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This paper aims to examine the impact of the corporate lifecycle on the corporate governance practices of firms in the Republic of Korea.

The authors use five corporate lifecycle measures and corporate governance scores from Black et al. (2012) to estimate governance-prediction models inclusive of corporate lifecycles measures for a sample of 497 Republic of Korea firms over the 1998–2004 period.

The authors find little evidence which points to a corporate governance lifecycle for firms in the Republic of Korea. The findings suggest that factors other than firm lifecycle best explain the corporate governance practices of firms in Korea.

Using a battery of lifecycle measures and corporate governance indexes and subindexes, the authors believe this paper represents the most rigorous study yet to study the corporate governance lifecycle in an emerging market economy, namely, the Republic of Korea.

Organizations that offer services based on knowledge and innovation consider their recruitment process as strategic. The purpose of this paper is to consider that organizational lifecycle is related with the management styles through innovation climate and human dimension of recruitment.

The authors utilized two methods proposed by Adizes (1976, 1979, 2004). The first one is an inductive, exploratory method with a quantitative approach. The second one utilizes a qualitative approach through semi-structured interviews. The quantitative approach was performed with a questionnaire via internet. The target was executive managers from organizations with more than ten employees, which are offering professional, scientific and technical services. The authors obtained 170 responses.

Results show that the majority of organizations balance open innovation and control, trending to the first one. During the first stages of the organizational lifecycle, decision-making principally relays on the founder’s open innovation strategies, whereas in the last stages administrative-based control is predominant.

The authors must highlight that this study has been performed for the case of services companies placed only in Mexico. Then, the extrapolation and generalization of results should be dealt carefully.

The authors consider the questionnaire very useful for the introduction of open innovation strategies for human resources managers, since it takes into account organizational lifecycle in their human dimension of recruitment processes, it helps to design training and retention programs for employees, and avoids premature aging of the company.

Given that today, knowledge management and innovation have become strategic assets of companies, it is necessary a change of mentality in many organizations that facilitates a new perception on the development of innovation. This will only be possible with the firm support of the management of the company and the involvement of all employees in this new task.

Several studies analyze management styles in each stage of organization lifecycle, although they do not link the obtained information to open innovation and human dimension of the recruitment process. The authors work applies the questionnaire of Adizes (1976, 1979, 2004), which relates the organizational life cycle and the management style and discloses the proper management styles with recruiting, training and retention programs to keep flexibility above control to nurture open innovation.

This study aims to investigate the relationships between big data analytics, management accounting practices and corporate sustainability and, more precisely, the impact of the integration between big data analytics and management accounting on corporate sustainability performance development.

A qualitative case study approach is used in this study with multiple collecting data tools as in-depth interviews and observations, in addition to the content analysis used of the annual reports for the year 2021, of Almarai manufacturing corporate (one of the leaders of food and beverage manufacturing corporates in Saudi Arabia and other countries).

Research findings provide good insights about the significant impact of the effective integration between big data analytics and management accounting on corporate sustainability performance development, big data can assist management accounting to form corporate value-added strategies and activities.

The study is limitedly applied to one manufacturing corporate as a study case; therefore, the findings cannot be generalized. Thus, future research can examine the association between the current study variables with wide-scale applications and with different approaches and in different contexts to enrich the findings. Moreover, future research may focus on the integration between big data analytics and management accounting reports in the meta-verse environment to explore the benefits that corporates could gain from the features and capabilities of meta-verse technology.

There is a research gap regarding the impact of the integration between big data analytics and management accounting practices on corporate sustainability development, as most of the previous studies focused on two variables only of the current study variables; therefore, this study tries to investigate and give important insights about it.

The purpose of this paper is to develop the lifecycle and teleology process theory illustrations by uniting processes and their outcomes based on their being bounded in time.

The study combines objective and subjective ontological approaches to organisational development and change processes. The narrative data of corporate rebranding among small B2B companies were gathered through a multiple case study and analysed in relation to flow of time. The illustrations of teleology and lifecycle process theory are modified based on empirical data.

The underlying logic of the lifecycle and teleology illustrations is found to be the same. The historical processes follow the logic of the lifecycle processes and emphasise the outcomes; the lifecycle process theory illustration is modified by adding outcomes. The current processes are in line with the literal description of the teleology. Teleology processes are illustrated using double-headed arrows between all processes.

