Search results

Considers the rise in trade with the Asian nations of the Pacific Rim and the increase in their economic strength. Provides some examples of this growing strength. Looks at the opportunities and threats from this phenomenon. Considers the potential for export and opportunities for financing growth. Concludes that there are benefits and concerns from this growing power and new strategies will be required by business to ensure future success. Suggests that many future graduates may work for companies who have foreign headquarters and new cultures.

Social institutions are experiencing change in their patterns of power as they are re‐aligned to an increasingly complex world and the onset of the new information economy. Attention has been drawn particularly to the need to improve corporate governance as a means to enhance corporate accountability and improve corporate performance. This paper consequently explores the distribution of corporate power and the processes that can foster higher quality decision making and actions by boards. The paper investigates the fundamental difference between the exercise of leadership, management and political power within an organization and, particularly, the responsibility and power relationships between an organization and its board. The authors assert that if the patterns of power are well understood then some things can be said about the patterns that are likely to emerge and what structures might be more effective than others. The paper concludes by arguing that the manner and style of corporate governance could benefit from some further refinement.

The purpose of this paper is to investigate the oxidation behaviour of an immersion tin final finish after multiple reflow ageing under air and nitrogen atmospheres and to study their influence on the wetting behaviour with lead‐free solder. To design a model that describes the degradation of wetting behaviour after reflow‐cycling of the immersion tin final finish.

A special printed circuit boards (PCB) demonstrator was created to investigate the immersion tin final finish with surface analysis methods and wetting tests. The PCB samples were aged by multiple reflow‐cycling under air and nitrogen atmospheres. The tin oxide formation behaviour of immersion tin was characterised using X‐ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS), transmission electron microscope (TEM) and SERA analysis.

The native oxide layer of the investigated immersion tin final finishes was approximately 7 nm on average. The TEM and XPS investigations indicated an amorphous structure of SnO and SnO₂. The solder spread test showed significantly different results for PCBs in “as received” condition compared to those after one and two times reflow ageing under a nitrogen solder atmosphere. The analysis methods revealed a slight increase in the tin oxide layer thickness and small areas with semi‐crystalline structure. Reflow ageing under an ambient solder atmosphere induced considerably thicker oxide layers, which could be observed by a yellow discoloration of the surface.

Measures to improve the wetting behaviour can be derived from the described model (i.e. use of higher tin layer thickness or protective films to reduce the tin oxidation).

A functional model for the solderability process of lead‐free solder on immersion tin PCB final finishes was derived and verified. By this, interactions between the state of the final finish and the solder can be described and potential solderability failures can be predicted.

International business and strategy, strategies in emerging markets.

This case can be used in undergraduate, graduate and executive education courses in international business, strategy management and strategies in emerging markets. Further, the case may also be useful to teach sub-topics such as fit between external opportunities and internal strengths (resources and capabilities) and new business model challenges.

Robert Bosch Engineering and Business Solutions (hereafter referred as RBEI) had been chosen by the Management of Bosch in India to engage in the Government of India (GoI) Smart City Business Opportunity. Dhiraj Wali, Vice President RBEI and the present head of RBEI Smart City Projects (RBEI/SCP) over the past few years had been prospecting the non-Bosch clients especially the GoI clients for RBEI. He understood the implications of this big-ticket business opportunity for RBEI. At the same time, he was worried about the complications involved in such large projects, how should RBEI position itself to make the most of this significant business opportunity?

The dynamics and internal challenges of an established captive division of a multinational (i.e. Bosch) venturing into business transactions with non-captive (i.e. non-Bosch) especially government sector clients. The new business opportunities facing a multinational in emerging markets such as India. Understanding the GoI Smart City Mission and its big-ticket business opportunity. To show how the captive units of MNC evolve over the years of operation leveraging, the competencies gained to succeed in the marketplace. The reasons for this range from internal needs to increase the gains from the past investments to exploiting the external business prospects available resulting in both new opportunities for specialization and customers.

Teaching Notes are available for educators only. Please contact your library to gain login details or email support@emeraldinsight.com to request teaching notes.

