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Article
Publication date: 16 July 2019

Philip T. Roundy and Mark A. Bayer

Vibrant entrepreneurial ecosystems, systems of inter-related forces that promote and sustain regional entrepreneurship, are increasingly viewed as sources of innovation, economic…

2489

Abstract

Purpose

Vibrant entrepreneurial ecosystems, systems of inter-related forces that promote and sustain regional entrepreneurship, are increasingly viewed as sources of innovation, economic development and community revitalization. Regions with emerging, underdeveloped or depressed economies are attempting to develop their nascent entrepreneurial ecosystems in the hopes of experiencing the positive benefits of entrepreneurial activity. For nascent entrepreneurial ecosystems to grow requires resources. However, how nascent entrepreneurial ecosystems manage their resource dependencies and the tensions that exist between creating and attracting resources are not clear. The purpose of this paper is to propose a theory of nascent entrepreneurial ecosystem resource dependence.

Design/methodology/approach

This conceptual paper analyzes entrepreneurial ecosystems as meta-organizations and builds on resource dependence theory to explain how nascent ecosystems respond to environmental dependencies and their resource needs through internal and external strategies.

Findings

Two specific strategies used by nascent entrepreneurial ecosystems to manage resource dependence – bridging and buffer – are explored. It is proposed that there is a positive relationship between the resource dependence of a nascent entrepreneurial ecosystem and its use of bridging and buffering activities. Two ecosystem characteristics that influence the pursuit of bridging and buffering – ecosystem size and the presence of collaborative values – are also identified. In addition, it is theorized that resource dependence strategies influence a key, system-level characteristic of entrepreneurial ecosystems: resilience, the ecosystem’s ability to respond and adapt to internal and external disruptions.

Originality/value

The theory presented generates insights into how nascent entrepreneurial ecosystems create and obtain resources when ecosystems are unmunificent, resource-constrained or underdeveloped. The theorizing addresses which resource dependence strategy – buffering or bridging – has a stronger link to resource dependence (and resilience) and under what conditions these linkages occur. The theoretical model generates insights for research on entrepreneurship in emerging and developed economies and produces practical implications for ecosystem participants, policymakers and economic development organizations.

Details

Journal of Entrepreneurship in Emerging Economies, vol. 11 no. 4
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 2053-4604

Keywords

Book part
Publication date: 17 October 2018

Georg Reischauer and Johanna Mair

We are currently witnessing a new wave of the digital economy. A prime example is the sharing economy where an organization operates a platform for its online community, the sum…

Abstract

We are currently witnessing a new wave of the digital economy. A prime example is the sharing economy where an organization operates a platform for its online community, the sum of individuals who interact to exchange goods and services. The sharing economy blurs several boundaries of economic life – a fact that extant theory on platform organizing has yet paid little attention. We argue to consider two aspects of the sharing economy and revisit related theory to address this lacuna. First, we revive the concept of hybrid community to denote a variant of an online community that mirrors the boundary-blurring nature of the sharing economy. In a hybrid community, individuals interact both online and offline (instead of only online) and consume as well as produce. Second, we revisit the range of strategic responses suggested by extant literature to minimize the dependence of a platform organization on its hybrid community and show that the sharing economy requires management research to adapt and potentially recast existing claims.

Details

Toward Permeable Boundaries of Organizations?
Type: Book
ISBN: 978-1-78743-829-3

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 25 January 2021

Mueen Ahmed and Sankalp Pratap

The purpose of this paper is to highlight the motivation for firms in emerging economies to engage in constraint absorption. It illustrates the mechanisms that enable business…

Abstract

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to highlight the motivation for firms in emerging economies to engage in constraint absorption. It illustrates the mechanisms that enable business group (BG) affiliated firms to manage interdependencies vis-à-vis standalone firms in emerging economies.

