Internationalization of Digital Innovations: A Rapidly Evolving Research Stream

This perspective paper synthesizes the burgeoning literature on internationalization of digital innovations to identify promising areas for future research. We first integrate multiple perspectives on digital innovations to offer a coherent and unified definition of digital innovations. Next, we synthesize digital innovation research into a theoretical framework that discusses the interrelationship between digital innovations and international business environment and its implications for international penetration of digital innovations. Our synthesis of literature highlights the increased research focus on demand-side perspective as an appropriate theoretical framework to explain the unique dynamics of digital internationalization. Finally, we take account of recent trends in digital economy as well as important gaps in current literature to propose promising avenues for future research. We particularly emphasize the need to integrate current institutional transitions of a digital era as well as emerging theoretical perspectives such as demand-side perspective and opportunity logic in digital internationalization research. We hope our perspective paper will contribute toward a more systematic and theoretically grounded advancement of digital internationalization research.     

Strategizing in a digital world: Overcoming cognitive barriers,reconfiguring routines and introducing new organizational forms

As digital technologies such as cloud and edge computing, machine learning, advanced artificial intelligence (AI), and the internet of things (IoT) unfold, traditional industries such as telecoms, media, entertainment, and financial services are being reconfigured and new sectors are emerging. In this new competitive landscape we observe new organizational forms and new business models, including the emergence of platforms and multi-sided markets. This emergence has required a strategic response from incumbent firms, including both well-established firms and some first-generation digital enterprises. With these advances in digital technology, the very nature of strategy is changing. Fundamentally, the use of digital technologies may provide new opportunities for efficiency gains, customer intimacy, and innovation. However, without the right mindset for change, appropriate digital routines, and structural changes, digital transformation efforts will fail. We therefore present a framework for strategizing in this new digital competitive landscape that underscores the importance of the interplay between (1) the cognitive barriers faced by managers when trying to understand this new digital world and envision new digital business models, (2) a need to reconfigure and extend digital routines, and (3) new organizational forms that are better equipped to creating value and gaining competitive advantage. From this framework of essential pillars, we derive four journeys of digital transformation for companies that were formed in the pre-digital economy. We also describe the management roles required by top, middle, and frontline managers, depending on whether the digital migration is evolutionary or transformative and whether the firm is responding to or attempting to shape the ecosystem. Although digital transformation is technically all about technology, the more important issue is how companies make their way through this strange new digital world in which they find themselves. Ultimately digital transformation is as much about strategizing as it is about technology.     

Strategic Renewal: Past Research,Theoretical Tensions and Future Challenges

Strategic renewal has become a prominent theme in a variety of organization and management research domains in recent years. It refers to the process that allows organizations to alter their path dependence by transforming their strategic intent and capabilities. With contributions from an increasing range of theoretical perspectives and research contexts, the strategic renewal literature has become fragmented and lacks common definitions and conceptual clarity, which prevent cross‐fertilization and harm further development. This study systematically reviews the various literature streams on strategic renewal to provide a more integrative perspective. The authors identify three key theoretical tensions at the heart of strategic renewal research, namely learning vs. resource, induced vs. autonomous, and co‐alignment vs. co‐creation. By exploring these key tensions, the authors define strategic renewal's conceptual core, identify gaps in the past literature, and provide guidance for future research.     

Managing digital transformation during re-internationalization: Trajectories and implications for performance

This paper contributes to our theoretical understanding of how SMEs digitally transform during re-internationalization. We conducted qualitative, multiple-case studies into re-internationalization processes across 11 Chinese international SMEs. Using inductive data analysis, we identify two types of digital transformation, operational and strategic, and trajectories during re-internationalization. The complexity of digital transformation in re-internationalization is delineated by the intricate tensions between strategic digital transformation and new product development. Firm re-internationalization performance can plausibly be differentiated by how these tensions are managed.     

Microfinance,Mission Drift,and the Impact on the Base of the Pyramid: A Resource‐Based Approach

This article draws on resource‐based theory and the literature on strategic intent to develop a theoretical model that explains the concept of mission drift in microfinance institutions (MFIs). We argue that the differential strategic intents of commercially oriented, for‐profit, and socially oriented nonprofit organizations drive the acquisition of disparate resources and capabilities, which in turn drives distinct performance outcomes, including a focus on different markets within the overall base of the pyramid (BOP). The article suggests that it is the dynamic aspects of changing strategic intent and the consequent timing delays in the development of associated resources and capabilities that lead to various issues of mission drift. Finally, we suggest that cross‐sector alliances between for‐profit and nonprofit MFIs may benefit from the unique capabilities of both types of organizations and deliver the most and broadest impact on poverty alleviation in BOP markets.     

