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Purpose
Based on organizational learning theory, this study aims to investigate the performance consequences and potential contextual factors of outward foreign direct investment (OFDI) persistence.
Design/methodology/approach
A regression analysis was conducted on a sample of 19,950 OFDI events of 1,425 A-share listed Chinese enterprises from 2008 to 2022. The estimator used was ordinary least squares with residual analysis, which allowed us to obtain robust and reliable results.
Findings
The results indicated that persistence in both greenfield investments and cross-border M&As had a significant and positive impact on firm performance, and such relationship was positively moderated by organizational absorptive capacity.
Research limitations/implications
This study only tested the economic performance of OFDI persistence rather than innovation and social performance. Exploring the effects of OFDI persistence on other aspects may also add new insights to the persistence literature. Besides absorptive capacity, it might be useful to conduct a more comprehensive consideration of moderators in the future.
Originality/value
This paper contributes to the research on the temporal dimension of internationalization by introducing the concept of OFDI persistence. Additionally, we used the OFDI spell to capture the notion of OFDI persistence, which is an endeavor to overcome the shortcomings of the traditional indicator. Finally, this paper also contributes to the organizational learning perspective by applying it to analyze persistent OFDI operations.
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Henry F.L. Chung and Mia Hsiao-Wen Ho
Given the contradictory findings of standardization/adaptation of marketing strategy in explaining export performance in the extant research, this study aims to examine the…
Abstract
Purpose
Given the contradictory findings of standardization/adaptation of marketing strategy in explaining export performance in the extant research, this study aims to examine the contingent effects of managerial ties and born global orientation in the standardized advertising-export performance conceptualization.
Design/methodology/approach
The study used two-respondent method in the survey research by a sample of 155 exporting firms operating in the industrial marketing based in Australia and New Zealand and applied hierarchical regression analysis to test the hypotheses.
Findings
The findings demonstrate that standardized advertising has a significant effect on export performance and this relationship is positively moderated by business ties. Such effect is particularly enhanced for born global firms (than nonborn global firms). However, political ties negatively influence the impact of standardized advertising on performance and such effect is stronger for born global firms.
Research limitations/implications
A broader perspective of contingent variables should be included to examine the underlying relationship between standardized advertising and export performance in capturing the dynamism in international marketing contexts, such as institutional frameworks or sociocultural environments in host countries.
Practical implications
Standardized advertising is critical for born global firms’ export performance as it can increase efficiency and speed up internationalization processes. Such positive impact of standardized advertising on export performance is further enhanced if born global firms allocate resources to develop strong business ties with host country partners instead of building political ties with host country governments, because smooth business networking can facilitate standardized advertising on industrial marketing, yet justifiable political relations require intricate negotiations that often prolong internationalization progress.
Originality/value
This study incorporates managerial ties and born global orientation as contingent factors in fixing the theoretic interlock between standardization advertising strategy and export firm performance.
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Saswati Tripathi, Siddhartha Shankar Roy and Bijoy Talukder
This paper analyses and assesses the effect of firm-specific determinants (FSDs) on supply-chain performance (SCP) and export performance (EP). It examines SCP’s influence on EP…
Abstract
Purpose
This paper analyses and assesses the effect of firm-specific determinants (FSDs) on supply-chain performance (SCP) and export performance (EP). It examines SCP’s influence on EP and its mediating effect on the relationship between FSD and EP.
Design/methodology/approach
This paper develops a theoretical framework based on the resource-based view (RBV) and dynamic-capability theory to understand SCP’s role in the FSD-EP link while empirically validating using the Indian automobile industry segments (IAIS) data. The sample frame comprises all listed firms in IAIS between the financial year 2010-11 and 2021–22, with continuous data availability throughout the considered timeline. The paper employs factor analysis for dimension reduction, a panel-data-fixed-effect model to analyze the relationships, bootstrap to test the mediation effect and focus-group discussion for validating the results obtained through statistical analyses.
Findings
FSD directly influences SCP’s efficiency aspect and EP. Distribution efficiency and inventory efficiency characteristics of SCP directly impact EP and completely mediate the relationship between FSD and EP.
Practical implications
This study provides significant insights into how firms can increase EP by focusing on firm-specific and SCP-related factors. To improve EP, firms should concentrate on enhancing distribution and inventory efficiencies. Firms must focus on critical firm-level factors like age, size and raw-material import capability to increase their ability to solve SC-specific barriers and improve SCP, resulting in enhanced exports.
Originality/value
This study investigates the impacts of FSD on SCP and EP and examines the mediating effect of SCP on the relationship between FSD and EP. Such a mediating role of SCP has rarely been probed in the literature.
