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1 – 10 of 503
Article
Publication date: 24 March 2021

Xuan Bai, Shibin Sheng and Julie Juan Li

This paper aims to examine alliance governance at different hierarchical levels.

Abstract

Purpose

This paper aims to examine alliance governance at different hierarchical levels.

Design/methodology/approach

The data is collected from both top-level and operating-level managers in 286 strategic alliances in China (a total of 572 managers). Hierarchical moderated regression models are adopted to test the hypotheses and two-stage regression analyzes are used to correct for endogeneity.

Findings

This paper finds that relational governance has a greater impact on alliance performance than contract utilization at the top level. Furthermore, the simultaneous use of relational governance at the top and operating levels have a detrimental impact on alliance performance. Finally, top-level contract utilization has a negative interaction with operating-level relational governance but a positive interaction with operating-level contract utilization.

Research limitations/implication

First, the cross-sectional nature of the data collection approach provides only a snapshot of how each type of governance mechanism and its interactions affect alliance performance. Second, the sample is limited to firms located in emerging markets.

Practical implications

Managers should realize that the effectiveness of contract and relational governance mechanisms varies across different management levels and they should be cautious about the cross-level governance mechanism alignment.

Originality/value

This study advances the interfirm governance literature in that this paper examined alliance governance at different hierarchical levels and provides new insights into the ongoing debate on whether the contract and relational governance mechanisms function as complements or substitutes by exploring the governance alignment across different alliance hierarchies.

Article
Publication date: 1 May 1991

M.K. Kolay

The article analyses the “pros” and “cons”of different strategies to be adopted to manage and avoid workingcapital crisis situations in any organisation. The working…

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Abstract

The article analyses the “pros” and “cons” of different strategies to be adopted to manage and avoid working capital crisis situations in any organisation. The working capital position depends on many organisational parameters which are interrelated and interdependent, and also vary over time. In such a situation, the use of a system dynamics approach has been advocated to reflect the relevant dynamic cause‐and‐effect relationships for the development of appropriate long‐term and short‐term strategies.

Details

Management Decision, vol. 29 no. 5
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0025-1747

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 1 December 1997

David Walters

Proposes an approach for implementing value‐based management expectations into strategic and operational management activities. Also considers issues concerning marketing and…

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Abstract

Proposes an approach for implementing value‐based management expectations into strategic and operational management activities. Also considers issues concerning marketing and operations management as well as finance. Addresses the scope of business and its planning horizon, and both applies existing concepts and develops others.

Details

Management Decision, vol. 35 no. 10
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0025-1747

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Article
Publication date: 1 January 1996

Daniel A. Szpiro and Tony Dimnik

This paper reports on a field study of capital budgeting and strategy in 23 firms. The objectives of the study were two‐fold: first to develop a classification scheme for overall…

