Showing papers on "Competitive advantage published in 2010"
TL;DR: In this paper, the authors examined the effect of a firm's intangible resources in mediating the relationship between corporate responsibility and financial performance and concluded that there is no direct relationship between corpora responsibility and performance.
Abstract: This paper examines the effects of a firm's intangible resources in mediating the relationship between corporate responsibility and financial performance. We hypothesize that previous empirical findings of a positive relationship between social and financial performance may be spurious because the researchers failed to account for the mediating effects of intangible resources. Our results indicate that there is no direct relationship between corporate responsibility and financial performance—merely an indirect relationship that relies on the mediating effect of a firm's intangible resources. We demonstrate our theoretical contention with the use of a database comprising 599 companies from 28 countries. Copyright © 2009 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
1,420 citations
TL;DR: It is argued that realizing the potential of the absorptive capacity concept requires more research that shows how “micro-antecedents” and “macro-antechedents" influence future outcomes such as competitive advantage, innovation, and firm performance.
Abstract: The purpose of this perspective paper is to advance understanding of absorptive capacity, its underlying dimensions, its multilevel antecedents, its impact on firm performance, and the contextual factors that affect absorptive capacity. Twenty years after the Cohen and Levinthal 1990 paper, the field is characterized by a wide array of theoretical perspectives and a wealth of empirical evidence. In this paper, we first review these underlying theories and empirical studies of absorptive capacity. Given the size and diversity of the absorptive capacity literature, we subsequently map the existing terrain of research through a bibliometric analysis. The resulting bibliometric cartography shows the major discrepancies in the organization field, namely that (1) most attention so far has been focused on the tangible outcomes of absorptive capacity; (2) organizational design and individual level antecedents have been relatively neglected in the absorptive capacity literature; and (3) the emergence of absorptive capacity from the actions and interactions of individual, organizational, and interorganizational antecedents remains unclear. Building on the bibliometric analysis, we develop an integrative model that identifies the multilevel antecedents, process dimensions, and outcomes of absorptive capacity as well as the contextual factors that affect absorptive capacity. We argue that realizing the potential of the absorptive capacity concept requires more research that shows how “micro-antecedents” and “macro-antecedents” influence future outcomes such as competitive advantage, innovation, and firm performance. In particular, we identify conceptual gaps that may guide future research to fully exploit the absorptive capacity concept in the organization field and to explore future fruitful extensions of the concept.
1,019 citations
TL;DR: In this article, the authors examine collaborative relationships in two separate studies using structural equation modeling: one study examines buyers' perceptions and the second study examines suppliers' perceptions, and the two studies are then compared using invariance testing in order to determine economic and relational factors that drive satisfaction and performance from each party's perspective.
916 citations
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TL;DR: Competitive advantages stemming from a managing-for-stakeholders approach are argued to be sustainable because they are associated with path dependence and causal ambiguity and provide a strong rationale for including stakeholder theory in the discussion of firm competitiveness and performance.
Abstract: A firm that manages for stakeholders allocates more resources to satisfy the needs and demands of its legitimate stakeholders than would be necessary to simply retain their willful participation in the firm’s productive activities. We explain why this sort of behavior unlocks additional potential for value creation, as well as the conditions that either facilitate or disrupt the value-creation process. Firms that manage for stakeholders develop trusting relationships with them based on principles of distributional, procedural, and interactional justice. Under these conditions, stakeholders are more likely to share nuanced information regarding their utility functions, thereby increasing the ability of the firm to allocate its resources to areas that will best satisfy them (thus increasing demand for business transactions with the firm). In addition, this information can spur innovation, as well as allow the firm to deal better with changes in the environment. Competitive advantages stemming from a managing-for-stakeholders approach are argued to be sustainable because they are associated with path dependence and causal ambiguity. These explanations provide a strong rationale for including stakeholder theory in the discussion of firm competitiveness and performance.
763 citations
TL;DR: In this article, the authors present an integrative framework for understanding and advancing further research in global talent management, and highlight the potential role of IHRM activities in addressing those selected challenges.
743 citations
TL;DR: In this article, a firm that manages for stakeholders allocates more resources to satisfy the needs and demands of its legitimate stakeholders than would be necessary to simply retain their willful participation in the firm's productive activities.
