Jean-Michel Sahut, Léopold Djoutsa Wamba and Lubica Hikkerova
In the context of the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) crisis, this article aims to analyze the resilience of family businesses in a developing country like Cameroon. As such…
Abstract
Purpose
In the context of the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) crisis, this article aims to analyze the resilience of family businesses in a developing country like Cameroon. As such, this study seeks to fill two gaps in the literature: first, by comparing the financial and social performance of family companies with those of non-family companies not listed on the stock exchange, and second, by comparing performance across family-run companies, according to the companies' mode of leadership in Cameroon, a developing country affected by COVID-19 like the rest of the world.
Design/methodology/approach
Based on the literature review, the authors developed empirical models to identify the variables which influence the financial and social dimensions of business performance. These models were tested with multilinear regressions, using data collected from questionnaires distributed to 466 firms, of which 212 were family firms and 254 non-family firms. The authors completed our analyses with mean comparison tests to demonstrate whether our results are significantly different between family and non-family firms.
Findings
The authors' multiple regressions and tests produced two main results – the financial and social performance of all Cameroonian firms declined sharply during the crisis, and with the firms' financial performance hit hardest, family firms have been more resilient to the crisis in terms of financial and social performance than non-family firms. The weak governance and social protection system, as well as an inefficient legal system, do not seem to negatively affect the performance of these Cameroonian firms – the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic on the performance of family firms were better managed in firms where family members are actively involved in management or control through family members' strong representation on the board of directors (BD).
Research limitations/implications
The two main limitations of this study concern the governance of these companies included and the failure to take the characteristics of the manager into account. Investigating other governance variables, such as the composition of the BD or the participation of employees in the capital, would enable us to refine the authors' interpretations of the companies' financial and social performance. Another limitation is the fact that the characteristics of the manager were not considered, especially when the manager is a family member. Exploring this variable would make studying the generational aspect of family businesses possible.
Practical implications
Family companies are more resilient to crisis because of the companies' long-term focus, which also encourages the companies to maintain the companies' social policy and to avoid redundancies as far as possible. Weak systems of governance and social protection, as well as an ineffective legal system, do not negatively affect the performance of Cameroonian family companies. The results also suggest that family shareholders should become more involved in the management and control of family's firms to make the firms financially and socially resilient and in so doing drastically reduce the impact of crises.
Social implications
This study shows, in particular, how family firms are more socially resilient than other firms in times of crisis (by resorting less often to redundancies). Family firms should, therefore, arguably benefit the most from public support during crises.
Originality/value
The authors' research makes two main contributions to the literature on family businesses. The results first of all show that Cameroonian family firms have thus far performed better financially and socially during the COVID-19 period than non-family firms. Second, this research focuses on differences in performance based on family business management types during this specific crisis period. The results suggest that the most resilient family firms, in terms of performance, are those in which the family is involved in the management or control of the BD.
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Jean-Michel Sahut, Samir Saadi, Lorne Switzer and Frédéric Teulon
Wissal Ben Arfi, Rickard Enström, Jean Michel Sahut and Lubica Hikkerova
The purpose of this paper is to contribute to the theoretical background on how organizational change (OC) enhances open innovation (OI) processes and enables a company to reach…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to contribute to the theoretical background on how organizational change (OC) enhances open innovation (OI) processes and enables a company to reach performance results through implementing knowledge sharing platforms (KSPs). The authors aim to better understand and investigate how the changes introduced by the implementation of KSPs impact the OC and facilitate the OI process.
Design/methodology/approach
In this paper, an exploratory longitudinal single case study based on a variety of data sources is used: participant observations, focus group discussions and semi-structured interviews with the KSP members and top managers of a Tunisian SME operating in the dairy products sector. The open-ended responses were subsequently exposed to thematic discourse analysis.
Findings
The case study findings deeply explore and investigate a company’s experience in implementing OCs when using a joint-venture alliance with a French leader to develop OI. Central to this exhibit is the nature and magnitude of the knowledge sharing between the parties in the OI process, and the significant impact it had on the consumers’ reception of the new products. The outcomes show that due to the sharing of external research and development skills, the creation of the KSP has been an incentive for significant changes and customer targeting and for promoting internal absorptive capacity, minimizing complexity, uncertainty and risks and reaching performance results.
Originality/value
This paper provides a deep understanding of the new product development process and offers a holistic approach with respect to KSP practices. The significant impact on the consumers’ first response and the subsequent adaption of an industrially produced cheese as a subsidiary product to an existing artisan quality product are examined in this study. Examining the implementation of an OI process, this research is one of the few studies revealing the shortcomings of a former process and a subsequent adaption of a newly successful one that targets the consumers in a MENA country.
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Raphael Lissillour and Jean-Michel Sahut
Technological firms increasingly depend on open innovation to compete in hypercompetitive markets. To openly engage the creativity of a multitude of private actors, firms can rely…
Abstract
Purpose
Technological firms increasingly depend on open innovation to compete in hypercompetitive markets. To openly engage the creativity of a multitude of private actors, firms can rely on crowdsourcing. Crowdsourcing challenges global companies as they span organizational boundaries to attract multiple local partners. Global companies must engage in boundary spanning to successfully communicate and create a sense of community with smaller local partners despite status and cultural differences. The collaboration between Google and developers in China deserves to be studied in particular, because it operates within a restricted market.
