Showing papers by "IE University published in 2004"

Strategic Planning as an Integrative Device

Abstract: While alleviating the adverse effects of employees’ pursuit of their subgroups’ goals over organizational goals is important, finding ways to avoid them may be even more important. In this paper, we investigate whether strategic planning can be used to reduce organizational members’ position bias, or the extent to which they direct their attention toward the immediate goals and priorities attached to their position. We examine the hypothesis that involving employees in the strategic planning process and communicating the agreed-upon priorities to them afterwards enhance goal convergence by attenuating position bias. We examine these questions in a sample of 164 manufacturing plants from five countries and three industries, where we asked middle-level managers to assess the importance of various organizational goals. We find that participation and communication function as complements to jointly reduce managerial position bias.

Integration Strategies and Tactics for Information Technology Governance

Abstract: Amidst the challenges and changes of the 21 century, involving hyper-competitive market spaces, electronically-enabled global network businesses, and corporate governance reform, IT Governance has become a fundamental business imperative. IT Governance is a top management priority, and rightfully so, because it is the single most important determinant of IT value realization. IT Governance is the system by which an organization’s IT portfolio is directed and controlled. IT Governance describes (a) the distribution of IT decision-making rights and responsibilities among different stakeholders in the organization, and (b) the rules and procedures for making and monitoring decisions on strategic IT concerns. The objective of this chapter is threefold. First of all, to describe past developments and current challenges complex organizations are facing in governing the IT portfolio of IT applications, IT development, IT operations and IT platforms. Based upon the lessons we’ve learned from the past, one of the key objectives is to move beyond ‘descriptives’, and discuss how organizations can diagnose and design IT Governance architectures for future performance improvement and sustained business growth. The final objective of this chapter is to provide a thorough understanding and holistic picture of effective IT Governance practices, and present a new organizing logic for IT Governance. This chapter appears in the book, Strategies for Information Technology Governance, edited by Wim Van Grembergen. Copyright © 2004, Idea Group Inc. Copying or distributing in print or electronic forms without written permission of Idea Group Inc. is prohibited. 701 E. Chocolate Avenue, Suite 200, Hershey PA 17033-1240, USA Tel: 717/533-8845; Fax 717/533-8661; URL-http://www.idea-group.com IDEA GROUP PUBLISHING

Supply-chain configurations for mass customization

Abstract: Much of the research on mass customization strategy implementation reflects a functional focus, considering product design, marketing, manufacturing or sourcing, individually. This paper takes a step towards integrating these perspectives into a more systemic view of mass customization strategy implementation. More precisely, the paper explores how a firm's supply chain – meant as the whole of its supply, manufacturing and distribution networks – should be configured when different degrees of customization are offered. The empirical research consists of a multiple case study including firms in the telecommunications, transportation vehicles and food processing equipment industries. Case analyses highlighted that the degrees of freedom customers have in specifying product features, heavily affects the supply-chain configuration, as well as product architecture and, ultimately, firm performances. Our findings further show that two peculiar supply-chain configurations can be identified, each one suggesting a...

Accounting history research and its diffusion in an international context

Abstract: This paper examines patterns of dissemination in accounting history research. Empirical evidence supporting this investigation was gathered from: (i) all accounting history articles published in th...

Hierarchies, Specialization, and the Utilization of Knowledge: Theory and Evidence from the Legal Services Industry

Abstract: What role do hierarchies play with respect to the organization of production and what determines their structure? We develop an equilibrium model of hierarchical organization, then provide empirical evidence using confidential data on thousands of law offices from the 1992 Census of Services. The driving force in the model is increasing returns in the utilization of acquired knowledge. We show how the equilibrium assignment of individuals to hierarchical positions varies with the degree to which their human capital is field-specialized, then show how this equilibrium changes with the extent of the market. We find empirical evidence consistent with a central proposition of the model: the share of lawyers that work in hierarchies and the ratio of associates to partners increases as market size increases and lawyers field-specialize. Other results provide evidence against alternative interpretations that emphasize unobserved differences in the distribution of demand or firm size effects, and lend additional support to the view that a role hierarchies play in legal services is to help exploit increasing returns associated with the utilization of human capital.

The Achilles Heel of Firm Strategy: Resource Weaknesses and Distinctive Inadequacies

Abstract: Two separately developed views within the strategic management literature elucidate the source of a firm's competitive advantage based on the internal attributes of the firm: the resource-based view (Wernerfelt, 1984) and the distinctive competence view (Selznick, 1957). As developed in the literature, however, both views neglect important dimensions which inhibit the achievement of competitive advantage. These dimensions are resource weaknesses and distinctive inadequacies. Accounting for weaknesses and inadequacies exposes important choice-sets confronting management in making resource investments, and of time-related dimensions in developing sustainable advantage. Considering the effects of weaknesses and inadequacies provides insight on the limits to firm growth and to sustainability of competitive advantage. Theory on developing competitive advantage may lack explanatory and predictive power if it excludes these perspectives, which if included may also improve prescription for practitioners.

Enacting Competitive Wars: Competitive Activity, Language Games, and Market Consequences

Abstract: Research in industrial/organization economics and strategic management defines “competitive wars” as periods of intensified competitive activity, which tend to have negative performance consequences for the warring firms. Drawing on Wittgenstein's concept of “language games,” we develop a model of competitive wars as a sociolinguistic process enacted through strategic actions, linguistic practices, and shifts in resource allocations. The model suggests that the war language game increases stakeholder involvement and enables the warring firms, oftentimes, to improve performance.

Organizational forgetting as strategy

Abstract: After decades of research, the link between organizational learning and competitive advantage is clear: firms that are better at learning are better positioned to take advantage of emerging opportunities and deal with emerging threats, especially ones that require significant organizational change. Firms that are better able to create new knowledge, ‘learning organizations’, are able to innovate more effectively and adapt to changing environmental conditions more quickly and efficiently, gaining competitive advantage over firms that cannot. Research on the nature of organizational knowledge, the processes that support learning and the barriers that prevent it and the functioning of organizational memory systems has all accumulated rapidly. The result is a well-developed perspective on the management of knowledge that provides an effective framework for research and a useful guide for management practice. We find the progress made in understanding organizational knowledge and organizational learning impressive and the resulting framework useful and convincing. At the same time, based on the results of our research into the knowledge dynamics of international joint ventures (Martin de Holan and Phillips, 2003; Martin de Holan and Phillips, in press; Martin de Holan et al., 2004),1 we believe that one important dimension of knowledge in organizations deserves much more attention: the dynamics of organizational forgetting. We are convinced that competitiveness is not just about learning; it is also about forgetting the right things at the right times. Deeply entrenched stocks of knowledge can act as barriers to new learning, or even to the recognition of the opportunity to innovate a new product, service or business model. Unneeded stocks of knowledge require expensive management and can consume critical management attention, leading to a loss of competitiveness. Increasing numbers of collaborations mean increasing opportunities to pick up bad habits from partners that must be forgotten quickly before they adversely affect competitiveness. Furthermore, firms can overlearn from bad experiences, leading to organizational dysfunction, loss of competitiveness and a critical need to forget. We believe that managers must become as skilled at managing forgetting as they have become at managing learning and, we will argue here, management STRATEGIC ORGANIZATION Vol 2(4): 423–433 DOI: 10.1177/1476127004047620 Copyright ©2004 Sage Publications (London,Thousand Oaks, CA and New Delhi) www.sagepublications.com

The Harvard Business School Story: Avoiding Knowledge by Being Relevant

Abstract: Almost a hundred years after its foundation, the Harvard Business School (HBS) continues to represent the epitome of general management knowledge. As an academic organization, it is both idiosyncratic and conventional; as an institution, it is admired for its position, longevity and power. This paper investigates institutional mechanisms that have allowed HBS to organize around a particular set of values and beliefs, which may account for its privileged standing. We argue that a complex institution like Harvard is mirrored somewhat in the written text it produces, the case and the case method, which can be deconstructed by “reading” the resulting predicaments in sustaining such a model of knowledge. What is produced at the HBS is specific to its own organizational structure but intrinsically linked through the notion of relevance to three business ideologies: managerialism, institutionalism and American capitalism. The case method as organizational artifact and methodological tool provides a basis for und...

Dividend Policy of German Firms

Abstract: German firms pay out a lower proportion of their cash flows than UK and US firms. However, on a published profits basis, the pattern is reversed.Company law provisions and accounting policies account for these conflicting results. A partial adjustment model is used to estimate the implicit target payout ratio and the speed of adjustment of dividends towards a long run target payout ratio. We find that German firms do not base their dividend decisions on published earnings, but on cash flows. The reasons for the use of a cash flow-based payout policy are: (i) published earnings figures do not correctly reflect corporate performance as German firms tend to retain a significant part of their earnings to build up legal reserves, (ii) the conservative nature of German accounting policies, (iii) published earnings are subject to a higher degree of smoothing than cash flows. Regarding the speed of adjustment of dividends towards the long term target payout ratio, UK and US companies only slowly adjust their dividend policy whereas German are more willing to cut the dividend in the wake of a temporary decrease in profitability. This causes a higher degree of 'discreteness' in the dividends - pershare time series as opposed to the 'smoothness' (i.e., frequent annual small adjustments in the dividend per share) observed in the US and the UK.