Digital orientation: Conceptualization and operationalization of a new strategic orientation

Although there is ample evidence that digital technologies are strategically important for value creation, extant literature lacks holistic concepts that capture an organization’s strategic orientation concerning digital innovation and transformation initiatives. This study integrates recent digitalization themes with IT business alignment research to conceptualize a new strategic orientation construct: digital orientation. The construct is manifested in four dimensions which we operationalize for computer-aided text analysis. We validate the construct based on 6498 shareholder letters from large US firms over 16 years. Building upon the resource-based view, we validate the digital orientation construct by linking it to firm performance. Our findings advance the literature on strategic orientations and bring the domains of strategy and information systems closer together. The novel digital orientation construct and the validated measurement instrument lead to many new research opportunities.     

数据驱动的产品研发转型：组织惯例适应性变革视角的案例研究

现有研究多聚焦于大数据对产品研发流程与绩效的影响,对基于经验的产品研发转变为数据驱动的产品研发的转型路径、实现机制与转型范式缺乏理论探讨。本文基于组织惯例适应性变革的整合视角,通过对韩都衣舍的纵向案例研究,提出从基于经验的产品研发转变为数据驱动的产品研发的两阶段转型模型,剖析了数据驱动的产品研发转型的组织惯例适应性变革机制,提出了数据驱动的产品研发转型范式理论模型,对"数据驱动"的内涵进行了创新性阐述。本文从转型路径、实现机制与转型范式3个方面构建了数据驱动的产品研发转型理论,研究结论对数字经济时代数据驱动产品创新的企业实践提供了政策启示。     

Outsourcing to emerging markets: Theoretical perspectives and policy implications

Creating value through outsourcing has emerged as a popular competitive strategy for firms in various industries. In order to survive in the domestic and international marketplaces, firms, especially in developed countries, are seeking opportunities offshore, which is one focus of globalization. Offshore outsourcing has emerged as a popular competitive strategy and emerging markets have become increasingly attractive locations. As firms in developed countries (e.g., the US) continue to face enormous challenges to sustain competitive advantage, outsourcing to emerging markets is becoming an increasingly important source of business renewal and corporate transformation.In spite of the growing strategic significance of sourcing, we have limited knowledge of offshoring and outsourcing to emerging markets. The objectives of this review are fourfold: (1) to provide a better understanding of the concepts of offshoring and outsourcing business models, (2) to discuss relevant theoretical perspectives related to outsourcing, (3) to present a taxonomy of outsourcing strategies drawing on the extant literature, and (4) to discuss public policy implications. Conclusions and direction for future research are provided.     

转型经济背景下的组织复杂性动因研究:环境不确定性和战略导向的作用

基于468家中国企业的实证研究,考察了不同环境及战略导向对组织复杂性的驱动作用。在分析相关文献形成研究假设的基础上运用实证的方法进行检验。研究结论验证了当前转型经济背景下不确定环境特征和战略导向对企业组织复杂性的不同驱动作用,对企业根据所处环境及其战略导向认识并有的放矢的应对不同组织复杂性有重要意义。     

The Digital Journey: Reflected Learnings and Emerging Challenges

This paper identifies and examines the four stages of marketing's digitalization journey to date and the points of interest along the way. The metaphor of a journey provides a narrative through which to understand the complex changes that are occurring within the digitalization of marketing. The digital journey has no final destination yet, but it is possible to identify an origin and chart its route thus far. In reflecting on this journey, insights emerge, which pose ongoing challenges for businesses and for the marketing discipline. The digitalization of marketing provides new options for routes to markets, communication, brand building, relationship development, trialling pricing, product development, sourcing insights, as well as a platform for innovation. But, only if businesses embark on this journey, and then keep up with the pace once en route. The implications for business stemming from marketing's digital journey are detailed along with avenues for future research, to develop further understanding of digitalization. The theoretical contributions made by this paper include both a novel mapping of the complex trajectory of marketing's digitalization through a visualization and an articulation of the main four gaps in current research and practice knowledge within marketing. The gaps include the need for a strategic view, the issue of technical silos, the changing conceptions of time, and the tension between empowered consumers and their reliance on pre‐filtered information. This paper provides a critical appraisal of the digital journey so far, resulting in a distilled conceptualization and route map, which should help guide future researchers.     