Employing the objective and subjective ontological view in the same study might be questioned. The modifications to the process theory illustrations are only one view on the issue and the study does not take a stand on how the imagined future processes might be described.

The study helps researchers and managers better understand the lifecycle and teleology process theory and the role of outcomes in process research. The study should encourage researchers and managers to incorporate the role of process outcomes into their future (business) planning more efficiently, and combine different ontological views.

The study is a rare attempt to develop process theory illustrations.

1. Understand how the corporate lifecycle could trigger a necessity of making a tough decision to develop new business ventures based on the corporate lifecycle theory; and how changes in the external environment could hasten such a decision.

2. Analyze how a company can leverage its internal organizational structure to share and utilize cross-departmental resources and capabilities to support new venture businesses according to the synergy effect perspective.

3. Undertake a resource-based view analysis to evaluate the external and internal resources needed for corporate new venture development.

4. Identify the best course of action for the decision-maker by comparing, contrasting, applying and evaluating the two different models of corporate new venture development in the e-commerce business: the centralized organizational model and the decentralized organizational model and evaluate the pros and cons associated with each mode in the context of Dahan’s external and internal environments.

Since its inception in 2003, Dahan’s traditional business in SMS (Short Message Services) and data had gained thousands of customers across China and won top rankings in the industry. Despite its achievements, Dahan encountered difficulties when it entered the new e-commerce market, as the domain knowledge about the new business was very different from the domain knowledge in its traditional business. Furthermore, the emerging B2B e-commerce industry was very different from the traditional business in that the former mainly targeted corporate clients and the latter targeted individual customers in the B2C industry. This case examined the critical decisions that Xiaofen Huang, the CEO of Dahan E-Commerce Corporation and Co-Founder of Dahan Tricom Group, had to make and external, especially Internal, resources the Dahan Group needed in developing its new venture.

Specifically, this case explored how Huang would go through the mental process to make the best possible decision to help the company not only to survive, but also thrive in the rapidly-changing and competitive digital environment: it urgently needed to finalize an organizational incubation model to support the further development of its e-commerce and future new venture activities with two options to choose from: the centralized organizational model or the decentralized organizational model. A key challenge facing Huang was to decide which option was best suited to motivate salespeople in different departments to help one another, especially in the new B2B e-commerce business and to grow that new business.

In the case, Dahan’s growth aspirations and its motivation to transform its traditional business into a new e-commerce business were discussed. Second, when external challenges were examined, how Dahan explored the B2B e-commerce business using a trial-and-error learning process was explained. Third, when internal challenges were examined, how Dahan incubated its new B2B e-commerce business and its practices for leveraging and sharing resources/capabilities, as well as cross-departmental and cross-divisional collaboration through a resource-based lens, were illustrated. Last, the most critical learning in the case presented an immediate decision-making dilemma on which organizational incubation models to choose from for further new business development, where students learn to analyze both external and internal factors and consider Dahan’s available resource and founder’s aspiration, available strategic options to derive a best possible decision to suit the stage of the company’s lifecycle and founders’ vision.

This case was designed for use in undergraduate courses on corporate innovation, new venture development, corporate innovation, corporate entrepreneurship, e-commerce and growth.

Teaching notes are available for educators only.

CSS 11: Strategy.

Reports on a study of the business activities and the emergence of the learning of marketing skills by eight entrepreneurial small businesses: four in the British Isles and four in the mid‐west of the USA. Using a qualitative methodology, a case approach is taken to study the obstacles to growth in a sample of these firms. Details these obstacles and reports how such obstacles were negotiated and overcome, enabling the firms to continue on the entrepreneurial growth curve. Also examines the nature of marketing development as a company grows from a small business to a medium‐sized one. Offers observations and conclusions on lifecycle growth in SMEs. As a small business reaches a given size where the costs of its internal administration and selling activities make it less viable, the SME is forced to look for new ways of growing through additional financial help, broadening its customer base and developing greater skills at corporate presentation.

