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1 – 10 of over 4000Gang Peng, Ying Wang and Rammohan Kasuganti
This study seeks to develop the concept of technological embeddedness by extending the social embeddedness theory of economic actions to household computer adoption. It also aims…
Abstract
Purpose
This study seeks to develop the concept of technological embeddedness by extending the social embeddedness theory of economic actions to household computer adoption. It also aims to propose a research framework in which technological embeddedness is a key factor that influences household computer adoption.
Design/methodology/approach
The US 1989‐2003 Computer and Internet Use Supplements to the Current Population Surveys are used to validate the proposed research framework.
Findings
The results show that technological embeddedness positively affects household computer adoption. In addition, the impact of technological embeddedness is positively moderated by household income, and this impact is particularly stronger on first‐time buyers than on repeat buyers.
Practical implications
The results provide important policy and managerial implications for encouraging household computer adoption and bridging the digital divide.
Originality/value
The paper proposes a new concept and develops a research framework for analyzing household computer adoption and technology adoption in general.
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Xiaoxiao Shi, Zuolong Zheng, Qingpu Zhang and Huakang Liang
This paper aims to analyze the extent to which the influence of external knowledge search activities on firms’ incremental innovation capability, and the moderating roles of the…
Abstract
Purpose
This paper aims to analyze the extent to which the influence of external knowledge search activities on firms’ incremental innovation capability, and the moderating roles of the relatedness between the partners’ technological bases and a firm’s network embeddedness in the innovation network.
Design/methodology/approach
In this empirical research, the authors collected a sample of patents in the UAV industry over the period of 2004–2018. Then the authors examined the direct role of external knowledge search on firms’ incremental innovation capability and the joint moderating effects of technological proximity and network embeddedness.
Findings
We found that external knowledge search in innovation networks positively affects firms’ incremental innovation capability. Moreover, we discovered that high technological proximity to other peers positively strengthens the impact of firms’ external knowledge search on their incremental innovation capability. Finally, the findings suggested that the relationship between a firm’s external knowledge search activities and its incremental innovation capability is stronger for high technological proximity coupled with high network centrality or poor structural holes in innovation networks.
Originality/value
This study adds value to open innovation literature by pointing out a positive relationship between external knowledge search and firm incremental innovation capability. Furthermore, this study reinforces the key joint contingent roles of technological proximity and network embeddedness. This study provides a valuable theoretical framework of incremental innovation capability determinants by connecting the different perspectives.
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Guannan Xu, Xuefeng Liu, Yuan Zhou and Jun Su
The purpose of this paper is to explore the effecting mechanism of relational embeddedness on technological innovation performance in the context of China.
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to explore the effecting mechanism of relational embeddedness on technological innovation performance in the context of China.
Design/methodology/approach
By probing into the related theories and five exploratory case studies of Chinese manufacturing firms, this paper establishes a conceptual model about the effects of relational embeddedness on technological innovation performance and proposes nine hypotheses. The authors then investigate 228 Chinese manufacturing firms by questionnaires, and testify the hypotheses and conceptual model by structural equation modeling.
Findings
Chinese firm's relational embeddedness in the international manufacturing network has a positive effect on its technological innovation performance through explorative learning. Specifically, trust, information sharing and joint problem solving are beneficial to new knowledge acquisition and application, and then to the improvement of technological innovation performance.
Research limitations/implications
This paper mainly focuses on bilateral relations among firms, regardless of the influence of network structure. Future research can extend to multilateral relations as well.
Originality/value
The paper builds up linkages among theories of network resources, organizational learning and technological innovation to open the black‐box of how relational embeddedness acts on technological innovation. It is a supplement to the existing research on inter‐firm network theories in developing countries.
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Aim of the present monograph is the economic analysis of the role of MNEs regarding globalisation and digital economy and in parallel there is a reference and examination of some…
Abstract
Aim of the present monograph is the economic analysis of the role of MNEs regarding globalisation and digital economy and in parallel there is a reference and examination of some legal aspects concerning MNEs, cyberspace and e‐commerce as the means of expression of the digital economy. The whole effort of the author is focused on the examination of various aspects of MNEs and their impact upon globalisation and vice versa and how and if we are moving towards a global digital economy.
