Showing papers on "Resource dependence theory published in 2008"

A framework of sustainable supply chain management: moving toward new theory

Abstract: Purpose – The authors perform a large‐scale literature review and use conceptual theory building to introduce the concept of sustainability to the field of supply chain management and demonstrate the relationships among environmental, social, and economic performance within a supply chain management context.Design/methodology/approach – Conceptual theory building is used to develop a framework and propositions representing a middle theory of sustainable supply chain management (SSCM).Findings – The authors introduce the concept of sustainability – the integration of environmental, social, and economic criteria that allow an organization to achieve long‐term economic viability – to the logistics literature, and position sustainability within the broader rubric of SSCM. They then present a framework of SSCM and develop research propositions based on resource dependence theory, transaction cost economics, population ecology, and the resource‐based view of the firm. The authors conclude by discussing manageri...

Multiple Resources and Mental Workload

Abstract: Objective: The objective is to lay out the rationale for multiple resource theory and the particular 4-D multiple resource model, as well as to show how the model is useful both as a design tool and as a means of predicting multitask workload overload. Background: I describe the discoveries and developments regarding multiple resource theory that have emerged over the past 50 years that contribute to performance and workload prediction. Method: The article presents a history of the multiple resource concept, a computational version of the multiple resource model applied to multitask driving simulation data, and the relation of multiple resources to workload. Results: Research revealed the importance of the four dimensions in accounting for task interference and the association of resources with brain structure. Multiple resource models yielded high correlations between model predictions and data. Lower correlations also identified the existence of additional resources. Conclusion: The model was shown to b...

Institutional Theory and Accounting Rule Choice: An Analysis of the Four U.S. State Governments' Decisions to Adopt Generally Accepted Accounting Principles

Abstract: We develop institutional theory to explain how institutional pressures exerted on four US State Governments influenced the decisions of these governments to adopt or resist the use of GAAP for external financial reporting. We identify resource dependence as a potent form of coercive institutional pressure that was associated with early GAAP adoption. We found that key accounting bureaucrats in New York and Michigan used "compromise" as an initial strategic response to institutional pressures to adopt GAAP. Ohio's key accounting bureaucrat adopted a "defy" strategy, although the political leadership endorsed an "acquiesce" strategy. While Delaware initially employed a "manipulate" strategy with some success, Delaware did not adopt GAAP for external reporting until a political entrepreneur for GAAP emerged in the early 1990s. Our study suggests that all strategic responses to resist institutional pressures for GAAP adoption will ultimately fail because of the potency of the institutional pressures that result from the well organized professional accounting and governmental institutional fields.

Swimming with Sharks: Technology Ventures, Defense Mechanisms and Corporate Relationships

Abstract: This paper focuses on the tension that firms face between the need for resources from partners and the potentially damaging misappropriation of their own resources by corporate “sharks.” Taking an entrepreneurial lens, we study this tension at tie formation in corporate investment relationships in five U.S. technology-based industries over a 25-year period. Central to our study is the “sharks” dilemma: when do entrepreneurs choose partners with high potential for misappropriation over less risky partners? Our findings show that entrepreneurs take the risk when they need resources that established firms uniquely provide (i.e., financial and manufacturing) and when they have effective defense mechanisms to protect their own resources (i.e., secrecy and timing). Overall, the findings show that tie formation is a negotiation that depends on resource needs, defense mechanisms, and alternative partners. These findings contribute to the recent renaissance of resource dependence theory and to the discussion on th...

Corporate Social and Financial Performance: An Extended Stakeholder Theory, and Empirical Test with Accounting Measures

Abstract: Although agreement on the positive sign of the relationship between corporate social and financial performance is observed in the literature, the mechanisms that constitute this relationship are not yet well-known. We address this issue by extending management’s stakeholder theory by adding insights from psychology’s prospect decision theory and sociology’s resource dependence theory. Empirically, we analyze an extensive panel dataset, including information on disaggregated measures of social performance for the S&P 500 in the 1997–2002 period. In so doing, we enrich the extant literature by focusing on stakeholder heterogeneity, perceptional framing, and disaggregated measures of corporate social performance.

