Xiaolin Li, Huimin Li, Ruirui Zhang, Yilin Yin, Shaonan Sun, Juan Bai and Ruihua Liu
The purpose of this study is to explore the impact of asymmetric trust on construction project management performance in China's construction industry. Moreover, the authors…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this study is to explore the impact of asymmetric trust on construction project management performance in China's construction industry. Moreover, the authors explore the mediating role of two types of knowledge sharing (explicit knowledge sharing and tacit knowledge sharing) in explaining the association between asymmetric trust and project management performance.
Design/methodology/approach
A theoretical model based on the research hypotheses proposed in this study was developed and a questionnaire survey was conducted with 271 professionals. The data collected was analyzed by the structural equation modeling (SEM) technique.
Findings
The results of this study indicate that there is a significant and negative association between asymmetric trust and project management performance. Moreover, two types of knowledge sharing (explicit knowledge sharing and tacit knowledge sharing) have different degrees of impact on improving project management performance. In addition, tacit knowledge sharing is a mediator between asymmetric trust and project management performance.
Research limitations/implications
The data used in this study is from Chinese scenarios, so the research conclusions and application effects based on this are bound to have certain regional limitations. Besides, there are many factors that affect project management performance improving, and the relationships among them are so complex. The theoretical model proposed in this study may not be fully considered. Therefore, follow-up researchers can consider bringing more suitable variables into their researches, so that the theoretical researches can be more in line with the actual project management practice, and the specific mechanism for improving project management performance can be explained more deeply.
Originality/value
This research's value is as follows: Firstly, this paper contributes to the trust and relational governance literature by expanding the research perspective of mutual trust to asymmetric trust. Specially, this research designs a measurement scale for asymmetric trust and then reveals the impact mechanism of it on project management performance, which will certainly promote research paradigm change of trust. Secondly, this research is beneficial to knowledge sharing literature in the construction management field by expanding the research scope of knowledge sharing from a cross-organizational perspective.
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Xuan Bai, Shibin Sheng and Julie Juan Li
This paper aims to examine alliance governance at different hierarchical levels.
Abstract
Purpose
This paper aims to examine alliance governance at different hierarchical levels.
Design/methodology/approach
The data is collected from both top-level and operating-level managers in 286 strategic alliances in China (a total of 572 managers). Hierarchical moderated regression models are adopted to test the hypotheses and two-stage regression analyzes are used to correct for endogeneity.
Findings
This paper finds that relational governance has a greater impact on alliance performance than contract utilization at the top level. Furthermore, the simultaneous use of relational governance at the top and operating levels have a detrimental impact on alliance performance. Finally, top-level contract utilization has a negative interaction with operating-level relational governance but a positive interaction with operating-level contract utilization.
Research limitations/implication
First, the cross-sectional nature of the data collection approach provides only a snapshot of how each type of governance mechanism and its interactions affect alliance performance. Second, the sample is limited to firms located in emerging markets.
Practical implications
Managers should realize that the effectiveness of contract and relational governance mechanisms varies across different management levels and they should be cautious about the cross-level governance mechanism alignment.
Originality/value
This study advances the interfirm governance literature in that this paper examined alliance governance at different hierarchical levels and provides new insights into the ongoing debate on whether the contract and relational governance mechanisms function as complements or substitutes by exploring the governance alignment across different alliance hierarchies.
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The purpose of this paper is to examine the types of justice that affect knowledge acquisition and opportunism in strategic alliances and how these justice mechanisms function.
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to examine the types of justice that affect knowledge acquisition and opportunism in strategic alliances and how these justice mechanisms function.
Design/methodology/approach
Data were collected from both top-level and operating-level boundary spanners in 295 strategic alliances in China (a total of 590 boundary spanners). A structural equation model (SEM) with bias-corrected bootstrap method was used to test the hypotheses.
Findings
The results show that although both procedural justice and distributive justice are important in deterring opportunism, procedural justice is more effective at enhancing knowledge acquisition than distributive justice is. The results also demonstrate that boundary spanners' helping behaviors are more effective at fostering knowledge acquisition, whereas boundary spanners' voice behaviors have more impact on mitigating opportunism. In addition, boundary spanners' citizenship behaviors partially mediate the relationship between justice and interfirm-level performance.
Originality/value
This study adds a boundary-spanning lens to justice literature by uncovering the missing link between justice and alliance outcomes.
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Huifeng Bai, Jin Shi, Peng Song, Julie McColl, Christopher Moore and Ian Fillis
This empirical study aims to examine luxury fashion retailers' localised multiple channel distribution strategies in China.