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Cristina Doritta Rodrigues, Felipe Mendes Borini, Muhammad Mustafa Raziq and Roberto Carlos Bernardes
This study aims to look at the relationship of external embeddedness and institutional distance (governance aspects) with the foreign subsidiary research and development (R&D…
Abstract
Purpose
This study aims to look at the relationship of external embeddedness and institutional distance (governance aspects) with the foreign subsidiary research and development (R&D) capacity. Furthermore, it examines whether these relationships are mediated by subsidiary product and process innovation, and whether institutional distance plays a moderating role in the relationship between subsidiary innovation and R&D capacity.
Design/methodology/approach
The authors draw on survey data from 130 foreign subsidiaries operating in Brazil and test their model using variance-based structural equation modeling.
Findings
Results suggest that subsidiary (product and process) innovation fully mediates the relationships between: subsidiary external embeddedness and R&D capacity; and institutional distance and subsidiary R&D capacity, such that the relationship is positive in case of the former and negative in case of the latter. The relationship between subsidiary product and process innovation and R&D capacity is positive and stronger at lower levels of institutional distance.
Originality/value
The research ignores the underlying mechanisms of the external embeddedness and institutional distance relationship with subsidiary R&D capacity. Furthermore, institutional distance based on formal governance aspects and their impacts on subsidiary innovation and R&D capacity are rarely investigated. This paper contributes with regard to these aspects.
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Vipin Gupta and Jifu Wang
Three strategic perspectives exist in dealing with globalization: convergence with the rational Anglo perspective, divergence of the local cultural perspective, and a hybrid…
Abstract
Three strategic perspectives exist in dealing with globalization: convergence with the rational Anglo perspective, divergence of the local cultural perspective, and a hybrid cross‐vergence. A fourth alternative “transvergence” ‐ a transformative reinterpretation and application of the indigenous cultural perspective ‐ is identified, that firms can learn over time to combine their strong ties to the local environment with technological and institutional change. Three case studies highlight the process of transvergence. The findings suggest that a focus on the transvergence perspective can be an important addition to our understanding of how globalization can affect firm behavior and result in new business strategies.
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Mehdi Rasouli Ghahroudi, Seyed Hossein Chabok and Kieran M. Conroy
This study aims to focus on dual embeddedness as an important channel through which foreign subsidiaries access and share valuable and idiosyncratic knowledge within the…
Abstract
Purpose
This study aims to focus on dual embeddedness as an important channel through which foreign subsidiaries access and share valuable and idiosyncratic knowledge within the multinational corporation (MNC). The authors examine the dual embeddedness challenges of foreign subsidiaries based in the context of Iran as a transitional market.
Design/methodology/approach
The final sample includes 144 active foreign subsidiaries in Iran from across a broad range of industries. A structured questionnaire was distributed to firms and structural equation modeling was adopted to analyze the results.
Findings
The findings reveal how building external embeddedness in an environment with potentially poor access to valuable knowledge, and risk of knowledge leakage impacts the subsidiary’s ability to subsequently transfer this knowledge within the MNC. The authors identify the significance of absorptive capacity as a way for the subsidiary to access knowledge from and share knowledge with firms in the local market.
Originality/value
Departing from existing work on subsidiary embeddedness in developed markets, the authors reveal how competence creating subsidiaries manage dual embeddedness and knowledge transfer in transition economies that are low in knowledge stocks. The authors unpack how subsidiary absorptive capacity enables access to local knowledge in a transitional market and increases reverse knowledge transfer in the MNC. In doing so, the authors answer calls for work on the dynamic and complementary relationships that exists between subsidiary dual embeddedness, absorptive capacity and knowledge sourcing in less open markets. Focusing on Iran as a transitional economy, this study provides greater contextual nuance to the extant literature on subsidiary dual embeddedness.