Abstract: A firm that manages for stakeholders allocates more resources to satisfy the needs and demands of its legitimate stakeholders than would be necessary to simply retain their willful participation in the firm's productive activities. We explain why this sort of behavior unlocks additional potential for value creation, as well as the conditions that either facilitate or disrupt the value-creation process. Firms that manage for stakeholders develop trusting relationships with them based on principles of distributional, procedural, and interactional justice. Under these conditions, stakeholders are more likely to share nuanced information regarding their utility functions, thereby increasing the ability of the firm to allocate its resources to areas that will best satisfy them (thus increasing demand for business transactions with the firm). In addition, this information can spur innovation, as well as allow the firm to deal better with changes in the environment. Competitive advantages stemming from a managing-for-stakeholders approach are argued to be sustainable because they are associated with path dependence and causal ambiguity. These explanations provide a strong rationale for including stakeholder theory in the discussion of firm competitiveness and performance. Copyright © 2009 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
702 citations
TL;DR: In this article, the authors define the concept of absorptive capacity as a pre-condition to open innovation and demonstrate how firms lacking absorbptive capacity collectively cope with distributed knowledge and innovation.
682 citations
TL;DR: In this paper, the authors explored how to develop the image and branding of a green hotel using the concepts of cognitive, affective and overall images, based on a survey of 416 hotel users.
Abstract: As the public is increasingly concerned about environmental issues, green management is rapidly becoming a strategic tool that can enhance a hotel's competitive advantage. This study explores how to develop the image and branding of a green hotel using the concepts of cognitive, affective and overall images. The study, based on a survey of 416 hotel users, also investigates how a green hotel image can affect behavioural intentions (i.e. intention to revisit, intention to offer positive recommendations to others and willingness to pay a premium). The findings confirm that cognitive image components (namely value and quality attributes) can exert a positive influence on a green hotel's affective and overall images. The affective image is also found to positively affect a green hotel's overall image. A green hotel's overall image, in turn, can contribute to more favourable behavioural intentions. Quality attributes were found to be more powerful than value attributes. The importance of the concept of selfish...
646 citations
TL;DR: In this article, the authors investigated the relationship between a firm's commitment to research and development and its innovative outcomes and found that R&D spending was positively related to patents and new product announcements.
620 citations
TL;DR: The creation and management of temporary competitive advantages has emerged as an alternative to sustainable models of competitive advantage in the strategy literature as discussed by the authors, and a review of the literature and questions related to the antecedents, consequences and the management temporary advantage is presented in this special issue.
Abstract: The creation and management of temporary competitive advantages has emerged as an alternative to sustainable models of competitive advantage in the strategy literature. We review the literature and discuss questions related to the antecedents, consequences and the management temporary advantage in the introduction of this special issue. The overall goal is to ask: What would the field of strategic management look like if sustainable advantages did not exist? We summarize the papers published in this special issue and highlight directions for future research. Copyright © 2010 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
615 citations
TL;DR: This paper synthesizes systems theory and the resource-based view of the firm to build a unified conceptual model linking IT assets with firm-level benefits, suggesting that IT assets can play a strategic role when they are combined with organizational resources to create IT-enabled resources.
Abstract: This paper informs the literature on the business value of information technology by conceptualizing a path from IT assets-that is, commodity-like or off-the-shelf information technologies-to sustainable competitive advantage. This path suggests that IT assets can play a strategic role when they are combined with organizational resources to create IT-enabled resources. To the extent that relationships between IT assets and organizational resources are synergistic, the ensuing IT-enabled resources are capable of positively affecting firms' sustainable competitive advantage via their
improved strategic potential. This is an important contribution since IT-related organizational benefits have been hard to demonstrate despite attempts to study them through a variety of methods and theoretical lenses. This paper synthesizes systems theory and the resource-based view of the firm to build a unified conceptual model linking IT assets with firm-level benefits. Several propositions are derived from the model and their implications for IS research and practice are discussed.
TL;DR: In this article, the authors identify several types of complex business models organizations will need to adopt if they are to host paradoxical strategies, and they can engage these functions through team-centric or leader-centric structures.
TL;DR: In this paper, the authors propose that profound sustainable global supplier management capabilities are a source of competitive advantage and that these capabilities are path dependent and particularly valuable when organizations are receptive to external stakeholder pressure.