Abstract
Purpose
This empirical study aims to examine luxury fashion retailers' localised multiple channel distribution strategies in China.
Design/methodology/approach
Through case studies of 15 participating retailers, qualitative data were collected from 33 semi-structured interviews.
Findings
Strong impacts of internationalisation strategies, distribution strategies and channel length towards multiple channel retailing are revealed. Multi-channel retailing is widely employed by firms who have entered China and further developed their businesses through local partnerships and adopted a selective distribution strategy via relatively longer channels. Omni-channel retailing is only suitable for the few retailers using an exclusive distribution strategy through direct marketing and wholly owned customer relationship management. As a dynamic transformation from multi- to omni-channel retailing, cross-channel retailing is adopted by those who are withdrawing from local partnerships and shifting to wholly owned expansions and operations in host markets.
Research limitations/implications
The results are potentially challenged by relatively small sample size.
Practical implications
Practitioners are suggested to adapt multiple channel retailing to their international expansion strategies, distribution strategies and channel length in the host markets.
Originality/value
This paper contributes to the literature in both multiple channel retailing and international retailing by offering insights into the motives, development patterns and suitability of multiple channel retailing in the international retail marketing context.
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Dimitrios Kafetzopoulos and Dimitris Skalkos
The purpose of this paper is to develop a conceptual model and examine the relevance of a set of five dynamic drivers to building and sustaining the innovation capability of…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to develop a conceptual model and examine the relevance of a set of five dynamic drivers to building and sustaining the innovation capability of agri-food firms.
Design/methodology/approach
The empirical data were acquired through a recent study of 436 Greek agri-food firms. Regression analysis was employed to examine the correlation between innovation drivers and each of the four innovation capability dimensions, namely, product innovation, process innovation, organizational innovation and marketing innovation.
Findings
The findings verify that quality orientation and process management are the two most important innovation drivers. However, the impact of learning orientation, collaborations and environmental dynamism on a firm’s agri-food innovation capability is yet to be investigated.
Research limitations/implications
This study has not investigated how firms’ characteristics form the drivers and barriers to innovation at the company. Moreover, a second limitation is related to the kind of innovation that drivers boost. This research does not separate between radical and incremental innovation.
Practical implications
In order to maintain their sustainable development and enhance their whole innovation capability, agri-food firms should closely relate their innovation capability dimensions to the formulation of a strategy and harmonization of innovation and innovation drivers’ activities.
Originality/value
The main contribution of this paper is that it develops an appropriate research framework (a proposed structural model) for examining the links among the five innovation drivers with each of the four innovation capability dimensions.
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Dimitrios Kafetzopoulos, Katerina Gotzamani and Dimitrios Skalkos
The purpose of this paper is to examine the extent to which the five European Foundation for Quality Management (EFQM) model enablers, as the latent factor “enabler excellence,”…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to examine the extent to which the five European Foundation for Quality Management (EFQM) model enablers, as the latent factor “enabler excellence,” are associated with business performance, taking into consideration the mediating role of innovation in this relationship.
Design/methodology/approach
The analysis followed in order to investigate the relations among the various constructs of the proposed model includes an initial exploratory factor analysis, followed by confirmatory factor analysis and finally structural equation modeling.
Findings
According to the study findings, “enabler excellence” and innovation performance directly contribute to business performance. Moreover, this paper concludes that innovation performance partially mediates the effect of excellence enablers on business performance.
Research limitations/implications
This study does not separate between radical and incremental innovation; thus, it would be very interesting to explore this issue in future research. Moreover, it might be useful for researchers to reassess the proposed relationships examining the mediating role of organizational culture.
Practical implications
This study offers clear implications for managers, proving that they should give higher emphasis on quality management (QM) and the four dimensions of innovation in order to achieve increased performance.
Originality/value
Based on the multidimensional structure of the EFQM model, this empirical study determines the contribution of QM to business performance taking into consideration the role of innovation performance as a mediator in this relationship.
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Lirios Alos-Simo, Antonio J. Verdu-Jover and Jose-Maria Gomez-Gras
The purpose of this paper is to examine theoretically and empirically what type of leadership facilitates e-business adoption in large manufacturing firms. The digital…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to examine theoretically and empirically what type of leadership facilitates e-business adoption in large manufacturing firms. The digital transformation of firms requires leadership that can promote the adaptive quality of organizational culture.
Design/methodology/approach
The authors conducted an empirical study using two key informants from a sample of 181 incumbent firms.
Findings
The authors find significant evidence that adaptive culture is the vehicle by which transformational leaders positively influence e-business adoption.
