IE University

About: IE University is a education organization based out in Segovia, Castilla y León, Spain. It is known for research contribution in the topics: Corporate governance & Supply chain. The organization has 527 authors who have published 1709 publications receiving 64682 citations.

Bottoms up: great bustards use the sun to maximise signal efficacy

Abstract: Visual displays are signals that may be selected to increase visibility. Light is a crucial component in the transmission of visual signals, and white colour is very conspicuous when illuminated by sun and exhibited against darker backgrounds. Here we tested the hypothesis that orientation of sexual displays in male great bustard (Otis tarda) depends upon position of the sun, i.e., males direct their uplifted white tails towards the sun in order to maximise signal detectability to distant females. We recorded the orientation of 405 male displays in relation to the sun and to females at seven leks. Great bustard males signalled towards the sun more often than expected by chance in early morning, although this pattern was not obvious at other times of day, when males displayed more towards females. Our hypothesis was further supported by the fact that displays were more directed towards the sun when the sun was most visible. Males were more likely to direct their displays towards females during the most elaborate components of their courtship display and when there were fewer males on the lek. Pointing white plumage to the sun may be a behaviour selected in species living in steppe-like open landscapes if individuals obtain net fitness benefit by increasing the likelihood of mating.

Size, R&D productivity and Decision Styles

Abstract: We extend the size–innovation debate by incorporating decision-making style as a relevant factor in the innovation process. We propose that the size of firms affects the scale and quality of product innovation through the adoption of different decision-making styles. Using the literature on cognition, we conceptualize decision-making style as the degree to which firms rely on analytical information for decision making during the R&D process. Using longitudinal data of Spanish firms, we show that, as firms increase in size, they rely more extensively on analytical decision tools for the innovation activity. Additionally, we show that the size of firms is negatively related to product innovation productivity in terms of scale and positively related to the quality, and that these relationships are mediated by firms’ reliance on analytical decision-making style. We discuss theoretical and managerial implications for innovation research and practice.

Learning patterns in venture capital investing in new industries

Abstract: Using an organizational learning perspective, we link the decision by venture capital (VC) firms to invest early in a new high-technology industry to three experiential learning mechanisms: the familiarity associated with accumulation of early funding decisions, the shaping or imprinting effect of the firm's very first such decision, and the decay or "forgetting" associated with the dormancy of prior such decisions We find support for these learning patterns using data on the investments made by US VC firms between 1962 and 2004

Information Technology as Knowledge Management Enabler in Product Development - An Empirical Evidence

Abstract: Product development is a knowledge intensive process. It is widely recognized as a mechanism that produces firms to learn, to enter new technological areas, and to deal more effectively with market uncertainty. Since technology management has become ingrained within the field of knowledge management, product development has been viewed and studied from a knowledge management perspective. In this context, this study focuses on a specific knowledge management initiative, information technology (IT). It empirically explores how IT influences on knowledge based capabilities of product development - specifically knowledge exploitation and exploration. With this aim, we introduce a typology of IT configurations based on two main dimensions: the divergent and the convergent dimensions. The results show that the product development can be categorized in three IT configurations. Specially, our results provide statistically differences in terms of knowledge exploitation and show the advantages of a combination of the two dimensions of IT.

Are firms with foreign CEOs better citizens? A study of the impact of CEO foreignness on corporate social performance

Abstract: This study examines whether firms’ corporate social performance (CSP) varies when local firms have foreign CEOs. Building on the social identity perspective, we argue that because foreign CEOs are perceived as outgroup (or nonprototypical) leaders by the local firms’ stakeholders, local firms with foreign CEOs need to achieve a higher level of CSP than do local firms with local CEOs to enhance their legitimacy and trustworthiness. Furthermore, we propose that the predicted difference in CSP between foreign and local CEO-led firms will be larger (a) for more authentic and thus trust-enhancing CSR activities and (b) in those socio-economic environments where the salience of CEO foreignness and thus the need to build trustworthiness with locals is more pronounced. In a sample of 1001 local firms across 18 developed countries during the period between 2003 and 2015, our empirical results support most of our predictions.