Abstract

This paper reports on a field study of capital budgeting and strategy in 23 firms. The objectives of the study were two‐fold: first to develop a classification scheme for overall capital budgeting processes and second to relate the different types of capital budgeting to extant models of strategy. Based on our findings, there are three different types of capital budgeting processes: centralized, decentralized and integrated. In centralized capital budgeting, top management make all important strategic capital budgeting decisions. Operating managers simply “bid” on implementing projects selected by top management. In decentralized capital budgeting operating managers identify and initiate projects that are approved by top management based upon projected financial performance. Integrated capital budgeting has elements of both decentralized and centralized capital budgeting. We found the three types of capital budgeting to have a contingent relationship with Bartlett's (1986) typology of multinational strategy: global, multinational and transnational. Global firms choose to respond to pressures for integration and co‐ordination. Typically these firms are highly centralized and have standardized products which can be sold in multiple markets and produced in large‐scale facilities to take full advantage of economies of scale. Multinational firms, in response to pressure to accommodate regional markets through product specialization, operate in a number of highly differentiated markets with significantly dissimilar requirements. In pursuing economies of scope, these firms operate in a decentralized manner with national or regional managers making key strategic decisions. Transnational firms employ a complex structure that addresses the needs for both product differentiation and global integration. In our study, we found that global firms were more likely to have centralized capital budgeting, multinational firms to have decentralised capital budgeting and transnational firms to have integrated capital budgeting. Capital budgeting is one of the most important of management functions. Through capital budgeting decisions management determines the structural cost drivers of the firm and enacts the strategies that define the way in which a firm competes. Although there is an obvious link between strategy and capital budgeting, that link has not been made in either research or practice (Pinches, 1982). The need to understand the link between capital budgeting and strategy is especially evident in manufacturing firms that must continually invest in new technologies. In a review of some 150 articles on capital budgeting for new manufacturing technologies, Dimnik and Kudar (1991) found frequent criticism of current capital budgeting practices for failing to incorporate strategic issues. The most commonly proposed solution to this problem was to modify project evaluation and selection techniques by using multi‐attribute decision‐making models to quantify strategic issues. This response is typical of much of the literature on capital budgeting, which has traditionally focused on the technical issues of project evaluation and selection (Pinches, 1982). A more complete understanding of the relationship between the capital budgeting process and firm strategy will allow specific suggestions for improvement to be implemented. This paper reports on a field study of capital budgeting and strategy in 23 firms involved in a wide range of manufacturing activities. The objectives of the study were two‐fold: to develop a classification scheme for overall capital budgeting processes, and to relate the different types of capital budgeting to extant models of strategy. We found it necessary to develop a new classification scheme for capital budgeting because the standard model of capital budgeting does not explain practice (Dimnik, 1991). The traditional model of capital budgeting assumes that projects bubble‐up from operating managers for approval by top management and emphasizes the use of discounted cash flow methods of selecting projects. The bubble‐up assumption of capital budgeting can be traced to Bower (1970) and the pre‐occupation with discounted cash flow techniques to Dean (1951). Bower held that: [A] company's top management approves or rejects projects but has little direct influence on how they get defined or on which ones are pushed through the firm's lower levels of decision‐making to become claimants for top‐executive approval…Top management cannot keep the character and composition of the projects that rise for their approval from being coloured by structural context. However, top management can influence that structural context by means of the organization chart…and the measurement and reward system it employs (Caves, 1980, p.76). This bubble‐up assumption is implicit in most capital budgeting research and is incorporated in leading accounting and finance text‐books. For, example, Haka (1987) described the impact of rewards on the path that a “proposal follows from its originator in operations to its approval by top corporate executives”. Principles of Corporate Finance, Brealey et.al., stated that “most firms let project proposals bubble‐up from plants for review by division management, and from divisions for review by senior management”. Accounting: Text and Cases, Anthony and Reece stated that “as proposals for capital expenditures come up through the organization, they are screened at various levels. Only the sufficiently attractive ones flow up to the top and appear in the final capital expenditure budget”. Dean (1951) defined capital budgeting in economic terms and stressed that without systematic acceptance and rejection criteria, the capital budgeting decision has no solid foundation. He recognized that procedural and organizational issues were important in capital budgeting but defined the “problem” of capital budgeting as finding the answers to three questions: (1) How much money will be needed for the expenditures in the coming period? (2) How much money will be available? (3) How should the available money be doled out to candidate projects (p.555)? Dean emphasized discounted cash flow methods and this emphasis is adopted in leading accounting and finance text‐books and colours much of the academic research on capital budgeting (Pinches, 1982). It is especially evident in the many surveys of capital budgeting practices (Oblak and Helm, 1980; Bavishi, 1981; Stanley and Block, 1984; Woods et.al., 1985; Hodder, 1986; Kim, 1986; McLean, 1986; Baker, 1987; Klammer et.al., 1991). The bubble‐up, discounted cash flow model of capital budgeting is inadequate for explaining what is found in actual practice. For example, in a survey of 32 operating managers, Dimnik (1990) found that in some firms operating managers initiated capital budgeting proposals and were very conscious of financial criteria for project approval and aware of the impact of investment decisions on their measures of performance. In other firms, operating managers had little say in investment decisions and little knowledge of financial criteria applied to investment proposals. In these firms, analytical techniques such as discounted cash flow, when used at all, were used only by top management and their staff to justify their decisions. Based on these and other personal observations, we concluded that before we could offer insights into the relationship between capital budgeting and strategy, we had to first develop an understanding of capital budgeting that went beyond the traditional model. The remainder of the paper is organized as follows. In the next section, we define capital budgeting and briefly discuss various frameworks for analyzing strategy. Then we describe our field research and provide a general description of our findings. This is followed by a discussion of a new classification scheme for capital budgeting and the suggestion that capital budgeting is related to a firm's strategy for global competition. The paper ends with a discussion of the shortcomings of the study, the implications of our findings and some suggestions for future research.

Details

Managerial Finance, vol. 22 no. 1
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0307-4358

Article
Publication date: 1 May 1993

David Morris and John Old

Many educational organizations (universities, FE colleges, etc.)are introducing financial devolution to operating units. Follows up anearlier article by the same authors which…

Abstract

Many educational organizations (universities, FE colleges, etc.) are introducing financial devolution to operating units. Follows up an earlier article by the same authors which introduced some of the major principles underlying the operation of financial responsibility centres in education. Explores what should be devolved, to whom, how and to what type of unit. Discusses some pitfalls of profit centre operation.

Details

International Journal of Educational Management, vol. 7 no. 5
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0951-354X

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Article
Publication date: 3 April 2009

V.C. Pandey and Suresh Garg

The purpose of this paper is to identify the key supply chain variables, on which the practitioner should focus, to make supply chains of manufacturing enterprises more agile…

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Abstract

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to identify the key supply chain variables, on which the practitioner should focus, to make supply chains of manufacturing enterprises more agile. Further, these variables are structured to determine their interactive behavior.