Design/methodology/approach
This paper argues that crowdsourcing for innovation on a global scale requires effective boundary spanning capabilities. These boundary-spanning practices ensure smooth cooperation with the crowd and solve problems relating to differences in status and organizational contexts. This study applies Bourdieu's theory of practice including the concept of capital (economic, intellectual, social and symbolic) to understand the social relationships between Google and a growing community of Chinese developers. It also draws on a case study including ten semistructured interviews, which have been triangulated with internal documents and data from selected websites.
Findings
Four types of capital (symbolic, intellectual, social and economic) have been identified as important devices to understand the sources of power and the stakes of Googlers and developers in the joint field. These types of capital contribute to structure the social fields in which developers and Google cooperate and their practice. The success of the collaboration between Google and Chinese developers can arguably be attributed to Google's ability to create boundary-spanning activities in order to reduce the endowment differential in the four types of capital and improve their communication. Therefore, this research provides a deep and conceptualized description of boundary-spanning practices, as well as providing a useful contribution for managers involved in crowdsourcing via platform in culturally different markets.
Research limitations/implications
The main limitation of this study is methodological in nature, relating to the absence of interviews with board members of Google China who are reluctant to speak about Google activities in China for political raisons. This restriction is partly counterbalanced by the analysis of publicly available secondary data such as news and communications.
Practical implications
This research has generated practical recommendations for managers of organizations, which require optimal boundary spanning for crowdsourcing. Managers must understand the different sources of social boundaries between their organization and the crowd. The crowd should be segmented into smaller groups with distinctive identities, and organizations should systematically design boundary-spanning activities to address each boundary of each segment. The boundary-spanning activities involve a specific set of tools, programs and platforms to address the target group. Efficient boundary spanning depends on the necessity to select boundary spanners with high cultural intelligence and communication skills.
Social implications
This paper draws on Bourdieu's theory of practice to investigate the role of boundary spanning in crowdsourcing for innovation, specifically in the joint field between Google and Chinese developers. This research reveals how boundary objects such as developer documents, websites, programs and events are essential for developers to be able to participate on Google's platform. Companies should be prepared to invest in the design and delivery of boundary-spanning activities and objects, knowing that these are also a locus for negotiation with local partners.
Originality/value
This research contributes to the literature by applying the boundary-spanner theory to Google crowdsourcing practices within a restricted market. Bourdieu's theory of practice has proven to be a potent perspective with which to better understand the positive role of boundary spanners in the joint field between Google and Chinese developers. Moreover, this practice perspective has not been used in prior research to highlight power relations in crowdsourcing for innovation. This study has shown that, in addition to boundary objects, boundary spanners can also contribute in the transfer of intellectual capital, which is the pivotal resource for boundary spanning in this field.
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Mili Mehdi, Jean-Michel Sahut and Frédéric Teulon
The purpose of this paper is to study the impact of the ownership structure and board governance on dividend policy in emerging markets. The authors test whether the effects of…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to study the impact of the ownership structure and board governance on dividend policy in emerging markets. The authors test whether the effects of corporate governance on dividend policy change during crisis periods.
Design/methodology/approach
The authors use a panel regression approach on a sample of 362 non-financial listed firms from East Asian and Gulf Cooperation Council countries.
Findings
The results provide evidence that dividend payout decision increases with institutional ownership and board activity. The authors find that in emerging countries, dividend policy of firms with CEO duality and without CEO duality does not depend on the same set of factors. It is shown that the ownership concentration and board independency affect significantly the dividend policy of firms with COE duality. Finally, the results show that during the recent financial crisis, dividend decision is inversely related to CEO duality, board size and the frequency of board meetings.
Research limitations/implications
Other variables of corporate governance and ownership structure can be studied more in depth. The results can be directly compared to an alternative sample of developed countries.
Practical implications
This study is of particular interest for managers and shareholders when adjusting their strategies of dividend payout during financial crisis.
Originality/value
The authors employ a specific approach to investigate the impact of CEO duality on dividend policy in East Asian countries. An important aspect of the results is that that for firms with CEO who is also the chairperson, the dividend decision is negatively related to ownership concentration and board independence. This research contributes to the understanding of dividend policy by testing whether the impact of corporate governance on dividend policy changes during crisis periods in emerging countries. To the best of the authors’ knowledge, this work is the first to directly address this issue from this perspective.
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Jean‐Michel Sahut, Sandrine Boulerne and Frédéric Teulon
The purpose of this paper is to study the information content of intangible assets under IAS/IFRS when compared to local GAAP for European listed companies.
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to study the information content of intangible assets under IAS/IFRS when compared to local GAAP for European listed companies.
Design/methodology/approach
The paper employs multivariate regression models for a sample of 1,855 European listed firms in a six‐year period, from 2002 to 2004 in local GAAP and from 2005 to 2007 in IAS/IFRS to investigate the empirical relationships between market value of European firms and book value of their intangible assets.