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Ly Ho, Van Ha Nguyen and Tung Lam Dang
This study revisits the relationship between environmental, social and governance (ESG) activities and firm performance. More importantly, it tests whether this relationship is…
Abstract
Purpose
This study revisits the relationship between environmental, social and governance (ESG) activities and firm performance. More importantly, it tests whether this relationship is moderated by critical yet underexplored factors such as stakeholder engagement, financial constraints, and religiosity.
Design/methodology/approach
A wide range of estimation techniques, including pooled ordinary least squares (OLS), fixed effects, system generalized method of moments (GMM) and propensity score matching-difference-in-differences (PSM-DiD), are employed to investigate such issues in a large sample of firms from 31 countries.
Findings
ESG performance has a positive and significant impact on firm performance. While stakeholder engagement positively moderates this relationship, financial constraints and religiosity negatively moderate it. Interestingly, this positive linkage is driven by environmental and social performance rather than governance performance.
Practical implications
Firms should proactively engage in ESG initiatives and consider the intervening influences of stakeholder engagement, financial constraints and religiosity in making decisions to invest in ESG activities. Furthermore, our findings can help policymakers understand the financial consequences of ESG practices, which can be helpful in designing new policies to further promote corporate engagement in ESG practices.
Originality/value
First, our research findings help reconcile the long-standing debate about the value impact of ESG. Second, our paper investigates relatively new aspects of the ESG-firm performance relationship. Third, our study offers more insight into the ESG literature by showing that not all ESG dimensions equally impact firm performance.
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Caroline Olufunke Esangbedo, Jingxiao Zhang, Pablo Ballesteros Pérez and Martin Skitmore
This study aims to investigate the relationship between supply chain leadership, digital supply chain practices and corporate sustainability strategies on the sustainability…
Abstract
Purpose
This study aims to investigate the relationship between supply chain leadership, digital supply chain practices and corporate sustainability strategies on the sustainability performance of logistics firms in Nigeria, one of Africa’s largest economies. It indicates that collaborative efforts within the supply chain context can improve sustainability performance.
Design/methodology/approach
Data from 468 firms in a major sub-Saharan African market were collected through a structured questionnaire. The analysis used descriptive statistics, principal component analysis and hierarchical regression analysis. Factor analysis and Cronbach’s alpha analysis were used to assess the validity and reliability of the instrument.
Findings
The results of this study reveal significant findings: proactive sustainability strategies exert a substantial positive effect on sustainability performance (β = 0.694, SE = 0.025, p < 0.01). Even when proactive sustainability strategies are included in the model, the positive impact of reactive sustainability strategies remains significant (β = 0.694, SE = 0.025, p < 0.01: Model 5). Regarding the moderating role of proactive and reactive corporate sustainability strategies, there is a notable interaction effect between supply chain leadership and proactive sustainability strategies concerning sustainability performance (p < 0.05). This confirms the positive relationship between supply chain leadership and sustainability performance when proactive sustainability strategies are at a high level (β = 0.844, SE = 0.0010, p < 0.01), supporting H4 that this relationship strengthens with higher levels of proactive sustainability strategies. Conversely, for Hypothesis H5, the interaction effect of reactive sustainability strategies with supply chain leadership changes the relationship from significantly positive to significantly negative (β = −0.068, SE = 0.0009, p < 0.01). Using the Baron and Kenny approach to test mediation, the mediating effect of digital supply on digital leadership is significant (β = 0.345, p = 0.000, p < 0.01). Furthermore, the effect of digital supply on sustainability performance is statistically significant (β = 0.081, p = 0.006, p < 0.01), as is the effect of digital leadership on sustainability performance (β = 0.181, p = 0.000, p < 0.01). These results indicate a mediation effect of digital supply.
Research limitations/implications
This study of logistic management has limitations, including its cross-sectional nature, which precludes the establishment of causality, thus necessitating longitudinal research to determine causal relationships. In addition, the focus on Nigerian firms, which vary significantly in their stages of learning and institutional development, emphasizes the need for further research in diverse contexts. Future studies should examine alternative institutional environments or developed economies to validate these assumptions. Another limitation is the potential for bias due to six employees rating their firms on each variable; therefore, using multiple data sources is recommended to objectively evaluate the validity of the self-reported questionnaire.
Practical implications
This study advises managers to exercise caution when selecting between proactive and reactive sustainability strategies to enhance sustainability performance. Proactive strategies reinforce the relationship between supply chain leadership and sustainability performance, while reactive strategies diminish it. Therefore, managers are encouraged to adopt more proactive strategies. This paper suggests that managers in emerging economies should recognize the distinct impacts of proactive sustainability strategies and allocate more resources toward them to improve sustainability performance, even in competitive markets. In addition, it highlights the importance of digital supply in fostering sustainability performance.
