Big Data‐Savvy Teams’ Skills,Big Data‐Driven Actions and Business Performance

Prior studies on big data analytics have emphasized the importance of specific big data skills and capabilities for organizational success; however, they have largely neglected to investigate the use of cross‐functional teams’ skills and links to the role played by relevant data‐driven actions and business performance. Drawing on the resource‐based view (RBV) of the firm and on unique data collected from 240 big data experts working in global agrifood networks, we examine the links between the use of big data‐savvy (BDS) teams’ skills, big data‐driven (BDD) actions and business performance. BDS teams depend on multi‐disciplinary skills (e.g. computing, mathematics, statistics, machine learning and business domain knowledge) that help them turn their traditional business operations into modern data‐driven insights (e.g. knowing real‐time price changes and customer preferences), leading to BDD actions that enhance business performance. Our results, raised from structural equation modelling, indicate that BDS teams’ skills that produce valuable insights are the key determinants for BDD actions, which ultimately contribute to business performance. We further demonstrate that those organizations that emphasize BDD actions perform better compared to those that do not focus on such applications and relevant insights.     

Customer Learning Processes,Strategy Selection,and Performance in Business‐to‐Business Service Firms*

Learning about customers takes place through relevant dialogues with those customers, also known as customer relationship management (CRM). As relationships develop, information about the customer is gathered in the firm's customer information systems (CIS): the content, processes, and assets associated with gathering and moving customer information throughout the firm. This research develops a measure of CIS management capabilities based on learning organization theory and measured by the ability to get, store, move, and use information throughout the business unit. This measure is then used to analyze customer learning processes and associated performance in the context of marketing strategic decision making. This study of 209 business services firms finds that generic marketing strategy positioning (low‐cost and differentiation) and the marketing tactics of personalization and customization are related to CIS development. Customer information systems development in turn is associated with higher levels of customer‐based performance, which in turn is associated with increased business growth. Since the strongest association with customer‐based performance is strategy selection, the long‐term benefits of the knowledge gained from the CIS may be in the ability to assist in measuring customer‐based performance, rather than in the ability to immediately contribute to performance. Finally, for these firms, customization and personalization are not directly associated with performance and thus may not be necessary to support every firm's marketing strategy.     

Market Orientation,Ownership Type,and E‐Business Assimilation: Evidence from Chinese Firms

While more and more firms have implemented e‐business in business operations, a better understanding of the factors that successfully drive the assimilation of e‐business will provide insights for firm executives and practitioners to develop effective strategies for e‐business. Different from previous studies that focus on individual‐level factors related to business executives and top management teams, this study examines how firm‐level strategic and cultural factors shape e‐business assimilation. Based on the strategy and marketing literature on market orientation and firm ownership, we developed a research model to describe how a firm's market orientation impacts e‐business assimilation. The model also describes the moderating effect of firm ownership type on the relationship between market orientation and e‐business assimilation. Based on data from 301 Chinese international trade firms, we found that two dimensions of market orientation (i.e., customer orientation, competitor orientation) had significant effects on e‐business assimilation. However, the third dimension, interfunctional coordination, was only partially significant. In addition, ownership type was a significant moderator of the effects of customer orientation and competitor orientation on e‐business assimilation, although ownership type was not a moderator of interfunctional coordination. Being one of the first studies of the impact of market orientation and firm ownership type on e‐business assimilation, we conclude with a discussion of the implications for future research and practice.     

A Model for Implementing a Sustainability Strategy through HRM Practices

There is a rapidly growing interest in the topic of sustainability as it relates to long‐term business performance that optimizes the “triple bottom line”: economic, environmental, and social outcomes. This article articulates a multilevel conceptual model for executing a business strategy for sustainability primarily through the design and implementation of human resource management practices. The model builds on open systems theory, the resource based view of the firm, and the concept of line of sight to identify certain key organizational capabilities, group competencies, and individual abilities and other characteristics that combine to drive organizational performance when pursuing a sustainability strategy. The article concludes with a discussion of implications of the model for theory, research, and practice.     

