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Uncertainties caused by political risks can drastically affect global supply chains. However, the supply chain management literature has thus far developed rather limited knowledge on firms' perception of and reactions to increased political risks. This study has two main purposes: to explore the relationship between extant risk exposure and perceived firm-specific political risk and to understand the impact of firm-specific political risk on firms' vertical integration and diversification strategies.

The authors developed a unique dataset for testing our hypotheses. Specifically, the authors sampled manufacturers (SIC20-39) listed in the United States from 2002 to 2019. The authors collected financial and diversification data from Compustat, vertical integration data from the Frésard-Hoberg-Phillips Vertical Relatedness Data Library and political risk data from the Economic Policy Uncertainty database. This data collection process yielded 1,287 firms (8,329 observations) with available data for analysis.

A two-way fixed-effect regression analysis of panel data revealed that firms tend to be more sensitive to political risk when faced with income stream uncertainty or strategic risk. By contrast, exposure to stock returns uncertainty does not significantly influence firms' sensitivity toward political risk. Moreover, firm-specific political risk is positively associated with vertical integration and product diversification. However, firm-specific political risk does not result in higher levels of geographical diversification.

This study joins the literature that systematically explores the antecedents and implications of firm-specific political risk, thus broadening the scope of supply chain risk management.

The purpose of this study is to examine the direction of intra‐industry information transfers assuming a monopolistic competition within the industry and profit maximizing behaviors of each firm. Accounting earnings are decomposed into expenses and revenues. Both expenses and revenues are again broken down to industry common factors and firm specific factors. And the effect of these four income components of a firm on profits and hence security returns of that firm as well as those of other firms in the same industry are addressed. The main conclusions are: the first, announcing firm's firm specific costs have a negative association with its own security returns but a positive association with silent‐competing firms' security returns. The second, announcing firm's firm specific revenues have a positive association with its own security returns but a negative association with silent‐competing firms' security returns. The third, industry common cost factors (e.g. industry average cost) have a negative association with security returns of announcing firm and silent‐competing firms. The fourth, industry common revenue factors (e.g. industry average revenue) have a positive association with security returns of announcing firm and silent‐competing firms.

The purpose of this paper is to investigate the capabilities and characteristics of Turkish manufacturing firms that engage in outward FDI activity. To this end, the paper aims to explore how these firms' capabilities vary with the sample characteristics including subsidiary age, size, sector, host country location, ownership pattern and market entry mode.

The data were gathered via cross‐sectional survey from a sample 94 Turkish manufacturing firms (TMFs) that have subsidiaries based in 28 different countries. Both univariate and multivariate tests were used to analyze the data.

Findings show that sample firms had strong firm‐specific capabilities when they started to expand their business activities through foreign direct investment (FDI). The firm‐specific capabilities were grouped into four categories as operation‐related, product‐related, marketing‐related and management‐related. While the capabilities of the sample firms varied to a moderate extent with their age and size, and to a limited extent with market entry mode, no significant differences were noted with respect to the industry, host country location and ownership pattern.

Relying on the perceptual assessment of single respondents constitutes the main limitation of this study. There is also a need to collect data from other emerging or developed countries to enable comparisons between Turkey and other countries.

This is one of the few studies which attempt to examine the firm‐specific capabilities of FDI firms from an emerging country.

This paper aims to attempt to bring together various organisational aspects that have never been collectively investigated before in the strategic management literature. Its main objective is to examine the relationship between “strategic orientation” and “firm performance”, in the light of two firm-specific factors (“distinct manufacturing capabilities” and “organisational structure”). The proposed research model of the present study is built upon the resource-based view (RBV) of the firm and the organisational aspect of the VRIO framework (the “O” from the VRIO model).

The study proposes a newly developed research model that adopts a four-factor approach, while examining a number of direct and indirect effects. The examination of the proposed research model was made with the use of a newly developed structured questionnaire that was distributed on a sample of Greek manufacturing companies. Research hypotheses were tested using the structural equation modelling technique. The present study is explanatory (examines cause and effect relationships), deductive (tests research hypotheses), empirical (collects primary data) and quantitative (analyses quantitative data that were collected using a structured questionnaire).

The empirical results suggest the coexistence of three distinct categories of effects on “firm performance”: strategy or “utility” effects, depending on the content of the implemented strategy; firm-specific effects, depending on the content of the organisational resources and capabilities; and organisational effects, depending on the implemented organisational structure. More specifically, the statistical analysis underlines the significant mediating role of “strategic orientation” and the complementary role of “organisational structure”. Finally, empirical results support the argument that “strategy follows structure”.