Abstract: Organizations face increased pressure from stakeholders to incorporate a plethora of corporate responsibility (CR) and sustainability aspects in their business practices. Legal and extra-legal demands are dynamically changing; almost no organizational function is unaffected. Owing to the outsourcing wave of the last decade, in particular purchasing and supply management (PSM) plays an ever more important role in assuring sustainable production of the firm's products offered in the marketplace. The supply base of many Western firms has become increasingly global and spend volumes have shifted towards emerging countries. In order to avoid the risk of reputational damage to the buying company, the PSM department must ensure that their international suppliers comply with their corporate codes of conduct and that environmental and social misconduct at supplier premises does not occur. In this paper, “sustainability” refers to the pursuit of the tripartite of economic, environmental, and social performance. We contribute to prior research in the fields of sustainability and CR by extending insights of the dynamic capabilities view to analyze how the PSM function integrates sustainability aspects in its global supplier management processes. Based on four case studies in the chemical industry, we propose that profound sustainable global supplier management (SGSM) capabilities are a source of competitive advantage. These capabilities are path dependent and particularly valuable when organizations are receptive to external stakeholder pressure. Early movers in the field of SGSM reap competitive benefits to a notable extent as a result of resource accumulation and learning processes over time.
TL;DR: In this paper, the authors examined how institutional configurations, not single institutions, provided companies with institutional capital and argued that competitive advantage in high-tech industries with radical innovation may be supported by combinations of certain institutional conditions: lax employment protection, weak collective bargaining coverage, extensive university training, little occupational training and a large stock market.
Abstract: We examine how institutional configurations, not single institutions, provide companies with institutional capital. Building on the varieties-of-capitalism approach, it is argued that competitive advantage in high-tech industries with radical innovation may be supported by combinations of certain institutional conditions: lax employment protection, weak collective bargaining coverage, extensive university training, little occupational training, and a large stock market. Furthermore, multinational enterprises engage in “institutional arbitrage”: they allocate their activities so as to benefit from available institutional capital. These hypotheses are tested on country-level data for 19 OECD economies in the period 1990 to 2003. A fuzzy-set qualitative comparative analysis yields several interesting findings. A high share of university graduates and a large stock market are complementary institutions leading to strong export performance in high-tech. Employment protection is neither conducive nor harmful to export performance in high-tech. A high volume of cross-border mergers and acquisitions, as a form of institutional arbitrage leading to knowledge flows, acts as a functional equivalent to institutions that support knowledge production in the home economy. Implications of these findings for theory, policy, and the analysis of firm-level behavior are developed.
TL;DR: In this article, the authors investigate the rapid internationalization of many multinationals from emerging economies through acquisition in advanced economies, and they conceptualize these acquisitions as an act and form of entrepreneurship, aimed to overcome the "liability of emergingness" incurred by these firms and to serve as a mechanism for competitive catch-up through opportunity seeking and capability transformation.
Abstract: We investigate the rapid internationalization of many multinationals from emerging economies through acquisition in advanced economies. We conceptualize these acquisitions as an act and form of entrepreneurship, aimed to overcome the ‘liability of emergingness’ incurred by these firms and to serve as a mechanism for competitive catch-up through opportunity seeking and capability transformation. Our explanation emphasizes unique asymmetries (and not necessarily advantages) of emerging multinationals due to their historical and institutional differences with advanced economy multinationals, as well as a search for advantage creation when firms possess mainly ordinary resources. The argument shifts the central focus from advantage to asymmetries as the starting point for internationalization.
TL;DR: In this article, the authors explore how leading purchasing and supply management functions identify, assess, and treat supplier sustainability risks and elaborate on the integration of sustainability risk management in supplier management processes, and propose that mature and sustainable supplier management capabilities are a source of competitive advantage in terms of lower exposure to reputational risks and enhanced operational performance.
TL;DR: In this article, a multiple case study of seven manufacturing comp-retrieval companies is presented, which is based on a service-based business model for product-based companies.
TL;DR: In contrast to the planned role of dynamic and operational capabilities and the ambidexterity that they jointly offer, improvisational capabilities operate distinctly as a third hand that facilitates reconfiguration and change in highly turbulent environments as mentioned in this paper.
Abstract: Organizations are increasingly engaged in competitive dynamics that are enabled or induced by information technology (IT). A key competitive dynamics question for many organizations is how to build a competitive advantage in turbulence with digital IT systems. The literature has focused mostly on developing and exercising dynamic capabilities for planned reconfiguration of existing operational capabilities in fairly stable environments with patterned “waves,” but this may not always be possible, or even appropriate, in highly turbulent environments with unexpected “storms.” We introduce improvisational capabilities as an alternative means for managing highly turbulent environments; we define this as the ability to spontaneously reconfigure existing resources to build new operational capabilities to address urgent, unpredictable, and novel environmental situations. In contrast to the planned role of dynamic and operational capabilities and the ambidexterity that they jointly offer, improvisational capabilities are proposed to operate distinctly as a “third hand” that facilitates reconfiguration and change in highly turbulent environments.
First, the paper develops the notion of improvisational capabilities and articulates the key differences between the two “reconfiguration”---improvisational and dynamic---capabilities. Second, the paper compares the relative effects of improvisational and dynamic capabilities in the context of new product development in different levels of environmental turbulence. Third, the paper shows how IT-leveraging capability in new product development is decomposed into its three digital IT systems: project and resource management systems, organizational memory systems (OMS), and cooperative work systems---and how each of these IT systems enhances improvisational capabilities, an effect that is accentuated in highly turbulent environments.
The results show that although dynamic capabilities are the primary predictor of competitive advantage in moderately turbulent environments, improvisational capabilities fully dominate in highly turbulent environments. Besides discriminant validity, the distinction between improvisational and dynamic capabilities is evidenced by the differential effects of IT-leveraging capability on improvisational and dynamic capabilities. The results show that the more the IT-leveraging capability is catered toward managing resources (through project and resource management systems) and team collaboration (through cooperative work systems) rather than relying on past knowledge and procedures (through organizational memory systems), the more it is positively associated with improvisational capabilities, particularly in more turbulent environments.
The paper draws implications for how different IT systems can influence improvisational capabilities and competitive advantage in turbulent environments, thereby enhancing our understanding of the role of IT systems on reconfiguration capabilities. The paper discusses the theoretical and practical implications of building and exercising the “third hand” of improvisational capabilities for IT-enabled competitive dynamics in turbulence.
TL;DR: In this article, a conceptual model linking market orientation, marketing innovation, competitive advantage and firm survival is tested using structural equation modelling, and three key findings are derived. But, the examined Chinese manufacturing SMEs had a greater perceived likelihood of survival had they developed and sustained a competitive advantage.
TL;DR: In this article, the authors assess the determinants and motivations for the implementation of green supply chain management (GSCM) and find that GSCM is strongly complementary with other advanced management practices, and that it contributes to improved environmental performance.
TL;DR: In this article, the applicability of the resource-based view (RBV) and dynamic-capability view (DCV) to environmental volatility was examined through examining 253 Taiwanese firms.
TL;DR: This work theorizes how key structural IT capabilities and process capabilities operate as systems of complements and discusses the theoretical and practical implications of how firms should develop complementary systems of structuralIT capabilities and competitive process capabilities to manage IR portfolios dynamically and leverage external resources.
Abstract: Firms are increasingly dependent on external resources and are establishing portfolios of interorganizational relationships (IRs) to leverage external resources for competitive advantage However, the systems of information technology (IT) and process capabilities that firms should develop to manage IR portfolios dynamically are not well-understood In order to theorize how key structural IT capabilities (IT integration and IT reconfiguration) and competitive process capabilities (process alignment, partnering flexibility, and offering flexibility) operate as systems of complements, we draw on the competitive dynamics perspective and resource dependency theory and on the literature for IT business value, interorganizational systems, and interorganizational relationship management We also theorize how a firm's IR portfolio moderates the effects of structural IT capabilities on competitive process capabilities and why a firm's environmental turbulence moderates the effects of complementary process capabilities on competitive performance We test our model using survey data from 318 firms in 4 industries Our results provide broad support for the following: (1) structural IT capabilities and process capabilities operating as a system of complements, (2) the effects of structural IT capabilities on competitive process capabilities being contingent on IR portfolio concentration, and (3) the effects of complementary process capabilities on competitive performance being contingent on environmental turbulence We discuss the theoretical and practical implications of how firms should develop complementary systems of structural IT capabilities and competitive process capabilities to manage IR portfolios dynamically and leverage external resources
TL;DR: In this article, the authors examined the interrelationships among continuous improvement (CI), supplier management (SM), environmental management (EM), and manufacturing competitiveness and found that firms with closer supplier partnerships and solid continuous improvement practices are more likely to develop a proactive EM program, which in turn enhances competitive advantage through cost savings, quality improvement, and process/product innovation.
