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We investigate the competitive consequence of vertical integration on organizational performance using a comprehensive dataset of U.S. motion picture production companies, which includes information on their vertical scope and competitive overlaps. Vertical integration appears to change the dynamics of competition in two ways: (i) it buffers the vertically integrated firms from environmental dependence and (ii) it intensifies competition among non-integrated organizations. In contrast to the existing literature, our results suggest that vertical integration has implications well beyond both the level of the individual transaction and even the internal efficiency of the integrated firm.

The purpose of this paper is to present an empirical investigation of firm level productivity effects of outsourcing against the background of a review of recent theoretical considerations about the topic.

The empirical research is based on a large representative data set from the German manufacturing industries containing detailed data about almost 500 establishments. It investigates productivity effects of outsourcing under control of other relevant factors influencing firm level productivity by means of a multivariate regression analysis.

In sharp contrast to common belief and prevailing management practices, outsourcing, i.e. the extent to which the vertical range of manufacturing is reduced, has a strong negative impact on a firm's labour productivity. Against the background of the theoretical considerations reviewed from the literature, this result can be explained such that mere cost‐efficiency comparisons are insufficient for appropriate decisions on vertical manufacturing range as the effects of opportunism, of disturbed competence formation, and of limited innovative value creation processes may be overcompensating cost benefits.

The investigation focuses on productivity effects of outsourcing as a relevant long‐term performance measure not regarding other firm level performance indicators. Although covering a significant range of industrial sectors in Germany, more empirical evidence is needed from other sectors and regions. Moreover, performance effects of different types of outsourcing implementations (e.g. simple part supply versus outsourcing of whole business processes including design, production, and marketing) should be investigated as they might have different impacts.

The findings strongly recommend a revision of established decision‐making schemes for vertical manufacturing range based on cost‐efficiency considerations. Decision making should instead integrate cost efficiency and transaction cost analysis with the competence and innovation capability formation perspectives. Procedural schemes for this integrated view are still to be developed, however.

The research described in this paper considerably widens the empirical knowledge about productivity effects of outsourcing and has strong impact on management practice.

We continue to be intrigued by the number of managers we meet who haven't read Michael Porter's book Competitive Advantage. For them and practitioners on the corporate battlefront, we offer this synopsis of Porter's ideas from Professor Reimann's Managing for Value.

The paper describes six major approaches within strategic groups research: the industrial organization perspective (the IO-view), the strategic choice perspective, the strategy types perspective, the cognitive perspective, the customer perspective, and the business definition perspective. The two most promising perspectives to make real advances in the strategic management discipline seem to be the cognitive view and the business definition perspective. The purpose of a grouping based on business definitions is to provide an insight, as objective as possible, of the industry’s substructure which also corroborates with the cognitive maps of the industry which the CEOs have in mind. From a practical point of view, the classification of firms in groups based on commonality in business definition (buyer scope, product scope, geographical scope and degree of vertical integration), allows managers to compare their own firms with comparable firms (the firms within the same group). The research concerning strategic groups in the Belgian beer brewing sector and the Belgian electrical wholesale sector is presented. The major problems within the strategic groups research are discussed.

This study aims to examine the role of channel strategies in value appropriation and their effects on firm value with the consideration of situational factors.

An empirical study with secondary data is conducted in the context of public franchised channels. The authors use Entrepreneur Franchise Top 500 (2012) as the sampling frame and merge the data from three sources to create the final data set. A set of models are built to test the hypotheses in a hierarchical manner.

Value appropriation provides a solid rationale to link marketing channel strategies to firm value. Channel integration is an effective strategy driving intangible firm value. The influence of channel compression on intangible firm value depends on its interaction with other marketing environmental variables.

First, the sample size in this study is relatively small though these samples show high representativeness. Second, the empirical analysis in this study focuses on the franchised channels because of data availability.

