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Determinants of Transnational New Product Development Capability: Testing the Influence of Transferring and Deploying Tacit Overseas Knowledge
Abstract
Based on a survey of 90 transnational product introductions, we find that the transnational product development capabilities of organizations significantly depend upon their ability to transfer and deploy tacit knowledge concerning overseas markets. Specifically, we find that organizations which use cross-national teams, teams with members who have prior overseas experience, or teams whose members communicate frequently with overseas managers in order to acquire information about tacit differences among countries have greater transnational product development capabilities. This study contributes to our understanding of how organi- zations transfer and deploy knowledge across borders for competitive advantage and makes an important contribution to the literature on global strategy.Copyright © 2001 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
... In this study, we classify knowledge as either complex or complementary. Knowledge complementarity is "the degree to which knowledge is not redundant and is interesting enough to join with other knowledge" (Subramaniam and Venkatraman, 2001). Knowledge complementarity has the ability to generate added value from the interaction between the complementary parts (Kim et al., 2010). ...
... However, complex knowledge reflects the degree to which sharing knowledge is not simple and is intricate (Subramaniam and Venkatraman, 2001). Therefore, the people with this type of knowledge are likely to do a cost-benefit analysis before sharing it (Cabrera and Cabrera, 2002). ...
... Knowledge complementarity (KCM) measures the level of knowledge shared that occurs within the class that is not redundant (Subramaniam and Venkatraman, 2001). ...
Knowledge sharing (KS) among individuals working together is complex and has an effect on their satisfaction. We adopt the self-determination theory and the theory of reasoned action to examine the relationship between millennials’ characteristics, KS and the resulting satisfaction. Using a mixed-method approach we address the antecedents of satisfaction in KS for 213 millennials attending Master programs in management at Polish and Portuguese business schools. The quantitative results show that knowledge characteristics influence KS as well as the fear of losing power due to KS. Knowledge complementarity and knowledge complexity positively contribute to KS. Knowledge complexity increases the fear of losing power due to KS, while knowledge complementarity decreases it, probably because individuals recognize complex knowledge as a more valuable one. The qualitative findings corroborate the quantitative results. Knowledge complementarity’s presence alone leads to KS, while its absence and knowledge complexity’s existence generate the fear of losing power. KS behavior and not being afraid of losing power due to KS lead to satisfaction from KS. The integration of both outputs is robust since quantitative results and qualitative findings converge: a) KS results from knowledge complementarity: knowledge complementarity relates positively to KS, which is consistent with a high level of knowledge complementarity providing a sufficient condition for a high level of KS; b) The fear of losing power results from the absence of knowledge complementarity and the existence of knowledge complexity, which is consistent with knowledge complementarity relating negatively to the fear of losing power and knowledge complexity relating positively to the fear of losing power; c) Satisfaction occurs when KS exists and the fear of losing power is absent, which is in line with KS relating positively to satisfaction and the fear of losing power due to KS relating negatively to satisfaction. Furthermore, the results show that millennial students’ satisfaction from KS is really a behavioral question and not a cultural one since there is no evidence of significant differences between the two subsamples. Millennials behave uniformly on Europe’s western and eastern ends.
... Knowledge and innovation have been used interchangeably. For example, it is quite common for the researchers to investigate knowledge to use innovation as an outcome and studies examining innovation to use knowledge as an antecedent (Dost et al., 2016;Subramaniam and Venkatraman, 2001;Subramaniam and Youndt, 2005;Tsai and Ghoshal, 1998). However, literature needs further clarity whether which type of knowledge and spills from which sources is more specifically suitable for the precise nature of innovation? ...
... Knowledge is critical for innovation (Díez-Vial and Montoro-Sá nchez, 2016; Dost et al., 2016;Subramaniam and Venkatraman, 2001;Subramaniam and Youndt, 2005;Tsai and Ghoshal, 1998). Terminologies of knowledge and innovation have been used interchangeably. ...
... The possible explanation of this finding could be that proper utilizations of knowledge stemmed from both internal sources i.e. knowledge from colleagues, managers within organization, subordinates, knowledge repository, previous experience, personal readings and search or external knowledge sources, i.e. knowledge from customers, suppliers, competitors, universities, public research organizations and external consultants, consequently, facilitate FI. Findings are in line with prior studies on knowledge and innovation (Chesbrough, 2003;Dahlander and Gann, 2010;Salter et al., 2014), innovative capabilities, innovation generation and adoption (Díez-Vial and Montoro-Sá nchez, 2016;Dost et al., 2016;Subramaniam and Venkatraman, 2001;Subramaniam and Youndt, 2005;Tsai and Ghoshal, 1998). As this research also found similar effects internal and external sources of knowledge display for products that are affordable, adequate features and sustainable. ...
Much ink and energy have been devoted to understanding innovation that is cheap, functional and sustainable (frugal); however, its impact on a firm's performance remains unclear. To address the gap, this research investigates the ambidextrous influence of frugal innovation (FI) on the firm’s financial and environmental performance; and moderating role of proactive orientation. To test the hypothesized relationships, the author nested the data from managers/directors of firms in the emerging markets of Pakistan. Data were analyzed by employing regression analysis and structural equation modelling techniques. The results revealed a significantly positive influence of FI on the firm’s environmental financial performance. The moderating role of proactive orientation strengthened the effects of FI on environmental performance and weakened the effects of FI on financial performance. The article also discusses theoretical and managerial implications.
... O sucesso das organizações depende, assim, da capacidade de criar, utilizar e desenvolver seus ativos baseados no conhecimento. Nessa perspectiva, GC pode ser interpretada como a arte de criar valor alavancando ativos intangíveis (SVEIBY, 1997), de modo que as organizações de sucesso devem ter a habilidade de criar, reunir e frutificar conhecimento entre as pessoas e as unidades operacionais. Nesse sentido, a colaboração é um caminho potencial para a criação de conhecimento, posto que as alianças, quando bem geridas, podem ser veículos muito poderosos para a criação de novos conhecimentos organizacionais. ...
... E sua gestão está intrinsecamente ligada à capacidade das empresas de utilizar e combinar diferentes fontes e tipos de conhecimento organizacional para o desenvolvimento de competências específicas e de capacidade inovadora, que se traduzem em novos produtos, processos, sistemas gerenciais e lideranças de mercado. Em outras palavras, o conhecimento é considerado por diversos autores como a principal fonte de criação de valor no âmbito empresarial (GRANT, 1996;SPENDER;NONAKA, 2008;RIBEIRO et al., 2017). ...
... A GC é um processo cíclico formado por um conjunto de atividades que visam a adquirir, armazenar, disseminar, compartilhar e aplicar o conhecimento de forma eficiente e alinhada com os objetivos da organização. Nesse contexto, existem na literatura diversas pesquisas que caracterizam esse ciclo, porém cada autor apresenta um grupo distinto de atividades que compõem cada ciclo de GC, a exemplo de Wiig (1997), Davenport (1994), Sveiby (1997 Sabe-se, ainda, que a economia mundial está estruturada no conhecimento, que é recurso fundamental para o crescimento e para a inovação. Assim, as organizações são dependentes do conhecimento, o qual deve ser gerenciado para que as economias possam crescer e ter sua produtividade aumentada (OGIWARA, 2009). ...
Empresas de Base Tecnológica (EBTs) são dependentes de conhecimento, recurso fundamental para a criação de valor, a inovação e a obtenção de vantagem competitiva. A habilidade em identificar, criar, armazenar, compartilhar e aplicar esse conhecimento permeia as EBTs, constituindo-se fundamental sua gestão. O objetivo deste estudo consiste em identificar, de acordo com o manual de técnicas e ferramentas de Gestão do Conhecimento (GC), de Young (2010, 2020), técnicas e ferramentas utilizadas no processo de GC em uma EBT do sul do Brasil. Para tanto, adotou-se uma abordagem qualitativa, por meio de um estudo de caso único, com objetivos exploratório e descritivo e com uso de dados primários e secundários. A partir da análise desses dados, realizada por intermédio da análise de conteúdo com auxílio do software NVivo® 12, identificaram-se técnicas e ferramentas para cada uma das cinco fases do processo de GC. A organização dessas fases revelou potencial para transformar o conhecimento em vantagem competitiva. Assim, este estudo contribui com a literatura sobre o assunto, confirmando, mediante evidências empíricas, que o manual constitui um caminho eficaz para identificar técnicas e ferramentas do processo de GC. Além disso, o framework do processo de GC apresentado a partir do manual pode auxiliar a identificar as áreas que devem concentrar as iniciativas de GC na empresa, instituindo oportunidades de melhoria que possam refletir ainda mais no desempenho empresarial.
... This is surprising because, during their assignments, expatriates' role is not only confined to providing subsidiary employees with knowledge but they also gain valuable knowledge and develop new skills themselves as part of their international experience (Berthoin Antal, 2000;Lazarova & Cerdin, 2007;Oddou, Osland, & Blakeney, 2009). From existing research (Lazarova & Tarique, 2005;Reiche, 2012), we know that the acquired knowledge and skills are mainly transferred back to HQ upon expatriates' return, and evidence suggests that such reverse knowledge transfer in the HQ -which represents the focus of this study -can enhance HQ performance (Subramaniam & Venkatraman, 2001), generate a competitive strategic advantage (Ambos et al., 2006;Gupta & Govindarajan, 2000), and trigger new ideas and innovation (Birkinshaw, Hood, & Jonsson, 1998;Huang & Li, 2019). ...
... However, according to the organizational embeddedness perspective, we posit that these barriers will be less pronounced if repatriates perceived high levels of embeddedness fit during their previous stay at the host unit. Specifically, repatriates who perceived high levels of embeddedness fit with their former host unit during expatriation should engage in more frequent communication, defined as an increase in interactions via telephone, email, or video conferences (Ghoshal, Korine, & Szulanski, 1994;Subramaniam & Venkatraman, 2001) with that unit upon their return to the HQ. ...
... Communication frequency with the former host unit upon repatriation At Time 2 upon return, we measured communication frequency with the former host unit upon repatriation with three items from the communication frequency scale from Subramaniam and Venkatraman (2001). In contrast to the original source and in response to recent changes in communication technology, we replaced the communication channel of ''fax'' with ''video conference.'' ...