Design/methodology/approach

The propositions outlined in this study are rooted in the theoretical lens of resource dependence theory (RDT). The authors integrate RDT with the resource-based view and institutional theory to explain the effect of BG affiliation on the relationship between the two types of interdependence (i.e. mutual dependence and power imbalance) and the likelihood of constraint absorption.

Findings

This paper theorizes that BG affiliation influences the relationship between mutual dependence/power imbalance and the likelihood of constraint absorption. However, if both the firms in a dyad are affiliated to a BG, the likelihood of constraint absorption is likely to be low owing to a process called “co-optation” even if mutual dependence or power imbalance between the firms is high.

Originality/value

This paper highlights how BG affiliated firms are better at managing contingencies in the external environment vis-à-vis standalone firms. This paper also advises managers that the type of organizational form is an important factor to be considered while engaging in constraint absorption in an emerging economy.

Details

International Journal of Organizational Analysis, vol. 30 no. 6
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 1934-8835

Keywords

Book part
Publication date: 21 December 2010

Henri A. Schildt, Tomi Laamanen and Thomas Keil

A firm's behavior is constrained by its access to resources owned or controlled by different constituencies in its environment. Mergers and acquisitions are one way to proactively…

Abstract

A firm's behavior is constrained by its access to resources owned or controlled by different constituencies in its environment. Mergers and acquisitions are one way to proactively manage these resource dependencies. Research on resource dependence reducing merger and acquisition patterns provides an important cornerstone of resource dependency theory and a basis of our present knowledge of the aggregate industry-level merger and acquisition patterns. However, due to the predominant focus on inter-industry merger and acquisition patterns in earlier research, much less is known as to whether the same logic could also be applied to explain intra-industry merger and acquisition patterns. In this chapter, we extend the resource dependence results to an intra-industry context. In particular, we show that mergers and acquisitions among pharmaceutical firms tend to take place among firms with technological and competitive interdependencies. To distinguish our finding from the competing resource scale and scope explanations, we show that the likelihood of a resource dependence reducing acquisition is moderated by the crowding of firms’ technological positions and prior alliance ties. Consistent with the resource dependence explanation, both weaken the effect of overlapping technological positions even though both alliance ties and crowding otherwise are positively related to merger and acquisition patterns in line with the social structural explanations.

Details

Advances in Mergers and Acquisitions
Type: Book
ISBN: 978-0-85724-465-9

Book part
Publication date: 25 March 2010

Gerald F. Davis and J. Adam Cobb

This chapter reviews the origins and primary arguments of resource dependence theory and traces its influence on the subsequent literatures in multiple social science and…

Abstract

This chapter reviews the origins and primary arguments of resource dependence theory and traces its influence on the subsequent literatures in multiple social science and professional disciplines, contrasting it with Emerson's power-dependence theory. Recent years have seen an upsurge in the theory's citations in the literature, which we attribute in part to Stanford's position of power in the network of academic exchange. We conclude with a review of some promising lines of recent research that extend and qualify resource dependence theory's insights, and outline potentially fruitful areas of future research.

Details

Stanford's Organization Theory Renaissance, 1970–2000
Type: Book
ISBN: 978-1-84950-930-5

Article
Publication date: 3 May 2013

Ingebjørg Vestrum and Einar Rasmussen

This paper aims to build theory on the resource mobilisation process of nascent community ventures (CVs). CVs are a type of social enterprises set up with the aim of creating…

7128

Abstract

Purpose

This paper aims to build theory on the resource mobilisation process of nascent community ventures (CVs). CVs are a type of social enterprises set up with the aim of creating social wealth within the communities in which they reside. Guided by resource dependence theory, the paper analyses how CVs introduce new ideas and activities into conservative communities. In particular, the paper explores how emerging CVs mobilise resources from local communities and how the resource mobilisation process shapes these new ventures.

Design/methodology/approach

Longitudinal case studies were conducted on the emergence of two music festivals in rural communities in Norway.

Findings

In the early stages of the venture formation process, the nascent CVs had an asymmetric dependence relationship with local resource providers because they lacked legitimacy and resources. The CVs were seeking to introduce new activities, and they simultaneously implemented two strategies to access resources: they adapted to and altered their environment. Throughout the resource mobilisation process, the CVs developed a joint dependence relationship with local resource providers. In later stages of the process, the CVs implemented strategies to increase their embeddedness and engage greater portions of the local communities in the ventures.

Originality/value

The paper's longitudinal approach to the resource mobilisation process made it possible to reveal how entrepreneurs and local resource providers interact over time to create new CVs. Building on resource dependence theory, the paper provides an explanation for how CVs are able to become embedded in their local communities while introducing new ideas that depart from existing practices.

Details

International Journal of Entrepreneurial Behavior & Research, vol. 19 no. 3
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 1355-2554

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 22 December 2023

Recai Coşkun and Oğuzhan Öztürk

This study aims to critically evaluate resource dependence theory’s (RDT) assumptions and explanations about dependence and the dependent firm’s strategic options. The authors…

Abstract

Purpose

This study aims to critically evaluate resource dependence theory’s (RDT) assumptions and explanations about dependence and the dependent firm’s strategic options. The authors argue that RDT’s perception of dependence is problematic because it evaluates dependence as a purely negative situation in which all firms, by definition, seek to develop strategies to change the power structure of such relationships. On the contrary, the authors argue that there are situations in which dependent firms are in agreement with dependence and, therefore, develop strategies that do not aim to change the balance of power in the relationship, but rather to strengthen their position within the relationship.

Design/methodology/approach

The research is designed as a theoretical discussion. The authors critically evaluate and discuss current understanding and assumptions about RDT’s dependence explanations. Drawing on insights from the strategic management literature, the authors offer a new perspective on the problematic areas in the dependence explanations of the RDT.

Findings

Drawing on insights from the strategic management literature, the authors argue that dependent firms enjoy certain advantages due to the dependence relationship to gain sustainable competitive advantages over their rivals and potential competitors. These advantages include factors such as increasing growth potential, developing capabilities and competencies, building relationships of trust with powerful firms and leveraging their reputations and references that contribute to the sustainable strategic advantages of dependent firms. The authors believe that this study has the potential to spur new research that further challenges the assumptions of the RDT and empirically tests its propositions.

Originality/value

The authors propose a research framework on dependence as a strategic option that has the possibility of expanding RDT’s current dependence explanation.

Details

International Journal of Organizational Analysis, vol. ahead-of-print no. ahead-of-print
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 1934-8835

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 12 June 2020

Daniel Prajogo, Mesbahuddin Chowdhury, Anand Nair and T.C.E. Cheng

Buyer’s dependence on its key supplier for critical resources and capabilities is generally considered as creating a disadvantageous position for the buyer and undermining its…

Abstract

Purpose

Buyer’s dependence on its key supplier for critical resources and capabilities is generally considered as creating a disadvantageous position for the buyer and undermining its business performance. This study aims to invoke arguments from resource dependence theory (RDT) to examine if this adverse effect of buyer’s dependence is moderated by the buyer’s absorptive capacity and a long-term relationship with the key supplier.

Design/methodology/approach

Using a data set drawn from 204 manufacturing firms in Australia, this study tested the proposed model using hierarchical moderated regression analysis.

Findings

The finding shows that buyer’s dependence on its key supplier by itself has no significant effect on the buyer’s business performance. However, the link between buyer’s dependence on its key supplier and performance is positively moderated by the level of the buyer’s absorptive capacity, as well as by the joint effect of buyer’s absorptive capacity and a long-term relationship with the key supplier.

Practical implications

As buyer’s dependence is often difficult to avoid, the finding of this study is instructive in showing managers how to strategically mitigate the effect of their firm’s dependence on a key supplier; indeed, turn it into a positive outcome.

Originality/value

This is the first study, which integrates the internal and external resources in mitigating the effect of buyer’s dependence on the supplier.

Details

Supply Chain Management: An International Journal, vol. 25 no. 6
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 1359-8546

Keywords

Open Access
Article
Publication date: 9 October 2019

Chengyong Xiao, Boyana Petkova, Eric Molleman and Taco van der Vaart

Technology uncertainty poses significant challenges to manufacturers, as rapid changes in product and/or process standards and specifications can disrupt the smooth flow of…

6120

Abstract

Purpose

Technology uncertainty poses significant challenges to manufacturers, as rapid changes in product and/or process standards and specifications can disrupt the smooth flow of materials in extended supply chains. Practitioners and researchers alike who take a relational perspective widely regard supplier involvement as a potentially effective strategy to cope with technology uncertainty, as focal manufacturers can tap into their upstream supply networks for complementary resources and capabilities. However, the literature lacks a nuanced understanding of the supplier involvement processes. Specifically, the role of resource dependence for supplier involvement has yet to be systematically understood. To fill this gap, this study aims to combine the relational perspective with the resource-dependence perspective to explore how buyer dependence, supplier dependence and buyer–supplier interdependence influence buyers’ decision-making on tapping into upstream supply networks for coping with technology uncertainty.

Design/methodology/approach

To test the hypotheses, a survey is conducted among Dutch firms with more than 50 employees in the discrete manufacturing industries (ISIC 28-35), resulting in a sample of 125 manufacturers.

Findings

First, there is a significantly positive relationship between technology uncertainty and supplier involvement, giving support to the expectation that buyers are indeed involving their key suppliers in the product/process design and improvement, as a response to technology uncertainty. Second, buyer dependence and interdependence are found to be positively moderating the relationship between technology uncertainty and supplier involvement. In contrast, supplier dependence has a negative moderating effect on the baseline relationship.

Research limitations/implications

The authors contribute to a relational view on buyer–supplier relationships by showing that the validity of this view, in the context of technology uncertainty, is contingent on the resource dependence between buyers and suppliers, and the authors contribute to the supply chain management literature more generally by combining a relational perspective with a resource-dependence perspective.

Practical implications

The findings provide several nuanced insights into the effect of resource dependence (buyer dependence, supplier dependence and interdependence) on supplier involvement for coping with technology uncertainty.

Originality/value

This study contributes to the supply chain management research by going beyond the benefits of supplier involvement and highlights the circumstances under which supplier involvement is likely to occur.

Details

Supply Chain Management: An International Journal, vol. 24 no. 6
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 1359-8546

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 9 January 2020

Chaminda Wijethilake and Athula Ekanayake

This study aims to draw on the resource dependence theory to synthesize the conflicting arguments as well as commonalities of the agency and stewardship perspectives on the…

1932

Abstract

Purpose

This study aims to draw on the resource dependence theory to synthesize the conflicting arguments as well as commonalities of the agency and stewardship perspectives on the relationship between CEO duality and firm performance.

Design/methodology/approach

Multiple regression analysis is used to analyze the data collected from a sample of 212 large-scale publicly listed companies representing 20 sectors in the Colombo Stock Exchange in Sri Lanka.

Findings

The research results based on all of 212 publicly listed companies in Sri Lanka show, in support of the agency theory, that CEO duality exerts a negative effect on firm performance when the CEO is equipped with additional informal power. Conversely, CEO duality exhibits a positive effect on firm performance when board involvements are high, a finding that supports the commonalities of the agency and stewardship theoretical perspectives.

Practical implications

By examining the governance practices and concepts in an Asian developing economy, this study provides insight into the power dynamics between the CEO and the board of directors in managerial contexts that are largely different from those in western countries.

Originality/value

This study expands the theoretical underpinning of corporate governance research by identifying the performance implications of CEO duality within the broad context of the resource provision of the board of directors and the informal power of CEOs.

Details

Social Responsibility Journal, vol. 16 no. 8
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 1747-1117

Keywords

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