CSS 5: International Business.

Today, most organisations are using packaged software for their key business processes. Enterprise resource planning, supply chain management, customer relationship management and electronic commerce systems enable organisations to improve their focus of using information systems to support their operational and financial goals. This article argues that the need to integrate these packaged software applications with each other as well as with existing or legacy business applications drives the need for a standardised integration architecture to more flexibly implement new business processes across different organisations and applications. To illustrate the components of such an architecture, a case study undertaken at the Robert Bosch Group provided necessary empirical evidence. The Robert Bosch Group has evaluated different enterprise application integration (EAI) systems to achieve a standardised integration architecture. The article describes a reference architecture and criteria for the classification of EAI systems which are derived from different integration approaches.

University–industry projects provide special challenges in understanding and expressing the values required of project management (PM) in delivering stakeholder benefits. This paper presents a framework for understanding, identifying and managing the values of PM in major university–industry R&D projects.

The value framework identifies for each of the key stakeholders, the key PM values that may require to be managed and are largely derived from research literature. Empirical research then explores, prioritises and selects key PM values that need to be managed for a specific project. A large case study is used involving one university and one industry collaborating on a multi-million Euro initiative over six years. Empirical research was conducted by researchers who observed at close quarters, the challenges and successes of managing the competing values of key stakeholders.

The value framework takes a stakeholders' perspective by identifying the respective PM values for each of six stakeholders: university–industry consortium, university, industry, R&D external entities, funding entity and society.

The research was performed using only one case study which limits the generalisability of its findings; however, the findings are presented as a decision support aid for project consortia in developing values for their own collaboration.

Guidance and decision support are provided to multi-stakeholder research consortia when selecting values that need to be managed for achieving tangible and intangible project benefits.

The paper demonstrates a proposed framework for designing and managing the value of PM in large multi-stakeholder university–industry R&D projects.

The purpose of this paper is to develop and test an extension of a previously conceived framework for improving and embedding project management (PM) practice in organisations. The framework identifies the most useful project management improvement initiatives (PMIIs) and the key factors for embedding PM practice. However, professionals need guidance on how to operationalise such framework in their organisations, therefore a method for applying the framework is developed.

The method being proposed for applying the framework is demonstrated and tested with a large University–Industry consortium case study. During the case study analysis three research methods were applied: participant observation, document analysis and focus groups.

In what concerns both the PMIIs and key embedding factors in the framework, the proposed method comprises their acknowledgement, scoring, relevance analysis, selection and planning. The detailed report on how the framework was applied in the particular case study also sheds light on how University–Industry consortiums can make use of PM to become more successful.

The research was performed using only one case study which limits the generalisability of its findings.

Detailed guidance is provided for applying the framework’s both constructs, “improving” and “embedding”, through a set of clear steps.

The paper shows the explanatory power of the framework for improving and embedding PM practice in a case study, demonstrating that the method for its application is practical and suitable.

Absorptive capacity is a knowledge-processing ability that hospitality organizations should hone to create competitive advantage in a fierce business environment. This study aims to examine an integrative model explaining how hospitality organizations infuse external knowledge into competitive advantage via absorptive capacity processes and opportunity-capturing abilities.

This study used structural equation modeling, using the R Lavaan package, with 288 survey responses collected from hospitality employees.

Structural equation modeling with multiple indirect relationships presents a holistic picture of how hospitality organizations develop externally acquired knowledge into organizational outcomes through detailed absorptive capacity processes. Unit size is found to positively moderate the indirect relationship between external acquisition and competitive advantage through knowledge transformation only. Competitiveness level negatively moderates indirect relationships through assimilation and transformation.

The findings highlight the importance of hospitality organizations’ knowledge management capabilities through acquisition, assimilation, transformation and exploitation processes. These integrative mechanisms can be facilitated by intraorganizational coordinative processes through collective interpretations and applications of knowledge and effective organizational routines based on management and technical support.

This study proposes an integrative model encompassing a process perspective and the role of intraorganizational coordination in bridging potential and realized absorptive capacity.