Sven Horak, Andreas Klein and Xiaomei Li
We challenge the discontinuity (also called incompatibility) hypothesis of generalized and particularistic trust, suggesting that the two types of trust are incompatible. This…
Abstract
Purpose
We challenge the discontinuity (also called incompatibility) hypothesis of generalized and particularistic trust, suggesting that the two types of trust are incompatible. This view is problematic because if so, it remains unclear, for instance, how communities scoring high in particularistic trust can ever develop further when transferring trust to spheres outside the community is not an option. In this research, we explore the potential permeability of different types of trust in an emerging market context using the case of China.
Design/methodology/approach
Using a purposeful sampling technique, we gathered data among Chinese professionals (n = 290) in the Jingjinji Metropolitan Region in Tianjin. We analyzed the data by performing structural equation modeling.
Findings
As we identify interdependencies between generalized and particularistic types of trust, our results speak in favor of the continuity hypothesis. We find that the more people trust other people from an outside group (out-group trust), the less they trust quasi-familiar others (in-group trust). Further, in-group trust increases once the environment urges people to engage in informal network (guanxi)-based transactions.
Originality/value
Advancing the common view of China being a typical low-trust society, in which distrust in strangers (outsiders) prevails, we find a recent trend of an increase in general trust, which might lead to increases of out-group and in-group trust alike. Contrary to the wide spread idea that guanxi is declining in the present day, we find guanxi to be persistent.
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Sven Horak and Katrin Nihalani
The purpose of this paper is to investigate the influence of informal Korean social networks (Yongo) on sales activities in Korea, by focussing in particular on required vertical…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to investigate the influence of informal Korean social networks (Yongo) on sales activities in Korea, by focussing in particular on required vertical core competencies.
Design/methodology/approach
The authors draw on expert interview data gathered in Korea in two waves (2009 and 2012). Whereas first-wave interviews served to identify the influence of Yongo on sales management in general, second-wave interviews data – gathered from a Korean auto maker, a Korean supplier, and an international supplier – served to derive vertical core competencies vital for sales executives in Korea.
Findings
The authors find Yongo to be an indispensable aspect of relationship management in Korea. Further, the authors propose ten vertical core competencies and skills sales managers in Korea need to possess, e.g., respecting strong hierarchical supplier-customer relations, the ability to engage in relational contracts, establish trustful relationships, and perform in a risk-taking manner in a dynamic environment.
Originality/value
So far neither Yongo nor its impact on successful sales management in Korea has been analyzed. Hence, this research provides initial insights into the modes of action of Yongo in sales management, which is of particular importance for management consultants and international sales managers and executives.
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Andreas Klein, Sven Horak, Henning Ahlf and Katrin Nihalani
Research on the commitment to customer service (CCS) typically considers either trainable behavior or external stimuli such as financial incentives vital to CCS. Utilizing the…
Abstract
Purpose
Research on the commitment to customer service (CCS) typically considers either trainable behavior or external stimuli such as financial incentives vital to CCS. Utilizing the cultural context of Confucian Asia, this study proposes a novel approach that shifts the focus towards the antecedents of the informal institutional environment.
Design/methodology/approach
This research considers four informal institutions typical for Confucian Asia about their influence on CCS: power distance, perceived individual independence, openness to change, and informal network ties. Hypotheses are tested in a structural equation model using data obtained from a South Korean subject pool.
Findings
Results show that informal institutions like power distance and network ties, and mediators like perceived individual independence and openness to change are positively related to CCS. Power distance and network ties also have a direct positive effect on openness to change. Moreover, power distance negatively affects perceived individual independence.
Research limitations/implications
The authors' findings contribute to the service management literature by showing that a given CCS of service employees can be explained by antecedents of the company's informal institutional environment.
Practical implications
From a human resource perspective, the informal institutional environment should be taken into account when establishing a supporting organizational culture and designing management training programs.
Originality/value
This research introduces the institutional view to services management research, focusing on the role that informal institutions play. In particular, factors like power distance and network ties that influence CCS are tested for the first time.
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Michael Jakobsen, Verner Worm and Sven Horak
This paper aims to introduce the concept of compassion to the field of international business studies. As international business activities continuously intensify and hence…
Abstract
Purpose
This paper aims to introduce the concept of compassion to the field of international business studies. As international business activities continuously intensify and hence generate a work environment characterized by cultural heterogeneity and pluralism, the notion of compassion in a cross-cultural context can be regarded a key skill for employees in internationally operating firms to enable coping with potential cross-cultural conflicts.
Design/methodology/approach
In this narrative-oriented type of review, the authors discuss compassion in a cross-cultural context by drawing on the literature in the management and international business studies. By connecting prior research on compassion with the typical research interests in the IB domain, the authors identify and define potential future research foci for a research agenda centering on the role that cross-cultural compassion plays.