Examining the Antecedents and Consequences of CIO Strategic Decision‐Making Authority: An Empirical Study*

Despite the strategic importance of information technology (IT) to contemporary firms, chief information officers (CIO) often still have varying degrees of strategic decision‐making authority. In this study, we apply the theory of managerial discretion to define CIO strategic decision‐making authority and argue that the CIO's level of strategic decision‐making authority directly influences IT's contribution to organization performance. We also draw on the power and politics perspective in the strategic decision‐making literature to identify the direct antecedents to the CIO's strategic decision‐making authority. A theoretical model is presented and empirically tested using survey data collected from a cross‐industry sample of 174 matched pairs of CIOs and top business executives through structural equation modeling. The results suggest that organizational climate, organizational support for IT, the CIO's structural power, the CIO's level of strategic effectiveness, and a strong partnership between the CIO and top management team directly influence the CIO's level of strategic decision‐making authority within the organization. The results also suggest that the CIO's strategic decision‐making authority in the organization directly influences the contribution of IT to firm performance and that effective CIOs have a greater influence on IT's contribution when provided with strategic decision‐making authority.     

Why do Emerging Market Firms Engage in Voluntary Environmental Management Practices? A Strategic Choice Perspective

In this paper, we investigate firms’ decisions to engage in voluntary environmental management (VEM) practices within an emerging market context. Drawing on the strategic choice and the resource‐based view perspectives, we report results from a survey of VEM practices – a specific form of self‐governance – drawing on a sample of 519 Turkish firms from various industries to identify important strategic antecedents of firms’ decisions to engage in such practices. We find that as firms become more customer focused, more inclined to pursue a differentiation strategy and subject to a higher level of strategy‐oriented stakeholder focus, they tend to implement higher levels of VEM practices, with important implications for research, policy and practice for both emerging and developed markets.     

Managerial value and belief systems in a cross-national context: The case of thetrivial significance

This article discusses potential theoretical and methodological flaws in value-based research in a cross-national context. Using data from a comparative study of American and Indian CEOs, it is shown that some managerial beliefs and value systems do vary as a function of national background. While this is neither surprising nor exciting, whether this significantheterogeneity offers nontrivial predictive utilityin explaining the observed variance in a large number of structural, strategic, and other critical variables at the organizational level is the more important question. This study offers preliminary evidence to the contrary.In this era of multinational corporations and an emerging global market for executive and managerial talent, the question of whether some managerial beliefs and value systems persist in spite of extensive acculturation and socialization has been an issue of concern — especially in the United States because of a large and continuing flow of immigrants. Our results show in essence that this question, though important and interesting from a sociological angle, is perhaps not as crucial as one might suppose in influencing the strategic thrust, structural configurations, or certain aspects of performance of an organization.     

Pioneering Process Research: Andrew Pettigrew's Contribution to Management Scholarship, 1962–2014

This paper assesses Andrew Pettigrew's contribution to management scholarship. This review addresses the process, content, and context of his research career. Chronologically, the process will be subdivided into three distinct phases: the period leading up to the establishment of the Centre for Corporate Strategy and Change, Pettigrew's time with the Centre, and Pettigrew's research since leaving the Centre. The content of Pettigrew's research focussed on big problems and emerging phenomena such as decision‐making, organisational culture, organisation development, strategic change, human resource management, competitiveness, new public management, boards of directors, innovative forms of organising, high‐performing research teams, and business schools. His contextualist methodology for process research will be explicated. Pettigrew's contribution will be contextualised by comparing it with contemporary research. The paper concludes that there is still a need not only to examine big problems and emerging phenomena but also to provide a processual understanding of management reality. There is a need to further develop process research methodologies such as Pettigrew's contextualism, especially with respect to process research methods.     

