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1 – 10 of over 54000Beilei Dang, Wenhong Zhang, Silei Chen, Taiwen Feng and Yapu Zhao
The purpose of this paper is to explore the antecedents of demand-side search in service strategy of manufacturing firms. In particular, this study examines whether service…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to explore the antecedents of demand-side search in service strategy of manufacturing firms. In particular, this study examines whether service-oriented human resource management (HRM) practices promote demand-side search by enhancing firms’ market capability as well as how top management service commitment and service organizing moderates this relationship in manufacturing firms.
Design/methodology/approach
To test this research model, this study obtains survey data from two distinct informants of 279 manufacturing firms in China. Data were collected applying a standard questionnaire in a five-point Likert scale. The hypotheses are tested using hierarchical regression analysis and partial least squares.
Findings
Results show that service-oriented HRM practices can promote demand-side search by enhancing firms’ market capability. Furthermore, it is found that top management service commitment negatively moderates the relationship between service-orientated HRM practices and demand-side search, while service organizing positively moderates this relationship.
Research limitations/implications
Depending on cross-sectional subjective data for the core variables and the choice of Chinese manufacturing firms limit the capacity to generalize the findings.
Practical implications
This research suggests that service-oriented HRM practices are important drivers of demand-side search activities and to take advantage of service-oriented HRM practices, firms should commit to market capability development. In addition, it is better to match service-oriented HRM practices with other service-oriented organizational parameters such as top management service commitment and service organizing.
Originality/value
The study highlights the crucial role of service-oriented HRM practices in demand-side search, the mediating role of market capability and the moderating role of other service-oriented organizational parameters such as top management service commitment and service organizing. This study advances research on knowledge search, servitization and strategic HRM.
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Yapu Zhao, Dong Liu, Wenhong Zhang and Silei Chen
This paper aims to investigate how top management service commitment (TSC) affects two dimensions of new product development (NPD), speed and product innovativeness, and to…
Abstract
Purpose
This paper aims to investigate how top management service commitment (TSC) affects two dimensions of new product development (NPD), speed and product innovativeness, and to examine how dysfunctional competition moderates the effects in emerging economies.
Design/methodology/approach
Data were collected from 151 high-tech manufacturing firms in China. In one firm, two different top managers were surveyed to reduce the common method variance. The authors used the seemingly unrelated regression approach to test the hypotheses.
Findings
First, TSC negatively influences product innovativeness, an effect that dysfunctional competition attenuates. Second, despite not being significantly positive as hypothesized, the direct effect of TSC on NPD speed remains positive when dysfunctional competition is high rather than low. Third, the findings reveal that product innovativeness increases firm performance, but NPD speed shows no similar effect.
Practical implications
First, top managers should pay attention to the synergistic effect between industrial services and product businesses. Second, manufacturing firms in developing countries need to implement servitization when facing unlawful competitive behaviors.
Originality/value
In literature, the effect of industrial services on NPD is unclear. The present study enriches literature by connecting servitization with NPD and by focusing on the importance of top managers to the implementation of servitization. In addition, the authors extend the servitization literature to emerging economies and thereby provide significant insights into this context.
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The purpose of this paper is to analyse and compare the implementation of quality initiatives in banking, insurance and tele-communication industry under public and private…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to analyse and compare the implementation of quality initiatives in banking, insurance and tele-communication industry under public and private sectors in India.
Design/methodology/approach
The study comprised of a descriptive research with a cross-sectional design. Preliminary interviews and extensive literature review was done to identify the quality initiatives to be considered for the study. Data were gathered through a questionnaire comprising of items on a five-point Likert’s scale. Descriptive statistics such as mean and standard deviations and inferential statistics such as paired t-test and correlation were used for analysing the data.
Findings
The results depict that although both the sectors are trying to outsmart each other by the various quality initiatives undertaken, the private sector is still ahead in quality implementation. It is also worth witnessing a major overhaul in the public sector operations to service the end customer with utmost commitment good enough to match its private counterparts.
Practical implications
The paper provides insights to young managers and researchers about the level of implementation of quality practices in public and private sector organisations and strategies for improvement.
Originality/value
The paper contributes to theory and practice as little empirical research is available to understand the differences between the two sectors on the basis of quality initiatives. Also there is dearth of such a research in industries other than banking.