Findings
The authors argue that the conventional approach to learning about other national cultures, their value and norm systems, needs to be complemented by the acquisition of compassion skills. In todays culturally diverse business environment where employees increasingly work in virtual teams, cultural complexity is hardly manageable alone by developing expert knowledge about respective cultural contexts to prevent cross-cultural conflicts.
Originality/value
By drawing on extant research on compassion conducted in neighboring disciplines of the social sciences, the authors conceptualize compassion in the context of international business research. Because compassion in a cross-cultural context is new to international business research, this study suggests directions for future research consisting of four research streams to guide future research on compassion in a cross-cultural context in international business studies.
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By challenging the typical antagonistic view of the informal institutions power and trust, this paper aims to explore the interrelatedness of the two through the Yin–Yang lens.
Abstract
Purpose
By challenging the typical antagonistic view of the informal institutions power and trust, this paper aims to explore the interrelatedness of the two through the Yin–Yang lens.
Design/methodology/approach
The data for this research stem from extensive group and one-to-one interviews with Toyota and its domestic and international suppliers.
Findings
Contrary to the conventional antagonistic view of power and trust, the study finds a different relationship between power and trust in Japan, namely, a rather natural, mutually integrative and dependent one. The paper assumes that Taoist ideals, in particular the forces of Yin–Yang, explain this apparent contradiction.
Practical implications
Guided by the Yin–Yang perspective on power and trust balancing, the study proposes six management paradigms regarding how power and trust relationships can be developed and managed to increase collaboration performance.
Originality/value
While this research contributes to the research stream considering power and trust as complements rather than substitutes, it introduces the Yin–Yang view of business collaboration into the field of supply chain management in the automotive industry. Furthermore, it proposes practical measurements for the management of collaborative business relationships in a supply chain by taking advantage of the Yin–Yang view of putative contradictions.
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Bindu Arya, Sven Horak, Sabine Bacouel-Jentjens and Kiran Ismail
This conceptual paper develops a theoretical framework to provide insights with respect to enhancing focus on entrepreneurial sustainability initiatives in the context of emerging…
Abstract
Purpose
This conceptual paper develops a theoretical framework to provide insights with respect to enhancing focus on entrepreneurial sustainability initiatives in the context of emerging economies. The unique idiosyncrasies of the institutional environment of emerging economies are identified along the concept of scripts.
Design/methodology/approach
Sense-making and social identity theory are utilized to draw propositions along with the dimensions of the three stages of the sense-making process: enactment, selection and retention, in order to identify factors that are likely to motivate the next generation of business leaders in emerging economies to undertake greater levels of sustainability initiatives.
Findings
When organizations face competing demands of meeting both social and financial goals, sense-making by next-generation leaders becomes relevant. Leaders with greater entrepreneurial orientation (EO) are more likely to take actions decoupled from local isomorphic pressures, such that they turn opportunities for sustainability into novel sustainable initiatives.
Originality/value
This paper proposes a framework to provide insights and directions for future research with respect to enhancing an organizational focus on sustainability initiatives in the context of emerging economies.
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Henning Ahlf, Sven Horak, Andreas Klein and Sung-Won Yoon
The purpose of this study is to understand how employees of an organization build and maintain successful business relationships by analyzing major antecedents of relationship…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this study is to understand how employees of an organization build and maintain successful business relationships by analyzing major antecedents of relationship quality and relationship commitment.
Design/methodology/approach
In this study, the authors develop a conceptual framework and formulate hypotheses regarding the relationships between demographic homophily, interpersonal communication, trust and dependent variables of perceived relationship quality and relationship commitment. This paper tests hypotheses presented in this study with the help of a structural equation model, based on a data sample from South Korea.
Findings
Unlike common thinking, demographic homophily does not directly increase the perceived relationship quality. The authors find a significant direct effect of interpersonal communication on relationship commitment but no effect of commitment on perceived relationship quality. Both seem to play independent roles but are positively influenced through the emergence of trust.
Research limitations/implications
By applying demographic homophily and interpersonal communication as antecedents and trust as mediator and main driver, the authors research effects on perceived intra-organizational relationship commitment and perceived relationship quality. In detail, the authors confirm the hypothesized centrality of trust in intra-organizational relationships between demographic homophily, interpersonal communication and dependent variables of perceived relationship quality and relationship commitment. Nevertheless, the authors surprisingly find neither significant evidence that demographic homophily increases the perceived quality of a relationship, nor does it lead to higher communication intensity directly, even in an environment (i.e. Korea), where it would be expected.