转型经济中的战略剥离分析:以中国上市企业为例

随着转型经济中企业并购与重组活动的日益增多,理论界和实业界都期望有适合转型经济的理论来指导企业的重组行为.为此,本文以战略反馈和代理理论为理论基础.探讨以中国为代表的转型经济中企业战略剥离的动因.通过对1999-2003年中国上市企业剥离行为的分析,本文发现中国上市企业的剥离行为主要出于战略考虑,包括并购后整合的需要、过度多元化调整的需要以及绩效改进的需要;传统的代理理论则缺乏解释力度.这一结果表明,中国企业已经能够根据战略需要来进行业务重组,同时也呼吁政府和业界加强公司治理,以充分发挥公司治理的作用.     

Scale-up modes: Profiling activity configurations in scaling strategies

Scale-ups, or scaling firms, provide an important contribution to the economy. However, there is little understanding of the characteristics of their scaling strategies, compared to the high-growth strategies of start-ups and mature firms. To address this, we build on the Penrosean view of firm growth and the literature on high-growth firms to identify the critical growth-enabling activities of scaling firms with digital business models: financing, innovation, digitization, and acquisitions. Using cluster analysis of a sample of 184 Unicorn and emerging Unicorn scale-ups with digital business models, we identify four distinct activity configurations, or scale-up modes: network growers, focused scalers, organic innovators, and constricted scalers. We discuss the theoretical implications for the literature on scaling firms, Penrose's theory of firm growth in the digitization era, and firm growth research more generally.     

开放型商业模式NICE属性与价值创造关系的实证研究

企业竞争优势或价值创造的源泉在哪里,或者企业绩效异质性的成因是什么?这一问题一直是战略管理领域的研究焦点。移动互联网时代,企业纷纷通过重塑商业模式来实现转型升级或跨界发展,并将其作为价值创造和竞争优势的一种重要来源。因此,本文旨在以开放型商业模式为研究对象,探讨其内在属性与价值创造之间的关系。首先,本文阐述开放型商业模式的内涵及构成;接着,识别出其内在属性特征,即新颖性(N)、锁定性(I)、互补性(C)、效率性(E);同时,重点借助战略网络理论、新木桶理论、平台经济学等理论基础论证NICE与价值创造间的关系及背后的作用机理,提出理论假设;最后,运用调查问卷和结构方程模型的方法实证检验,且演绎结论的管理含义。本文所使用的数据来源于中国最大的服务交易平台:猪八戒网和EMBA、MBA、EDP等项目课堂。研究表明,开放型商业模式新颖性与企业价值正相关、互补性与顾客价值正相关、效率性与企业价值和伙伴价值均呈正相关关系;而新颖性与顾客价值及伙伴价值正相关;互补性与企业价值及伙伴价值呈正相关关系等结论未得到印证。本文的研究回答了"企业竞争优势或价值创造源泉在哪里?"这一问题,并且本文的理论机理分析和实证结论有利于指导企业创新商业模式并获取竞争优势的战略决策。     

Strategic Network Orchestration in Emerging Markets: China's Catch‐up in the High‐Speed Train Industry

Transitioning from catch‐up in production to catch‐up in innovation capabilities is essential to emerging market firms (EMFs) achieving internationalization and a competitive advantage. While some EMFs are now positioned among the world's most advanced firms, many struggle to become independent innovators. Thus, understanding how EMFs can develop internal absorptive capacity and progress towards catching up in innovation capabilities remains important. Our study seizes this research opportunity and develops a network‐based explanation of catch‐up, which complements existing technological and organizational explanations. Specifically, we address the question of ‘How does the orchestration of collaborative networks enable EMFs to catch up in production and innovation capabilities?’ by describing an important yet under‐researched process of strategic network orchestration and showcasing the dynamic interdependencies between network orchestration and organizational learning. Our study provides a detailed account of Chinese high‐speed train (HST) development from 1990 to 2020 and opens the possibility for future research on network orchestration in emerging market contexts. This provides EMF managers with a set of actionable network orchestration mechanisms that can be used when designing and purposefully managing their strategic nets of domestic and foreign partners.     

制度环境视野下的中国战略管理研究途径

目前,战略管理研究的一种误区在于,认为战略管理理论的重心是对组织能力来源的探讨。有鉴于此,通过导入新制度主义的制度环境、合法性和组织同构化的理论,并就其理论性质及其对组织和管理学研究的理论贡献,以及战略管理的理论局限展开了讨论。最后,在讨论转型期的制度环境及其组织同构化特性的基础上,提出了2个当前中国战略管理研究的重点。