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Dong Liu, Beilei Dang and Yapu Zhao
Managerial ties (i.e. business ties and political ties) could help manufacturers conduct learning ambidexterity by providing external resources. However, the resource management…
Abstract
Purpose
Managerial ties (i.e. business ties and political ties) could help manufacturers conduct learning ambidexterity by providing external resources. However, the resource management perspective claims that merely accessing external resources does not guarantee learning ambidexterity. As manufacturers utilize their resources by implementing services, this study aims to investigate how the impact of managerial ties on learning ambidexterity depends on human resource service practices (i.e. manager service support and employee service rewards).
Design/methodology/approach
This study collected data from 150 high-tech manufacturing firms through a survey-based questionnaire, which was completed by two managers in one firm. The ordinary least squares regression was employed to test the research model and hypotheses.
Findings
Business ties hurt learning ambidexterity when manager service support is high, whereas business ties benefit learning ambidexterity when employee service rewards are high. Similar findings are not applied to political ties.
Research limitations/implications
The authors did not examine the mechanism underlying the effect of managerial ties on learning ambidexterity. The non-significant findings on political ties suggest potential mediators for future research. Another limitation is that the study’s data are only from China. Manager ties are also important in other developing countries like Turkey. More data from other countries are needed to test the generalization of the authors’ findings.
Practical implications
First, managers should focus on business ties more than political ties when learning ambidexterity is important to their firms. Second, managers should reward service-oriented employees.
Originality/value
The study enriches the literature on investigating the impact of managerial ties on learning ambidexterity. The authors also contribute to the literature by examining servitization as a service context. Prior studies mainly examine servitization as a driver of firm performance. The findings suggest that servitization as a business context can affect other business activities.
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Jiantao Zhu, Jun Zhang, Zhongshuang Jiang and Jinghua Li
Emerging markets face the developmental circumstances of a weak foundation in both manufacturing and services. Although servitization is viewed as an opportunity to realise…
Abstract
Purpose
Emerging markets face the developmental circumstances of a weak foundation in both manufacturing and services. Although servitization is viewed as an opportunity to realise industry transformation and upgrading, ways for emerging market firms to implement a high-level servitization strategy is still understudied. This study examines combinations of causal conditions for emerging market firms to implement a high level of servitization.
Design/methodology/approach
Anchored in the strategy tripod model, this study examines the configurations for implementing a high-level servitization strategy by using fuzzy-set qualitative comparative analysis (fsQCA) and data from the China Stock Market and Accounting Research Database (CSMAR).
Findings
The findings identify three kinds of configurations for achieving a high-level servitization strategy: market-cultivational servitization, competition-driven servitization and government-related servitization. Furthermore, the mechanisms for implementing a high-level servitization strategy differ within the regional marketization level and state-owned equity. Specifically, the improvement of the regional marketization level helps manufacturing firms realise a high level of servitization by strengthening service capacity, and state-owned equity helps firms gain distinctive legitimacy to integrate suppliers and providers into the servitization context.
Research limitations/implications
The proposed multilevel perspective frameworks enable manufacturing firms in emerging markets to achieve a high level of servitization strategy.
Originality/value
This paper explores the impact of institutional environment, industry conditions and firm-level microfoundations on servitization, therefore providing a reference framework for emerging market firms interested in implementing high-level servitization strategies.
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Shanshan Zhang, Zhiqiang Wang, Xiande Zhao and Jinyu Yang
Drawing upon relative absorptive capacity (AC) perspective, this study proposes a research model connecting R&D investment, three types of supply chain AC—AC from suppliers…
Abstract
Purpose
Drawing upon relative absorptive capacity (AC) perspective, this study proposes a research model connecting R&D investment, three types of supply chain AC—AC from suppliers, customers and university and research institutes (U&RIs)—and firm innovativeness and investigates the contingent effects of dysfunctional competition on the link between R&D investment and supply chain AC.
Design/methodology/approach
The authors used data collected from 262 manufacturers in three areas of China to empirically examine the conceptual model. The corresponding hypotheses were tested with structural equation modeling and regression analysis.
Findings
The empirical results demonstrate that AC from customers and AC from U&RIs play significant mediating roles in the relationship between R&D investment and firm innovativeness. Moreover, R&D investment has a significantly greater effect on AC from U&RIs under high levels of dysfunctional competition.