Originality/value
This study presents a novel perspective on the moderating role of corporate sustainability strategies in the relationship between supply chain leadership and the sustainability performance of logistics firms. It provides empirical evidence and fresh insights on proactive and reactive sustainability strategies for logistics firms in Nigeria. The findings highlight that proactive sustainability strategies enhance the connection between supply chain leadership and sustainability performance, whereas reactive strategies do not.
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Rajesh Kumar Bhaskaran, Sujit K Sukumaran and Kareem Abdul Waheed
This study aims to examine whether social initiatives adopted by firms lead to improved financial performance. The authors analyse the impact of different elements of social…
Abstract
Purpose
This study aims to examine whether social initiatives adopted by firms lead to improved financial performance. The authors analyse the impact of different elements of social initiatives on wealth creation for firms in terms of operating and market performance.
Design/methodology/approach
The study is based on the social initiative scores of over 4,500 firms collected from Thomson Reuters' ESG database. The study uses two-stage least squares (2SLS) to analyse the relationship between social initiatives and firm performance.
Findings
Profitable, mature, capital intensive and firms with high sales growth rate tend to invest more in social initiatives. Firms with high agency costs invest in social initiatives for workforce efficiency, maintaining human rights and product responsibility. The study documents evidence that social investments are value creating mechanism for firms which leads to improved financial performance in terms of operating and stock market performance. Firms with high dividend intensity invest in social initiatives for workforce welfare and human rights initiatives. Investment in employee well-being and community initiatives results in intangible benefits such as improved stock market valuation.
Practical implications
The research model has not considered the impact of intervening variables to understand the relationship between corporate social performance and corporate financial performance.
Social implications
Firms ought to recognize that social investment is beneficial in terms of value creation of firms as stock market perceive such investments favourably. Firms must focus more on community development initiatives and workforce initiatives for the value creation of firms compared to investments directed towards human rights initiatives and product responsibility initiatives.
Originality/value
This study focusses exclusively on the social dimension of the CSR activities. The authors examine the impact of social welfare scores on firm performance by analysing the valuation effects on scores representing workforce, human rights, community and product responsibility. Moreover, the paper also examines the impact of a new dimension of product responsibility on firm performance. They also focus on both aspects of financial performance in terms of operating performance (proxied by ROE) and the joint impact of both operating and market performance (proxied by Tobin’s Q). This paper contributes to the research on the linkage of social performance to financial performance by observing that firms with high agency cost characteristics tend to invest in social initiatives for work force efficiency, maintaining human rights and product responsibility.
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Siddhartha Barman and Jitendra Mahakud
The purpose of this study is to examine the nexus between geopolitical risk, female CEOs and firm performance through a cross-country analysis.
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this study is to examine the nexus between geopolitical risk, female CEOs and firm performance through a cross-country analysis.
Design/methodology/approach
The study period ranges from 2014 to 2021, and the dataset uses an unbalanced panel of 4,955 companies across 50 nations comprising both developed and emerging economies. Our study has employed a fixed-effect panel regression model, to examine this issue. This analysis was supplemented with applying a dynamic panel technique, i.e. System generalized method of moments (SGMM), to address any endogeneity problems.
Findings
The study reveals that female CEOs positively impact firm performance, while geopolitical risks decrease it. Gender plays a significant role in this relationship, with firms with female executives tending to make conservative financial decisions amidst increased risks. The study also shows that geopolitical threats (GPRT) have a greater impact on female CEOs-firm performance relationship in developed nations.
Originality/value
This study is a new investigation that explores the intertwining relationship between geopolitical risk, female CEOs and firm performance across the countries.
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Fengcai Liu and Lianying Zhang
This paper aims to explore how digital capability incompatibility affects knowledge cooperation performance through the mediating effect of digital resilient agility and the…
Abstract
Purpose
This paper aims to explore how digital capability incompatibility affects knowledge cooperation performance through the mediating effect of digital resilient agility and the moderating effect of project complexity in project network organizations (PNOs).
Design/methodology/approach
A cross-sectional questionnaire survey was conducted with 207 middle and senior managers in PNOs. Based on validated questionnaire items and construct definitions, a dynamic panel regression was performed using 292 project-focused firms’ annual reports.
Findings
The results show that digital capability incompatibility facilitates knowledge cooperation performance by enhancing digital resilient agility in PNOs. Increased project complexity strengthens this relationship, promoting better knowledge cooperation performance.
Practical implications
Managers can use partner firms’ diverse digital knowledge to quickly develop technologies and tackle digital transformation challenges, thereby improving knowledge cooperation. They can also evaluate the project environment to manage digitally-supported cooperation effectively.
Originality/value
This research reveals how firms in PNOs transform digital capability incompatibility into knowledge cooperation performance through digital transformation efforts. This research extends the boundary of this relationship to project-level factors and proposes digital resilient agility as a digital transformation effort for knowledge cooperation in PNOs than previous research.