Findings
The results suggest that the book value of other intangible assets of European listed firms is higher under IFRS than local GAAP and has more informative value for explaining the price of the share and stock market returns. European investors, however, consider the financial information conveyed by capitalized goodwill to be less relevant under IFRS than with local GAAP. Thus, identified intangible assets capitalized on European company balance sheets provide more value‐relevant information for shareholders than unidentified intangible assets that have been transferred into goodwill, with the exception of Italian and Finnish investors.
Originality/value
The paper adds to the existing literature on IFRS by documenting the association between the market value of European listed firms and the book value of their goodwill and other intangibles assets. The study complements prior studies by demonstrating that country differences persist despite the use of common accounting standards and that legal and regulatory country characteristics as well as market forces could still have a significant impact on the value relevance of accounting data.
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Many banks consider mobile‐based technologies have improved the banking services through introduction of new banking facilities. One of the latest facilities developed in this…
Abstract
Purpose
Many banks consider mobile‐based technologies have improved the banking services through introduction of new banking facilities. One of the latest facilities developed in this area is the “mobile credit card.” The purpose of this study is to examine the factors that determine intention to use mobile credit card among Malaysia bank customers, as their new way in conducting payment transactions.
Design/methodology/approach
The technology acceptance model (TAM) was used as the base model in order to develop the modified version of TAM to better reflect mobile credit card. In the modified model, perceived credibility and the amount of information on mobile credit card were added, in addition to perceived usefulness and perceived ease of use.
Findings
Results suggest that perceived usefulness, perceived ease of use, perceived credibility and the amount of information on mobile credit cards are important determinants to predict Malaysia bank customers' intentions to use mobile credit card. Needless to say, the paper is exploratory in nature.
Research limitations/implications
This study suffers from two limitations. The discussion of these limitations is provided in the last part of this paper.
Practical implications
Useful to Islamic banking institutions planning further mobile credit card services for their customers.
Originality/value
Extends the understanding of TAM to newly emerging context of mobile credit.
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Mobile phones have provided an opportunity for banking institutions to introduce new services to the public. The latest service, which is now available in Malaysian banking…
Abstract
Purpose
Mobile phones have provided an opportunity for banking institutions to introduce new services to the public. The latest service, which is now available in Malaysian banking institutions, is the mobile phone credit card. The purpose of this paper is to provide a preliminary investigation of the factors that determine whether Malaysia's bank customers will use the new mobile phone credit card technology.
Design/methodology/approach
This paper extends the applicability of the technology acceptance model (TAM) to mobile phone credit cards and includes “perceived credibility (PC)”, the “amount of information about mobile phone credit cards (AIMCs)” and “perceived expressiveness (PE)”, in addition to “perceived usefulness (PU)” and “perceived ease of use (PEOU)”.
Findings
The results indicate that PU, PEOU, PC and the amount of information contained on mobile phone credit cards are important determinants to predicting the intentions of Malaysian customers to use mobile phone credit cards. However, PE is not an important determinant in predicting the intentions of Malaysian customers to use mobile phone credit cards.
Research limitations/implications
The study conducted in Eastern Malaysia contains a small size of sample and a limited number of measures in the model developed for the study. Nevertheless, it provides new information about an emerging market and technology.
Practical implications
The results will be primarily of benefit to the commercial banks in Malaysia since this study offers banking institutions an insight on the intentions of their customers to use mobile phone credit cards.
Originality/value
The study extends the understanding of TAM to newly emerging contexts such as the mobile phone credit card.
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Colin C.J. Cheng, Shu-Han Hsu and Chwen Sheu
Prior research on supply chain management has advanced substantially our understanding of how suppliers’ knowledge affects manufacturers’ green innovation. However, overlooking…
Abstract
Purpose
Prior research on supply chain management has advanced substantially our understanding of how suppliers’ knowledge affects manufacturers’ green innovation. However, overlooking the suppliers’ diverse green knowledge in supplier networks, namely, green knowledge diversity, has limited our understanding of both supply chain management and green innovation development. To address this important issue, this study aims to rely on social network theory as the overarching framework and knowledge-based view as the underlying theoretical foundation to examine how green knowledge diversity contributes to manufacturers’ green innovation performance, while considering three types of supplier network properties (network strength, network heterogeneity and network density).
Design/methodology/approach
This study collects both survey and secondary proxy data from 209 manufacturing firms over three time periods (mid-2018, mid-2019 and mid-2020). PROCESS macro is applied to test the research hypotheses.
Findings
The results provide compelling evidence that green knowledge management processes partially mediate the effect of green knowledge diversity on manufacturers’ green innovation performance. The effect of green knowledge diversity is strengthened by supplier network strength and supplier network heterogeneity, but hindered by supplier network density.
Practical implications
This study provides a practical guide to help manufacturers enhance green innovation performance by properly managing and leveraging their suppliers’ diverse green knowledge domains in supplier networks.
Originality/value
This study contributes to the supply chain management and green innovation literature by offering novel theoretical and empirical insights into how manufacturers can use their supplier networks to strengthen green innovation.