Career Priorities Within Dual Career Households: An Analysis of the Impact of Child Rearing Upon Gender Participation Rates and Earnings

Abstract: The impact of child rearing upon male and female participation rates and earnings within 130 dual career households is investigated. Female participation rates and earnings in households with children are significantly lower than both comparable males and females without children. No significant gender differences exist in pay in childless households.

The Fallacy of 'Only the Strong Survive': The Effects of Extrinsic Motivation on the Persistence Decisions of Underperforming Firms

Abstract: According to economic theory, under-performing firms should be selected out of the market. However, research shows that these firms persist, often for long periods of time. In this article we explore the non-firm-performance factors that contribute to the decision to persist with an under-performing firm. Using the escalation of commitment literature we identify seven variables that are associated with the persistence decision: Personal sunk costs, personal opportunities, previous organizational success, perceived collective efficacy, environmental complexity, dynamism and munificence. We reconcile the economic and psychological views by finding that the extent to which some of these non-firm-performance factors influence the persistence decision is, in part, dependent upon the owner-managers' level of extrinsic motivation.

Management as Life’s Essence: 30 Years of the Nature of Managerial Work

Abstract: Thirty years ago, Henry Mintzberg published his book The Nature of Managerial Work(1973). By observing how managers perform their everyday tasks and by categorizing what they do, this celebrated book contributed to advancing our understanding of how organizations work, how strategies develop and how they are applied by organizations. In this interview, conducted after a symposium at the 2003 Academy of Management meetings in Seattle, I asked Henry Mintzberg to revisit his work, to reflect on its success and to discuss his current views on management.

The Double Punch of Law and Technology: Fighting Music Piracy or Remaking Copyright in a Digital Age?

Abstract: The battle between the recording industry and those illegal sharing music over the Internet has gripped headlines over the last few years like few others related to the digital age. At its core, it is a battle about the meaning of property and thus a battle over the heart of the emerging information economy. This article critically examines the double punch of law and technology – the simultaneous and interwoven deployment of legal and electronic measures to protect digital content – and asks whether it is merely a defense strategy against piracy, as the industry asserts, or rather an attempt to fundamentally redefine the producer-consumer relationship. Based on some initial evidence for the latter proposition, the article analyzes reasons for concern, outlines the current politics of copyright policymaking that have given producers the upper hand, and sketches elements of a strategy to fight music piracy that does not infringe on basic consumer rights.

Journeys to the Self: Using Movie Directors in the Classroom.

Abstract: This article suggests that temporary (project based) filmmaking organizations, and film directors as their leaders, lend themselves to examining a plethora of leadership issues, from social sources of power to competencies in network organizations. It advances for classroom discussion and teaching the cases of Almodovar and Coppola as examples of idiosyncratic filmmakers in a “subsidy-trapped,” craft like European cinema versus a gross and agent-driven Hollywood studio system. The article concludes with a discussion of the journey metaphor as a unique opportunity to look at the philosophical problem of the meaning of life and the achievement of consistency and continuity in one’s trajectory.

Mismatch between entrepreneurs and their firms: the role of cognitive fit / misfit

Abstract: This paper examines the relationship between cognitive fit/misfit, and burnout, satisfaction, and intentions to exit the firm in entrepreneurs Given the disordinal (crossed) nature of the significant interactions, the results indicate when cognitive misfit in entrepreneurs (based on their dominant decision-making approach) is more likely lead them to experience negative outcomes, given the nature and degree of firm structure This study contributes by extending the P erson-Organization fit approach beyond employees to entrepreneurs and by providing researchers with means of placing the individual entrepreneur and his/her psychological make up back into the entrepreneurship equation without the pitfalls and the limitations associated with many of the past psychological (trait) studies

Remembrance of Things Past? The Dynamics of Organizational Forgetting

Abstract: How organizations create, transfer, and retain knowledge has been the focus of intensive investigation by management researchers. However, one aspect of the dynamics of knowledge - organizational forgetting - has received comparatively little attention. In this article, we draw on an exploratory, multiple case study of learning in international strategic alliances to explore how and why organizations forget. Based on a multiple case study, we develop a theory of organizational forgetting, discuss the role of forgetting in the dynamics of organizational knowledge, and present a typology of types of organizational forgetting.