The use of self-reported scales constitutes an inherent methodological limitation. Moreover, the present study lacks a longitudinal approach because it provides a static picture of the subject under consideration. Finally, the sample size of 130 manufacturing companies could raise some concerns. Despite that, previous empirical studies of the same field, published in respectable journals, were also based on similar samples.

When examining the total (direct and indirect) effects on “firm performance”, it seems that the effect of “organisational structure” is, almost, identical to the effect of “distinct manufacturing capabilities”. This implies that “organisational structure” (an imitable capability) has, almost, the same contribution on “firm performance” as the manufacturing capabilities of the organisation (an inimitable capability). Thus, the practical significance of “organisational structure” is being highlighted.

There has been little empirical research concerning the bundle of firm-specific factors that enhance the impact of strategy on business performance. Under the context of the resource-based view (RBV) of the firm, the present study examines the impact of “organisational structure” on the “strategy-capabilities-performance” relationship, something that has not been thoroughly investigated in the strategic management literature. Also, the present study proposes an alternate measure for capturing the concept of business strategy, the so-called factor of “strategic orientation”. Finally, the study adopts a “reversed view” in the relationship between structure and strategy. More specifically, it postulates that “strategy follows structure” and not the opposite (“structure follows strategy”). Actually, the empirical data supported that (reversed) view, challenging the traditional approach of Chandler (1962) and calling for additional research on that ongoing dispute.

The purpose of this paper is to explore country-specific and firm-specific factors responsible for attracting private equity investment across sectors in India.

The analysis involves three macroeconomic variables (rule of law, net FIIs and interest rate) across six sectors. Also, three firm-specific variables (ROE, DTA and EBITDA margin) for 89 companies with private equity across five sectors. OLS, Prais–Winsten, multinomial logit and probit regression models have been used for analysis.

The findings show that while rising foreign investments drive PE activity in energy and engineering and construction is one sector, strong legal structures and rising interest rates are the drivers of PE activity in the healthcare sector. In firm-specific analysis, though the profitability and leverage effect is invisible in the industrials and healthcare sectors, it is quite significant in IT and telecom is one sector and commodities sector.

Results are subject to limited data on private equity in different sectors. There is a lack of data for comparison on companies belonging to certain sectors like real estate, infrastructure, etc. A limited literature is available for reference purpose. Research findings may serve as preliminary criteria for private equity investors seeking investment in India.

The value of this research is in the identification of most relevant macroeconomic and firm-specific factors for private equity investors seeking investment across sectors in India.

A number of previous studies have investigated international construction project risks and have proposed risk mitigation measures without examining their interdependence. The purpose of the current study is to identify the influence of various risk mitigation measures on macro-level risk factors in the international marketplace.

The authors initially identified 26 risk variables and nine risk mitigation measures through a literature review, which were then verified for their pertinence to international projects by three experts. Subsequently, 105 questionnaire survey responses were collected and analysed using factor analysis and structural equation modelling to test the interrelations between the risk variables and mitigation measures.

The findings suggest that joint ventures with local partners is emerged as the most critical risk mitigation measure that influences the international projects, which are exposed to political, project and firm-specific risk factors. Further, it is worth noting that among the recognised risk mitigation measures in international projects, offering more local employment is the least critical mitigation measure in the international projects.

The findings of this study are based on the macro-risk factors encountered by Indian construction firms in international projects, mostly from specific Asian and African regions. Thus, the opinions of construction firms from the developed countries might be different.

The main contribution of this study to existing knowledge is empirical evidence of the interrelationships between risk mitigation measures and risk factors that are portrayed as latent variables of different manifest risk variables. The generated model can assist construction firms in emphasising several risk mitigation methods, in order to reduce risk and enhance performance in international construction projects.

In this study the factors behind the decision‐makers’ erroneous judgements regarding failure prediction (classification of firms as bankrupt and non‐bankrupt) are analysed. The purpose is to find out the factors causing incorrect responses, i.e. the cases in which the decision‐maker is for some reason incapable of using the given information to arrive at the correct classification. The following five possible sources of disturbance in this decision‐making were hypothesized: firm‐specific factors, data, decision‐maker‐specific factors, external factors, and failure process. In further analysis these factors were empirically operationalized and their significance was tested applying logistic (logit) analysis separately for the Type I and Type II classification errors identified in an HIP study. The results indicated that the effect of all of the five hypothesized factors on misclassifications is statistically significant. The inconsistency of the cues (firm‐specific factors) may be the main factor causing errors in evaluation. Moreover, the failure process is another important factor (Type I error). Thus, human bankruptcy prediction can be improved mainly by checking the consistency of financial statements (that they give a true view of the firm’s economic status) and by paying special attention to timely identification of the possible failure process. Future HIP studies on bankruptcy prediction and also other economic events should pay attention to control the kinds of sources of disturbance identified in this study, to maintain validity.