Economic Liberalization and the Antecedents of Top Management Teams: Evidence From Turkish ‘Big’ Business

There has been an increased interest in the last two decades in top management teams (TMTs) of business firms. Much of the research, however, has been US‐based and concerned primarily with TMT effects on organizational outcomes. The present study aims to expand this literature by examining the antecedents of top team composition in the context of macro‐level economic change in a late‐industrializing country. The post‐1980 trade and market reforms in Turkey provided the empirical setting. Drawing upon the literatures on TMT and chief executive characteristics together with punctuated equilibrium models of change and institutional theory, the article develops the argument that which firm‐level factors affect which attributes of TMT formations varies across the early and late stages of economic liberalization. Results of the empirical investigation of 71 of the largest industrial firms in Turkey broadly supported the hypotheses derived from this premise. In the early stages of economic liberalization the average age and average organizational tenure of TMTs were related to the export orientation of firms, whereas in later stages, firm performance became a major predictor of these team attributes. Educational background characteristics of teams appeared to be under stronger institutional pressures, altering in different ways in the face of macro‐level change.     

The impact of organisational alignment on the effectiveness of firms’ sustainability strategic performance measurement systems: an empirical analysis

Sustainability is becoming a mainstream issue for many organisations. A limited number of studies exist, however, on integrating sustainability into daily practices. Indeed, most of the research to date addresses only the definition and motivation for companies’ interest in environmental and social concerns. This paper contributes to the research on integrating sustainability into companies’ daily activities both directly and indirectly. It analyses the extent to which top management’s commitment to sustainability directly affects structural and social alignment and the effectiveness of measurement systems that monitor sustainability strategic performance and indirectly impacts firms’ social and environmental performance. Based on a quantitative analysis of survey responses from 405 large European companies, this paper documents the limited impact of social alignment to firms’ social and environmental performance. More specifically, the results challenge the diffuse belief that the alignment and commitment of middle managers to sustainability strategies as defined by the upper echelons have a relevant impact on the company’s social and environmental performance.     

Leadership in the Academic Field of Business and Management and the Question of Country of Origin: A Commentary on Burgess and Shaw (2010)

With globalization in business academia expanding and deepening, it is timely to question the validity and utility of the concept of country of origin as a base category for comparative cross‐cultural research and theory development. In their contribution in the British Journal of Management, Burgess and Shaw (2010) rank the most productive institutions and countries contributing to board membership of top ranked journals on the basis of their country of origin. Taking their findings as a starting point for our discourse, we re‐analyse their database, in addition to our own investigations. We contend that while country of origin may be an appropriate category for between‐countries comparison of multinational entities, it is of little use when comparing meta‐national institutions, such as top tier refereed journal boards and the globalized business/management schools from which they are drawn. Our findings point towards the need for finer differentiation of what constitutes the concept country of origin, but also that its relevance should be questioned in, at least, globalized contexts. The question we pose extends to any pertinent ‘globalized’ topic within and without business and management.     

Top Management Teams,Business Models,and Performance of Biotechnology Ventures: An Upper Echelon Perspective*

In this paper we introduce a new contingency variable that moderates the effect of top management team composition on organizational performance – the organization's business model. Arguing from an upper echelon perspective and drawing on data from 99 German biotechnology ventures, we show that founder‐based firm‐specific experience of management team members can have either a positive or a negative effect on performance, depending on whether the venture pursues a platform or a therapeutics business model, respectively. Our results also show that managers' experience collected in the pharmaceutical industry has a positive effect on performance, and that this effect is more positive for therapeutics than for platform ventures. We discuss the implications of these findings for the literature on upper echelons and entrepreneurial founding teams.     

Firm-level correlates of emergent green supply chain management practices in the Chinese context

Greening the supply chain is increasingly a concern for many business enterprises and a challenge for logistics management in the 21st century. Of particular concern is how to arouse organizational environmental awareness and put environmental activities into practice in the logistics activities of their supply chains. This paper investigates the correlation of two major factors, organizational learning and management support, with the extent of adoption of green supply chain management (GSCM) practices in Chinese manufacturing firms, where their inbound and outbound logistics activities are potential polluters to the environment. Organizational and operational learning was derived from the firm's experience with programs such as total quality management and environmental management systems. Management support included support for GSCM ideas and practices from top and middle-level management and cooperation across organizational functions. We find significant positive relationships between organizational learning mechanisms, organizational support and the adoption of GSCM practices, after controlling for a number of other influences including regulations, marketing, supplier, cost pressures, industry levels of the relevant practice and organizational size. Implications of our findings on logistics management are discussed.     

