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The purpose of this paper is to empirically investigate the effects of cooperation history on contractual governance and the moderating effects of dependence asymmetry on those relationships from the perspective of a weaker firm in emergent economies. Drawing from resource dependence theory and contingency theory, this paper develops a conceptual model to investigate the impact of cooperation history on contractual governance.

The authors use data from 188 buyer–supplier relationships in China

The authors find that cooperation history is positively associated with contractual governance when dependence asymmetry is high but negatively associated with contractual governance when dependence asymmetry is low. Furthermore, the negative moderating effect of dependence asymmetry on the relationship between cooperation history and contractual complexity is stronger than the relationship between cooperation history and contract enforcement.

This study contributes to a better understanding of how cooperation history affects contractual governance with respect to the various levels of dependence on partners by incorporating a contingency view. This study also advances the literature on interfirm governance by distinguishing contractual governance into contractual complexity and contract enforcement.

Drawing from social capital theory and resource dependence theory, this paper aims to test the relationship between top management team (TMT) government social capital and firm’s innovation performance via firm’s network prestige, and the moderating effect of TMT academic social capital.

The authors collected data from the China Stock Market and Accounting Research Database as well as A-share listed firms’ annual reports, and finally generated a sample of 922 firms and 2,464 firm-years from 2008 to 2014. UCINET 6.0 was used to analyze the data.

The authors find that the government social capital of TMT is positively related to firms’ innovation performance and firms’ network prestige plays a mediating role in this relationship. In addition, TMT academic social capital can strengthen the links between TMT government social capital and innovation performance through firms’ network prestige.

This paper not only contributes to literatures on the mechanism in the relationship between government social capital and firms’ innovation, but also to literatures on the effectiveness of the heterogeneity of firm’s social capital.

While the literature on multitier supply chain management traditionally assumes that first-tier suppliers belong to the visible proportion of the supply base, intermediaries might limit focal firms' visible horizon already at this stage. High power asymmetries promoting centrality and complexity in the supply network are seen as a particular root cause that limits the impact of governance mechanisms for sustainability. To map the space for governance mechanisms in a network-sensitive context more comprehensively, the study analyzes supply network characteristics from a power perspective.

This research is conceptual. To better understand power imbalances and mutual dependencies from network centrality and complexity, network configurations were constructed drawing on resource dependence theory. These configurations allow deducing the impact of (non-)mediated governance mechanisms for a sustainable development in the supply network. An agenda to stimulate future empirical and model-based research is accordingly presented.

The research shows that those networks with densely interconnected first-tier suppliers promote network centrality and complexity, leading to an inverted U-shape relationship between the focal firm's exertion of coercive power and the sustainability performance in the supply network. The findings allow a more comprehensive theoretical grounding for mapping governance approaches in a network-sensitive context and provide insights on how to avoid negative effects from power asymmetries.

The findings suggest the need for accompanying, indirect governance mechanisms already at the stage of first-tier suppliers based on non-mediated forms of power, such as referent power, also promoting disintermediation. Purchasing companies may also consider using digital platform technologies that foster disintermediation, such as blockchain technology.

By studying intermediaries from a power and network perspective, the conceptualization adds to the discussion on governance in multitier sustainable supply chain networks in various industries. Furthermore, it contributes to the increasing efforts of middle-range theorizing in logistics and supply chain management. The results partially challenge previous assumptions on the moderating role of specific network characteristics.

This study aims to examine the governance structure of the firm undergoing a complete buyout cycle (reverse leveraged buyout). Its purpose is to empirically explore the evolution of corporate board structures as a unique source of value creation, in addition to the agency mechanisms of the discipline of debt and incentives of equity participation.

The authors rely on agency theory and the resource dependence perspective to develop sets of hypotheses that examine changes in the board composition of 65 R‐LBOs and 65 matched continuing firms spanning a 25‐year period (1979‐2004).

The empirical results reveal numerous insights about why R‐LBOs go private, to what extent boards restructure during the buyout phase, and how those changes relate to firm performance. Taken together, the findings give strong credence to the argument that boards represent a supplemental source of value creation in the buyout process.

For scholars, the study presents a platform for further inquiry into the role of boards of directors in R‐LBOs as well as the inclusion of resource dependence theory to inform on the phenomenon.

The study helps to address this new source of value creation for practical interest. It offers a benchmark for buyout firms to compare their board characteristics by establishing linkages between pre‐buyout deficiencies, post‐buyout modifications, and post‐SIPO performance.

The results shift scholarly attention away from the structural governance tools to the group dynamics of the board. The findings call into question the restricted attention given by buyout researchers to leverage and ownership as value drivers by prompting a closer evaluation of the relationship between buyout board structures and related structuring of debt and managerial equity participation. Furthermore, the inclusion of the resource‐dependency perspective alongside agency theory as an explanatory theory allows for a richer account of the LBO phenomenon and its sources of value creation.

Organizational learning is a critical factor in generating firm innovation. While the firms are working with global business partners, not only does their absorptive learning capacity (ALC) with business partners play an important role in generating innovation from the inter-partner firm relationship, but their joint learning capacity (JLC) does as well. However, little research has simultaneously examined absorptive and JLC on innovation in global supply chain relationships. The paper aims to discuss this issue.

Drawing on the knowledge-based view, inter-partner learning theory and resource dependence theory, the current study investigates the effects of two organizational learning capacities on relationship-specific innovation: ALC (firm-level) and JLC (relationship level). In addition, a firm’s focus on exploitation/exploration strategy and supplier dependence is further incorporated into the study as moderators. Moreover, solutions to endogeneity issues are discussed and reported due to the usage of survey data. The model of this study was tested using data collected from 190 electronics firms in Taiwan as an emerging market.

The findings of this research reveal that JLC in the presence of absorptive capacity positively influences relationship-specific innovation. Furthermore, the exploitation focus of a firm positively moderates the effects of both absorptive and JLC on relationship-specific innovation. However, supplier dependence negatively moderates the effect of JLC.

The research provides some theoretical implications for learning and innovation generation in global supply chains.

The paper provides some managerial implications for how to manage innovations in the global supply chain relationships.

This paper fulfills an identified need to study how innovation generation can be better managed in global supply chain contexts.

Based on resource dependence theory and the concept of interlocking directorates, the purpose of this paper is to understand the importance of networks for start-ups and the role incubators play in these companies’ networking processes.

The research was conducted through semi-structured interviews with the entrepreneurs responsible for three start-ups and the heads of their incubators. The interview data were subjected to content analysis using NVivo software.

The results indicate that start-ups often resort to networks to overcome their weak reputations and scarce resources. Incubators play a quite important role in this process since they promote events that encourage the creation of partnerships and networks either between start-ups within the same incubator or with external institutions. In addition, the results reveal that most cooperation networks are informal and that they fulfil needs that start-ups are not yet able to meet themselves, for example, when they compete for public tenders.

The present study explored this topic from two perspectives (i.e. start-ups and incubators). This approach facilitated the identification of the main features upon which start-ups depend, the entities to which these companies turn for help, the kind of communication in which they usually engage, the primary advantages of establishing cooperation networks and the main types of support given by incubators.

Most studies of cooperation networks are based on transaction cost economics, a resource-based perspective and/or institutional theory. In contrast, this study innovated by applying resource dependence theory and the concept of interlocking directorates, which provided an alternative explanation regarding cooperation networks’ importance to start-ups and incubators’ roles in these companies’ networking processes.

How do business groups manage their internal processes? The purpose of this paper is to explore how board interlocks between members serve as control and coordination mechanisms within business groups. The authors propose that centrality of groups’ affiliates in the group network of interlocking directorates is shaped by agency and resource dependence forces. In particular, the authors examine the role of international board ties as a resource and information conduit.

This study leverages proprietary information on firm-to-firm transaction ties among all 155 affiliates belonging to a large Italian business group. The authors use network analysis to develop multiple measures of the centrality of each group member, and link these to resource transactions, ownership patterns and geographic distributions. The authors test the hypotheses in a structural equation model using LISREL.

The results demonstrate that both resource exchanges and the presence of cross-national relations increase an affiliate’s central position in the group’s network of board ties. In contrast, ownership ties between members were unrelated to affiliate centrality.

Internal governance mechanisms of business groups are rarely studied. While groups are often portrayed as inefficient or value-destroying, the analysis of proprietary firm data suggests a very different scenario: inter-unit ties are much more supportive of a model of business groups as strategic portfolios, using internal ties to share information and resources.

With boards of directors playing both monitoring and guidance roles, the purpose of this paper is to examine the impact of board structure on firm value in large US and UK firms using the lenses of agency and resource dependence theories.

Using a sample of firms in the USA and the UK from 2000 to 2007, the paper conducts a panel data analysis of the impact of board structure on firm value and examine the nuances of different governance environments.

The paper finds distinct differences in the impact of board independence, board size, and outside director busyness on firm value between UK and US firms. Specifically, the paper finds that board independence, board size, and board busyness all have a significant positive impact on firm value in the UK. However, the paper finds no significant relationship between board independence and firm value among US firms. Both board size and board busyness are found to be positively associated with firm value in the USA.

The paper finds strong support for resource dependence theory in the UK but limited support for agency theory in the USA.

This paper takes a multi-country approach to examining the impact of board structure on firm value.

Applying resource dependence theory (RDT), this research paper aims to examine the effect of imbalanced trade dependence (ITD) on entry mode choices and how state ownership and marketization each can moderate this effect.

Using data on 1,404 foreign projects made by 493 Chinese listed firms during the 2009–2015 period of time, this study applies logit regression to do the statistical analysis.

It finds that ITD positively affects the choice of wholly-owned subsidiaries. State ownership and marketization each can moderate this influence.

It develops the concept of ITD, applies it to examine entry mode choices and lets us better understand the substitutive or complementary relationship between governments and foreign firms as two sources of resources. It helps us better understand some competitive advantages of emerging market firms (EMFs) and the impacts of the state on EMFs’ outward FDI. It contributes to entry mode research by applying RDT to explain how ITD influences entry mode choices and how state ownership and marketization each can moderate this relationship.

The purpose of this study was to explore the process of change in existing professional sport organisations as they initiate a women's team.

Three Australian Football League clubs with licenses for professional women's teams were examined, with semi-structured interviews held with three key department managers from each club.

The findings suggest organisations adopt either a community-focused or commercially focused approach, the selection of which is a response to the interplay of institutional pressures (e.g. league demands), resource demands (e.g. human and financial) and the strategic choices of a few, key “idea champions”.

This study provides insight into the approach change taken by clubs as they introduce a women's team into their existing organisational structure.