Knowledge transfer within multinational enterprises is a source of competitive advantage. However, we know little about repatriates’ role in reverse knowledge transfer upon their return to headquarters (HQ). Using an organizational embeddedness perspective, we conceptualized how embeddedness fit – individuals’ perceived match between their knowledge and skills and the job requirements – during the expatriation assignment and upon repatriation predicts repatriate knowledge transfer. To test the hypotheses, we collected multi-wave survey data from 129 repatriates and their supervisors and developed a repatriate knowledge transfer scale. The results show that perceived organizational support from HQ positively influences embeddedness fit, both in the host unit during expatriation and in the HQ upon repatriation. Further, embeddedness fit in the HQ upon repatriation has a direct effect, while embeddedness fit in the host unit during expatriation has an indirect effect on repatriate knowledge transfer via increased communication frequency with the former host unit. In addition, we found that knowledge transfer is particularly pronounced for repatriates with both high levels of embeddedness fit in the HQ upon repatriation and frequent communication with colleagues in their former host unit. Our results highlight the critical importance of helping expatriates increase their perceived embeddedness fit for reverse knowledge transfer to occur.
... We test our hypotheses on a sample of 340 Italian high-tech entrepreneurial ventures facing the consequences of the global crisis that began in 2008. This crisis is an environmental jolt in the form of a severe economic downturn, characterized by a sharp and unexpected decline in demand in 6 Subramaniam and Venkatraman (2001) consider the transnational new product development DC, that they define as "the ability to consistently and successfully introduce new products simultaneously in multiple country markets" (p.361). It is worth highlighting that this DC differs from the internationalization DC we consider here. ...
... Moreover, as the literature on transnational new product development capabilities emphasizes (Subramaniam and Venkatraman, 2001), each local market may have unique requirements, hence the products/services sold in different countries integrate both features that are standardized across markets and country-specific features. As a consequence, the high-tech entrepreneurial ventures that use their internationalization DC to expand their sales in new foreign markets, often must simultaneously innovate their product and service offering to adapt it to the needs of their new international customers that likely differ from those of ventures' current -domestic and internationalcustomers. ...
... However, other DCs are worth of further investigation in this context. Prominent examples of these DCs are, for instance, the alliance capability (e.g., Moghaddam et al. 2016), the transnational product development capability (Subramaniam and Venkatraman 2001), and the marketing capability (e.g., Danneels 2008Danneels , 2012Danneels , 2016Song et al. 2005). The alliance capability provides firms with access to novel resources and complementary assets; which favors entry into new product-markets; the transnational product development capability allows firms to leverage knowledge from sources in different countries and develop new products simultaneously for multiple markets. ...
This paper contributes to studies on dynamic capabilities (DCs) by showing that a neglected environmental contingency – i.e. the occurrence of a jolt – shapes the DC–performance relationship. We focus on high-tech entrepreneurial ventures because these are the firms that jolts affect most; in so doing, we also advance the understanding of DCs in the entrepreneurship field. We argue that, in the aftermath of an environmental jolt, the high-tech entrepreneurial ventures that use internationalization and new product development capabilities to modify their resource configuration and regain environmental fit enjoy better performance. Econometric estimates on a sample of 340 Italian high-tech entrepreneurial ventures confronting the consequences of the global economic crisis that began in 2008 confirm that separately using these two DCs has a positive performance effect. This effect is stronger for relatively smaller ventures. Interestingly, despite synergies should arise from the combined use of the two DCs, we do not detect any superadditive effects.
... As suggested earlier, the focus of earlier researchers has been innovation in the products and/or services, less attention to the methods of production [7,9,18]. Consequently, this anomaly provides less guidance to managers, practitioners, or policymakers on how knowledge from different sources enables organizations to boost processes innovation, especially, when the organization has radical innovative capability. ...
... Second, how the moderation of radical innovation capability strengthens/weakens the relationship between sources of knowledge and process innovation generation and adoption? The purpose of choosing process innovation was for two reasons; first, focus of prior studies has mainly been product and/or service innovation, whereas less emphasis was given to innovations in methods of production [9,18]. Second, innovation in processes facilitates product innovation [75]. ...
... has remained underdeveloped [3,4]. Others also emphasized on the importance of conducting a research on process innovation generation and adoption [7,9,18]. This research has closed this gap by analyzing the impact of internal and external sources of knowledge (which are vital ingredients of innovation) on process innovation generation and adoption. ...
This research investigates the effects of internal and external sources of knowledge on process innovation generation and adoption; moderating role of radical innovative capability. We nested the data from chemical manufacturing firms, and analyzed it by using SEM technique. The findings revealed that internal sources of knowledge facilitate process innovation generation. This relationship further strengthens when there is the presence of radical innovative capability. On the other hand, external sources of knowledge extended ambidextrous effects by affecting positively on both process innovation generation and adoption. However, contrast to research hypothesis, the presence of radical innovative capability weakens the effects of external sources of knowledge on process innovation adoption. Besides its moderation, radical innovation capability also displayed positive effects on process innovation generation. Further paper discusses some useful theoretical and practical implications.
... In their view, DMCs are a variation of DCs representing a higher-order capability, while product development consisting of detailed activities represents a lower-order capability. The second stream of research conceptualizes product development capability as a separate construct that relates to a somewhat narrower understanding of DMCs, viewed in terms of knowledge acquisition and development (Subramaniam and Venkatraman, 2001;Zhang and Zhu, 2020). Morgan et al. (2012) distinguished two groups of DMCs: (1) architectural, related generally to information management, and (2) specialized, related to the implementation of various marketing activities, including product development capability. ...
... The positive link between capabilities related to marketing knowledge and product development or new product development capability has long been accepted knowledge (e.g. Subramaniam and Venkatraman, 2001). For instance, a recent study by Zhang and Zhu (2020) found that the acquisition of market knowledge has a greater impact on the speed of new product development than technological knowledge. ...
Purpose
This paper contributes to studies on the relationship between dynamic capabilities (DCs) and performance by showing how domain-specific DCs – international dynamic marketing capabilities (IDMCs) – affect the international performance of exporting firms in the context of extreme environmental dynamism – during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Design/methodology/approach
The authors focus on a sample of 277 exporting manufacturers from the post-transition economy of Poland. The authors use hierarchical multiple regression analysis to test this study's hypotheses.
Findings
This study's findings show that deployment of IDMCs by export manufacturers in the context of environmental jolts contributes to better performance, and this relationship is mediated by adaptation to foreign markets and product development capability. Additionally, this study's results reveal that the significant and positive indirect effect of IDMCs on international performance (through mediators) is, however, weakened under conditions of extreme environmental dynamism.
Research limitations/implications
The limitations pertain to the cross-sectional nature of this study and the research sample, characterised by the dominance of export manufacturers of final products, the dominance of manufacturers operating in the business-to-business sector, or in the business-to-business and business-to-customer sectors simultaneously.
Practical implications
The study provides suggestions to managers on how to build resilience in international markets during turbulent times. These activities involve investments in IDMCs that support activities centred around product development and adaptation to foreign markets.
Originality/value
The novel construct of IDMCs is introduced and operationalized. The study empirically tests the direct and indirect relationship between IDMCs and performance contingent upon extreme environmental dynamism. The results demonstrate the boundary conditions for the effectiveness of these domain-specific DCs in such a research setting.
... Building on this prior work, this study explores the enabling role of the three most relevant dimensions of firms' knowledge-based capital (Subramaniam and Youndt, 2005;Youndt et al., 2004)human, social, and organisational capital-for organisational agility. In addition, various scholars propose direct links between firms' knowledge-based capital and innovation outcomes (Agostini and Nosella, 2017;Carmona-Lavado et al., 2010;Pérez-Luño et al., 2011;Subramaniam and Venkatraman, 2001;Tsai and Ghoshal, 1998). They reveal that organisational capital positively influences incremental innovation capability, while human capital interacts with social capital to influence radical innovation capability positively (Subramaniam and Youndt, 2005). ...
... Second, we contribute to the strategic management and innovation literature by providing empirical evidence for the DCV as a pivotal theoretical lens to explain the mechanisms underlying the relationships between firms' knowledge-based capital and specific innovation-related outcomes (Teece, 2007;Teece et al., 1997;Zollo and Winter, 2002). While several scholars investigate the direct relationships of human, social, and organisational capital with innovation outcomes (Agostini and Nosella, 2017;Carmona-Lavado et al., 2010;Pérez-Luño et al., 2011;Subramaniam and Venkatraman, 2001;Tsai and Ghoshal, 1998), empirical evidence for the mediating role of dynamic capabilities in general (Hsu and Wang, 2012), and of organisational agility in particular, remains scarce in this context. Some authors criticise dynamic capabilities as a rather vague concept (Dutta et al., 2005). ...
Organisational agility, a specific dynamic capability, constitutes a key success factor in today’s dynamic business environments. However, it is unclear whether and how firms’ knowledge-based capital enables organisational agility. Moreover, mechanisms through which organisational agility translates knowledge-based capital into innovation performance are poorly understood. This study fills these gaps by investigating direct effects of knowledge-based capital (i.e., human, social, and organisational capital) on organisational agility and, in turn, indirect effects on radical and incremental innovation performance. Leveraging survey data from 385 German firms, this study contributes to the organisational agility and the strategic innovation management literature. First, our analysis validates human and social capital as antecedents of organisational agility, yielding evidence for the premises of the knowledge-based view in a novel context. Second, it substantiates the dynamic capability view as a pivotal theoretical lens for explaining the mechanisms underlying the relationships between firms’ knowledge-based capital, organisational agility, and incremental innovation performance.
... Scholars argued that "diverse inputs are often required to develop innovation", which is facilitated through activities across different geographic locations (Hitt et al., 1997: 774;Hitt et al., 2006). Specifically, scholars have linked different forms of ID, ranging from exporting to FDI, to different aspects of I, including product innovations (Subramaniam & Venkatraman, 2001) and patents (e.g., Almeida, 1996). For emerging market firms in particular, ID offers opportunities to escape weak domestic institutions and access knowledge abroad to boost innovation (Luo & Tung, 2007); the lack of innovation resources/FSAs may incentivize ID (Zander, McDougall-Covin & Rose, 2015). ...
... There was strong support for the notion that international diversity positively impacts the breadth of technological knowledge and partial support for the notion that it positively affects the depth of technological knowledge. Subramaniam & Venkatraman (2001) SMJ Quantitative 57 firms, mainly from US, some from Europe and Korea ...
We conduct a systematic review of the relationship between international diversification (ID) and firm-level innovation (I), considering articles published between 1989 and 2020. The relationship between international diversification and innovation strategies is dynamic and complex, and recent evidence challenges the traditional notion that upgrading firm-specific advantages through technological innovation can be sufficient to guarantee international firm growth and performance. We develop a unified framework that integrates findings from extant ID-I research while also proposing new avenues for further research on topics such as: how firms deal with potentially conflicting ID-I goals, how underlying firm motives shape the interactions between these goals, and how new technologies and institutional dynamism increasingly influence the ID-I relationship. We also discuss how and why the new contexts in which decisions are made, together with the prevalence of relatively newer types of firms (e.g., those associated with global value chains, latest wave of emerging market multinationals, digitalized service MNEs), require a more modern conceptualization of the ID-I relationship.
