Search results

Studies have documented the distinctive advantage of innovation ecosystems in integrating and recombining heterogeneous knowledge resources across firms' boundaries. However, hierarchical governance in the form of vertical integration is still preferred in many industries for organizing innovation, and the current literature touches little on the relative performance of different organizational structures (integrated firms vs innovation ecosystem) and the factors that lead firms to choose one over the other. The authors conjecture that structure of technological interdependence is one of such important factors. Using a computational experiment, the authors compare the innovation performance of ecosystems with integrated firms under different interdependency structures.

Using the NKC model, the authors incorporate non-generic complementarities and modularity into the technological interdependence between different components. The authors compare four different types of technological interdependence (modular, hierarchical, nearly modular, and random).

The results show that integrated firms with centralized search demonstrate stable and consistent performance that is robust to the structure of technological interdependencies, but an ecosystem significantly outperforms integrated firms with centralized or decentralized when the products exhibit modular or nearly-modular structures.

This study sheds light on why an ecosystem often exhibits modular structures while vertical integration is prevalent in industries with complex technological interdependence. In addition, it shows the evolutionary nature of ecosystems and indicates how the cooperation and competition between actors shape the interdependence structure of ecosystems.

In this chapter, the authors theorize organizational integration by extending, elaborating, and combining various theoretical perspectives, such as structural contingency theory, organization economics, and organizational culture. The aim of this study is to provide the foundation for a holistic theory of integration that examines the different relevant facets of integration and a comprehensive set of tools – integrative devices – by which integration can be sought by those who design the organization. To this end, the authors examine the integration challenge that arises from various types of subunit interdependence – pooled, sequential, and reciprocal – and theorize which configurations of integrative devices are more likely to be effective in a given task environment. The authors close by discussing directions for future research on organizational integration.

The process approach to multi-level organizational behavior is based on the assumption that multi-level organizational behavior is processual in nature. This article defines group and organizational processes and their representation as process frameworks. Both functional and inclusional classes of levels exist, each of which has at least five categories of levels. All ten categories are special cases of process frameworks. This article provides examples of each category level, which it uses to illustrate new models of organizational work, extended models of interdependence, a new typology of theories based on their levels of processes, and a new tool for survey research called knobby analyses. After explaining the basic idea of knobby analysis, the article briefly describes the processual theory of the organizational hologram, the use of linear programming, and causal-chain analysis to provide multi-level explanations of employee opinion data. These ideas are embodied in conducting a strategic organizational diagnosis, which is the first stage of organizational design. Organizational design encompasses multiple stages, each of which itself involves multiple, multi-level phenomena and analyses. The basic point is that the processual nature of multi-level organizational phenomena gives more hope for improvements in theory building and their application if one uses the process approach rather than a variable approach.

The purpose of this paper is to contribute to the understanding of coordination in business processes by quantifying how the coordination load is affected by changes in task structure and task characteristics.

A model is presented that quantifies the amount of coordination work as a function of the task characteristics analyzability and variability and the task structure factor of interdependence. To test the model, a management simulation game is used with a full factorial design of experiments. Two replications are conducted for each treatment. Validated questionnaires and time studies are used to obtain the data.

Analyses of the experimental results indicate that as task analyzability decreases and task interdependence increases then the coordination load increases. The increase in coordination load is greater for changes in task interdependence than for changes in task analyzability.

The experimental results indicate the time savings from doing tasks in parallel versus sequential are less than what would expected due to the increased interdependence between tasks and the resulting requirements for coordination. These results can be used to understand the trade‐offs of different process configurations, primarily how coordination load changes when a process is changed from sequential to parallel.

This research deviates from previous research in that the coordination load difference is measured when going from a sequential process to a parallel process. Most previous studies have shown differences but not the magnitude of the difference. Moreover, most previous studies have been at the organization level, while this research focuses on the business process level.

This study aims to validate whether enhancing interorganizational task interdependence among tier 2 suppliers can act as an effective approach for the tier 1 supplier to enhance collaborations among these suppliers in the buyer-tier 1 supplier-tier 2 supplier triadic new product development (NPD) project when buyer's requirements are unstable.

Based on social interdependence theory, a model linking interorganizational task interdependence to interorganizational collaboration and NPD product performance is built. The authors conducted a survey study to collect data from 169 automotive tier 1 suppliers and performed regression analysis to empirically test the hypotheses.

The test results suggest that interorganizational task interdependence among tier 2 suppliers can promote interorganizational promotion-oriented information sharing and interorganizational joint decision making among these suppliers. These improvements can ultimately improve supplier’s NPD product performance. However, the buyer’s requirements uncertainty can reduce the positive effects of such an interdependence arrangement.

This study provides new insights into the role of a tier 1 supplier to enhance the collaboration among tier 2 suppliers in the limited condition of this relationship while providing an alternative explanation regarding contradictory ideas about task interdependence among suppliers.