Design/methodology/approach

An interpretive structural modeling (ISM)‐based approach has been employed to model the agility variables of supply chains. These variables have been categorized into five levels based on their driving power and dependence.

Findings

The paper identifies various enablers used by researchers and practitioners for flexibility, integration and responsiveness to customers needs. ISM is used to establish mutual relationships among these enablers and to prepare a hierarchy‐based model.

Practical implications

The index of enablers, based on driving power and dependency provides useful insights to supply chain managers in identifying strategic variables having high driving power and effective use of these can help in achieving the corporate goals.

Originality/value

By presenting enablers in the form of hierarchy using ISM and ranking them into various driving power and dependent categories, this paper is an attempt to develop insights related to agile supply chains in the Indian context.

Details

Journal of Advances in Management Research, vol. 6 no. 1
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0972-7981

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 1 October 2001

Allen D. Engle, Mark E. Mendenhall, Richard L. Powers and Yvonne Stedham

Presents a conceptual framework that attempts to bridge the lag between strategic need and international human resource (IHR) support practices. Looks at the idea of competencies…

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Abstract

Presents a conceptual framework that attempts to bridge the lag between strategic need and international human resource (IHR) support practices. Looks at the idea of competencies being an alternative to the traditional construct of jobs. Presents a model consisting of three balanced transnational competencies. Concludes with a series of HR applications of the model.

Details

Journal of European Industrial Training, vol. 25 no. 7
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0309-0590

Keywords

Book part
Publication date: 8 April 2005

Ricardo Madureira

This paper illuminates the distinction between individual and organizational actors in business-to-business markets as well as the coexistence of formal and informal mechanisms of…

Abstract

This paper illuminates the distinction between individual and organizational actors in business-to-business markets as well as the coexistence of formal and informal mechanisms of coordination in multinational corporations. The main questions addressed include the following. (1) What factors influence the occurrence of personal contacts of foreign subsidiary managers in industrial multinational corporations? (2) How such personal contacts enable coordination in industrial markets and within multinational firms? The theoretical context of the paper is based on: (1) the interaction approach to industrial markets, (2) the network approach to industrial markets, and (3) the process approach to multinational management. The unit of analysis is the foreign subsidiary manager as the focal actor of a contact network. The paper is empirically focused on Portuguese sales subsidiaries of Finnish multinational corporations, which are managed by either a parent country national (Finnish), a host country national (Portuguese) or a third country national. The paper suggests eight scenarios of individual dependence and uncertainty, which are determined by individual, organizational, and/or market factors. Such scenarios are, in turn, thought to require personal contacts with specific functions. The paper suggests eight interpersonal roles of foreign subsidiary managers, by which the functions of their personal contacts enable inter-firm coordination in industrial markets. In addition, the paper suggests eight propositions on how the functions of their personal contacts enable centralization, formalization, socialization and horizontal communication in multinational corporations.

Details

Managing Product Innovation
Type: Book
ISBN: 978-1-84950-311-2

Article
Publication date: 1 December 2005

William E. Halal

The purpose of this article is to help managers and scholars understand the state‐of‐the‐art in knowledge management (KM) and how it is likely to develop further. The paper draws…

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Abstract

The purpose of this article is to help managers and scholars understand the state‐of‐the‐art in knowledge management (KM) and how it is likely to develop further. The paper draws on many examples and original research to outline a conceptual framework describing the evolution of KM. KM is presently limited because the nature of knowledge makes it difficult to actually “manage.” Instead, the field is moving toward an organic form of management focusing on three main concepts: “e‐organizations” that automatically integrate all information and knowledge, “self‐organizing systems” composed of small entrepreneurial units that draw out creative knowledge from the bottom up, and “corporate communities” that use stakeholder knowledge to improve strategy. Managers should develop these organic organizational forms because they encourage the natural creation and flow of knowledge more effectively.

Details

Handbook of Business Strategy, vol. 6 no. 1
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 1077-5730

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Article
Publication date: 1 March 2004

Christopher J. Bamber, John M. Sharp and Pavel Castka

This paper discusses the significant role of the maintenance function in an integrated management system and discusses how the efforts of maintenance management can contribute a…

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Abstract

This paper discusses the significant role of the maintenance function in an integrated management system and discusses how the efforts of maintenance management can contribute a value added perspective to the third party assessment process. Due to global competitiveness, businesses are now trading internationally and are expected to have management systems certified through a third party to international standards enhancing customer‐supplier relationships and stakeholder perceptions. This paper discusses several international standards such as ISO 9001:2000 Quality Management Systems standard, ISO 14001:1996 Environmental Management Systems standard and the internationally developed British Standards Institute OHSAS 18001 Health and Safety Management specification and how they might affect maintenance organisations in the future.

Details

Journal of Quality in Maintenance Engineering, vol. 10 no. 1
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 1355-2511

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