Many companies claim they are adopting an open approach to innovation, but each of them with its own way. This paper aims to explore the different models for opening up the innovation process adopted in practice.

The paper employs an extended survey among Italian manufacturing companies; cluster analysis; and ANOVA.

The study distinguishes four different open innovation models with respect to two variables, representing the degree of openness: the number and type of partners with whom the company collaborates (partner variety) and the number and type of phases of the innovation process actually open to external collaborations (innovation phase variety). They are: open innovators, closed innovators, integrated collaborators and specialised collaborators. The paper describes each cluster in terms of firm‐specific variables that characterize and support open innovation choices; finally, it tries to draw some tentative explanation of the influence of openness on the innovative performance of companies.

The number of respondents is still limited (i.e. about 100). Moreover, only the relationship between some firm‐specific factors and the degree of openness (defined specifically in terms of partner variety and phase variety) is studied: a wider investigation is recommended to include more contextual factors, i.e. external/environmental ones, or more variables that can help to define the openness degree.

The paper provides managerial implications because it suggests that open innovation is not an “on/off” choice, but it can be interpreted and adopted with different degrees, consistently with the company's specific context.

The paper introduces a new perspective that integrates both the number/typology of partners and the number/typology of phases, in order to understand if such a perspective can confirm the existence of different open innovation models.

Liability of foreignness (LOF) is a well-known concept in international business domain. At the core of LOF is the insight that firms face social and economic costs when they operate in foreign markets. Extant literature acknowledges that the ability of firms to overcome LOF in host locations varies; however, it does not discuss the possibility that the LOF itself could vary for different firms at the same location. We extend this literature by examining how a firm's interaction with the host and the home country environments affect the LOF that it faces in foreign markets.

We argue that there are two sources of LOF – environmentally derived LOF and firm-based LOF. The environmentally derived LOF has its source in home and host country environments. Firm-based LOF, on the contrary, derives from firm-specific characteristics including ownership structure, firm-specific resources, learning and network-based linkages such as affiliation to a business group. Furthermore, we argue that both the environmentally derived and the firm-based LOF are different for emerging market (EM) firms as compared to developed market (DM) firms. We develop testable propositions about how environment-specific and firm-specific factors affect LOF and suggest directions for future research.

Considerable research efforts have been made to investigate the relative importance of firm‐specific vs industry structure factors in relation to performance variation among firms in the past. However, the vast majority of the research comes from the USA and very little is known about results outside of this domain. The aim of this study was to investigate industry and firm factors producing performance differences among Turkish firms. In order to explore the contributions of firm‐level factors and structural characteristics of industries, the study decomposes the relative impact of industry and firm effects on overall performance which includes the performance items such as sales turnover, market share and profitability.

A quantitative, positivistic approach was adopted with respect to the methodological choice for this study. In order to measure the relative impact of industry and firm effects on performance, the questionnaire developed by Galbreath and Galvin was sent to the e‐mail addresses of the general managers or the other executives at the top level as a web‐link with a covering letter. Because unit of analysis is at the firm level, a single informant is used in the study and the questionnaire was mailed to only one executive from each firm. Having collected the data, the effects of firm‐level factors (resources and capabilities) and industry structure on performance variation were analyzed by hierarchical regression method.

A total of 259 firms from different industries were analyzed and the findings revealed that firm‐level resources had a greater effect in explaining performance variation than industry structure in the Turkish business context. The results of this study confirm that in the resource‐based view of the firm, the firms in Turkey “demonstrated a quite developed form of organizational learning” just like the other emerging economies (i.e. Taiwan, Brazil, Poland and South Korea). Within this framework, Turkish firms especially in automotive, textile, food, tourism and construction industries became important players in the global arena.

This study contributes to the strategic management literature, particularly, in terms of providing comparable data from an emerging country, which is significant in verifying resource‐based theory and generalizing results in a global context. The findings also suggest that the firms need to focus on their unique resources rather than try to control and manipulate structural forces in their industries since “the economies today might best be viewed as resource‐based economies”. It should be noted that, in this business era, the key challenge for the managers is the optimal deployment of existing strategic resources in order to make their organizations achieve sustainable competitive advantage and superior firm performance.