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Preeti Wadhwa, Marleen McCormick and Martina Musteen
This paper aims to examine the impact of human and social capital of CEOs of internationally active small- and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) in the Czech Republic on their…
Abstract
Purpose
This paper aims to examine the impact of human and social capital of CEOs of internationally active small- and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) in the Czech Republic on their firms’ approach to technological innovation.
Design/methodology/approach
The study sample was drawn from data collected from the population of Czech manufacturing firms. The final sample included 153 SMEs that met the criteria for inclusion in the study. The authors employed robust regression analysis to test their specific hypotheses.
Findings
This study found that human capital (in the form of CEOs’ professional background and foreign customer knowledge) and social capital (conceptualized as embeddedness in the international markets) of CEOs in the Czech Republic impacted their firms’ approach to technological innovation. Specifically, firms headed by CEOs with professional background in output functions (R&D and marketing) are more likely to invest in technological innovation. The same was found true for firms led by CEOs who possessed a strong knowledge of international customers and were socially embedded in international markets.
Originality/value
This study makes a twofold contribution to the extant literature. First, it develops and tests the theoretical link between human and social capital and technological innovation among internationally active firms. Second, it highlights factors that positively influence technological innovation in the context of a small Central European economy, a setting that has been generally viewed as unfavorable to such innovation.
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Nadia Albis Salas, Isabel Alvarez and John Cantwell
This paper explains the mechanisms underlying the generation of two-way knowledge spillovers through the interaction of subsidiaries with differentiated local responsibilities and…
Abstract
Purpose
This paper explains the mechanisms underlying the generation of two-way knowledge spillovers through the interaction of subsidiaries with differentiated local responsibilities and domestic firms.
Design/methodology/approach
The study is based on firm-level panel data from a census of Colombian manufacturing firms for the period 2003–2012. The estimation procedure involves two stages. In the first one, total factor productivity (TFP) of foreign and domestic firms is estimated. In a second step, we estimate conventional spillovers (from foreign-owned to local firms) and reverse spillovers (from local to foreign-owned firms) separately, using a random effect approach.
Findings
This study’s findings reveal that only locally creative subsidiaries enjoy positive and significant two-way knowledge spillover effects. The connectivity of subsidiaries to local and international networks is reinforced by reciprocal relationships among actors that enhance bidirectional knowledge flows, these being favored by the dynamics of clustering effects.
Originality/value
The paper contributes with new empirical evidence about the mechanism explaining how the technological heterogeneity of subsidiaries plays a determinant role in the generation of both knowledge flows from foreign to domestic firms and to the reverse, all integrated into the same framework.
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This study examines the relationship between subsidiary autonomy and the MNE subsidiary initiative collaboration (i.e. entrepreneurial initiative resource support, the subsidiary…
Abstract
Purpose
This study examines the relationship between subsidiary autonomy and the MNE subsidiary initiative collaboration (i.e. entrepreneurial initiative resource support, the subsidiary seeks and receives from the MNE). It proposes some underlying mechanisms as external embeddedness, and MNE organizational structures to explain the relationship between subsidiary autonomy and the MNE subsidiary initiative collaboration. The study draws on paradox theory arguing how at both the subsidiary and the parent MNE levels certain paradoxes are handled.
Design/methodology/approach
Survey data are collected in a time-lagged fashion from 429 foreign subsidiaries in New Zealand. Data are analyzed using structural equation modeling.
Findings
Results show that the relationship between subsidiary autonomy and the receipt of MNE resource support for initiatives is positive, and this is more likely the case where the subsidiary is managed under simple structures (i.e. subsidiary reports to corporate headquarters, regional headquarters or mandated units) rather than complex structures (i.e. a matrix or a network). Furthermore, an increase in subsidiary autonomy positively influences MNE initiative resource-seeking, and this is more likely the case where the subsidiary is less embedded externally.
Originality/value
The study is one of the first of studies that has applied paradox theory to MNE–subsidiary relationships regarding autonomy and MNE collaboration on initiatives. The study extends research on MNE–subsidiary collaboration on subsidiary initiatives as existing research is limited on this domain. The study contributes by showing how external embeddedness, and the complexity of organizational structures determine the relationship between subsidiary autonomy and MNE subsidiary initiative collaboration.
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