... Moreover, various studies establish a direct link between a firm's knowledge assets and innovation outcomes (e.g., Agostini & Nosella, 2017;Subramaniam & Venkatraman, 2001;Tsai & Ghoshal, 1998). Dynamic capability theory, however, argues that intangible assets by itself are not sufficient for innovation; rather, they need to be leveraged through a firm's capabilities (Dutta, Narasimhan, & Rajiv, 2005;Eisenhardt & Martin, 2000;Teece, 2007). ...
... Second, we contribute to innovation and strategic management literature by substantiating the dynamic capability view (Eisenhardt & Martin, 2000;Teece, 2007;Teece et al., 1997) as pivotal theoretical lens for explaining the mechanisms underlying the relationships between a firm's knowledge assets and specific innovation outcomes. While the direct consequences of knowledge assets have been extensively studied (e.g., Subramaniam & Venkatraman, 2001;Tsai & Ghoshal, 1998), empirical evidence for the mediating role of dynamic capabilities remains scarce (Hsu & Wang, 2012). Moreover, some authors criticize dynamic capabilities as a rather vague concept (e.g., Dutta et al., 2005); therefore, other scholars note that dynamic capabilities should be associated with very specific activities and objectives (Helfat & Winter, 2011;Pavlou & El Sawy, 2011;Peteraf, Di Stefano, & Verona, 2013). ...
... The early knowledge transfer literature was based on a home-centric view of the MNE, in which knowledge flows from a parent to its subsidiaries (Porter, 2011;Vernon, 1992). Because subsidiaries frequently lack resources relative to their parent firms, many MNEs support subsidiaries in increasing their market competitiveness by transferring their headquarters' knowledge to them (Gupta & Govindarajan, 2000;Subramaniam & Venkatraman, 2001). ...
... It represents the organization's ability to leverage and apply knowledge effectively to drive innovation, improve processes, make informed decisions, and create value. In today's knowledge economy, global businesses increasingly compete based on their knowledge capital (Subramaniam & Venkatraman, 2001). Born global firms that possess strong innovation capabilities are better positioned to develop and enhance their knowledge capital, leverage their ability to innovate business models, optimize available technology and resources, and adapt to dynamic international markets. ...
Innovation capabilities are considered a key factor impacting the success and sustainability of born global firms across the world. These capabilities are even more significant for the born global firms from emerging markets. In this study, we propose an overarching conceptual framework called ICONIC to explain the factors that are critical for developing innovation capabilities in born global firms. Using grounded theory with a triangulation approach, we define innovation capabilities as a multi-dimensional construct with three sub-dimensions: business model innovation, improvisation abilities, and personalized problem-solving. Furthermore, we identify three antecedents (firm-related factors, competition-related factors, and customer orientation) leading to innovation capabilities and discuss the tangible and intangible outcomes of innovation capabilities. In this study, we also propose a set of propositions describing the nature of the relationship between different constructs in our framework. Finally, we discuss the theoretical contributions and implications for born global firms and policymakers to realize the strategic goals of internationalization.
... The launch of new products shows that the company completes product development. Kleinschmidt and Cooper (1991), Subramaniam and Venkatraman (2001), and Srinivasan et al. (2009) argue that companies with successful new products launch are to have the opportunity to grow in the future and have a substantial and significant impact on the company's performance in the future. This success is also the main driver in increasing the company's competitiveness in the market. ...
This study aims to expand research evidence related to investor responses to the timing of corporate action announcements. In contrast to previous studies, this study distinguishes corporate action announcements during the development and realization stage. Furthermore, we will also distinguish the types of corporate actions, consisting of new products and systems and technology innovation. Investor’s reactions are measured using cumulative abnormal returns (CAR) with (−5,+5) and (−2,+2) event windows. The Sample is based on 257 corporate action announcements in the automobile manufacturing firms in East Asia from 2017 to 2021. This research found a significant difference in CAR between the development and realization of announcements. Furthermore, it indicates that investors in East Asia react more positively when companies announce the realization of a new product and system and technology innovation rather than when it is still under the planning or development process.
... The term frugal innovation has gained considerable attention from practitioners in [61] highlighted that frugal innovation can be welldescribed as a cost-cutting and uniform approach to satisfy the expectations of lowincome customers and provide innovative and inexpensive solutions to promote structural improvements within their communities (Karnani, 2007 [62][63][64]. Furthermore, it can be observed that the democratic behaviour of innovation has eliminated the role of financed corporations and government research laboratories in developing new ideas for the manufacturing of the best products and services to meet societal needs [65]. ...
Frugal innovation is an emerging term, and since the last decade, many studies have been focusing on this type of innovation. Therefore, this research has also directed attention towards frugal innovation. First of all, it studied the effect of servant leadership on knowledge management, and then the relationship between knowledge management and frugal innovation was measured. Moreover, the relationship described above was examined by moderating the role of innovation capabilities and technology turbulence. The data were collected from Sports equipment manufacturing companies in China, and to analyze the data, AMOS was used. The results highlighted a positive relationship between servant leadership and knowledge management, and this management has a significant and positive relation with frugal innovation. In addition, the technology turbulence and innovation capabilities can strengthen the relationship between knowledge management and frugal innovation. Despite highlighting the broad areas and developing a comprehensive model, this research has several limitations which are future directions for further studies. This research focused on sports equipment manufacturing companies, and future studies can highlight the perspective of other companies. In addition, entrepreneurial orientation can be considered as mediating variable as it can be affected by knowledge management and affect frugal innovation. The study is the first to link servant leadership with knowledge management which can lead to frugal innovation.
... What, however, is nowadays raising many concerns is the increased offshoring of innovative activity in fast-growing emerging countries such as BRICKST. Offshoring is no longer limited to standardized IT or business processes, but increasingly involves new product development activities, R&D, and new product design (Engardio and Einhorn, 2005;Maskell et al., 2006;Patel and Vega, 1999;Subramaniam and Venkatraman, 2001). Western countries and developed market economies in general fear that they stand to lose their comparative advantage in knowledgeintensive products as new countries emerge with the basic capabilities needed to provide some technology-based services. ...
Companies are increasingly asking which of their value chain activities are best performed within their own company and which may be outsourced. In addition, they are also considering which pieces of their value chain may be better performed abroad. These interrelated decisions concerning outsourcing and offshoring have not only changed entire industries, they have also transformed the lives of people across the world. Hundreds of millions of jobs in emerging nations have been the direct result of outsourcing and offshoring decisions. At the same time, many people in the developed world have lost their jobs because a company has been able to find a cheaper alternative. Featuring contributions from scholars in eleven different countries, this book was the first to examine the theory and practice of outsourcing and offshoring simultaneously. It includes studies of a variety of different industries, including pharmaceuticals, automobiles, medical records, appliances, human resource management and telecommunications.
... Previous studies have presented factors promoting knowledge sharing: organizational culture or motivation, working conditions, communication environment (Suppiah & Singh Sandhu, 2011;Mueller, 2012;Inkpen & Tsang, 2005;De Vries, Van den Hooff & de Ridder, 2006). There are also a series of previous studies examining many different effects of knowledge sharing on innovation (Moon, 2017;Tsai & Ghoshal, 1998;Ahuja, 2000;Subramaniam & Venkatraman, 2001). Although these studies have identified the positive relationship between knowledge sharing and innovation, there is a need to expand the research with factors efficiently fostered or inhibited by knowledge sharing. ...
Purpose: This study investigated the positive effects of a leader agreeable communication style on team creativity and team- and individual-level knowledge sharing. Also verified was the extent to which the level of effect of a leader agreeable communication style on team- and individual-level knowledge sharing varies depending on the team members’ self-perception of knowledge ownership, applying a multilevel analysis to concurrently deal with team- and individual-level relations. Design/methodology/approach: The 69 teams consisting of 350 employees were collected from Korean companies. We conducted a multi-level analysis to confirm the effect of the control variables on the relationship between the group level and the individual level, which affects team creativity. Analytical methods were performed by using HLM (Hierarchical Linear and Nonlinear Modeling) 7.01. Findings: The analysis results confirmed the positive effect of a leader agreeable communication style on both team creativity and team- and individual-level knowledge sharing. Team knowledge sharing was found to completely mediate and individual-level knowledge sharing to partially mediate, between leader agreeable communication style and team creativity. Whereas the effect of a leader agreeable communication style on individual knowledge sharing was negatively intensified with the increase in team member’s perception of individual knowledge ownership, it yielded insignificant results in terms of team knowledge sharing. Research limitations/implications: This study expanded the understanding of source of team creativity by developing theoretical framework of the relationship between an agreeable leader’s communication style and individual and team knowledge sharing and team creativity. Originality/value: This study identified originally an agreeable leader’s communication style as an important antecedent variable of knowledge sharing. In addition, by using a multilevel analysis model, this study first found that an agreeable leader’s communication style had a significant effect on team creativity through the mediation of individual and team knowledge sharing.
... In physical product-driven new product development, organizational knowledge-preserving activities that improve, extend, and integrate organizational knowledge are compatible with the goals of technology development. Likewise, the process of new product development is enhanced and structured by the use of organizational knowledge and benefits from collaboration, including extensive information exchange among members of the organization (Subramaniam and Venkatraman, 2001). ...
More companies are using design to gain an advantage in today’s highly competitive business market. However, there are few empirical studies on its innovation impact on organizational performance. The purpose of this study is to clarify the relationship between the knowledge resources of companies, moderated by the degree of design activities, and innovation types. Based on the sensemaking organizational model, this study examines how companies’ knowledge resources mediate design activities and influence innovation. This study introduces design activities as a moderator to link the corporate knowledge resources’ (human, social, and organizational knowledge) impact to incremental and radical innovation. The sensemaking organizational model is extended through a human-centered lens. Analysis of 151 companies showed that human, social, and organizational knowledge had a selective impact on incremental and radical innovation. Interestingly, the findings supported the hypothesis that organizational knowledge enhances radical innovation through design activities. This paper bridges the gap between corporate knowledge resources and innovation moderated by design activities enhancing the sensemaking organizational model. It points to the need for design activities for creative problem-setting and enabling the discovery of problems found during the research phase through innovation. Long-term corporate activities increase knowledge resources and reduce the potential for radical innovation. Mechanisms that promote new connections between organizations and leverage corporate knowledge resources benefit radical innovation. This explains the managemental impact on the various knowledge resources in innovation and the role of design activities.