Drivers and Enablers That Foster Environmental Management Capabilities in Small‐ and Medium‐Sized Suppliers in Supply Chains

The limited capabilities and resources available within many small‐ and medium‐sized enterprises frequently hamper an effective response to environmental pressures, which in turn hurts large buying firms (i.e., customers). Using a case study method with multiple suppliers of two large buying firms, we mapped factors that initiated and improved environmental capabilities in small‐ and medium‐sized enterprises over time. Through several specific mechanisms, buyers' green supply chain management initiated and then enabled the improvement of suppliers' environmental capabilities. Independent of buyers, internal championing of environmental concerns also provided an impetus for small‐ and medium‐sized enterprise suppliers to acquire resources outside the supply chain. Thus, synergistic linkages emerged in supportive buyer‐supplier relationships, resource acquisition, and capability development. When these findings are combined with earlier research on larger suppliers, an integrative framework emerges that provides direction for suppliers, buyers, and public agencies seeking to improve environmental performance.     

The Impact of Stakeholder Management on Corporate International Diversification

This article explores the relationship between stakeholder management and international diversification. We differentiate between strengths and concerns in stakeholder management to demonstrate the differential effects of the two aspects of stakeholder management. Previous research on stakeholder theory often focuses on the importance of stakeholder relations, trying to build a business case of relational capital that results from strong stakeholder management. Such a relational approach, however, overlooks the process of managing stakeholders, a process that allows firms with strengths in stakeholder management to develop an important capability of managing tensions. In this study, we argue that this capability, an inherent part of stakeholder management, can be critical when firms face increased complexity during the process of international diversification. We therefore propose that strengths in stakeholder management are positively related to international diversification, while concerns in stakeholder management are negatively related to international diversification. Using panel data for 169 US multinational firms over a 10‐year period, we find support that strengths in stakeholder management facilitate international diversification. We discuss the contributions of our findings to stakeholder theory and international business research.     

Managing Differentiation‐Integration Duality in Supply Chain Integration*

Existing research focuses on the positive returns to operational performance of firms’ supply chain integration (SCI) with suppliers, buyers, and customers. We draw on differentiation‐integration duality and contingency theory to suggest that manufacturing firms should seek to achieve both integration through supply chain coordination activities and differentiation through modularity‐based manufacturing practices (MBMP). Using a sample of 261 manufacturing firms, we identify an inverse U‐shaped relationship between SCI and operational performance. Furthermore, we find support for the importance of differentiation‐integration duality as a fit between high levels of SCI and high levels of MBMP results in enhanced operational performance. We find support for a contingency perspective as fit is especially critical at higher levels of environmental uncertainty. Implications for theory, practice, and further research are suggested.     

The Impact of Lean Management Practices and Sustainably‐Oriented Innovation on Sustainability Performance of Small and Medium‐Sized Enterprises: Empirical Evidence from the UK

While lean management practices (LMP) help small and medium‐sized enterprises (SMEs) to be efficient, sustainability‐oriented innovation (SOI) facilitates adopting environmental and social practices. Although prior research looks into the effect of LMP on the economic performance (EP) of SMEs, less is known about the effect of LMP on sustainability (economic, environmental and social) performance. Studies on the effect of SOI on sustainability and economic performance are also scant. Additionally, examining the mediating effect of corporate social responsibility (CSR) practices (environmental and social practices) on both LMP and SOI achieving sustainability performance (SP) is rare. This research bridges these knowledge gaps by answering the question of how LMP, SOI, CSR practices, sustainability and economic performance are correlated. Through hypothesis testing using structural equation modelling, this study reveals the impact of LMP, SOI, CSR (environmental and social) practices on sustainability and economic performance. The study uses data from 119 SMEs within manufacturing industries in the Midlands, UK. The analysis reveals that LMP and SOI facilitate achieving both sustainability and economic performance, and SOI mediates LMP to achieve sustainability performance. Additionally, although CSR practices mediate LMP to achieve sustainability performance, they only borderline mediate SOI to achieve sustainability performance.     

Business model in IPO prospectuses: insights from Italian Innovation Companies

How do companies to be listed deal with the voluntary disclosure of their business model? Is it true that firms with greater intellectual capital resources and technological innovation endowments are less prone to full disclosure? This paper aims to examine the choices of voluntary disclosure of the business model made by three Italian manufacturing companies in initial public offering prospectuses. The objective is to explore whether any differences exist and may be related to the type of innovation underlying the firms’ business model. A series of interviews with the top management allows to deeply understand the business model of each company. A content analysis allows to measure the level of disclosure and identify the strategic concepts of the business model and their relevance. The study provides evidence that companies with a business model based on technology-push and design-driven innovation have a lower propensity to the full disclosure of their intangible resources, particularly of those based on knowledge as some could be also invisible. The paper contributes to the ongoing debate on the role of business and financial reporting.     

