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Drawing upon the resource-based view this study aims to examine the connections between formal and informal business relationships and resource-bridging and adaptive capabilities within the context of foreign subsidiaries of multinational enterprises (MNEs) operating in Thailand. Based on prior literature emphasizing business network ties as sources of competitive advantage in emerging markets, this study extends the discourse by investigating the moderating effects of technological turbulence, power distance and assertiveness.

This study uses a quantitative research approach, using data obtained from a self-administered survey conducted among 168 foreign subsidiaries spanning diverse industries in Thailand. The data were analyzed by using multiple-group structural equation modeling to test the hypothesized relationships.

Cultivating different types of business ties enables foreign subsidiaries to improve different types of capabilities. While interpersonal relationships (i.e. informal businessties) enable them to develop their abilities to combine various resources (i.e. resource-bridging capability), rigid contractual-based relationships (i.e. formal businessties) help them to be more adaptive (i.e. adaptive capability). These relationships are also contingent upon the levels of technological turbulence, host-country power distance and host-country assertiveness.

This research builds upon prior research on network ties and capability building by delineating the specific nature of capabilities. Contradicting to the previous findings, demonstrating a negative relationship between formal business ties and capabilities, this study found that each type of business tie enables foreign subsidiaries to enhance different types of capabilities under different circumstances. Moreover, this study adopts a lens of host-country national culture rather than home-country culture in investigating the moderating effects of power distance and assertiveness.

Grounded in strategic choice and resource-based views, this study aims to investigate the antecedents and consequences of relational strategic emphasis of foreign subsidiaries operating in Thailand. Four types of relational strategies were identified with associated differential performance outcomes.

Data collected via self-administered surveys from a diverse sample of 168 foreign subsidiaries were analyzed in two stages. First, multinomial logistic regression was used to test whether resource-bridging capability, nonmarket-based assets and market-based assets were significant predictors of relational strategy type. Then, multivariate analysis of variance was used to determine whether the four relational strategy types differed in their strategic performance and financial performance.

The three resource-based motives are significant predictors of relational strategy. Firms adopting the “dual-relational” strategy tend to have the highest level of resource-bridging capability and nonmarket-based assets while firms pursuing the “business-oriented” strategy are likely to possess a higher level of market-based assets. Extensive reliance on relational ties enables foreign subsidiaries to achieve a much higher level of strategic and financial performance than those that chose to only rely on transactional or contractual relations.

Foreign subsidiaries operating in emerging markets characterized by an unstable market environment have to establish good relationships with buyers, suppliers and distributors, as well as government agents.

Using a juxtaposition of political and business ties, a typology of the relational strategy was conceptualized. This study extends non-market strategy research by investigating the relationship between resource and capability in the choice of relational strategy. Diverse degrees of political and business ties show different impacts on strategic and financial performances.

Given the inconclusive findings on relational ties–performance relationships, this study approaches this phenomenon through social capital theory and resource-based view (RBV) lenses to advocate the mediating role of nonmarket- and market-based capabilities.

A survey-based research methodology was employed. A list of 1,425 foreign subsidiaries was identified from the Thailand Board of Investment (BOI) website, and key informants were contacted. A final response rate of 11.8% was achieved. All hypotheses were tested via path analyses with the bootstrapping technique.

The results indicate that the relationships between business- and government-relational ties and performance are fully mediated by market- and nonmarket-based capabilities with the latter serving as essential but inadequate preconditions for achieving superior firm performance.

To mitigate the liability of foreignness and to enhance performance of foreign subsidiaries operating in volatile emerging economies such as Thailand, government and business relational ties are crucial in developing nonmarket- and market-based capabilities. The nonmarket-based capabilities entail the ability to negotiate with and influence policy makers, which in turn helps augment the development of market-based capabilities, including the ability to be highly responsive to customers' needs.

This research illustrates the embedded roles of nonmarket and market-based capabilities developed through complex interactions among social actors, including the multinational enterprises’ (MNEs’) subsidiaries and government and nongovernment counterparts, in attaining superior performance. The results indicate how relational ties enable MNEs’ subsidiaries to develop various capabilities, and how these capabilities are related with each other and linked to firm performance. Findings from an emerging economy undergoing recent political and economic uncertainties also provide theoretical advancements for international business studies.