... Firm's Foreign Tacit Knowledge was assessed by Five items adapted from work on portfolio governance by Subramaniam and Venkatraman (2001). These items were modified after reviewing current research context. ...
Multinational companies face various challenges regarding knowledge transfer, relationship harmony and environmental challenges which can diverse the operational performance of companies with globalized disturbed customers. This research paper applies a model with aims to find the impact of foreign tacit knowledge (FTK) on the product innovation of multinational pharmaceutical firms in Thailand. The model of this research also consists of knowledge exchange, ICT competence, and relationship harmony as mediating variables to evaluate the relationship between FTK and product innovation levels of multinational pharmaceutical firms. For data analysis and calculation, some significant techniques were used such as KMO, SEM and descriptive statistics. Furthermore, the results and discussions illustrate that the foreign tacit knowledge has a positive influence on pharmaceutical product innovation which further enhances the performance of the firms. Similarly, ICT competence, and relationship harmony have a positive mediating role in the relationship between tacit knowledge and product innovation while knowledge exchange has a insignificant mediating role. The findings of this research study have many managerial as well as practical implications. From a managerial point of view, this study helps managers of multinational companies to identify the impact of FTK on overall and product performance.
... We controlled for firm age, firm size, customer turbulence, competitor turbulence, and industry, all of which have been found to be related to PIC and innovation performance (Boh et al., 2019;Subramaniam and Venkatraman, 2001;Subramaniam and Youndt, 2005). Firm age is the number of years from its establishment to 2019. ...
While prior studies indicate that business model design (BMD) can affect innovation performance, empirical evidence on how and when BMD drives innovation performance is still limited. By integrating dynamic capability theory into business model research, we empirically investigate the influence of BMD on innovation performance. Based on the matched survey data and the objective performance data of 282 Chinese high-tech firms, we employed bootstrap tests to estimate the mediating effects of product innovation capability (PIC) and used hierarchical regression analysis to estimate the moderating effects of technological turbulence. The results show that novelty-centered BMD positively relates to innovation performance and that this link is partially mediated by radical PIC and incremental PIC. In contrast, efficiency-centered BMD cannot directly impact innovation performance, but can indirectly affect it through incremental PIC. We further find that the indirect effect of novelty-centered BMD on innovation performance via incremental PIC is stronger than that of efficiency-centered BMD. In addition, technological turbulence strengthens the positive effect of novelty-centered BMD on PIC while weakening the positive impact of efficiency-centered BMD on PIC. Our study thus provides high-tech firm managers with an in-depth understanding of how and when BMD drives innovation performance.
... B. Process tacitness (Subramaniam & Venkatraman, 2001) Please indicate to what extent do you agree or disagree with the following statement regarding the knowledge transfer: (1 = strongly disagree, 5 = strongly agree) a = 0.883 (Chinese manager sample), a = 0.875 (foreign manager sample). ...
A three-dimensional attachment framework —“interpersonal attachment, person-organizational attachment, and inter-organizational attachment” — explains how knowledge can be effectively transferred from international joint ventures (IJVs) back to parent firms. Findings suggest that boundary spanners' organizational commitment and their parent firms' resource commitment to IJVs may help mitigate interpartner opportunism and facilitate effective reverse knowledge transfer from IJVs to parent firms. The mediation role of boundary spanners’ organizational commitment to IJVs is even stronger than that of parent firms’ resource commitment to IJVs.
FULL TEXT PDF FILE: https://rdcu.be/cI9Fs
... Observations and interactions may be increased through both formal and informal communication channels (Kim et al., 2012). By enabling vicarious learning, the parent firm may enable the sharing and replication of knowledge and capabilities and the usage of relevant knowledge assets across subsidiaries (Hansen & Løvas, 2004;Subramaniam & Venkatraman, 2001;Winter & Szulanski, 2001;Zander & Sölvell, 2000;Persson, 2006). ...
Newer subsidiaries of a multinational enterprise (MNE) in a foreign (host) country will rarely possess the knowledge required for its performance. As such, a newer subsidiary will learn vicariously from the experiences of older subsidiaries of similar industries and the same MNE operating in the same host country. In particular, the newer subsidiary will learn two types of knowledge from older subsidiaries, namely, operational knowledge related to their experiences in the host country and their knowledge about local markets. Furthermore, we theorize that higher parent MNE ownership in newer subsidiaries will facilitate vicarious learning. We add that as newer subsidiaries gain experience, they become less dependent on vicarious learning from older subsidiaries. We find support for our hypotheses using a longitudinal sample of MNE subsidiaries in India. We conclude with implications for future research.
... Innovation, defined as "the commercial application or adoption of an invention [i.e., a new idea]" (Fleming, 2001: 117-118, Makri, Hitt andLane, 2010), is a strategic outcome that contributes to the renewal and success of organizations (Branzei and Vertinsky, 2006, Danneels, 2002, Subramaniam and Venkatraman, 2001. Prior research has established three concepts key to innovation: risk, slack, and resource recombination. ...
Leveraging resources to develop innovation is central to exploiting market opportunities yet doing so is complex and fraught with challenges. This study explores some of this complexity by theoretically detailing and empirically examining the critical role that synchronization plays in the process of leveraging resources to create innovation. Specifically, we integrate resource orchestration with the behavioral theory of the firm to investigate the joint effect of synchronization and leveraging strategies on innovation under different performance conditions. Using policy capturing methodology resulting in 3,600 observations from 120 managers, we find empirical evidence that synchronization can enhance innovation outcomes of all leveraging strategies. Yet, this positive synergistic effect occurs in high performing firms that use the resource advantage and market opportunity leveraging strategies and in low performing firms that use the entrepreneurial leveraging strategy. Our theory and results offer important contributions to the innovation and resource orchestration literatures. First, our study offers a contextually rich examination of innovation, suggesting that it is not only resources, but also managerial actions and a firm’s relative performance that drive innovation outcomes. Specifically, this study adds to our knowledge of the relationship between resources and innovation strategies by investigating the impact of synchronization – a key contingency in understanding the effects of resources on innovation. Second, we examine boundary conditions of synchronization’s influence by integrating behavioral logic in the context of relative firm performance. Mixed evidence exists on the synergistic effect of valuable capabilities, with some studies showing increased gains and others finding evidence of a neutral relationship. This study begins to disentangle these findings by suggesting that resource leveraging strategies and synchronization together enhance innovation when the strategy aligns with the firm’s relative performance aspirations, answering calls for the development of a more nuanced understanding of the pursuit of innovation.
... Scholars argued that "diverse inputs are often required to develop innovation", which is facilitated through activities across different geographic locations (Hitt, Hoskisson, & Kim, 1997: 774;Hitt et al., 2006). Specifically, scholars have linked different forms of ID, ranging from exporting to FDI, to different aspects of I, including product innovations (Subramaniam & Venkatraman, 2001) and patents (e.g., Almeida, 1996). For emerging market firms in particular, ID offers opportunities to escape weak domestic institutions and access knowledge abroad to boost innovation (Luo & Tung, 2007); here, the lack of innovation resources/FSAs may incentivize ID (Zander, McDougall-Covin, & Rose, 2015). ...
... In a different perspective, McEvily and Chakravarthy (2002) mention that the advantages on organizational performance based on tacit knowledge become hard-toreplicate by competitors. As for empirical studies related with the mentioned process, Subramaniam and Venkatraman (2001) examine the transfer of tacit knowledge between multinational companies regarding product development. Similarly, Haas and Hansen (2007) consider both the transfer of explicit and tacit knowledge in their research study. ...
In hyper competitive environments, knowledge has turned to be the most valuable resource. However, a competitive advantage is achieved through the firm’s capability for assimilating and exploiting it with commercial purposes, as a product or process innovation. Therefore, the cognitive processes, defined as knowledge creation, transfer, and assimilation preceding an organizational innovation, are critical for a firm’s survival in markets such as those of emerging economies. In addition, contextual factors such as the structure, the culture, strategic processes and information technologies have been identified in severalstudies as responsible for an effective knowledge transfer, while the effects of knowledge characteristics and the capabilities of senders and receivers have not been sufficiently integrated in literature. This study presents a literature review about the cognitive processes preceding an organizational innovation in order to map the different topics and research lines related to the phenomena. Then, the effects of contextual organizational factors, as found on different frameworks, are discussed. Finally, a proposed framework for application in emerging economies is introduced-Keywords: cognition, knowledge transfer, organizational innovation, organizational context
... A total of 18 independent items were identified, based on the 3 forms of organizational knowledge (tacit, codified and encapsulated) and 6 perspectives of measurement (locus, transferability, expression, acquisition, value and observability). These 18 items were designed to capture relative perceived reliance on the 3 knowledge-based factors of production (Birkinshaw and Fey, 2001;McEvily and Chakravarthy, 2002;Simon, 1999;Subramaniam and Venkatraman, 2001; van den Berg, 2013). ...
Fundamental classifications of knowledge may be measurable as factors of production and can reveal evidence of specialization between adjacent stages of production even in the presence of shared substantive knowledge. In this research, divergences in relative reliance on the fundamentally different knowledge-based factors of production were found in the presence of jointly-held substantive knowledge, suggesting that fundamental classifications of knowledge are measurable and can provide evidence of specialization.
... A total of 18 independent items were identified, based on the 3 forms of organizational knowledge (tacit, codified and encapsulated) and 6 perspectives of measurement (locus, transferability, expression, acquisition, value and observability). These 18 items were designed to capture relative perceived reliance on the 3 knowledge-based factors of production (Birkinshaw and Fey, 2001;McEvily and Chakravarthy, 2002;Simon, 1999;Subramaniam and Venkatraman, 2001; van den Berg, 2013). ...
Purpose
Fundamental classifications of knowledge may be measurable as factors of production and can reveal evidence of specialization between adjacent stages of production even in the presence of shared substantive knowledge. This study of aims to distinguish between, and empirically measure, relative reliance on fundamental classifications of knowledge at the individual level.
Design/methodology/approach
In this study, investment managers were asked in an online survey to weigh their relative reliance on tacit, codified and encapsulated knowledge in executing different investment strategies for diverse client groups. Measures of relative reliance on each fundamental classification of knowledge were derived from weights assigned by each survey respondent in a series of six questions.
Findings
Survey respondents provided reliable measures of their relative reliance on tacit, codified and encapsulated knowledge. Reliance on these fundamental classifications of knowledge is shown to differ between investment managers, depending on the investment strategies being used and client groups served. These differences were exhibited notwithstanding all the respondents sharing common substantive knowledge.
Research limitations/implications
Measures of relative reliance on three classifications of knowledge were based on self-reported ratings rather than on objectively observed phenomena, making them subject to measurement error. Therefore, researchers are encouraged to observe relative reliance on tacit, codified and encapsulated knowledge in future studies.
Originality/value
The divergences in relative reliance on the fundamentally different knowledge-based factors of production were found in the presence of jointly held substantive knowledge, suggesting that fundamental classifications of knowledge are measurable and can provide evidence of specialization.
... The literature that analyzes the relationships between the components of intellectual capital, innovation and company performance is extensive (Agostini, Nosella, & Filippini, 2017;Bontis et al., 2018;Santos-Rodrigues et al., 2011;Subramaniam & Venkatraman, 2001;Subramaniam & Youndt, 2005). Intellectual capital is increasingly recognized as an important source of value creation (Curado et al., 2011;Agostini et al. 2017). ...
Purpose
The objective of this study is to analyze the influence of the intellectual capital of SMEs on innovation and organizational performance in the context of an emerging country.
Design/methodology/approach
The sample consisted of 259 industrial SMEs from the Cordoba, Argentina. The data were analyzed by partial least squares–structural equation modeling (PLS–SEM).
Findings
The study provides empirical evidence that the three components of intellectual capital generate positive and significant effects on innovation in processes and products. Structural capital is the component that has the greatest effect on innovation. It also showed a positive and significant relationship between innovation in processes and performance, contributing to the scarce empirical literature in the context of SMEs.
Research limitations/implications
The research exposes limitations that uncover a path for future. First, the work uses as the only source of information, the consultation at the highest level of the company. Second, the study covered only industrial companies. Future studies should focus on other sectors and countries.
Practical implications
The results may have important practical implications for SME owners and managers and offer a vision of the influence of intellectual capital on the innovative capacity of the organization.
Originality/value
The value of work lies in establishing the importance of intellectual capital in the environment of an emerging country such as Argentina, given the low level of knowledge that exists in this area.
... That is to say that we investigate diverse ways to make use of physical, digital, and biological technologies that revolutionize how we produce, consume, and interact so that the path of development can be paved. This is the main reason that research on innovation is shifting towards intellectual capital (Subramaniam and Venkatraman, 2001). Hence, it is noteworthy that innovation is a key to financial development, and can be a source of a managed upper hand to firms (Schumpeter, 1983;Tushman, 1997). ...
This study investigates the impact that intellectual capital (IC) and value creation have on a firm's performance, in relation to the leading innovative firms in the world, at the start of the Fourth Industrial Revolution. An analysis is based on the top 100 innovative companies from different countries and sectors, as indexed by Forbes in 2016, for the period between 2011 and 2015, by using the pooled OLS regression model. The Fourth Industrial Revolution characterizes the fusion of technologies, and is blurring the boundaries between physical, digital, and biological spheres. The study reveals that capital employed efficiency and human capital efficiency have a significant positive impact on a firm's performance, whereas, the relational capital efficiency and structural capital efficiency are not related to it. Findings also suggest that relational capital efficiency is positively related to the value creation of innovative firms, while all the other mechanisms of intellectual capital and Modified Value-Added IC (MVAIC), are not associated with the value creation of innovative companies. The study advocates that innovation policies are critical, and require a rigorous review from the top management in order to meet the challenges of the Fourth Industrial Revolution, that is heavily innovation-based, and requires overwhelmingly new competencies.
... This study explores the effect of idea evaluators' cognitive style on their judgment of NPD ideas and how this is influenced by the degree leeway afforded to them. Since there are fundamental differences in NPD between types of industries (Alexiev, Volberda, & Van den Bosch, 2016), as well as between countries and regions (Subramaniam & Venkatraman, 2001), we decided to exclude such contingencies to enhance the reliability of our results. Our industry and country focus also reduces potential endogeneity issues, because we omit environmental and industry-specific influence factors (Abdallah, Goergen, & O'Sullivan, 2015). ...
Paradoxically, mature firms facing competition in mature markets attempt to enter new markets, yet often pursue incremental ideas in their new product development process (NPD), abandoning ideas with market-creating potential in the idea evaluation phase at the fuzzy front end of NPD. We assume that idea evaluators' information-processing style (rational or intuitive) plays a dominant role in this context. Previous research has shown that the holistic information-processing style of intuitive individuals helps them with tasks that involve generating creative ideas, and we expect it to also be beneficial during idea evaluation for sensing an idea's potential to create new markets. In addition, we predict that the systematic procedure to be followed in formalized NPD idea evaluation will stifle this ability. Drawing on data from 138 corporate idea evaluators, we show that evaluators with an intuitive cognitive style are more likely to emphasize new market creation than those with a rational style, and that leeway serves as a moderator. By linking information-processing style and leeway we provide a potential explanation for why highly formalized organizations find it difficult to develop innovations with a high market-creation potential, and we discuss the practical implications of this.
... (Cui & Wu, 2016.) Customer need tacitness, on the other hand, means the degree to how difficult customer knowledge is to communicate across individuals or organizations (Ganesan, Malter, & Rindfleisch, 2005;Subramaniam & Venkatraman, 2001). ...
Knowing your customers and their needs is a topic that has attracted increasing interest in the business and academic worlds. In line with this, constructing customer knowledge has come under examination in this study. A firm's ability to construct customer knowledge creates solid ground for responding better to its customers' needs. In the business‐to‐business markets, customers are demanding increasingly knowledge‐intensive services. Therefore, examining the topic is particularly important in this specific context. In this study, the purpose is to find out how customer knowledge is constructed in knowledge‐intensive customer relationships. To accomplish this purpose, a qualitative multiple case study is organized around seven case relationships allowing within‐case and cross‐case comparisons. The findings of this study describe a variety of practices knowledge‐intensive firms can utilize in constructing customer knowledge in their daily activities. This study helps KIBS organizations in their efforts to create a source of competitive advantage as customer knowledge is a critical asset for firms, especially in a fast‐changing knowledge‐intensive environment.
... Furthermore, internal socialization capabilities are likely to be required during the entire ACAP process, to transform internal actors' cognitive schemes in order to facilitate acceptance of the uncommon knowledge. While Jansen et al. (2005) found a fragmented effect of coordination and socialization mechanisms for financial services, we show that in creative tasks CS context, knowledge is highly tacit and requires cross-functional teams, frequent communication, and experienced members (Subramaniam and Venkatraman, 2001). In line with Nag and Gioia (2012), these findings suggest that the mobilization of alternative internal integration mechanisms depends on the nature of the knowledge to be absorbed. ...
... In other words, expatriates act as an important element that contributes to the transfer of tacit knowledge from the multinational organization network to the target subsidiary (Berry, 2017;Li et al., 2013). Moreover, the ability of project members to provide tacit knowledge from different locations is important for performing product innovation for multinational companies (Subramaniam and Venkatraman, 2001). ...
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to understand the influence of knowledge-sharing behavior (KSB) on the innovative work behavior (IWB) and job satisfaction (JS) among employees considering the moderating role of motivating language (ML) of supervisors.
Design/methodology/approach
The hypothesized relationships were examined applying modeling of structural equation and hierarchical multiple regression analysis. The data was collected from Chinese multinational companies in Kazakhstan with final sample of 322 respondents.
Findings
The findings suggest that the link between KSB and JS is significantly positive with the moderating impact of ML, while KSB itself has significantly negative effect on JS. Moreover, ML buffers the insignificant effect of KSB on IWB.
Originality/value
Research is atypical, as it has focus on the moderating roles of ML in the direct relationship of employee KSB and JS, and in the direct linkage of employee KSB and IWB in Chinese multinational organization in the network field.
Amid the growing importance and growth potential of venture firms worldwide, this study aimed to figure out the effect of new product development capabilities (NPDC) on the internationalization of Korean venture firms and the moderating impact of founders' human capital. NPDC is a core competency that can cope with the rapidly changing market environment and is required when entering multinational markets. Therefore, we subdivided founders' human capital into professional experience, startup experience, education level, and marketing capacity and examined each moderating effect on a venture firm's internationalization. As a result of empirical analysis of 1,362 Korean venture firms using the Tobit model, this study found that venture firms with excellent NPDC tend to achieve a higher level of internationalization. In addition, among the founder's human capitals, professional experience, education level, and marketing competency moderated the positive relationship between NPDC and internationalization. In contrast, the founder's startup experience was insignificant. The results of this empirical analysis explain the factors that trigger the internationalization performance of venture firms from the perspective of dynamic capabilities and suggest that the founder's human capital played an essential role in the internationalization.
This paper examines the effect of licensing of foreign technology on new product innovation and market access. Data were collected from the archives of the World Bank’s Global Enterprises Survey for fifty countries. The data were analysed using the Structural Equation Model (SEM) with the aid of STATA software. The SEM result show that licensing of external technology is positively and significantly related to new product innovation and access to market. However, the moderating independent variable (website usage) did not show a significant relationship with new product
innovation and market access. The paper offers practical implication for new product innovation, which is that local enterprises can save the internal cost and time of research and development for new products by adopting the option of licensing foreign technology. This also has the advantage of assisting local enterprises to offer a new product to the market. Further research is recommended to add more countries to increase the number of observations.
Məqalədə dirsəkli valların yeyilən hissələrinin elektrokontakt qaynaqla bərpası zamanı qaynaq rejimlərinin qatın keyfiyyətinə təsiri araşdırılmışdır. Bu məqsədlə sürtünməyə işləyən detal olan dirsəkli valın elektrokontakt qaynaqla bərpası zamanı optimal qaynaq rejimi seçilmişdir.
Elektrokontakt qaynaq prosesinin parametrlərinin detalların yeyilən hissələrində bərpa qatının əsas metalla birləşməsinin keyfiyyətinə təsiri öyrənilmişdir. Elektrokontakt qaynaq prosesindən sonra yeyilməyə dözümlülük sınaqları aparılmışdır.Permalloydan aralıq qatı kimi istifadə olunduqda alınan polad qatın yeyilməyə dözümlülüyü müəyyən edilmişdir.
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to examine how over-reliance on buyer-supplier relational capital (created through the interconnected supply chain and social network) impacts firm performance in the context of the emerging market, i.e. India.
Design/methodology/approach
The study uses the Prowess database (on Indian firms) to identify the firms that rely heavily on relational capital and employs panel data regression analyses to test the effect of relational capital on firm performance (supply chain performance and financial performance).