Organizational cultures that facilitate collaboration are valuable, but little is known about how to create them. The authors investigate the microfoundations of this problem using computational models of dyadic coupled learning. The authors find that merely altering initial beliefs about the consequence of actions (without altering the consequences themselves) can under some conditions create cultures that promote collaboration. The results of this study show why the right initial “framing” of a situation – established for instance through persuasive rhetoric, an inspiring vision, or careful recruitment choices – may under the right conditions be self-reinforcing, instead of becoming empty symbolism.

The purpose of this study is to examine tacit knowledge sharing within information systems development (ISD) projects by exploring the combination of social interdependence theory and regulatory focus theory (RFT).

A survey was conducted on 198 ISD professionals to investigate the effect of social interdependence on tacit knowledge sharing. The survey data were analyzed using partial least squares structural equation modeling (PLS-SEM), and the results were discussed.

This study reveals that team members tend to share tacit knowledge in a way characterized by cooperative interdependence, and different patterns of social interdependence have an impact on tacit knowledge sharing. The RFT explains the disparities in attitude toward tacit knowledge sharing. Specifically, individuals with a prevention-focused orientation positively moderate the impact of competitive interdependence on tacit knowledge sharing, while those with a promotion-focused orientation have a negative moderating effect on the effect of competitive interdependence on tacit knowledge sharing. Moreover, promotion-focused individuals negatively moderate the effect of cooperative interdependence on tacit knowledge sharing.

The study identifies important aspects of social interdependence in ISD projects that affect the management of tacit knowledge. Furthermore, the study shows that the influence of cooperative and competitive interdependence on tacit knowledge sharing is moderated by the regulatory focus of an individual, providing new insights into ISD knowledge management.

Power use widely exists in buyer–supplier relationships (BSRs). Different directions of power use (i.e. buyer's power use and supplier's power use) intertwining with different types of power (i.e. coercive and noncoercive power) make it insufficient to regard power use as a single construct when examining its effect on a firm's following response. Besides, interdependence structure characterized by joint dependence and dependence asymmetry may influence the effect of a specific power use by shaping the firm's interpretation and cognition toward the relationship. Specifically, this study examines how four types of power use a buyer facing and an interdependence structure with its supplier affect its specific investments to the supplier.

This study tests the proposed relationships using regression analysis, based on data from 240 manufacturing firms in China on their perceived relationships with their major suppliers.

Results show that buyer's coercive power use (BCP) negatively affects buyer's specific investments while noncoercive power use (BNP) does not play a significant role. Both supplier's coercive power use (SCP) and noncoercive power use (SNP) are positively related to buyer's specific investments. Joint dependence positively moderates the effect of BNP and dependence asymmetry negatively moderates the effects of BCP and SNP on buyer's specific investments.

This study contributes to the literature on power use by identifying different types of power use and their different roles in influencing buyer's specific investments. The study also contributes to the literature on interdependence structure by demonstrating the different roles of joint dependence and dependence asymmetry.

Developing appropriate conflict management strategies (CMSs) is important for a firm to achieve better relationships with its supply chain partners. However, the literature has rarely considered how firms may simultaneously adopt various CMSs to address interfirm conflicts. Accordingly, this study aims to identify manufacturers' CMS archetypes with their main suppliers based on interfirm interdependence structure, further examining the relationship between various CMS archetypes and exchange performance.

First, the authors theoretically propose a manufacturer's CMS archetypes configured with Rahim's five CMSs based on interfirm interdependence structure. Second, cluster analysis with data from 200 Chinese manufacturers is used to generate a manufacturer's actual CMS archetypes. Third, the authors analyze the relationship between interfirm interdependence structure and Rahim's five CMSs as well as that with the new configured CMS archetypes. Finally, the authors use Analysis of Variance (ANOVA) to compare exchange performance disparities among manufacturers using different CMS archetypes.

First, cluster analysis results show that three archetypes – cooperative, competitive and cooperative-competitive CMS – emerge during interfirm conflict management. Second, regression analysis shows how interfirm interdependence structure can affect manufacturers' choice of different CMSs and CMS archetypes. Third, ANOVA results indicate that when addressing interfirm conflicts, the strong cooperative, strong competitive and strong cooperative-competitive CMS archetypes can help manufacturers get good relationship satisfaction with main suppliers. Regarding supplier opportunism, while both strong cooperative and strong competitive CMS archetypes are effective at restraining opportunism, the cooperative-competitive CMS archetype may trigger higher levels of supplier opportunism.

This study enriches the interfirm relationship management literature and provides insights for manufacturers to better address interfirm conflicts.

Dualism ‐ the division of an object of study into separate, paired elements ‐ is widespread in economic and social theorising: key examples are the divisions between agency and structure, the individual and society, mind and body, values and facts, and knowledge and practice. In recent years, dualism has been criticised as exaggerating conceptual divisions and promoting an oversimplified, reductive outlook. A possible alternative to dualism is the notion of duality, derived from Giddens’s structuration theory, whereby the two elements are interdependent and no longer separate or opposed, although they remain conceptually distinct. This paper argues that duality, if handled carefully, can provide a superior framework to dualism for dealing with the complexity of economic and social institutions. Its main attraction is not its twofold character, which might profitably be relaxed where appropriate, but its ability to envisage a thoroughgoing interdependence of conceptually distinct elements.