The purpose of this paper is to demonstrate the relationship between intellectual capital and innovative performance, and to specify the boundary conditions and mechanisms of the relationship from a knowledge-based dynamic capability perspective.

This study empirically analyzes the impact of intellectual capital on innovative performance and the role knowledge-based dynamic capability plays with a sample of 217 firms in China. To test the research hypotheses, regression analysis is applied.

The results show that intellectual capital positively affects innovative performance, and knowledge-based dynamic capability is a mediator rather than a moderator which partly mediates the relationship between intellectual capital and innovative performance.

The findings suggest that realizing superior innovative performance is dependent on a firm’s intellectual capital and its ability to sense opportunities and threats, to make timely and correct decisions, and to facilitate necessary changes efficiently.

This study is the first to clarify whether knowledge-based dynamic capability plays a moderating role or a mediating role between intellectual capital and innovative performance. The present study thus helps move forward the understanding on the conditions and mechanisms of the effects of intellectual capital.

Guanxi is the foundation of business success in Chinese and other Eastern cultures, but little is known about the extent to which guanxi influences brand outcomes in channel relationships. The purpose of this study is to propose a novel theoretical framework of interpersonal and interorganizational guanxi relationships in a sales channel context and how these relationships influence brand outcomes.

The authors conceptualize, develop and validate new scales measuring interpersonal and interorganizational guanxi and test the proposed model with a field study to validate the effects of guanxi on brand loyalty. The causal relationships between interpersonal guanxi and brand attitudes and affect are confirmed in a separate field experiment.

Findings show that interpersonal guanxi is antecedent to interorganizational guanxi, and these two constructs have significant and differential direct and indirect effects on brand attitudes, brand affect and brand loyalty.

New multidimensional scales measuring both interpersonal and interorganizational guanxi were developed. Both interpersonal and interorganizational guanxi are conceptualized as second-order reflective constructs measured by the reflective first-order guanxi elements of personal and firm trust, personal and firm long-term orientation, xinyong (integrity), reciprocity, interaction and face.

This study aims to test the effects of Technology-related Divestitures (TRDs) on firms' exploratory innovation. The moderating effects of firms' internal and external resource coordination activities, resource buffering and bridging, are also explored.

A set of data including 1,372 Chinese listed firms from 2009 to 2018 is adopted. Based on propensity score matching sample, random-effect Tobit models were employed to test the hypotheses.

The empirical results indicate that TRDs inhibit firms' exploratory innovation, while both resource buffering and bridging can mitigate this negative effect. This implies that to promote exploratory innovation, resource coordination activities are the essential.

The research findings can contribute to both the exploratory innovation and technological divestiture literature. The test on the moderating roles of resource buffering and bridging can also extend our understanding of the effect of TRDs on firms' exploratory innovation. Accordingly, several practical implications can be provided. This is especially important for strategic decisions of firms from emerging and developing countries, which often lack sufficient internal resources and strong technological capabilities to develop exploratory innovation.

This study aims to examine the effect of supplier supply network (SSN) resources on buyer–supplier collaborative product innovation. The existing relevant studies from the network perspective are focused more horizontally on the mobilization of the firm’s entire supplier network resources and less vertically on the utilization of the individual supplier's supply network resources. Therefore, this paper takes a contingency perspective, regards the buyer as the receiver of a supplier’s supply network resources and, based on the theoretical motivation–opportunity–ability framework, explores the important motivation and ability factors that may weaken or enhance the product innovation value of the network resources.

This paper develops a new research model that assesses how the innovation utilization effectiveness of SSN resources is contingent on a buyer’s perception of the SSN effects and relative absorptive capacity on the SSN. A large sample questionnaire is designed and collected from 300 Chinese high-tech manufacturing firms and their suppliers. An empirical test is carried out in which multiple regression analysis is applied to 246 valid sample data.

The results show that SSN resources can significantly enhance buyer–supplier collaborative product innovation; however, the innovation utilization effectiveness is limited by the buyer’s relative absorptive capacity for the SSN and perception of the SSN effects. Specifically, if a buyer perceives that a greater innovation effect of a supplier’s supply network is correlated with an improved relative position in the SSN or with higher network structural equivalence and network cognitive congruence between the buyer and the supplier on the SSN, then the buyer will be more motivated and capable of transforming the SSN resources into actual product innovation value.