Findings
The results show that over-reliance on relational capital leads to lower supply chain performance (proxied by supply chain cycle) and financial performance (proxied by Tobin's Q). The results also reveal that supply chain performance mediates the relationship between over-reliance on relational capital and financial performance. Together, these results indicate that over-reliance on relational capital created through the interconnected supply chain and social network for supply chain management may negatively affect a firm's competitive advantage, which in turn can significantly impede its financial performance.
Originality/value
In light of the supply chain literature and relevant theories, the study develops an objective understanding of over-reliance relational capital created through the interconnected supply chain and social network, by relying on a large panel dataset of manufacturing firms and hence contributes to the supply chain literature. Also, it presents a novel idea to operationalize the measure for relational capital using the Prowess database.
This paper applies a generalized exchange perspective to examine how and when reintegration in headquarters (HQ) facilitates repatriate knowledge transfer (RKT). Specifically, we theorize how the preparatory stage for repatriation—when expatriates are still abroad—enhances reintegration in HQ upon repatriation and subsequently RKT via interpersonal and career‐related pathways. For the former, we hypothesize that communication frequency with HQ actors before re‐entry enhances RKT via reintegration. We also hypothesize that communication frequency with HQ actors before re‐entry improves trust in HQ actors, which, in turn, strengthens the positive effect of reintegration on RKT. For the second pathway, we hypothesize that career and repatriate support before re‐entry increases RKT via reintegration. We also hypothesize that career and repatriate support before re‐entry enhances career satisfaction upon re‐entry, which, in turn, strengthens the positive effect of reintegration on RKT. Time‐lagged data from 129 assignees and their HQ supervisors support most of our hypotheses.
Emotion significantly affects strategic decision-making by entrepreneurs in family business organisations (FBOs). This paper proposes a cognitive framework of management in FBOs that emphasises the importance of emotion, based on a micro-foundational perspective: that is, an integrated hierarchy of cognitive processes underlying FBOs’ strategic decision-making and their interactions with external affective events. Previous studies that used traditional behavioural methodologies are reviewed with reference to the proposed cognitive framework to highlight importance of understanding effect of emotion-cognition interactions on entrepreneurs’ strategic decision-making process. New techniques using biological, physiological, and neuroscientific tools are then introduced as complementary methods for this line of research. Finally, future research directions are discussed with a focus on implicit cognitive processing, complex emotions, and cognitive interventions.
Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs) have a role in accelerating the economy of the community. The quality of MSMEs is largely determined by competitive advantage by utilizing resources that focus on developing or obtaining valuable resources and capabilities. The UMKM sector with intangible assets of MSME players, namely human capital towards the creation of economic value added or Economic Value Added (EVA) in MSMEs. The purpose of this study was to examine and explain the effect of human capital of MSME players in Bali on the achievement of Economic Value Added (EVA). This study uses a positivism approach. The population in this study was the UMKM in Bali Province, amounting to 450 UMKM, with a research sample of 212 MSMEs in Bali Province. The results of research findings that human capital have a significant positive effect on the creation of economic value added (EVA) in MSMEs. The average level of EVA on MSMEs is negative, which means that in general, MSMEs in Bali province have not been able to achieve EVA in their business management.The limitation in this study is the incomplete availability of MSME financial reports. In addition, further research is expected to add other contingencies, such as personality and defense mechanisms.
In all probability, the paramount importance of knowledge transfer for higher learning institutions (HLIs) is incontestable. That said, the workforce serving these institutions draws one's attention to a range of glitches vis-a-vis knowledge transfer activities. This study looks upon social interactions, training and ICT as the possible barriers responsible for impeding the KT activities. The study is based on the premise that poor management of the barriers underscored above would lay an adverse impact on EKT. The drawn sample size from the given population is 315 subjects. The employed research technique is cross-sectional research, and, in this setting, the cross-sectional explanatory sequential design was considered relevant. The data analysis was carried out using Correlation and multiple linear regression techniques. The findings of quantitative and qualitative result manifest that the selected variables do not stymie the knowledge transfer practices, which is in conflict with the speculation of the study in question.
The innovative capacity of an organization is also conditioned by the intellectual capital it owns. In this perspective, our research aims to examine the influence of the individual components of intellectual capital on the innovativeness of hotel companies. Intellectual capital has been identified in the following three components: human capital, organizational capital and social capital. Each dimension of intellectual capital was used to explain the performance in terms of innovation (product, process, and organization). The survey was conducted through a questionnaire administered to a sample of small and medium-sized hotel businesses, identified based on the classification used by the EU. To develop the analysis and test the hypotheses, we employed multivariate data analysis.
Despite the resounding call for innovation as a source of competitive advantage in today’s everchanging environment, many companies have found themselves unable to introduce innovative products and services to the market. The lack of knowledge and capability supportive of innovation is more observable among companies in emerging economies. Lagging behind developed economies in technology development created disadvantage for such companies, often inhibiting innovation. This study has unpacked the processes of dynamic capability and knowledge development in a leading automaker in Iran and the Middle East. Findings reveal the role of product innovation and the coevolutionary relationship between product innovation projects and knowledge and capability development. The findings guide managers for step by step development of knowledge and capability through a series of product innovation projects.
Research Summary
The centrality of knowledge to the global arena has allowed scholars in this area to play a leading role in developing the knowledge‐based view (KBV) of the firm. We propose that broadening the KBV to take account of the social constructionist approach to knowledge and the multilevel nature of knowledge processes, can build a more serviceable knowledge‐based theory of global strategy. Specifically, we urge research in three directions, the exploration of a KBV of economic organization in a global context, which would encompass macro institutions as well as individuals; focus on the foundational construct of knowledge that would integrate human and machine learning in the global arena; and the creation of a comprehensive framework of knowledge types and knowledge processes across space.
Managerial Summary
Lack of consensus over the nature of knowledge has prevented the KBV from developing into an integrated, stand‐alone theory of the MNE, but has not constrained its ability to provide penetrating insights into global strategy and the management of the MNE. Empirical research shows that the processes through which knowledge is generated and applied in the global arena are complex and contextually differentiated. To extend and synthesize our understanding of these complex processes, we propose the development of a knowledge based theory of global strategy. We advocate extending the KBV in three areas, first, consideration of a KBV of organization in a global context that extends beyond the MNE to consider institutions and individuals, second, a focus on knowledge as a key construct to incorporate recent technological advances in artificial intelligence and machine learning, and third, development of a framework of types and processes of knowledge that have implications for management across locations.
The Knowledge Transfer (KT) for higher education institutions (HEIs) is boundless. Still and all, the members of the staff affiliated with these institutions do recognize an array of hitches in relation to KT practices. The study in question underscores social interactions, training, and Information and Communication Technology (ICT) as the primary barriers and treats them as the independent variables of the study. The study posits that inadequate management of the above-mentioned barriers would impact effective KT unfavorably. Besides, putting forth some striking solutions needed to fix the obstructions that hamper the adequate management of the KT exercises is another aim of the study. For data collection purposes, the study picks out higher education institutions (public) of the Quetta district. The reckoned sample size is 317 subjects. The research type that has been used is cross-sectional research and, in this context, the cross-sectional explanatory sequential design has been used. Concerning the findings of the paper, the results of PLS-SEM show positive and significant relationships of social interaction and training with knowledge transfer, while ICT shows an insignificant positive relationship with the knowledge transfer. The most influencing factor for the knowledge transfer is social interaction as suggested by social interaction theory.
Research Summary
We investigate how international diversity in Top Management Teams (TMTs) contributes to the effectiveness of geographically dispersed R&D strategies in enhancing innovation performance. Both international work experience and nationality diversity may enhance the effectiveness of geographically dispersed R&D when there is alignment between the countries of work experience and nationality of TMT members, on the one hand, and firms' R&D locations on the other. This influence is stronger for international work experience diversity than for nationality diversity, as the former provides more task‐related knowledge to coordinate R&D activities and is less associated with the risk of social categorization. We find partial support for these notions in a panel analysis of the innovation performance of 165 leading MNCs based in Europe, Japan, and the United States.
Managerial Summary
The international experience and nationality diversity of members of the Top Management Team (TMT) of multinational firms may facilitate the implementation of international R&D strategies. If TMT members have knowledge of local circumstances and social networks in the countries in which the firm has international R&D facilities, this can enhance the TMT's ability to allocate and coordinate international R&D tasks more effectively, and to foster firm‐wide collaboration and knowledge integration. Hence, the alignment between R&D locations and the international diversity of the TMT may improve the performance effects of international R&D strategies. We find partial support for this conjecture in an analysis of the patent performance of 165 leading MNCs. It is international work experience rather than nationality diversity that brings these performance benefits.
This essay presents the foundation for a group and team development model from a constructivist perspective. This model elevates Kegan’s (1994) meaning-making theory to the meso level. Meaning-making involves not only the cognitive structure necessary to interpret the environment, but also encompasses inter- and intra-personal understanding, which, at the team level, is a social process that changes based on the members of the team. Several propositions are stated for further study.
Organizational adaptation is equivocal. On the one hand, the concept is ubiquitous in management research and acts as the glue binding together the central issues of organizational change, performance, and survival. On the other hand, it lurks around in various guises (e.g., “fit,” “alignment,” “congruence,” and “strategic change”) studied from multiple theoretical streams (e.g., behavioral, resource-based, and institutional), and at different levels of analysis (e.g., organization- and industry-level). In a novel approach to reviewing 443 adaptation articles that leverages both computational and hand-coded analysis, we produce an interactive visual of the themes most studied by adaptation scholars. We inductively draw out a definition of adaptation as intentional decision-making undertaken by organizational members, leading to observable actions that aim to reduce the distance between an organization and its economic and institutional environments. We then review the literature across three main areas of inquiry and six theoretical perspectives that surfaced from our analysis and identify eleven difficulties that have hampered adaptation research in the past 50 years. Our review suggests ways to address these difficulties to enable future research to develop and cumulate.
A model for explaining structural variations between work units within the complex organization is presented. Based upon an analysis of the impact of task difficulty and task variability on intraorganizational structure, a taxonomy of alternative work-unit structures is derived. The taxonomy suggests that work units within a complex organization can be classified into three basic structural modes: (1) a systematized mode, (2) a service mode, and (3) a group mode; with variations in each mode. However, the structural distinction between modes is one of kind or "type," while the distinctions within modes is one of degree. Data on 120 work units within a large government employment-security agency are presented. Empirical support was found for the taxonomy. The work units sampled at six different levels of structure did discriminate empirically on the bases of task difficulty and variability using a fixed-effects model, and were shown to fit in different cells of the taxonomy as predicted.
We build on an emerging strategy literature that views the firm as a bundle of resources and capabilities, and examine conditions that contribute to the realization of sustainable economic rents. Because of (1) resource-market imperfections and (2) discretionary managerial decisions about resource development and deployment, we expect firms to differ (in and out of equilibrium) in the resources and capabilities they control. This asymmetry in turn can be a source of sustainable economic rent. The paper focuses on the linkages between the industry analysis framework, the resource-based view of the firm, behavioral decision biases and organizational implementation issues. It connects the concept of Strategic Industry Factors at the market level with the notion of Strategic Assets at the firm level. Organizational rent is shown to stem from imperfect and discretionary decisions to develop and deploy selected resources and capabilities, made by boundedly rational managers facing high uncertainty, complexity, and intrafirm conflict.
Concepts of uncertainty and information processing are used to integrate the diverse organization design/structure literatures. This approach more fully explicates the concept of congruence which lies at the heart of contingency ideas. The review suggests a contingency approach to design which develops a feasible set of structural alternatives from which the organization can choose.
Unstable market conditions caused by innovation and increasing intensity and diversity of competition have resulted in organizational capabilities rather than served markets becoming the primary basis upon which firms establish their long-term strategies. If the strategically most important resource of the firm is knowledge, and if knowledge resides in specialized form among individual organizational members, then the essence of organizational capability is the integration of individuals' specialized knowledge.
This paper develops a knowledge-based theory of organizational capability and draws upon research into competitive dynamics, the resource-based view of the firm, organizational capabilities, and organizational learning. Central to the theory is analysis of the mechanisms through which knowledge is integrated within firms in order to create capability. The theory is used to explore firms' potential for establishing competitive advantage in dynamic market settings, including the role of firm networks under conditions of unstable linkages between knowledge inputs and product outputs. The analysis points to the difficulties in creating the “dynamic” and “flexible-response capabilities” which have been deemed critical to success in hypercompetitive markets.
Knowledge is too problematic a concept to make the task of building a dynamic knowledge-based theory of the firm easy. We must also distinguish the theory from the resource-based and evolutionary views. The paper begins with a multitype epistemology which admits both the pre- and subconscious modes of human knowing and, reframing the concept of the cognizing individual, the collective knowledge of social groups. While both Nelson and Winter, and Nonaka and Takeuchi, successfully sketch theories of the dynamic interactions of these types of organizational knowledge, neither indicates how they are to be contained. Callon and Latour suggest knowledge itself is dynamic and contained within actor networks, so moving us from knowledge as a resource toward knowledge as a process. To simplify this approach, we revisit sociotechnical systems theory, adopt three heuristics from the social constructionist literature, and make a distinction between the systemic and component attributes of the actor network. The result is a very different mode of theorizing, less an objective statement about the nature of firms ‘out there’ than a tool to help managers discover their place in the firm as a dynamic knowledge-based activity system.
This paper answers the question, "Why do organizations process information?" Uncertainty and equivocality are defined as two forces that influence information processing in organizations. Organization structure and internal systems determine both the amount and richness of information provided to managers. Models are proposed that show how organizations can be designed to meet the information needs of technology, interdepartmental relations, and the environment. One implication for managers is that a major problem is lack of clarity, not lack of data. The models indicate how organizations can be designed to provide information mechanisms to both reduce uncertainty and resolve equivocality.
How should a multinational firm introduce a new product into its global markets? Should it first attack and conquer the domestic market before moving into overseas markets or should it plan for a global attack by launching the product in all its global markets simultaneously? Using innovation diffusion models in a monopoly and a competitive game theory framework, this paper analytically examines waterfall (where the markets are entered sequentially) and sprinkler (where markets are entered simultaneously) strategies. Optimal conditions for the implementation of these two strategies are derived. The results generally suggest that the current nature of global competition requires a multinational firm to follow the sprinkler strategy in introducing a new product to its global markets.
The authors address a key controversy in the marketing literature about the suitability of global standardization. An empirical investigation of the differences between firms that emphasize global standardization and others that use less standardization was conducted within the global industry context. The results indicate that market coverage and capacity utilization are important considerations for firms emphasizing global standardization. Emphasis on specialty products and the development of high priced products for market niches are also of some importance to these firms. However, in the critical area of performance, no difference is observed between firms stressing global standardization and others.
Understanding sources of sustained competitive advantage has become a major area of research in strategic management. Building on the assumptions that strategic resources are heterogeneously distributed across firms and that these differences are stable over time, this article examines the link between firm resources and sustained competitive advantage. Four empirical indicators of the potential of firm resources to generate sustained competitive advantage-value, rareness, imitability, and substitutability are discussed. The model is applied by analyzing the potential of several firm resources for generating sustained competitive advantages. The article concludes by examining implications of this firm resource model of sustained competitive advantage for other business disciplines.
Unstable market conditions caused by innovation and increasing intensity and diversity of competition have resulted in organizational capabilities rather than served markets becoming the primary basis upon which firms establish their long-term strategies. If the strategically most important resource of the firm is knowledge, and if knowledge resides in specialized form among individual organizational members, then the essence of organizational capability is the integration of individuals' specialized knowledge. This paper develops a knowledge-based theory of organizational capability, and draws upon research into competitive dynamics, the resource-based view of the firm, organizational capabilities, and organizational learning. Central to the theory is analysis of the mechanisms through which knowledge is integrated within firms in order to create capability. The theory is used to explore firms' potential for establishing competitive advantage in dynamic market settings, including the role of firm networks under conditions of unstable linkages between knowledge inputs and product outputs. The analysis points to the difficulties in creating the "dynamic" and "flexible-response capabilities" which have been deemed critical to success in hypercompetitive markets.
This article proposes a framework for conceptualizing global multimarket rivalry. The basic premise is that global competition can best be understood through studying the competitive engagements across national markets contested by rivals. The paper suggests a set of strategic, organizational, market, and cultural variables that can explain cross-border competitive engagement
Strategic management researchers have emphasized concept development but generally have ignored construct measurement issues. Because a strong linkage between concepts and their measures enhances theory development, it is necessary to validate strategy measures systematically. In this vein, this paper (a) critically reviews the state of construct measurement in organizational strategy research; (b) develops a set of key criteria specifically for strategy measurement; and (c) proposes some recommendations for integrating strategy concepts with their measures.
Two aspects of international marketing strategy standardization are process and program standardization. A framework for determining marketing program standardization is introduced. Factors affecting program standardization are examined critically. In an attempt to establish a research agenda on the standardization issue, the author develops research propositions for each factor.
The authors address a key controversy in the marketing literature about the suitability of global standardization. An empirical investigation of the differences between firms that emphasize global standardization and others that use less standardization was conducted within the global industry context. The results indicate that market coverage and capacity utilization are important considerations for firms emphasizing global standardization. Emphasis on specialty products and the development of high priced products for market niches are also of some importance to these firms. However, in the critical area of performance, no difference is observed between firms stressing global standardization and others.
This study examines the processes and routines firms employ for developing new global products. Observations from 13 Japanese, American and European multinational companies reveal that global new product development processes vary in terms of the involvement of overseas subsidiaries in project teams and the generation of new product concepts. In particular, when the knowledge about different product design requirements among overseas markets or plants is tacit, firms employ cross-national product development teams and use overseas subsidiaries as sources of new product concepts. Anchoring these findings on information processing theory, we develop a set of research propositions on global new product development processes and suggest directions for future research.
Because new product development (NPD) teams are engaged in knowledge creation, NPD management should emphasize cognitive team processes rather than purely social processes. Using the notions of tacit knowledge and distributed cognition as a basis, the authors propose that the T-shaped skills, shared mental models, and NPD routines of team members, as well as the A-shaped skills of the team leader, are key design variables when creating NPD teams. The authors propose that trust in team orientation, trust in technical competence, information redundancy, and rich personal interaction are important process variables for the effective and efficient creation of new knowledge.
Ikujiro Nonaka e Hirotaka Takeuchi establecen una vinculación del desempeño de las empresas japonesas con su capacidad para crear conocimiento y emplearlo en la producción de productos y tecnologías exitosas en el mercado. Los autores explican que hay dos tipos de conocimiento: el explícito, contenido en manuales y procedimientos, y el tácito, aprendido mediante la experiencia y comunicado, de manera indirecta, en forma de metáforas y analogías. Mientras los administradores estadounidenses se concentran en el conocimiento explícito, los japoneses lo hacen en el tácito y la clave de su éxito estriba en que han aprendido a convertir el conocimiento tácito en explícito. Finalmente, muestran que el mejor estilo administrativo para crear conocimiento es el que ellos denominan centro-arriba-abajo, en el que los gerentes de niveles intermedios son un puente entre los ideales de la alta dirección y la realidad caótica de los niveles inferiores.
This paper addresses issues of global innovation in multinational corporations by examining the patterns of communication and control in international R&D operations. Using a sample of 110 international R&D units from 15 multinational corporations, we identify three types of R&D unit role (local adaptor, international adaptor, international creator). We show that: (1) each type of R&D unit is managed primarily through a different mode of control; (2) local and international adaptors both focus their communication on their internal corporate network; and (3) international creators have strong internally and externally oriented networks of relationships. The implications for the management of global innovation are discussed. © 1998 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
This paper contributes to the research on the relationship of subunit work characteristics to subunit structure and performance. Information-processing ideas are used to develop a set of hypotheses to test a contingency approach to subunit structure directly; whether high-performing subunits with different information-processing requirements have systematically different degrees of communication structure. Results indicate that task characteristics, environment, and interdependence each have an important impact on subunit communication structure, and that these effects are accentuated for high-performing subunits. This research supports the idea that there is no one best way of structuring subunit communication. Rather, for high-performing subunits, communication structure is contingent on the subunit's work.
Since firms are knowledge institutions, or well-springs of knowledge, they compete on the basis of creating and using knowledge; managing a firm's knowledge assets is as important as managing its finances. A firm's expertise is acquired by employees and embodied in machines, software, and institutional procedures. Management of its core or strategic capabilities determines a firm's competitiveness and survival. Through decision-making and action, core technological capabilities can be built and changed. The author proposes to (1) help managers think about the knowledge-building consequences of their technology-related decisions and (2) provide academics materials usable in training managers to think about knowledge building. All aspects of product or process development must be viewed in terms of knowledge management and growth. Knowledge cannot be managed the same as tangible assets; to manage knowledge assets, one must understand them. Successful adaptation is an incremental re-direction of skills and knowledge. A set of four core technological competencies bestows competitive advantage on firms; these are the firm's skill and knowledge bases, physical technical systems, managerial systems, and values and norms that create a firm's special advantage. These may reside at any line-of-business level. Core capabilities must be managed to foster, not inhibit flow of critical knowledge. There is a dilemma: core capabilities are also core rigidities when carried to an extreme or when the competitive environment changes. Limited problem solving, inability to innovate, limited experimentation, and screening out new knowledge can undermine the development of competencies. Four key activities create and sustain flows of knowledge and direct them into core capabilities: (1) Integrated, shared creative problem solving across cognitive and functional barriers - shared problem solving achieves new level of creativity when managed for "creative abrasion." (2) Implementation and integration of new internally generated methodologies and technical processes and tools. These can move beyond merely increasing efficiency when managed for learning. (3) Formal and informal experimentation. Experimental activities create new core competencies that move companies purposefully forward and are guards against rigidity. (4) Importing and absorbing technological knowledge expertise from outside the firm. Technology alliances, for example, develop outwise wellsprings of knowledge (identify, access, use, and manage knowledge from external sources). Well managed, these enable companies to tap knowledge wellsprings consistently and continuously. Many dysfunctional attitudes and behaviors within firms inhibit these activities. These activities are oriented to present, internal, future, and external domains, and involve managers at all company levels and all functions. Specific managerial behaviors that build (or undermine) capabilities are identified. Managers must design an environment that encourages enactments of these four activities to create an organization that learns. Thereby, organizations and managers can create an atmosphere for continuous renewal; application to commercial ends is as important as managing it internally. The growth and nurturing of core capabilities (expressed in successful product development) requires learning from the market (understanding user needs), or feeding market information into new-product development. Identifying new product opportunities depends on empathic design, actual observed customer behavior, and technological capabilities. Technology transfer can also be understood as transferring technological capabilities to a new site, which is examined at four levels (assembly or turnkey, adaptation and localization, system, redesign, product design). Transfer of production development capability is illustrated with the cas
Now nearing its 60th printing in English and translated into nineteen languages, Michael E. Porter's Competitive Strategy has transformed the theory, practice, and teaching of business strategy throughout the world. Electrifying in its simplicity -- like all great breakthroughs -- Porter's analysis of industries captures the complexity of industry competition in five underlying forces. Porter introduces one of the most powerful competitive tools yet developed: his three generic strategies -- lowest cost, differentiation, and focus -- which bring structure to the task of strategic positioning. He shows how competitive advantage can be defined in terms of relative cost and relative prices, thus linking it directly to profitability, and presents a whole new perspective on how profit is created and divided. In the almost two decades since publication, Porter's framework for predicting competitor behavior has transformed the way in which companies look at their rivals and has given rise to the new discipline of competitor assessment.
More than a million managers in both large and small companies, investment analysts, consultants, students, and scholars throughout the world have internalized Porter's ideas and applied them to assess industries, understand competitors,, and choose competitive positions. The ideas in the book address the underlying fundamentals of competition in a way that is independent of the specifics of the ways companies go about competing.
Competitive Strategy has filled a void in management thinking. It provides an enduring foundation and grounding point on which all subsequent work can be built. By bringing a disciplined structure to the question of how firms achieve superior profitability, Porter's rich frameworks and deep insights comprise a sophisticated view of competition unsurpassed in the last quarter-century.
Book Description
Publication Date: June 1, 1998 | ISBN-10: 0684841487 | ISBN-13: 978-0684841489 | Edition: 1
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This paper proposes a multiple-contingencies theory that simultaneously examines the effects of task and dependence on unit design and efficiency. The theory explores and predicts the conditions under which work-unit designs fail to fit their contexts. Findings from studies of one contingency factor (e.g., uncertainty or dependence) have shown that poor performance by units is related to a lack of fit with theoretically prescribed patterns of design, but because such studies do not do justice to the complexities of design, it is difficult to predict misfit. The multiple-contingency approach proposed here specifically focuses on issues such as misfit, conflicting contingencies, and equifinality. The model is tested, using data from 529 work units in 60 employment-security offices. A key finding is that units facing conflicting contingencies are more prone to design misfit and lower performance.
This paper argues that information processing in organizations is influenced by two forces--equivocality and uncertainty. Equivocality is reduced through the use of rich media and the enactment of a shared interpretation among managers (Weick, 1979). Uncertainty is reduced by acquiring and processing additional data (Galbraith, 1973; Tushman and Nadler, 1978). Elements of organization structure vary in their capacity to reduce equivocality versus uncertainty. Models are proposed that link structural characteristics to the level of equivocality and uncertainty that arise from organizational technology, interdepartmental relationships, and the environment.
communication is generally understood to require a foundation of knowledge and terminology that participants take to be shared—that is assumed by each participant to be known by each of the other participants / focus on the question of how communicators construct such common frameworks
contend that communicators are seldom able to define their shared communicative environment with anything approaching certainty / as a result, such constructions are of necessity tentative and probabilistic, resembling hypotheses that participants continuously modify and reformulate on the basis of additional evidence
sources of information for common ground hypotheses [prior beliefs and expectations about others, interactional dynamics, suppositions about others] / social categories and knowledge judgments (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2012 APA, all rights reserved)
Thomas A. Stewart is a member of the board of editors of FORTUNE magazine and has authored several articles on the subject of intellectual capital.
This paper explores the impact on sales growth of different product development strategies, especially an approach that focuses on the coordination of multiple projects that overlap in time and share critical components. The data for our analysis comes from the automobile industry, although the principles we discuss should apply to any industry where firms compete with multiple product lines and where the sharing of components among more than one distinct product is both possible and desirable. Some firms compete by trying to develop ‘hit’ products in isolation, with little or no reuse of components or coordination with other products. Another way to compete is to leverage a firm’s investment in new technologies across as many new products as possible as quickly as possible, while the technologies are still relatively new. This paper proposes a typology that captures this effect by categorizing product development strategies into four types: new design, rapid (or concurrent) design transfer, sequential design transfer, and design modification. An analysis of 210 projects from the automobile industry between 1980 and 1991 indicates that firms utilizing the rapid design transfer strategy—quickly leveraging new platform components across multiple projects–increased sales more than when they or their competitors did not use this strategy. The study’s results suggest that not only the sharing of technology among multiple projects but also the speed of technology leveraging are important to sales growth. © 1997 by John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
Global strategy has recently emerged as a popular concept among managers of multinational corporations as well as among researchers and students in the field of international management. This paper presents a conceptual framework encompassing a range of different issues relevant to global strategies. The framework provides a basis for organizing existing literature on the topic and for creating a map of the field. Such a map can be useful for teaching and also for guiding future research in this area. The article, however, is primarily directed at managers of multinational corporations, and is aimed at providing them with a basis for relating and synthesizing the different perspectives and prescriptions that are currently available for global strategic management.
This paper elaborates and provides empirical support for two different approaches to managing the nexus of headquarters subsidiary relations in a multinational corporation (MNC). The first approach is that of Differentiated Fit. We show that the extent to which an MNC differentiates the formal structure of its headquarters subsidiary relations to fit the contexts of its various subsidiaries, the better the performance of the MNC as a whole. The second approach is that of Shared Values. We show that a high degree of shared values among the headquarters and subsidiaries is another approach to governing headquarterssubsidiary relation that enhances the performance of the MNC. We further maintain that differentiated fit and shared values, while being alternatives, are not mutually exclusive ways of effectively managing headquarters subsidiary relations. Indeed, MNCs that can simultaneously implement these two approaches have the best relative performance.
Incremental product innovation is a critically important competitive factor in established industries. Firms in the cardiac pacemaker industry often benefit by bringing incremental innovations to market even though the new products may cannibalize the sales of existing profitable products. The more often an industry incumbent was among the first to introduce important incremental product innovations the greater its market share in the industry, while adopting innovations that had been introduced by competitors had a small positive relationship with greater market share. The greater the number of competitors that introduced similar products, the greater the market share of firms that were first to market. Greater market share, in turn, reduced the likelihood of business dissolution, while introducing important incremental innovations provided little or no reduction in the likelihood of business dissolution net of the effects of the market share that the firm achieved. The results apply most directly to industries in which buyers incur moderate switching costs.
The original edition of this book summarized more than a decade of work on communications flow in science and engineering organizations, showing how human and organizational systems could be restructured to bring about improved productivity and better person-to-person contact. While many studies have been done since then, few of them invalidate the general conclusions and recommendations Allen offers. In a new preface he points out - new developments, noting areas that need some modification, elaboration, or extension, and directing readers to the appropriate journal articles where the findings, are reported. The first three chapters provide an overview of the communication system in technology, present the author's research methods, and describe differences in the career paths and goals of engineers and scientists that cause special problems for organizations. The book then discusses how technological information is acquired by the R & D organization, shows how critical technical communication within the laboratory is for R & D performance, and originates the idea of the "gatekeeper," the person who links his or her organization to the world at large. Concluding chapters take up the influence of formal and informal organization and of architecture and office layouts on communication. Many of these ideas have been successfully incorporated by architects and managers in the design of new R & D facilities and complexes.
In this paper we investigate some of the organizational factors that influence subsidiary-headquarters and intersubsidiary communication in multinational companies. Our study is based on data collected from 164 senior managers working in 14 different national subsidiaries within the consumer electronics division of Matsushita, a Japanese company, and 84 senior managers working in nine different national subsidiaries within the same business of N.V. Philips, the Holland-based competitor of Matsushita. We show that while subsidiary autonomy has no discernable influence on interunit communication, interpersonal relationships developed through lateral networking mechanisms such as joint work in teams, taskforces, and meetings have significant positive effects on the frequency of both subsidiary-headquarters and intersubsidiary communication. The findings are consistent in the two companies, one Japanese and the other European, and the underlying theoretical propositions appear applicable across borders.
Given incomplete factor markets, appropriate time paths of flow variables must be chosen to build required stocks of assets. That is, critical resources are accumulated rather than acquired in "strategic factor markets" (Barney [Barney, J. 1986. Strategic factor markets: Expectations, luck, and business strategy. Management Sci. (October) 1231--1241.]). Sustainability of a firm's asset position hinges on how easily assets can be substituted or imitated. Imitability is linked to the characteristics of the asset accumulation process: time compression diseconomies, asset mass efficiencies, inter-connectedness, asset erosion and causal ambiguity.
Recent studies on cross-national diffusion have observed that when a new product innovation is introduced early in one country
(the lead country) and with a time lag in subsequent countries (the lag countries), the consumers in the lag countries learn
about the product from the lead country adopters, resulting in a faster diffusion rate in the lag countries. This study attempts
to examine the relationship between lead and lag countries and to systematically capture thelearning effect that takes place between the two social systems. In particular, this research examines the diffusion of retail point-of-sale
scanners in countries that belong to the European Union, the United States, and Japan. It offers interesting insights for
formulating efficient international marketing strategies.