Managers should consider the role of value appropriation when developing new channel strategies. A channel strategy deserves firm-level attention and resources because of its relevance to firm value. Managers should examine channel environment carefully and deploy internal resources to augment the potential of value appropriation strategies in channels.

This study is among the first to investigate the value relevance of marketing channel strategies from a value appropriation perspective. It identifies profit appropriation and resource appropriation as two mechanisms of value appropriation in marketing channels and uses these two processes to link channel integration and channel compression strategies with firm value.

The purpose of this paper is to identify and review empirical strategic management articles that pertain to supply chain management (SCM) and are published in top management journals.

The researchers review all articles published in five top management journals, namely, Academy of Management Journal, Administrative Science Quarterly, Management Science, Organization Science, and Strategic Management Journal, from 2004 to 2013, to identify empirical articles relevant to SCM. The researchers subsequently categorize the literature in thematic categories and subcategories, and they identify the theories informing the research and the methodologies applied.

The most prevalent finding of this literature review is that abundant research pertaining to SCM is being published in top management journals. This demonstrates that SCM is a broad phenomenon studied by scholars across disciplines; thus, a broader literature perspective can be beneficial to those working in this area. Moreover, the reviewed studies are informed by theories that extend beyond the “traditionally used” resource-based view and transaction cost economics. Finally, the majority of the research suggests an inter-organizational scope.

This study familiarizes logistics/SCM scholars with SCM-related research conducted in the strategic management field, informing them about the types of phenomena studied by strategic management scholars, the theoretical lenses and literature used to enhance understanding of these phenomena, and the empirical methodologies applied to examine those. Importantly, through this familiarization, logistics/SCM scholars can learn from but also contribute to the strategic management literature that pertains to SCM.

This paper responds to continuing arguments about the necessity for structural separation of the telecommunications local loop. It attempts to strike a balance by stressing that in fact a wide range of questions are yet to be answered. And the onus is fairly placed on the proponents of structural separation to provide persuasive answers proving that the drastic action they call for is necessary. In addition, many of the benefits of structural separation are unquantifiable and, indeed, conjectural, while the costs of this severe measure are more certain and substantial. Moreover, while seemingly simple in concept, there is a formidable range of difficulties relating to the implementation of structural separation.

America's movement to a digital network infrastructure may be threatened by the unavailability of high‐speed network channels to some sources of information. One reason for unavailability is fear by network intermediaries that they face legal liability for carrying harmful messages. Yet changing the law to require network intermediaries to provide equal access to their services raises First Amendment questions.

The purpose of this paper is to discuss the USA's movement to a digital network infrastructure which may be threatened by the unavailability of high‐speed network channels to some sources of information.

One reason for unavailability is fear by network intermediaries that they face legal liability for carrying harmful messages. Yet changing the law to require network intermediaries to provide equal access to their services raises First Amendment questions.

A mechanism should be established for providers of network services to inform potential customers of the terms on which they handle traffic. An electronic forum for notices of access policy would be one way to implement this recommendation.

Uncertainty about equal access, tort liability and First Amendment privileges adversely affects commercialization of the Internet. Commercialization must begin with acceptance of three goals for digital electronic network policy: encouraging a diversity of information products, preventing suppliers of information content from being foreclosed from access to markets, and allowing persons suffering legal injury, because of information content, to obtain compensation based on fault.

The Large Scale Engineering (LSE) industry operates in a global market place and during recent years it has been the scene of major political and economic changes resulting in increasing market pressures. The paper outlines findings from Workpackage 1 of the European Union funded Esprit eLSEwise project. The eLSEwise project has an objective of contributing to improving the competitiveness of the European LSE industry. The paper focuses principally on trends in the LSE global industry market place and the challenges facing European LSE contractors in adapting to these changes. The paper outlines the research methodology; world market trends and LSE industry structure; critical success factors and enablers for LSE projects; the forces shaping the LSE industry and the necessary contractors' core competencies and competitive advantages for continued success.