Form versus Substance: The Implications for Auditing Practice and Research of Alternative Perspectives on Corporate Governance

Abstract: SUMMARY: The objective of this paper is to provide a more comprehensive view of corporate governance than that considered by the traditional agency literature predominately employed in auditing and accounting studies of governance. Specifically, we discuss three widely recognized additional theoretical perspectives: resource dependence, managerial hegemony, and institutional theory. Resource dependence is developed in the strategic management literature and focuses on the contribution of governance mechanisms as a vehicle to help a firm achieve or further its strategic objectives. In contrast with the agency and resource dependence perspectives which offer a functional view of governance, the managerial hegemony perspective views the board and its attendant committees as being under the control of management and hence could be potentially viewed as dysfunctional from a stakeholder viewpoint. Finally, institutional theory, developed in the sociology of organizations and organizational behavior literatures,...

Human Resource Configurations: Investigating Fit With the Organizational Context

Abstract: The present study investigated how key organizational contextual factors relate to bundles of human resource (HR) practices. In a two-phase study of a sample of 661 organizations representing a full range of industries and organizational size, the authors found that organizations use 1 of 5 HR bundles: cost minimizers, contingent motivators, competitive motivators, resource makers, and commitment maximizers. In addition, the authors showed that the organizations that use a given type of HR bundle may be distinguished by the organizational values they pursue and their organizational structure, thus suggesting that HR choices are related to the context within which organizations operate.

Splitting the pie: rent distribution in alliances and networks

Abstract: This paper addresses the issue of how relational rents, generated through alliances, are distributed to the participating firms. We argue that rent distribution is influenced by factors affecting both jointly generated common benefits and private benefits gained from the alliance relationship. We draw on four perspectives to explain these various effects. The first three, namely the resource dependence perspective, related resources perspective, and structural holes perspective, essentially highlight the private ‘exploitation’ opportunities that a firm's alliance network presents the focal firm. In contrast, the resource development perspective underscores the private ‘exploration’ benefits a firm potentially derives from its alliance network. Copyright © 2008 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

How Customer Portfolio Affects New Product Development in Technology-Based Entrepreneurial Firms:

Abstract: This article focuses on how the customer portfolios of technology-based entrepreneurial firms affect new product development. Drawing on knowledge-based, resource dependence, and relational theories, the authors argue that the impact of a firm's customers on new product development depends on the size and relational embeddedness of the customer portfolio and the extent to which the firm is dependent on one or a few dominant customers for a majority of its revenues. The authors test the research model using longitudinal data on young firms operating in business-to-business markets in six technology-based industries. The results indicate that customer portfolio size has an inverse U-shaped relationship to the number of new products developed and that the more relationally embedded the customer set, the more new products the firm develops. Dependence stemming from revenue concentration has a negative impact on new product output. Furthermore, the authors find that relational embeddedness can compens...

Resource dependence theory: How well does it explain behavior of organizations?

Abstract: * * * This article evaluates to what extent Resource Dependence Theory (RDT) is able to explain organizational processes and structures. The evaluation criteria are the empirical corroboration of the theory, its information content and generality, but also how realistic the assumptions of the RDT are. The evaluation shows that the theory is empirically well confirmed. On the whole, Resource Dependence Theory significantly contributes to explaining behavior, structure, stability, and change of organizations.

Development of cooperative norms in the buyer-supplier relationship: the chinese experience

Abstract: Cooperative norms are a critical governance mechanism of the buyer-supplier relationship. Prior studies generally assume that cooperative norms are pre-existing and utilize norms as an antecedent to other constructs. Little attention has been paid to the antecedents of the decision to develop cooperative norms. In this paper, we draw upon transaction cost economics and resource dependence theory to develop a model that depicts the key factors that determine cooperative norms. Based on the results derived from an empirical study of 278 Chinese companies, we find that these factors significantly impact cooperative norms. The study also reveals that cooperative norms positively influence suppliers' performance, which subsequently affects buyers' satisfaction.

Service-dominant logic and resource theory

Abstract: Taking inspiration from the importance accorded resources in the emergent-service dominant logic marketing researchers might develop a more robust marketing ecology based on existing resource theories. Researchers may begin to think of firms and their customers as deploying operant and operand resources both to co-create discursively legitimated market spaces and provide inputs for value definition and delivery within them (Vargo and Lusch 2004). Spaces ranging from the Web, to industry clusters, to trade shows, and experiential retail exemplify the former (Leigh et al. 2006; Penaloza 2000; Spohrer et al. 2007). Service is the master category that defines that later, of which examples are legion (Arnould et al. 2006). Several literatures present themselves for developing resource centered ecological theory. I will highlight a few specific points of interest related to the resource based theory of the firm; organizational ecology; cluster theoretic models; social capital theory; and Foa’s interpersonal resource model. Each provides some distinctive contributions; each has limitations that would invite further theoretical development and empirical research. One source is the resource based theory of the firm that shares with the S-D perspective an interest in the strategic value of firms’ skills, knowledge and cultural competencies (Day and Wensley 1988; Wernerfelt 1995). This literature argues that such resources are heterogeneously distributed across firms, and that these distributions are relatively stable over time, thereby conveying a superior ability to capture resources (primarily economic) from customers. Aspects of operant resources that may generate sustained competitive advantage – value, rareness, imitateability, and substitutability – have been identified, but empirically-grounded dimensions could be better developed. Day (1994) and Hunt and Morgan (1995) famously suggest market orientation is such an advantage, or in Day’s terms, market sensing and customer linking capabilities. A paradox worth further exploration is Barney’s (1991) contention that if a firm’s advantageous resources were clearly defined, they would become replicable by competitors and their advantage lost versus Hunt and Morgan’s contention that causal ambiguity about operant resources represents a firm vulnerability. More generally in a fully networked economy, the idea of information asymmetry is problematized. Opportunities exist to specify the precise nature of firm sensing and customer linking capabilities, comparative typologies thereof, and the nature of their links to firm value propositions. Research that focuses on how organizational schema for market sensing and intervention are learned and deployed holds promise for helping us understand how firms co-construct marketspaces and populate them with value propositions (Gebhardt et al. 2006). In addition, this literature would benefit from a customer centric model of firm resources to know with what kinds of firm resources customers wish to engage on a transaction specific or relational level. Finally is a customercentric model of firm lifetime value imaginable? A second source of insight is organization ecology. This literature is concerned with deterministic models of the growth, development, and death of firms within a competitive resource space. Thus the unit of analysis is not the firm, but firms within a resource space (Haveman 1995; Ruef 1997; Van Witteloostuijn and Boone 2006). One J. of the Acad. Mark. Sci. (2008) 36:21–24 DOI 10.1007/s11747-007-0072-y

Understanding strategic responses to interest group pressures

Abstract: With the increasing prominence of special interest group activity in the organizational external environment, we build on the stakeholder literature on strategic management to explain how organizations respond to pressures from such groups. Using a model integrating institutional, resource dependence, resource-based, and cognitive theoretical perspectives, we examine the restaurant industry's response to the fat reduction pressure campaign run by a nutritional interest group, the National Heart Saver's Association (NHSA) in the early 1990s. Our findings indicate that susceptibility to institutional pressures partially affected accommodation to NHSA's demands, and more strongly affected organizational cognitions of those pressures. Our measure of resource dependence did not directly affect accommodation, but was significantly related to managerial cognitions. Resource-based factors had a strong direct effect on the extent of accommodation to the pressures of NHSA, and partially influenced measures of cognition. Further, our findings indicate that managerial cognition strongly influenced an organization's response to NHSA pressure. From these results we suggest strategies for managers as they try to make sense of and respond to interest group pressures. We also point to future avenues of inquiries for researchers. Copyright © 2008 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

Bringing Bourdieu’s master concepts into organizational analysis

Abstract: This article argues that while elements of Pierre Bourdieu’s sociology are increasingly employed in American sociology, it is rare to find all three of Bourdieu’s master concepts—habitus, capital, and field—incorporated into a single study. Moreover, these concepts are seldom deployed within a relational perspective that was fundamental to Bourdieu’s thinking. The article “Bourdieu and Organizational Analysis” by Mustafa Emirbayer and Victoria Johnson is a welcomed exception, for it draws on all three of Bourdieu’s pillar concepts to propose a relational approach to the study of organizations. It both reframes existing thinking about organizations, particularly from the neo-institutional and resource dependence schools, and indicates new directions for research in organizations to move. This paper evaluates their contribution calling attention to its many strengths and suggesting a few points that need future clarification and elaboration.

The Meaning and Meaningfulness of Corporate Social Initiatives

Abstract: In response to pressures to be more “socially responsible,” corporations are becoming more active in global communities through direct involvement in social initiatives. Critics, however, question the sincerity of these activities and argue that firms are simply attempting to stave off stakeholder pressures without providing a corresponding benefit to society. By drawing on institutional theory and resource dependence theory, we consider what factors influence the adoption of a “meaningful” social initiative—an initiative that is sustainable and has the potential for a significant positive impact on society—as opposed to a symbolic initiative. In addition, we raise the question of how social initiatives—both meaningful and symbolic—participate in the “institutional war” over the meaning of corporate social responsibility.

The Routledge Companion to Strategic Human Resource Management

Abstract: Combining up-to-date research, innovative content and practical perspectives, this book is the benchmark by which all other strategic HRM reference works should be measured. Leading figures from around the globe survey the current state of the discipline, while also introducing and exploring new, cutting edge themes in order to offer a comprehensive and authoritative overview of the field. Section introductions and integrative critiques pull together the separate themes to provide cross-comparisons between chapters to create a cohesive and well-structured volume. Unlike other texts in this area, The Routledge Companion to Strategic Human Resource Management incorporates contributions from leading management and business writers in areas adjacent to human resource management, including strategy, innovation and organizational learning. These add fresh and challenging insights into HRM themes from key mainstream business and management thinking. The field of strategic HRM is thus enriched and extended by this volume. Focusing on the interplay between theory and practice, this book is an essential resource for researchers and students studying human resource management and strategy.

6 Structure, Affect and Identity as Bases of Organizational Competition and Cooperation

Abstract: Competing organizations are often defined by their niche overlap or structural equivalence in resource dependence, but the very structure that defines competitors can also identify cooperators. There is a fine line between competition and cooperation, but current theories give insufficient guidance as to which will take place and also contribute to the belief that cooperation between competitors is illegitimate. We show that the legitimacy of these practices, as well the evaluation of their welfare implications, are context bound. Individuals and societies that have been influenced by different theories of competition could reasonably (and have) reach different conclusions as to the legitimacy of competitor cooperation. We then critique extant ideas as to when competitors will cooperate, which rely on industry structure, and suggest instead that perception and social identity are more important in tipping the cooperate–compete balance. We conclude by showing how our arguments inform an important c...

Learning in International Organizations in Global Environmental Governance

Abstract: In global environmental governance, numerous new international organizations have emerged from dozens of multilateral treaties signed over the last 30 years. This paper focuses on intergovernmental organizations in an organizational theory perspective with a particular focus on organizational learning processes. It explores where and when international organizations exhibit organizational learning with significant effects on the organizations' internal structure and behavior. Key hypotheses from principal-agent theory and organizational learning theory are tested in eight case studies of international organizations involved in global environmental governance. The analysis shows that organizations engage in three forms of learning: reflexive learning, adaptive learning, and no learning. Explanations of the observed variation depend on specific learning mechanisms, change agents in leadership functions and external triggers such as pressures from governments or nongovernmental actors.

Causes of Dissolution Among Spanish Nonprofit Associations

Abstract: Voluntary associations play increasingly important roles in many industrialized societies. However, little is still known about why they die. This article attempts to fill this gap. It reconstructs the history of 41 closed Spanish voluntary associations of Madrid's metropolitan area through archival research and semistructured interviews to define the causes of their dissolutions. The conclusions indicate that the majority of the organizations dissolved due to mission completion (particularly goal fulfillment) and resource insufficiency. This article also uses central predictions of new institutionalism, population ecology, and resource dependence theories and shows that these three models provide valuable insights to account for these dissolutions. As each theory respectively predicts, those organizations with lower sociopolitical legitimacy, that were younger and smaller, or that were funded by only one source dissolved younger.

Strategic dependence on the IT resource and outsourcing: A test of the strategic control model

Abstract: Using resource dependency theory (RDT), this research analyzes how organizations control their information technology resources to improve organizational performance. According to RDT, organizations must manage their dependency on external organizations and limit external dependencies when resources are considered critical. The current study proposes and tests a portion of a Strategic Control Model positing that managers seek to control important, strategic resources in order to create value for the firm and to avoid dependency on external entities. Utilizing a research design that captured extensive quantitative data on the control of IT functions and services, the research team gathered 5 years of data on 54 business units (BUs) in 27 global companies located in seven countries. Study examined the linkages of these 54 BUs to firm performance. Locating the Extent of Control within the firm in cases where the firm depends on IT as a strategic resource proves to be a good explanation for effective decisions leading to higher performance. Viewing IT as a strategic resource alone does not lead to positive business unit outcomes, but the moderating influence of Extent of Control is found to establish the complex statistical relationship with business unit performance. For these reasons, it is critical that a theoretically grounded firm-wide process for decisions on locating IT control is in place to capture business value.

How do Board–CEO Relationships Influence the Performance of New Product Introduction? Moving from Single to Interdependent Explanations

Abstract: Manuscript Type: Empirical Research Question/Issue The relationship between board members and top executives is held central to corporate governance, yet studies of it are relatively few and our knowledge of its consequences is limited This study aims to address how board–CEO relationships, in terms of power balance and social ties, contribute to the performance of new product introduction It proposes a contingency view to highlight the context-dependent nature of such governance arrangements Research Findings/Results Using survey and archival data in a sample of 198 industrial firms in Taiwan, this research finds that the two distinct types of board–CEO relationships relate curvilinearly to the performance of new product introduction Furthermore, such universal relationships are moderated by market instability and board interlocks, respectively Theoretical Implications: This study departs from the traditional agency view to an argument that fine-tuned board–CEO relationships, in light of sociopolitical and sociopsychological forces, and will serve as an essential enabling context for managerial risk taking It demonstrates that research in this field should accommodate different theories to elaborate on the underlying tensions in the corporate governance and emphasize the merits of complementarity Practical Implications: Acknowledging that good governance design softens managerial risk aversion, this study helps identify the governance conditions in which risk differentials between the board and CEO may align, and thus when exploratory efforts, in the form of new product introduction, are more likely to succeed

The Paradox of Power in CSR: A Case Study on Implementation

Abstract: Purpose Although current literature assumes positive outcomes for stakeholders resulting from an increase in power associated with CSR, this research suggests that this increase can lead to conflict within organizations, resulting in almost complete inactivity on CSR. Methods A Single in-depth case study, focusing on power as an embedded concept. Results Empirical evidence is used to demonstrate how some actors use CSR to improve their own positions within an organization. Resource dependence theory is used to highlight why this may be a more significant concern for CSR. Conclusions Increasing power for CSR has the potential to offer actors associated with it increased personal power, and thus can attract opportunistic actors with little interest in realizing the benefits of CSR for the company and its stakeholders. Thus power can be an impediment to furthering CSR strategy and activities at the individual and organizational level.

Government‐Oriented Corporate Public Relation Strategies in Transitional China

Abstract: This study proposes an initial and a revised model of government-oriented public relation (PR) strategies based on the results of two content analyses of website news regarding the PR activities of 76 firms in general and six well-known firms in China in more depth. With the perspective of resource dependence theory, this model reveals that firms in China employ six types of formal PR strategies, including visitation, philanthropy, participation, publicity, party involvement and political propaganda, to manage their dependence on government for resources. Further, the implementation of such strategies involves a four-step process: organizing PR activities with economic, social and political significance; obtaining the involvement and recognition of the government; building firms' resource, moral and cultural legitimacy in the government's eyes; and interacting with the government on the issues of firms' dependence to influence government policies relative to firms. We also explore the differences that exist among firms with different ownership structures in the use of these PR strategies, the level of government involved and the issues pursued.

CEO ownership and effective boards: impacts on firm outcomes:

Abstract: We examine the impact of boards of directors on shareholder returns arising from acquisition announcements in the context of varying CEO ownership levels. Agency theory emphasizes the benefits of i...

A stakeholder perspective on mission statements: an international empirical study

Abstract: Purpose – This study uses a stakeholder perspective to explain the content of mission statements, in particular the inclusion of stakeholder groups. The study uses stakeholder dependency theory and resource dependency theory to explain the content of mission statement. In line with this perspective, stakeholders in this study will be classified as either being resource providers, such as employees and customers, or non‐resource providers, such as the community and the environment. The primary aim of the study is to find evidence for the theoretical relationship between the importance of stakeholders to the company and the inclusion of stakeholder groups in the company's mission statement.Design/methodology/approach – The use of a large dataset with 490 observations enables a multivariate analysis of mission statement content, focusing on country‐, industry‐, and company‐specific factors.Findings – The study finds that stakeholder groups the company is more dependent on, are addressed in mission statements...