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Jarrod Haar and Stephen James Kelly
An effective firm strategy is key to sustained financial performance, while interactions between strategy, employee retention and top talent retention have been seldom explored…
Abstract
Purpose
An effective firm strategy is key to sustained financial performance, while interactions between strategy, employee retention and top talent retention have been seldom explored. We test hypotheses using New Zealand SMEs which are defined as having up to 250 employees. We initially explore firm strategy using Porters competitive advantage model predicting employee retention (including top talent), with study 1 (n = 208) using firm size as a moderator, finding a direct significant relationship from firm strategy toward employee retention. Next, we explore firm strategy predicting firm performance with employee retention mediating and include firm size as a moderator, testing a moderated mediation model in study 2 (n = 474) and study 3 (n = 300, with time-lagged performance).
Design/methodology/approach
There are no open databases holding NZ firms’ performance data and thus data was sourced from a Qualtrics survey panel. Such panels have become more common (e.g. Haar et al., 2021a, b) and a recent meta-analysis by Walter et al. (2019) showed that this type of panel data was no different from data sourced through conventional means (i.e. mail survey). We focused on NZ private sector SMEs using senior managers across a range of industries and geographic locations. Because the influence of firm strategy on employee retention remains unknown in the literature, we conducted study 1 (n = 208) to test the initial part of our overall model. Study 2 (n = 474) and study 3 (n = 300) tested the full model (with organizational performance), with study 3 having organizational performance time-lagged by one month.
Findings
All direct effect hypotheses are supported, although firm size interacted significantly with firm strategy showing smaller not larger-sized firms leverage firm strategy to achieve superior retention benefits. This was against hypothesis 5a in all three studies. Studies 2 and 3 supported the moderated mediation hypothesis, with firms of larger size having a stronger indirect effect from firm strategy on firm performance while employee retention mediated the influence of firm strategy on firm performance. Finally, dominance analysis found that a quality differentiation strategy was the key strategy across all studies and outcomes. We discuss the implications for organizations.
Practical implications
The first managerial implication from the study is that small and medium sized firms would benefit both from developing a deeper understanding of the strategic alternatives open to them and placing a greater emphasis on the implementation of their selected strategic approach. A second managerial implication relates to findings indicating that retention generally, and top talent retention specifically, is positively related to firm strategy and firm performance. Given the importance and challenges of staff retention, particularly in the current environment where there are significant skill shortages, these results suggest that small and medium sized business would benefit from considering how strategy can create an organizational environment that is attractive to employees and support stronger retention outcomes as a mechanism for driving both retention and performance.
Originality/value
The study makes three major contributions. First, it examines firm strategy and extends the focus on firm performance by including not only employee retention but also top talent retention, responding in part to the call to develop and refine performance measures (Lieberman, 2021). Second, beyond using retention as a mediator, firm size is included as a moderator and a moderated mediation model is ultimately tested. Third, we conduct dominance analysis to identify the key firm strategy that influences firm performance and retention. Ultimately, this paper asks: what is the role of firm strategy on New Zealand SME performance, and what influence does retention and relative firm-size play.
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Odai Khamaiseh, Mohammad Alghababsheh, Saowanit Lekhavat and Mushfiqur Rahman
This study examines the impact of inter-organisational justice (i.e. distributive, procedural and interactional) in the buyer–supplier relationship on supply risk and, in turn, on…
Abstract
Purpose
This study examines the impact of inter-organisational justice (i.e. distributive, procedural and interactional) in the buyer–supplier relationship on supply risk and, in turn, on a firm’s marketing and financial performance.
Design/methodology/approach
A structured survey was administered both online and in-person to Jordan-based manufacturing companies. The 137 responses received were analysed using partial least structural equation modelling.
Findings
The study found that while establishing both procedural and interactional justice in the relationship has a negative impact on supply risk, promoting distributive justice, surprisingly, has no impact. Moreover, supply risk was found to be detrimental to the firm’s marketing and financial performance.
Research limitations/implications
This study considers only the direct role of inter-organisational justice in reducing supply risk. Future research could enhance our understanding of this role by exploring the underlying mechanisms and conditions that could govern it.
Practical implications
Managers can alleviate supply risk by ensuring procedural and interactional justice in the relationship through involving suppliers in the decision-making processes, consistently adhering to established procedures and communicating transparent and ample information.
Social implications
Addressing supply risk can help in maintaining community resilience and economic stability.
Originality/value
The study highlights inter-organisational justice as a new approach to mitigating supply risk. Moreover, by examining how supply risk can affect a firm’s marketing performance, it also highlights a new implication of supply risk. Furthermore, by exclusively examining the impact of supply risk on a firm’s financial performance, the study provides a more nuanced interpretation of the effect of supply risk and how it can be reduced.
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