The research results provide useful guidance for firms to effectively mobilize their SSN resources to tap into the supplier innovation value for a sustainable competitive advantage.

This paper extends the research on supplier innovation value to the SSN field. Through linking dyadic and network levels of analysis, this paper reveals the value and uniqueness of product innovation utilization of a specific supplier’s supply network resources in the buyer–supplier relationship and provides a new research perspective for future studies on related issues.

The purpose of this article is to investigate if and how social capital offline – stemming from face-to-face interactions – and social capital online – stemming from social digital media – can influence early-stage entrepreneurs, i.e. ventures with up to 42 months of existence.

The authors used herein a qualitative research approach. The method used was the case study. The authors investigated three early-stage entrepreneurs in order to achieve the objective of the paper. These entrepreneurs are both the unit of analysis and the unit of observation.

The outcomes of this research indicate (1) the combined importance of social capital offline and online; (2) the different performance of the two different types of social capital (they seem to operate in relatively distinct ways) and (3) the existence of recursiveness between resources stemming from the two social spheres (offline and online).

As research limitations, the authors point out the following: (1) the use of semistructured interviews as the only data collection instrument; (2) the limitation of the outcomes to entrepreneurs only (3) the absence of information on the performance of the business ventures; the focus of the paper was only on establishing causality between social capital offline and online and entrepreneurial performance.

This paper provides important research contributions. Initially, the paper presents a range of offline and online variables, which can be used in further research. At the same time, the paper emphasizes the combined impact of social capital offline and online, expanding the literature related to entrepreneurship. Moreover, this study proposes the creation of an integrative model. Finally, the authors point out the need for new theoretical and empirical studies on the subject, which still presents a gap in the literature.

There is only limited knowledge about the performance benefits of the alignment of sustainability-related upstream and downstream collaboration. The purpose of this paper is to analyze the deviation from an optimal profile of supply chain collaboration and its detrimental effect on sustainability performance as well as market performance.

The authors analyze the deviation from an optimal profile of supply chain collaboration and its detrimental effect on sustainability as well as market performance. Using data collected from 259 European manufacturing firms and advanced structural equation modeling approach, the authors empirically test a number of direct, mediation, and moderation effects.

The study shows that an alignment between supply chain initiatives does pay off. Furthermore, the results show that the effects of alignment on performance measures are mediated by the firm's internal sustainable production.

The paper provides research limitations and implications as part of the research.

The paper also offers important conclusions for practitioners. Particularly the paper shows that sustainable supply chain collaboration needs to be operated at an ideal profile in collaboration with advanced internal practices to generate improved performance.

This work is differentiated from earlier work through the joint consideration of alignment of supply chain collaboration for customers and suppliers, providing in combination with mediation analysis new nuances to the field of sustainable supply chain management.

Drawing on information processing theory, the linkage between buffering and bridging and the ability on the part of procurement to resolve demand–supply imbalances is investigated, as well as contexts in which these strategies may be particularly useful or detrimental. Buffering may be achieved through demand change or redundancy, while bridging may be achieved by the means of collaboration or monitoring.

This study employs a hierarchical regression analysis of a survey of 150 Finnish and Swedish procurement and sales and operations planning professionals, each responding from the perspective of their own area of supply responsibility.

Both the demand change and redundancy varieties of buffering are associated with procurement's ability to resolve demand–supply imbalances without delivery disruptions, but not with cost-efficient resolution. Bridging is associated with the cost-efficient resolution of imbalances: while collaboration offers benefits, monitoring seems to make things worse. Dynamism diminishes, while the co-management of procurement in S&OP improves procurement's ability to resolve demand–supply imbalances. The most potent strategy for tackling problematic contexts appears to be buffering via demand change.

The results highlight the importance of procurement in the S&OP process and suggest tactical measures that can be taken to resolve and reduce the effects of supply and demand imbalances.

The results contribute to the procurement and S&OP literature by increasing knowledge regarding the role and integration of procurement to the crucial process of balancing demand and supply operations.