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Superior firms are those which create shareholder wealth. The most direct way to measure shareholder wealth is by examining the worth of dividends plus share‐price appreciation. The authors contend that the companies chosen as excellent by Peters and Waterman, in their book, In Search of Excellence, fail to show superior shareholder wealth creation.

The purpose of this paper is to empirically investigate the relationship patterns between competitive advantage and superior performance.

This study empirically investigates the aforementioned relationship patterns using a cross-sectional, self-administered survey methodology.

The results indicate that there are four relationship patterns between competitive advantage and superior performance. In addition, this study provides empirical evidence of the reasons, underpinning the relationship pattern of competitive advantage without superior performance as well as the relationship pattern of superior performance without competitive advantage.

This study contributes to our knowledge that competitive advantage is neither a necessary nor a sufficient condition for superior performance.

In finding support that there can be cases of underperformance despite competitive advantage and superior performance despite the absence of competitive advantage, the study’s findings are useful to practicing managers involved in the strategic management process of their firms.

This study fills an important gap in the empirical research, by responding to the literature call to test the possible relationship patterns between competitive advantage and superior performance. In addition, this study formally introduces the relationship pattern of competitive advantage without superior performance, and the relationship pattern of superior performance without competitive advantage that until now were largely ignored by the existing literature in the field of strategic management.

The authors apply social network theory and natural resource–based view to empirically examine a model of the relationships among business networking (BN) orientation, green operations practices and performance. A firm must achieve appropriate internal green operations practices to capitalize on its external BN orientation and thus be able to establish a competitive advantage and superior performance.

Using survey data from 132 ISO 14001–certified manufacturing firms in Malaysia, all of which participate in environmental programs and sustainability activities, the authors explore the effects of two BN orientation facets (customer-oriented and supplier-oriented) on green operations practices (green purchasing, eco-design and regulatory practices) and their subsequent influence on environmental and economic performance.

Structural equation modeling outcomes confirm only one BN orientation facet positively affects green operations practices, nor do the advantages affect economic performance directly. The results illustrate how environmental outcomes mediate the links between green operations practices and economic performance.

Drawing on social network theory and natural resource–based view, authors propose internal green operations practices as a channel through which external BN orientation induces firm performance. Internal green operations practices determine a firm's ability to exploit its external BN orientation to achieve operational competencies and lead to superior performance. Rather than focusing on the social connections generated by external BN orientation itself, the authors recommend that firms address the core competencies contributing to their green operations practices and engage in network building.

Nonprofit organisations (NPOs) are challenged with continuous change, which provides the impetus for adopting organisational change models. The purpose of this paper is to examine the impact of the adoption of market and learning orientations on NPO performance.

The authors draw on extant management literature to theorise the interrelationship between market orientation, learning orientation, and economic and non‐economic NPO performance. Using a survey design, the authors draw a convenience sample of 118 NPOs in Ghana to test their theoretisation.

Evidence is found that although the relationship between market orientation and NPO performance is significant (on both economic and non‐economic indicators), what best accounts for enhanced performance is learning orientation. Additionally, non‐economic performance mediates the relationship between learning orientation and economic performance.

Replicating the study with larger samples, using objective performance data, and applying more rigorous approach to data analysis, among other things, could significantly improve the generalisability of the results.

NPO managers are reminded that non‐economic performance (e.g. service or program effectiveness) represents part of the underlying mechanism through which the financial assurances of market and learning orientations can be exploited.

The paper builds on the market orientation literature by theorising and demonstrating empirically a route through which market orientation is related to the firm's financial performance.

The extant literature on emerging economies states that the development of the institutional context contributes to the creation of hypercompetitive conditions. The purpose of this paper is to test this assertion by using data from both developing and developed countries.

The study used a probit model, Kolmogorov Smirnov tests and propensity score matching to determine the difference in persistent superior economic performance. Panel data from 600 firms in 26 different countries were used for the period from 1995 to 2011.

The empirical results support the proposition that there is a significant difference in superior economic performance and persistent superior economic performance sustainability between firms in developed and developing countries.

This study contributes by fostering other theories related to competitive advantages and giving special emphasis to the comparison between developed and developing countries.

Although competitive advantage is the cornerstone concept in strategic management it still remains a poorly defined and operationalized construct. The purpose of this paper is to revisit the concept of competitive advantage, to identify the problems that stem from its current conceptualization from the majority of the literature.

The paper undertakes an extensive literature review, audit of logical inference, syllogistic reasoning and Bayesian expressions in order to examine the problems associated with the current conceptualizations of competitive advantage.

Several drawbacks and fallacies relating to current conceptualizations of competitive advantage were identified that create an urgent need for a more robust definition which could better serve the needs of both empirical research and management practice.

The authors by no means claim that the literature review undertaken in this paper on the concept of competitive advantage and on the problems derived from its conceptualization was exhaustive or absolute. Rather, this paper constitutes an attempt to stimulate efforts and provide directions on the further conceptual development of competitive advantage.

The findings allow practising managers to not necessarily associate competitive advantage with its sources and with the determinants of superior performance.

The findings contribute to the evolution of the strategic management field by identifying, categorizing and mapping potential problems, drawbacks and fallacies, associated with the conceptualization of competitive advantage as currently delineated in the literature, and by suggesting some criteria for the development of a conceptually more robust definition.

The purpose of this paper is to analyzes how board’s gender diversity, and more specifically a gender-balanced configuration – i.e. a proportion of women in the boardroom ranging between 40 and 60 percent – affects economic and risk-oriented performance in financial firms.

The empirical application uses a rich data set that includes detailed accounting and organizational information for all financial firms in the Costa Rican industry during the period 2000–2012. The proposed hypotheses are tested using panel data (fixed-effects) regression models that emphasize that bank performance is affected by various dimensions of the banks’ gender diversity.

The longitudinal analysis of the Costa Rican banking industry reveals that, unlike a proportion indicating a particular critical mass of women on the board, a balanced gender configuration yields superior economic performance (ROA and net intermediation margin). Additionally, the findings show that the performance benefits of gender diversity only exists in the presence of a gender-balanced board configuration, and that this positive effect is not conditioned by the presence of women leadership in the corporate hierarchy (Chair or CEO).

The paper further explores the influence of board gender diversity on organizational performance by adopting an approach to the gender diversity–performance relationship that goes beyond the mere representation of women within the corporate hierarchy.

The ideas expressed in this work are based on those put into practice at the Okuma Corporation of Japan, one of the world′s leading machine tool manufacturers. In common with many other large organizations, Okuma Corporation has to meet the new challenges posed by globalization, keener domestic and international competition, shorter business cycles and an increasingly volatile environment. Intelligent corporate strategy (ICS), as practised at Okuma, is a unified theory of strategic corporate management based on five levels of win‐win relationships for profit/market share, namely: ,1. Loyalty from customers (value for money) – right focus., 2. Commitment from workers (meeting hierarchy of needs) – right attitude., 3. Co‐operation from suppliers (expanding and reliable business) – right connections., 4. Co‐operation from distributors (expanding and reliable business) – right channels., 5. Respect from competitors (setting standards for business excellence) – right strategies. The aim is to create values for all stakeholders. This holistic people‐oriented approach recognizes that, although the world is increasingly driven by high technology, it continues to be influenced and managed by people (customers, workers, suppliers, distributors, competitors). The philosophical core of ICS is action learning and teamwork based on principle‐centred relationships of sincerity, trust and integrity. In the real world, these are the roots of success in relationships and in the bottom‐line results of business. ICS is, in essence, relationship management for synergy. It is based on the premiss that domestic and international commerce is a positive sum game: in the long run everyone wins. Finally, ICS is a paradigm for manufacturing companies coping with change and uncertainty in their search for profit/market share. Time‐honoured values give definition to corporate character; circumstances change, values remain. Poor business operations generally result from human frailty. ICS is predicated on the belief that the quality of human relationships determines the bottom‐line results. ICS attempts to make manifest and explicit the intangible psychological factors for value‐added partnerships. ICS is a dynamic, living, and heuristic‐learning model. There is intelligence in the corporate strategy because it applies commonsense, wisdom, creative systems thinking and synergy to ensure longevity in its corporate life for sustainable competitive advantage.

This paper aims to examine the effect of R&D laboratories on the perceived performance of MNE subsidiaries during recession.

Employing resource-based view and knowledge-based theory, the authors investigate a unique sample of 171 technologically heterogenous foreign MNE subsidiaries located in Greece over the period of recession 2009–2016. The sample subsidiaries operate different types of R&D laboratories.

The authors find that MNE subsidiaries with advanced R&D laboratories such as locally integrated laboratories (LILs) and internationally interdependent laboratories (IILs) perform better in recession than subsidiaries with support laboratories (SLs) or subsidiaries without R&D laboratories. Overall, the authors find an asymmetric performance contribution of R&D laboratories at subsidiary level.

The study provides useful insights into the environmentally derived “knowledge-based - performance” context, so filling an important research gap, since little is known about the performance impact of the input-side of technological activity at MNE subsidiary level, especially as regards R&D facilities/infrastructure. Based on the findings the authors identify important managerial implications.

The purpose of this paper is to propose that a stakeholder orientation (SO) can explain social and economic performances. It happens because the more the organisation acquires and disseminates stakeholder intelligence, the more it will be aware of the needs of different stakeholder groups, bending the decision making towards less powerful stakeholders and creating social performance. At the same time, more stakeholder intelligence is a strategic resource to be exploited favouring the economic performance. Moreover, it is proposed this effect is mediated by social motivations.

In all, 251 Brazilian agricultural cooperatives were sampled and a survey primary data collection method was applied. To test our hypothesis, the partial least squares structural equation modelling method is used.

It is found that SO positively influences social and economic performances. Social motivation mediates the relationship between SO and social performance.

Social performance has gained importance because strategies harmful to society are not acceptable anymore and because of the link with economic performance. However, the strategic marketing literature is still scant on how marketing can drive economic and social performance at the same time.