Reflect on the influence of different lifecycle stages on the strategy of a family business; evaluate the impact of family, industry and company dynamics on the evolution of a family firm; assess the impact of ownership, governance and succession considerations on the sustainability of a family firm; and develop decision-making skills to overcome specific dilemmas and secure the family business longevity.

Five industries, three generations and one family business. What started off as an entrepreneur’s ambition, Almajid Limited has proven itself to a sustainable source of revenue and a diverse portfolio of businesses for multiple generations of a Saudi Arabian family. This case study offers an exclusive opportunity to follow the tumultuous journey of a Saudi family business and analyze the different phases of its evolution over seven decades and three generations. In particular, the case aims to highlight the complexities surrounding the management of a family firm and illustrate how various lifecycle stages stemming from a number of areas (e.g. family, company, industry, ownership and governance) simultaneously influence the family business strategy. Being deeply embedded in the context of Saudi Arabia, the case unveils the unique challenges of managing a family business in a conservative cultural setting. The case study is divided into four parts, with each of them putting the emphasis on a different lifecycle area of significance for the evolution of the family business. Each part culminates with the identification of an area-relevant dilemma that needs to be addressed for the family firm to be able to move into the next stage of its development. Part A focuses on the family area or axis, the Part B on the industry axis, Part C on the company axis, while Part D is based on the sustainability axis, which embraces as many as three dilemmas in relation to the ownership, governance and succession in the family firm. Moreover, each part incorporates a timeline of critical events that contributed to the emergence of a specific dilemma and a culturally-rooted anime that helps the readers visualize the story, picture somebody else’s reality, and empathize with the key protagonists of the case to achieve optimal decision-making.

Graduate audience: Master of Business Administration or Master of Global Entrepreneurial Management.

Teaching Notes are available for educators only.

CSS 11: Strategy.

The purpose of the present paper is to investigate whether the transition from a family business to a non‐family business affects the institutionalisation of management accounting.

This paper is based on an online survey among all large and medium‐sized Austrian firms. Univariate and multivariate statistical analyses were used to test the impact of the level of family influence on aspects of the institutionalisation of management accounting. Firm size is included as the main control variable.

A lower level of influence from the controlling family was found to be correlated with the institutionalisation and intensification of management accounting in medium‐sized firms. For large firms, such a linear relationship could not be drawn. The level of education of management accountants was inversely correlated with the level of family influence in both large and medium‐sized firms.

Further research into the reasons, underlying drivers and inter‐organisational promoters of management accounting change in family businesses is needed. Furthermore, the organisational impacts of the transition from family businesses to non‐family businesses deserve further investigation.

A framework for assessing the organisational effects of the transition from family businesses to non‐family businesses is provided. The empirical results on the impact of the transition on the institutionalisation of management accounting are presented. The level of family influence was found to act as a significant contextual factor for the organisation of management accounting in medium‐sized firms.

Despite the recent increase in scholarly interest on organizational decline, the theoretical and empirical inquiry into this topic remains largely disintegrated. Therefore, leaders in corporate settings who are confronted with critical strategic management challenges are ill equipped for orchestrating successful turnaround attempts to secure the revival of their organizations. The purpose of this paper is to bridge this gap in the organizational decline literature.

In this paper, the authors undertake a systematic review of the specialized literature with the purpose of providing an updated account of the extant knowledge base and assisting top managers in their efforts of corporate recovery.

Drawing upon the insights from a number of prior literature reviews and the evidence provided in the sampled studies, this research framework offers an in-depth discussion of major antecedents, consequences and moderators of organizational decline.

The authors seek to make a discerned contribution to the field by advancing a multi-domain agenda for future research that may animate the continuous debate on the most effective strategies and leadership practices for surviving firm decline.

The time has come to reflect on the warning signs, decisions made, and repercussions of those in leadership of a financial services company which collapsed in the wake of the financial crisis during the mid-2000’s. The author was a divisional technology executive of this firm at the time, close enough to the top of the organization to observe the actions of those in charge. The author’s observations over a period of years eventually led her to resign from her position to enter a doctoral program only a few weeks before the company’s demise. The impetus behind the author’s resignation was her feeling that the decisions and actions of those in leadership violated her personal values. In this account, the author offers her personal reflections and the repercussions of this experience, followed by a deconstruction of this tragic leadership failure which includes references to the leadership literature.