TL;DR: In this article, the authors explored the relationship between technological and non-technological innovations and their impact on firms' performances by using firm-level data provided by the last round of the (Italian) Community Innovation Survey (CIS4).
TL;DR: In this paper, the effect of entrepreneurial orientation on a proactive environmental strategy is moderated by the intensity of government regulations and customers' sensitivity to environmental issues, and the relationship between the PES and a firm's performance in terms of sales and profit growth.
Abstract: While the literature on the effective management of business and natural environment interfaces is rich and growing, there are still two questions regarding which the literature has yet to reach a definitive conclusion: (1) what is the interactive effect between internal and external drivers on a proactive environmental strategy (PES)? and (2) does a PES influence firm's performance? Drawing on the resource-based view for the internal drivers’ perspective and institutional and legitimacy theories for the external drivers’ perspective, this study suggests that the effect of entrepreneurial orientation on a PES is moderated by the intensity of government regulations and customers’ sensitivity to environmental issues. The authors also examine the relationship between the PES and a firm's performance in terms of sales and profit growth. Implications are discussed regarding the role of a PES in achieving a competitive advantage in the marketplace.
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TL;DR: This research builds on the complementary corporate social responsibility (CSR) literatures in strategy and marketing to provide insight into the efficacy of CSR as a challenger's competitive weapon against a market leader.
Abstract: This research builds on the complementary corporate social responsibility (CSR) literatures in strategy and marketing to provide insight into the efficacy of CSR as a challenger’s competitive weapon against a market leader. Through an investigation of a real world CSR initiative, we show that the challenger can reap superior business returns among consumers who had participated in its CSR initiative, relative to those who were merely aware of the initiative. Specifically, participant consumers demonstrate the desired attitudinal and behavioral changes in favor of the challenger, regardless of their affective trust in the leader, whereas aware consumers’ reactions become less favorable as their affective trust in the leader increases. Furthermore, participation, unlike mere awareness, transforms the nature of the consumer-challenger relationship from a transactional one to a communal, trust-based one.
TL;DR: In this paper, the authors examined seven market-leading companies in product design and found that each company used integration techniques, stressing both/and thinking to foster synergy, and splitting techniques, separating tensions to focus resources and action.
TL;DR: In this paper, the authors evaluate the degree of congruence (fit or alignment) between a firm's outsourcing drivers and its competitive priorities and assess the impact of con-gruence on both supply chain performance and business performance using empirical data collected from manufacturing business units operating in the United States.
TL;DR: The relationship between social, business and technical dimensions and a provisional framework for making sense of social innovation are examined, which are the main driver in the development and application of new ideas to solving problems and improving social conditions.
Abstract: This article examines what we understand by the concept of social innovation. Historically, the emphasis has been on how to translate innovations in science and technology into commercial applications. Typically, company survival is explained in terms of an 'innovation imperative' in the pursuit of profits and competitive advantage. In contrast, social innovations are triggered by an interest in improving the well-being of people in society. Social rather than economic concerns are the main driver in the development and application of new ideas to solving problems and improving social conditions. We examine the relationship between social, business and technical dimensions and develop a provisional framework for making sense of social innovation.
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TL;DR: The theory and results indicate that achieving temporary advantage is more difficult than previously thought and that the erosion of advantage occurs routinely as a result of dynamic and interactive rivalry.
Abstract: Foundational RBV work suggests that firms possess capabilities that represent strengths and others that represent weaknesses. In contrast, contemporary research has examined capability strengths while largely ignoring weaknesses. Addressing this oversight, we examine the direct and integrated effects of sets of capability strengths and capability weaknesses on competitive advantage and its empirical correlate - relative performance. Additionally, we explore how environmental and firm-specific factors influence change in these drivers of competitive advantage over time. Results suggest that weakness sets have a negative effect on relative performance, while strength sets have an increasingly positive effect. The integrative effects of strength and weakness sets affect relative performance in a complex manner. For example, while high strength/low weakness firms perform at high levels, firms integrating high strength with high weakness perform well, but experience considerably more variance in their realized outcomes. Lastly, we find that the strength and weakness sets change significantly over time in markets where competition is more intense, thereby undermining the durability of competitive advantage. Our theory and results indicate that achieving temporary advantage is more difficult than previously thought and that the erosion of advantage occurs routinely as a result of dynamic and interactive rivalry.