Practical implications
Based on the findings of this study, there are several practical implications. Understanding the interpersonal relationship characteristics in an intra-organizational setting enables managers to optimize organizational efficiency and effectiveness. Intra-organizational relationships between employees’ are highly dependent on mutual trust as an indicator for relationship quality and relationship commitment. Organizations can also benefit from the understanding of the mechanisms of demographic homophily and interpersonal communication for the establishment of interpersonal trust as well.
Originality/value
Research about the effect of demographic homophily and interpersonal communication and the central role of trust in an intra-organizational approach to business relationships on perceived relationship quality and relationship commitment is scarce. The mutual testing of the effects and interaction of established constructs like demographic homophily, interpersonal communication and trust on perceived relationship quality and commitment constitutes the main contribution of this study to the literature on management and business relationships. The insights of this study about interpersonal bonding help companies to establish long-term business relationships.
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Recent legislation in Europe and North America encourages women’s participation in corporate boards based on the belief that gender-diversified boards contribute positively to…
Abstract
Purpose
Recent legislation in Europe and North America encourages women’s participation in corporate boards based on the belief that gender-diversified boards contribute positively to firm performance and increased competitiveness. Contrary to the West, the women’s participation rate in business has been traditionally high in China. The purpose of this paper is to find out whether gender-diverse corporate boards of Chinese automotive firms perform better financially than gender-homogeneous boards.
Design/methodology/approach
By drawing on data from the Chinese Government and Bloomberg, the authors compare and analyze the differences in financial performance (return on equity, asset growth, sales growth) and risk behavior (debt risk, R&D expenditure) of Chinese automotive firms with and without women on their corporate board.
Findings
There is significant evidence that firms with women on the board perform better across all three categories, with the exception of return on equity, for which they found no significant differences among the analyzed firms.
Practical implications
While women’s participation in corporate boards in China is low, the results of this study suggest to policy makers and firms alike to implement measures that support gender-diversified boards in order to take advantage of their potential to increase corporate performance.
Originality/value
So far, the performance of corporate boards of countries with a traditionally high share of female participation in the workforce has rarely been analyzed. Research focusing on the Chinese automotive industry is new and underrepresented, although China is the largest automotive market worldwide and a key industry of the domestic economy. This investigation contributes to the literature stream on board diversity in as well as to industry-related studies. With the example of the Chinese automotive industry, it provides empirical evidence of better performance of firms with gender-diversified boards within the categories tested.
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The purpose of this paper is to examine sharing behavior among male and female subjects in Korea who had been exposed to sensitive variables derived from the Korean cultural…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to examine sharing behavior among male and female subjects in Korea who had been exposed to sensitive variables derived from the Korean cultural context.
Design/methodology/approach
Experimental research methodology was applied based on the ultimatum game and a modified variant. The subject pool consisted of participants (N = 300) from five universities based in Seoul and its vicinity as well as Busan in South Korea.
Findings
Significant differences in sharing behavior between men and women were observed. Men significantly altered behavior from egoistic to overly altruistic when exposed to the cultural variables, whereas women did not alter their behavior and maintained a fair and balanced behavior independent of the game condition.
Practical implications
Results positively contribute to the current debate on gender-diversified top management teams and have implications for firms that could benefit from a greater variety of problem-solving approaches to increase the overall quality of decision-making.
Originality/value
Analyzing sharing behavior using sensitive contextual variables in an experimental framework is a new approach in gender studies. Based on this approach, novel and significant context-dependent traits of divergent decision-making behavior among men and women were found.
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The purpose of this paper is to draw on Asanuma's concept of relation-specific skills in order to analyse collaboration between automaker and supplier. The cultivation of…
Abstract
Purpose –
The purpose of this paper is to draw on Asanuma's concept of relation-specific skills in order to analyse collaboration between automaker and supplier. The cultivation of relation-specific skills has been widely regarded a key factor of competitiveness in the Japanese automotive industry. Yet, the concept has been described mostly in economic terms only. This research attempts to extend this view by analysing the role of informal institutions (trust) in developing relation-specific skills.
Design/methodology/approach
By drawing on expert interview data, evaluated by using content analysis, within the frame of a case study research approach, the authors gathered data from the leading multinational automotive supplier Bosch in its facilities in Japan and Germany.
Findings
The results show that the influence of trust plays a role in determining relation-specific skills. In conclusion, the authors assume that cultural homophily positively influences the cultivation of relation-specific skills and recommend future research to take this assumption into account.
Practical implications
Findings imply that over the course of business transactions organisational structures hardly converge leading to higher transaction cost. Moreover, Keiretsu structures are still strong in the field of automotive electronics.
Originality/value
So far the concept of relation-specific skills has been regarded a “culture-free” concept. The results provide a first indication that cultural differences affect the cultivation of relation-specific skill, and thus need to be considered integral to the concept.