Disclosure Interactions: Accounting Policy Choice and Voluntary Disclosure Effects on the Cost of Raising Outside Capital

Abstract: In this research we consider how disclosure of accounting policy interacts with subsequent choice over voluntary disclosure of a non-financial performance metric We compare and contrast regimes In the first, firms are free to choose between a conservative or an aggressive accounting policy before they decide whether to make additional voluntary disclosures In the other regime, all firms either voluntarily or via mandation use the same accounting policy We then investigate the cost of raising capital for firms under the two regimes We show that communication via voluntary disclosure need not be a simple substitute for communication via accounting policy choice

An Empirical Assessment of a Learning and Knowledge Management Typology for Research Joint Ventures

Abstract: As innovation and technology management grow in complexity the need for inter-organizational cooperation increases. Part of this cooperation requires the understanding of how knowledge management and learning processes may function to support a successful research and development collaboration. To further this understanding we introduce a typology to help categorize various collaborative efforts within a research joint venture environment. The typology is based on two dimensions the locus of the research joint venture knowledge and the knowledge management approach. Using a broad-based European database 98 research joint venture projects were used to evaluate the typology. We test two hypotheses related to these relationships. Implications for research and management of these types of projects are also introduced throughout the paper.

Thurstone's Case V Model: A Structural Equations Modeling Perspective

Abstract: Modeling how we choose among alternatives, or more generally, modeling preferences, is one of the core topics of study in Psychology. Preferences can be studied experimentally using a variety of procedures, one of the oldest being the method of paired comparisons. This method remains quite popular in areas such as psychophysics and consumer psychology. For a good overview of the method of paired comparisons see David (1988).

The effect of diversification on performance revisited: diversification discount, premium, or both?

Abstract: In this paper we argue conceptually and show empirically that the effect of diversification on performance is not homogeneous across industries, as previously assumed in the literature on diversification in strategy and finance. Some industries may be more friendly environments for diversified firms than for specialists, or vice versa. After replicating the main findings in finance and strategy, we show that the number of specialists in an industry is an important moderator of the diversification-performance relationship, which determines the existence of a diversification discount, a premium, or the curvilinear relationship frequently found in strategy research.

Learning from the implementation of the internet strategy at the Guayaquil stock exchange

Abstract: This article examines how an Ecuadorian stock exchange pioneered a strategy to use the Internet to educate its local market and reach investors worldwide. The findings suggest that in the initial phase of its strategy development the actions that contributed the most were benchmarking and training, learning from past experience/history, and developing a shadow organization. Actions that helped during the middle phase were providing focus, experimenting, and developing, co-opting, and securing the resources. In the final phase, actions that contributed the most were gaining internal commitment, investing in infrastructure, and appealing to existing relationships. These findings should be useful for organizational and information technology researchers and practitioners in developed and less-developed countries. © 2004 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

A Comprehensive Review of the Enterprise Systems Research

Abstract: Enterprise systems (ES) can be considered as a novel phenomenon for the information system research and other academic fields (e.g. operations and supply chain), which has opened an immense potential and opportunities for research. Although the interest of the scholars on ES is recent, the number of publications is continuously growing since 2000. The aim of this paper is to review a sample of important contributions of the ES works published to date. To do this, the selected works have been classified in four key topics: business implications, technical issues, managerial issues, and implementation issues.

A Goals/Questions/Metrics Plan for Monitoring User Involvement and Participation in ERP Implementation Projects

Abstract: ERP implementation success is influenced by a large number of factors, which most of the times are difficult to measure objectively. User involvement and participation is one of the most cited critical success factors in ERP implementation projects, and one of the most critical ones for their satisfactory outcome. This study attempts to define a set of metrics for monitoring user involvement and participation within ERP implementation projects by using the Goals/Questions/Metrics method. The results of this work are threefold. First, a literature review is presented on the user involvement and participation topic as related with ERP implementation projects. Second, a framework for monitoring user involvement and participation in ERP implementation projects is proposed. And third, a Goals/Questions/Metrics preliminary plan is proposed to monitor and control user involvement and participation within ERP implementation projects.

Clarifying leadership roles in ERP implementation projects

Abstract: Existence of an adequate project champion role has been identified as a critical success factor in Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) implementation projects. However, the figure of the project champion is not yet quite well understood. Some authors relate it with the project sponsor figure while others relate it with the project manager figure. This paper tries to clarify these concepts. Our research framework is based upon an extensive ERP literature review and a web survey. The findings of this web survey suggest that the adequate project champion role is that of the project sponsor, emerging as a dual-role champion.

A comprehensive review of enterprise system (ES) research

Abstract: Un sistema empresarial (SE) representa una aproximacion novedosa a la investigacion en sistemas de informacion (por ejemplo, de operaciones y la cadena de suministros) que ha posibilitado el desarrollo de oportunidades de investigacion en muchos campos. Aunque es un area de trabajo relativamente joven, el numero de publicaciones ha crecido continuamente desde el 2000. Este documento revisa una muestra de las contribuciones importantes publicadas hasta la fecha