Information Technology and Process Performance: An Empirical Investigation of the Interaction Between IT and Non‐IT Resources*

Drawing on the resource‐based view, we propose a configurational perspective of how information technology (IT) assets and capabilities affect firm performance. Our premise is that IT assets and IT managerial capabilities are components in organizational design, and as such, their impact can only be understood by taking into consideration the interactions between those IT assets and capabilities and other non‐IT components. We develop and test a model that assesses the impact of explicit and tacit IT resources by examining their interactions with two non‐IT resources (open communication and business work practices). Our analysis of data collected from a sample of firms in the third‐party logistics industry supports the proposed configurational perspective, showing that IT resources can either enhance (complement) or suppress (by substituting for) the effects of non‐IT resources on process performance. More specifically, we find evidence of complementarities between shared business–IT knowledge and business work practice and between the scope of IT applications and an open communication culture in affecting the performance of the customer‐service process; but there is evidence of substitutability between shared knowledge and open communications. For decision making, our results reinforce the need to account for all dimensions of possible interaction between IT and non‐IT resources when evaluating IT investments.     

Family Business Performance from a Governance Perspective: A Review of Empirical Research

Given the complexity of the family business phenomenon, empirical research has still reached no consensus on whether family control is beneficial or detrimental to firm performance. To shed new light on this issue, this paper covers more than 350 articles published in 37 top finance and management journals. More specifically, it provides an in‐depth analysis of the family business governance system in three steps. First, after examining the various family business definitions and measures of performance used in empirical research, the authors discuss the findings on the direct effect of family control on performance in different geographical regions. Second, the authors pay special attention to the choice of ownership structures by business families and analyse how family owners influence strategic decisions faced by their corporations, including the succession process. Finally, the authors explore the interaction of family control with other governance devices to gain a better understanding of family firms' corporate decision‐making and performance. The holistic approach highlights the need to contemplate the multiple relations that exist among the various governance dimensions of family firms to explain their unique performance. In addition to enhancing understanding of family business conduct, the authors emphasize the need to go beyond the borders of the family firm to identify its external antecedents and consequences. By integrating the finance and management perspectives and analysing the theoretical frameworks and methodologies used in these disciplines, the review highlights the need for interdisciplinary collaboration to advance family business research and thus to consolidate it as a distinctive academic field.     

Contingencies versus External Pressure: Professionalization in Boards of Firms Affiliated to Family Business Groups in Late‐Industrializing Countries

We examine the antecedents of professionalization in boards of firms affiliated to family business groups, increasingly recognized in the literature as the dominant form of big business organization in many late‐industrializing countries. Dimensions of board professionalization that we include in our study are board size, ratio of salaried executives and outsider presence. We compare predictions on board composition derived from contingency, institutional and power perspectives. Turkish family business groups, considered as an archetypal example of this form of organization, provide the empirical setting for the study, with data on 299 firms affiliated to ten different family business groups. Our results provide greater support for institutional and power perspectives, showing that, relative to internal and external complexity facing affiliate firms, institutional pressures and the presence of joint venture partners better predict board professionalization.     

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.     

Realizing Benefits from Enterprise Resource Planning: Does Strategic Focus Matter?

A key driver of the recent wave of enterprise resource planning (ERP) implementations was the assumption that the integration of business information would provide firms with a competitive advantage, yet concrete business benefits have been uneven across adopting firms. A possible explanation is that although the resource‐based view holds that competitive advantage is derived from inimitable resources, ERP software has become a commodity. Socio‐technical theory suggests that internal organizational resources based on a foundation of ERP technology may be the true drivers of ERP benefits. A firm's strategic configuration is posited to influence the portfolio of organizational competencies available to leverage the benefits of integrated business information, and a number of hypotheses are developed based on the notion that firms with different strategic objectives will realize different operational benefits from the adoption of ERP systems. Survey data from North American manufacturing firms that have implemented ERP systems demonstrate that ERP adopters seeking operational performance improvements are likely to realize these benefits. On the other hand, those seeking external market and supply chain performance improvements must first establish a foundation of internal operational performance improvements before customer satisfaction and supply chain benefits can be realized.     

Technological distinctive competencies and organizational learning: Effects on organizational innovation to improve firm performance

This paper analyzes how top management support of technology influences the generation of technological skills, technological distinctive competencies and organizational learning. The research also examines the effects of technological distinctive competencies and organizational learning on organizational innovation and reflects how all of these variables impact organizational performance. The results of our empirical analysis, based on a sample of 201 Spanish technological firms, suggest that: (1) top management support positively influences the generation of technological skills, technological distinctive competencies and organizational learning; (2) technological distinctive competencies and organizational learning positively affect organizational performance, directly and indirectly through organizational innovation.