioner certification, application of standards and numerous government initiatives, improvements in success have been minimal. In this study, we analyse the key underlying factors surrounding the failure of Information Systems (IS) projects and explore the merits of articulating a narrative that focuses on senior management embracing practical pessimism. Specifically, we develop a hypothesis supported by empirical study that leverages expert’s views on the dominance and interrelationships between failure factors within PRINCE2® project stages using an Interpretive Ranking Process. Our findings establish how the concept of dominance between individual failure factors can necessitate senior management to make key informed and timely decisions that could potentially influence project outcomes based on an empirical derived, interpretive predictive framework.     

Assessing the effectiveness of a performance evaluation system in the public health care sector: some novel evidence from the Tuscany region experience

Since 80’s the introduction of New Public Management principles has promoted the use of performance measurement to drive a more efficient, effective and accountable public sector. The adoption of a sophisticated and comprehensive multidimensional performance measurement system, which looks beyond traditional financial measures, based on organization strategies, such as the balanced scorecard, has thus been suggested. This revolution in the public management came together with the devolution processes that involved most European public health systems. Set within this context, in the last decade, each of the twenty Italian regions developed its own management tools. Among others, the Tuscan performance evaluation system (PES) has been valued as a particularly innovative and comprehensive system. This paper reports the novel experience of the Tuscan PES; in particular, it measures PES effectiveness and discusses the critical factors that could have led to the PES success. Five are the critical success factors identified by researchers: the visual reporting system, the linkage between PES and CEO’s reward system, the public disclosure of data, the high level of employees and managers involvement into the entire process and the strong political commitment. All those factors run together to achieve better results; however, the process of development of the system plays a pivotal role. Scholars suggest the use of a constructive approach in order to gain effective changes in human organization. According to this stream of literature, this paper contributes by the novel experience of the Tuscan PES in addressing as a further fruitful application of the constructivist approach in healthcare.     

Corporate strategy: Some lessons from consultancy: Solving management consultants

Solving is an international management consulting form specializing in strategy and with offices in Paris, New York, Barcelona and Cologne. The consulting staff, including President Roland Fitoussi, have written three articles, all on aspects of corporate strategy, which embody their experience in this field.The first, Diversification: Strategic Cure-All? takes a hard look at corporate diversifications. It points out that the chances of success increase if development is the motive rather than survival and if there is managerial synergy between the new and original areas of activity. The criteria used in choosing between diversification opportunities are important.In Turning a Business Around, Solving takes us through three main phases of turning around a company in trouble: rescue, diagnosis and reconstruction. The last involves a search for the organization's core business activity on which to rebuild.In Strategy: The Choice of Acquisitions, again making suitable acquisitions means looking at the acquiring company's basic business definition and unique strengths. Synergy, size of acquisition and the way the acquiror modifies his business portfolios are all important factors to consider.     

知识管理过程对新产品开发绩效的影响研究

知识管理是高动荡外部环境下影响新产品开发成败的决定性因素,本文构建了知识管理过程对新产品开发绩效影响的理论模型,研究了知识管理的基本过程及其对新产品开发绩效的影响,并考察了产品创新性和环境动荡性的调节作用。利用来自中国十一个省市206个新产品开发项目的问卷调查数据进行实证分析。研究结果表明知识获取和知识整合对新产品开发绩效具有显著影响,环境动荡性正向调节知识获取、创造、整合与新产品开发绩效关系,而知识创造对新产品开发绩效的影响不显著,产品创新性对知识获取、创造、整合与新产品开发绩效之间关系的调节影响均不显著。     

Squeezing or cuddling? The impact of economic crises on management control and stakeholder management

This paper analyzes the effects of economic crises on firms’ use of management control mechanisms and on their management of stakeholder relations. Moreover, the association between stakeholder management and management control system use is analyzed. In the wake of the economic crisis of 2008/2009, many firms were faced with severe threats that called for immediate short-term action to ensure firm survival. However, short-term action like massive cost-cutting and cash generation often are blamed for going at the expense of long-term health as key stakeholder relations may be irreversibly harmed. Hence, three interrelated questions are addressed theoretically and empirically: First, we analyze the impact of the recent economic crisis on firms’ control strategies. More specifically, we investigate whether a high crisis impact on firms is associated with a shortening of reporting cycles, a more interactive use of control-relevant information, restriction of employee autonomy and a focus on liquidity and cost-cutting. Second, we examine from the viewpoint of stakeholder theory how firms can make use of active stakeholder management for crisis management. Third, we explore whether firms can take short-term measures for ensuring liquidity and cutting costs and at the same time pursue a stakeholder strategy aiming at the long-term survival of the firm. Using survey data from 204 major Austrian corporations, we provide evidence that firms significantly adjusted their control systems as a response to the economic crisis. Our data do not indicate an immanent contradiction between a “short-term finance focus” and the pursuit of a sustainable stakeholder strategy.     

Innovationsberatung: Ansätze für Veränderung und Neues

In this paper we argue that a systematic organizational consulting approach can be supportive in fostering innovation and change processes in companies. We discuss the consulting approach in three steps: First, we present a scientific meta-definition of the term “innovation”, which helps to identify the major challenges for companies in being innovative. Second, we raise urgent questions which companies have to face in order to address these major challenges. Third, we discuss tools from our organizational consulting experience that support companies in answering these questions on their way to innovation success, therefore providing a useful basis for innovation consulting.     

Innovation-sharing across a supply network: barriers to collaboration

We explore the impact of innovation nature and contextual factors on innovation-sharing in a collaborative supply network within the utilities sector. In particular, we look at innovation-sharing between the first-tier supply partners maintaining and replacing the asset base of a utility company. Szulanski's ‘knowledge stickiness’ is used as a guiding conceptual framework. We use a mixed-method approach combining interviews, conventional survey and social network analysis survey. A key aspect of the findings is the behaviours resulting from the use of performance measurement and the partners’ motives which are influenced, amongst other things, by competition of the collaborators in other arenas. Performance measurement and innovation characteristics were identified as factors reducing the effectiveness of sharing. In addition, the programme management lifecycle emerged as a substantial influence on sharing behaviours.     

Board attributes and shareholder wealth in mergers and acquisitions: a survey of the literature

The question of whether a “good” corporate board structure can optimize performance and minimize conflicts between managers and shareholders has been widely debated. Because mergers and acquisitions represent major managerial investment decisions that are subject to board scrutiny, the effectiveness of a board’s structure is especially visible in the context of corporate acquisitions. With that in mind, in this paper, we examine the abundant literature in the fields of strategic management, economics, and finance in order to identify which board attributes contribute to the ability of corporate boards to create value through mergers and acquisitions. In particular, we discuss the impact of four board attributes: (1) board independence, (2) board size and director-specific attributes, (3) board ownership and compensation, (4) multiple directorships. As a result of our analysis, we conclude that the impact of board attributes on shareholder wealth in mergers and acquisitions is specific to each firm. Therefore, board regulations that do not reflect a firm’s specific needs may in fact hinder the creation of a board that is capable of responding effectively to the firm’s unique needs and circumstances.     

Strategic management in a firm of consulting engineers

This article describes the introduction of strategic management in a large and diversified company of consulting engineers in Brazil. This was done by a massive strategic planning effort in which the 60 top people of the company actively participated. This approach was chosen to produce both a comprehensive corporate strategy and strategic management capability throughout the company. The project therefore gave as much attention to training and guidance as to planning itself. Psychological, organizational and ‘political’ factors were taken seriously into account. Project management was a good joint-venture between some top people inside and some external consultants, strongly interacting with each other. The project resulted not only in plans, but also in decisions, including tidying-up the divisional structure of the firm. The article evaluates the project to determine success factors in such undertakings. It is interesting for managers to appreciate the factors involved in efforts to produce plans, develop managers and reorient a company at the same time. It is also interesting because it shows a fruitful, although demanding role for management consultants in strategic reorientations: more committed, more ‘on-line’ than experts submitting recommendations; less amorphous and more performance-oriented than organizational development gurus.     

The contribution of measurement and information infrastructure to TQM success

There is currently some debate about which TQM practices contribute most to superior performance outcomes. Several proponents argue that softer TQM practices such as leadership, human resource management, and customer focus have more impact than benchmarking, process analysis or performance measurement. The evidence for which TQM factors contribute most to improved performance is not yet conclusive, and sometimes contradictory. Using data from a longitudinal study of 67 TQM firms we contribute to this debate. Our central hypothesis is that measurement of key TQM practices and performance outcomes is essential for TQM success. We examine the measurement practices of this cohort of firms, and report on the changes in their measurement behavior over time. Specifically, we analyze seven dimensions of measurement relating to customer satisfaction, employee satisfaction, process performance, impact of TQM on costs, impact of TQM on sales, self-assessment, and benchmarking. We calculate a measurement-intensity score for each firm, based on how many of these seven parameters were being measured, and we show that increased measurement intensity is strongly associated with perceived TQM success. Finally, using multivariate discriminant analysis, we identify eight variables that explain the level of TQM success with a classification accuracy of almost 90%. We conclude that to attain the highest levels of TQM success, firms need to engage in the measurement practices of self-assessment and benchmarking, but our data suggest that an appropriate measurement framework needs to be in place beforehand.     

What’s in a name? Decomposing corporate reputation to assess the relative impact of temporal, firm and industry level factors

While the perceptual nature of corporate reputation is rarely contested, the role of governance and firm financial performance does not have the same consensus. As reputation is an embedded capability that cannot be distinctly valued or traded, the ambiguity in reputation generation clouds researchers’ attempts to understand the relative importance of the underlying causal factors, particularly firm-specific attributes like board characteristics, governance and ownership—independent of the firm’s financial performance over time. Utilizing a resource—based view, we develop a theoretically grounded framework that enables us to deconstruct corporate reputation and parse out the impact at multiple levels and the factors therein. We decompose reputation into time, firm and industry level factors, offer hypotheses on the relative importance of the factors at each level, and thereafter we simultaneously assess within and across the temporal, firm and industry levels to quantify the impact of the causal factors. We find that 49.65 % of the variation in corporate reputation is firm-specific, independent of financial performance, while industry-specific variables account for just 5.04 %. The temporal factors including the multi-level interaction terms explain 46.06 % of reputational variation, of which financial performance accounts for only 18.53 % and the “halo effect” of prior financial performance is short-lived. Furthermore, the commonly accepted factors explain only 26.44 % of the total variation in corporate reputation, and some of the governance and ownership indicators contradict generally accepted agency expectations.     

Success Traps,Dynamic Capabilities and Firm Performance

Dynamic capabilities (DCs) are fundamental to the understanding of differential firm performance. However, the question remains why some firms are better at developing and applying DCs than others. In particular, successful firms have been warned against the tendency to fall into a success or competence trap, where success reinforces exploitation of existing competences and crowds out exploration of new competences, hindering the development of DCs. Therefore, this study examines the effects of success traps on DCs and consequently firm performance, taking into account firm strategy and market dynamism. To facilitate this, our study also identifies the commonalities of DCs across firms. Drawing on survey data from 113 UK high‐tech small and medium‐sized firms, we find that success traps have a significant, strong negative effect on DCs, which in turn have a weak positive effect on firm performance; DCs are manifested through absorptive and transformative capabilities as two common features across firms. We also find that the development and application of DCs is related to internal factors (such as success traps) rather than external factors (such as market dynamism).     

母子公司关系网络影响子公司创业的内在机理——基于海信集团的案例研究

针对理论上关于母子公司关系网络作用于子公司创业的内在机理尚缺乏更细致的解释的现实,基于海信集团的访谈、问卷及公开数据本文对此进行了案例剖析。研究认为,在母子公司关系网络内,子公司的网络嵌入性对子公司创业有重要的影响;联合价值创造和价值攫取在网络嵌入性对子公司创业影响中具有中介效应;子公司自主权在子公司网络嵌入性对子公司创业的影响中具有调节效应。在此之上,构建了母子公司关系网络影响子公司创业内在机理的理论模型,并指出未来理论研究应重点关注"母子公司关系网络内外部环境作用于子公司创业的内在机理"、"母子公司关系网络规模对子公司创业的影响"与"基于双层治理理念的母子公司关系网络治理机制设计"三方面内容。     

Causal analysis of the internationalization and performance relationship based on neural networks — advocating the transnational structure

Although the impact of internationalization on firm performance is still controversial, we find that internationalization does not have an ongoing positive performance effect. The international expansion of MNEs needs to be managed carefully, especially after a certain level of international involvement is surpassed. One theoretically highly accepted, but empirically neglected, driver of the success of international business is the establishment of an appropriate international organizational structure. This paper is the first to empirically address the question of how international organizational structure decisions affect performance by means of a new analysis technique — a causal analysis based on neural networks. Referring to UNCTAD's 100 most international corporations, the key finding of this study is that successful high internationalization involves a transnational structure in which elements of centralization and decentralization are well balanced.     

Erfolgsfaktoren beim Einzel-Coaching

Success factors of executive coaching. A screening of the coaching scenery from the client’s point of viewThis survey, based on questionnaires, examines the success factors of one-to-one coaching from the client point of view. Firstly, ten success factors in coaching were established by means of factor analysis. Secondly, more extensive analysis shows that, contrary to previous research in this field, the “professional system” is not necessarily a determining success factor in coaching. As an exclusive instrument of staff development, coaching seems to be effective even without support from the professional system. The analysis also indicates that the clients perceive their coach as an advisor and confidant as regards role expectations. Furthermore, multiple regression analysis discloses the predictive effects of the two success factors “the coach’s qualification” and “the coach’s involvement” for the overall success of coaching from the client’s point of view. The overall success of coaching itself is established through three items: the clients’ attitudes towards coaching, their attitude concerning further coaching, and the extent to which their objectives were met in coaching.     

Transparency in Buyer‐Determined Auctions: Should Quality be Private or Public?

We study buyer‐determined procurement auctions where both price and non‐price characteristics of bidders matter for being awarded a contract. Although, in scoring auctions bidders perfectly know how price and non‐price attributes determine the awarding of the contract, this remains uncertain in buyer‐determined auctions where the buyer is free to choose once all bids have been submitted. We analyze the impact of information bidders have with respect to the buyer's awarding decision. As we show theoretically whether it is in the buyer's interest to conceal the impact of non‐price characteristics depends on how important the quality aspects of the procured good are to the buyer: The more important quality aspects are, the more interesting concealment becomes. In a counterfactual analysis using data from a large European procurement platform, we analyze the reduction of non‐price information available to the bidders. Confirming our hypothesis, for auction categories where bidders’ non‐price characteristics strongly influence buyers’ decisions concealment of non‐price information leads to an increase in buyers’ surplus of up to 15% due to higher competitive pressure and lower bids. Conversely, for categories where bidders’ non‐price characteristics are of little importance concealment of non‐price information leads to a decrease in buyers’ surplus of up to 6%.     

Macht in der Organisationsberatung

Power in organization counseling. A qualitative study in a hospital in East Germany Power is a main topic of this analysis of a consulting process in an East German hospital: How power is appearing within organizational consulting? What is the power the client has, and the consultants have? And what is the interrelation between power and the resistance to change? In recourse to the theory of micropolitics, power is understood as the combination of rules and distribution of resources within an organization. The consulting process itself is interpreted as the consultant’s introduction to the ongoing game the organization is playing. The qualitative case study of the consulting process in an East German hospital clearly shows, how ineffective interventions remain, if the consultants fail to recognize and take into consideration the valid combination of rules and distribution of resources. In the presented case this combination is based on the peculiar history of East Germany. It was only after the project had failed that the consultants realized that they had been practiced upon.     

Managing Internal R&D Networks in Global Firms: What Sort of Knowledge is Involved?

How should a global firm manage its network of R&D centres in an effective manner? Some have developed an Integrated Network model in which the R&D centres around the world are tightly integrated into a coherent whole. Others have adopted a Loosely-Coupled Network model in which individual “centres of excellence” are given considerable autonomy. In this paper we argue that the way individual R&D units are structured, and the way the entire network is managed, should be based not on administrative heritage, environmental turbulence or management style, but on the basis of the underlying characteristics of the firm’s knowledge assets. In particular we focus on the observability and mobility of the firm’s knowledge assets, the impact these factors have on the way individual R&D centres are structured, and how they relate to one another in the international network. The argument is supported using examples and data from Swedish firms including ABB, Alfa Laval and Ericsson.