Originality/value
Given the digital economy’s external pressures, many e-business adoption processes fail due to organizational factors originating in leadership and its capability to change followers’ values, norms, and motivations. To solve this problem, the authors propose a model that explains how transformational leadership first plays a key role in changing characteristics of culture and then facilitates e-business adoption.
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Matej Grošelj, Matej Černe, Sandra Penger and Barbara Grah
The purpose of this paper is to analyse the moderating role of psychological empowerment on the relationships between authentic leadership and innovative work behaviour, as well…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to analyse the moderating role of psychological empowerment on the relationships between authentic leadership and innovative work behaviour, as well as transformational leadership and innovative work behaviour.
Design/methodology/approach
We have applied the mixed-method research on the selected case study. The quantitative field study was conducted on a sample of 126 employees in a multinational technological company. A series of paired sample t-tests were followed by a hierarchical regression analysis to test the hypotheses. The qualitative study consists of a content analysis of in-depth semi-structured interviews with four leaders.
Findings
The research provides further confirmation of the positive relationship between leadership and innovative work behaviour. Specifically, the results showed that psychological empowerment moderates the relationship between leadership (authentic as well as transformational leadership) and innovative work behaviour.
Originality/value
This paper contributed to leadership and innovation literature and provided insights in studying the boundary conditions on the relationship between authentic leadership, as well as transformational leadership, in stimulating innovative work behaviour through the moderating role of psychological empowerment. The added value is expanded by introducing the comparison of the two leadership theories.
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Taehoon Lim, Juan Diego Porras-Alvarado and Zhanmin Zhang
The purpose of this paper is to present a methodology for estimating the “price,” or the not-to-loss value, of individual highway assets, which reflects not only the assets’…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to present a methodology for estimating the “price,” or the not-to-loss value, of individual highway assets, which reflects not only the assets’ capital value but also economic productivity, by adopting a productivity-based asset valuation framework. The price tags can be used in prioritizing highway assets in support of transportation asset management processes.
Design/methodology/approach
The methodology adopts the utility theory to consider multiple performance measures reflecting the economic productivity generated by the assets, as well as their capital value. Key performance measures are first selected, and their values are retrieved from highway asset management databases. Next, the utility functions representing decision makers’ preferences convert the performance measures into utility values, which adjust the replacement cost (RC) of each highway asset to estimate price tags. To demonstrate its applicability, case studies were conducted for the highway networks of Texas and Washington State in the USA.
Findings
The methodology yielded price tags that better reflect the importance of highways’ roles in the economy in comparison to methods where only RCs are used. Furthermore, it was proven to be flexible enough to accommodate local conditions such as varying data availability.
Originality/value
The research provides a practical and reasonable way to prioritize critical highway assets in purport of maintenance and rehabilitation resource allocations, based on their economic productivity as well as physical condition and historical cost information, enhancing the overall efficiency and effectiveness of highway asset management.
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Pilar Abad, Concepción De la Fuente-Cabrero, Lydia González-Serrano and Pilar Talón-Ballestero
The aim of this paper is to define which characteristics of a hotel and staff organization determine successful revenue management (RM) implementation in urban hotels.
Abstract
Purpose
The aim of this paper is to define which characteristics of a hotel and staff organization determine successful revenue management (RM) implementation in urban hotels.
Design/methodology/approach
Multiple linear regression analysis was used to determine whether the characteristics of the hotel and the staff member in charge of RM are explanatory variables for the degree of RM implementation.
Findings
The findings show that hotel category, chain affiliation and the existence of qualified full-time staff are the determinants for successful RM implementation. The creation of the revenue manager position alone is not determinant in the degree of RM implementation, but his/her qualification and dedication are fundamental variables.
Research limitations/implications
Given that this survey was confined to the region of Madrid, it would be interesting to carry out similar research nationwide.
Practical implications
This study provides researchers and professionals guidance for the satisfactory implementation and use of RM, tailored to the characteristics of any given establishment. Therefore, this paper states that the creation of a qualified, on-site, full-time revenue manager position is crucial.
Originality/value
To the best of the authors’ knowledge, this is the first paper to conduct a formal statistical analysis of the relationship between hotel characteristics, staff organization and the degree of RM implementation. The greatest contribution of this research is the empirical demonstration that having a qualified full-time staff in charge of RM leads to better results in terms of RM implementation as opposed to not having one, having one part-time or having one at the corporate level. Therefore, this paper states that the creation of the professional revenue manager position within hotels is fundamental. Thus, the reported results provide a significant contribution to the literature related to the characteristics and organization of RM in hotels.