Originality/value
First, by conceptualizing AC from a relative view, this study discloses the unique roles of knowledge from different supply chain partners in realizing the benefits of R&D investment in innovation. Second, the exploration of the contingent roles of dysfunctional competition in the emerging economy of China enriches insights on the roles of institutional environment on knowledge absorption and the knowledge on relative AC in emerging economies.
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Rapeeporn Rungsithong and Klaus E. Meyer
Trust is an important facilitator of successful B2B relationships. The purpose of this study is to investigate affect-based antecedents of both interpersonal and…
Abstract
Purpose
Trust is an important facilitator of successful B2B relationships. The purpose of this study is to investigate affect-based antecedents of both interpersonal and interorganizational trust, and their impact on the performance of buyer–supplier relationships. The authors ask two research questions: (1) What are affect-based dimensions of interpersonal and interorganizational trust? (2) How do interpersonal and interorganizational trust influence buyers’ operational performance?
Design/methodology/approach
The authors use data from an original survey of 156 buyer–supplier relationships between multinational enterprise subsidiaries and local suppliers in the Thai manufacturing sector to develop a structural model in which the authors test the hypotheses.
Findings
Consistent with social exchange theory and social psychology, the empirical analysis shows that affect-based dimensions at the individual level, namely, likeability, similarity and frequent social contact, and at the organizational level, namely, supplier firm willingness to customize and institutionalization of cooperation, are important for establishing trust. In addition, interpersonal trust enhances buyers’ operational performance indirectly via interorganizational trust.
Practical implications
Buying and selling firms may develop organizational trust by developing processes that enhance organizational trust. Individuals with purchasing or sales responsibilities may enhance trust in their personal relationship. However, such interpersonal trust needs to be translated to the organizational level to benefit organizational performance.
Originality/value
The findings contribute to the literature on affect-based antecedents and outcomes of trust. Specifically, the authors offer theory and empirical evidence regarding the contribution of salespersons toward affect-based dimensions of trust and its impact on buyer’s operational performance.
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M.-Y. Yusliza, Nurul Aimi Norazmi, Charbel José Chiappetta Jabbour, Yudi Fernando, Olawole Fawehinmi and Bruno Michel Roman Pais Seles
The purpose of this paper is to analyse the relationship between top management commitment, corporate social responsibility (CSR) and green human resource management (GHRM).
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to analyse the relationship between top management commitment, corporate social responsibility (CSR) and green human resource management (GHRM).
Design/methodology/approach
A self-administered questionnaire was adopted to perform a systematic collection of data from manufacturing and service organisations in Malaysia. The partial least squares method was used for the conceptual framework of the study.
Findings
The observed findings indicate a significant positive relationship between top management commitment and CSR, as well all dimensions of GHRM. However, counterintuitively, the relationship between CSR and GHRM was found not to be as significant as expected (except for CSR and green analysis/job description), which can be explained through the emerging perspective that CSR and HRM should be linked.
Research limitations/implications
The findings provide insights as to the nature of GHRM and how it is affected by CSR and top management commitment in an emerging economy – in this particular study, Malaysia. Moreover, the observed results highlight the crucial importance of top management commitment in implementing GHRM practices and CSR efficiently in order to create positive environmental performance.
Originality/value
The authors believe that, to date, no study has explored the links between top management commitment, CSR and GHRM using empirical data from Malaysia, as well as that this research is an important emerging topic for researchers, academicians and practitioners.
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Develops an original 12‐step management of technology protocol and applies it to 51 applications which range from Du Pont’s failure in Nylon to the Single Online Trade Exchange…
Abstract
Develops an original 12‐step management of technology protocol and applies it to 51 applications which range from Du Pont’s failure in Nylon to the Single Online Trade Exchange for Auto Parts procurement by GM, Ford, Daimler‐Chrysler and Renault‐Nissan. Provides many case studies with regards to the adoption of technology and describes seven chief technology officer characteristics. Discusses common errors when companies invest in technology and considers the probabilities of success. Provides 175 questions and answers to reinforce the concepts introduced. States that this substantial journal is aimed primarily at the present and potential chief technology officer to assist their survival and success in national and international markets.
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The Nature of Business Policy Business policy — or general management — is concerned with the following six major functions: