Yung‐Chang Hsiao and Chung‐Jen Chen
This study attempts to investigate the relationships among organizational capabilities, strategic choice, and firm performance and examine three questions: What are the…
Abstract
Purpose
This study attempts to investigate the relationships among organizational capabilities, strategic choice, and firm performance and examine three questions: What are the relationships between organizational capabilities and the firm's strategic choice – contract manufacturing and branding? Do branding firms perform better than contract manufacturing firms after controlling for endogeneity bias? Do firms usually choose their strategy (contract manufacturing/branding) appropriately to achieve a better performance under the conditions they encounter?
Design/methodology/approach
The empirical study employs a questionnaire approach to collect data from the population of the top 5,000 Taiwanese firms listed in the yearbook published by the China Credit Information Service Incorporation for testing the validity of the model and research hypotheses. This study uses a Heckman two‐step estimation procedure and follows the procedure proposed by Shaver to examine the economic implications of strategic choice on firm performance.
Findings
Firms are more likely to adopt the branding strategy when they have better marketing and R&D capabilities while they are more likely to choose the contract manufacturing strategy when they possess superior manufacturing and process capabilities; in general branding firms perform better than contract manufacturing firms after controlling for endogeneity bias; and firms achieve a better performance if their strategic choice (contract manufacturing/branding) fits the conditions they encounter.
Research limitations/implications
This study contributes to the marketing literature by exploring an important issue of strategic choice (contract manufacturing or branding) and contributes to the strategy literature by proposing the endogenous role of strategic choice in the relationship between organizational capabilities and firm performance.
Practical implications
Firms should take into account organizational capabilities when choosing a contract manufacturing strategy or branding strategy. Further, managers should not ignore matching their strategic choice (contract manufacturing/branding) with the conditions they encounter in order to optimize firm performance.
Originality/value
The strategic choice of branding or contract manufacturing is a prevalent phenomenon that has received little attention in the strategy and marketing literature. Based on the competence‐based perspective, this study examines the relationships among organizational capabilities, strategic choice, and firm performance.
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G.A. Keenay, R.W. Morgan and K.H. Ray
Many large organizations employ staff who make the greater part of their careers within the organization. Today's recruits are tomorrow's senior managers and so the planning of…
Abstract
Many large organizations employ staff who make the greater part of their careers within the organization. Today's recruits are tomorrow's senior managers and so the planning of the careers of the staff is often undertaken with some care. The planners will want to avoid both shortages of suitably experienced staff for promotion to senior levels, and surpluses with their attendant problems of early retirement and redundancy schemes.
C.W. Routledge and C.K. Elliot
A major function of personnel management is to help individuals and organisations cope with change. Managerial career development provides a practical example of this concern as…
Abstract
A major function of personnel management is to help individuals and organisations cope with change. Managerial career development provides a practical example of this concern as effective action requires an understanding of how individuals and organisations initiate and are affected by change. These changes can also be considered from the more theoretical viewpoints of organisational mobility. The practical concerns of the personnel manager and the theoretical models of the student of organisational mobility should both benefit from the two‐way flow of insights, and some of these potential links are explored in this article.
David B. Zoogah and Richard B. Zoogah
We discuss how experimental analysis can be integrated into strategic human resources management (SHRM) research in Africa so as to develop theory and value principles to guide…
Abstract
Purpose
We discuss how experimental analysis can be integrated into strategic human resources management (SHRM) research in Africa so as to develop theory and value principles to guide executives.
Design/methodology/approach
The model we propose – experiment-based SHRM – is predicated on the use of experimental approaches to demonstrate the value of SHRM and to derive principles that guide research and practice in Africa.
Findings
We illustrate how scholars can conduct experiments from an SHRM perspective.
Research limitations/implications
We discuss the strengths and limitations of the model and suggest ways of maximizing its potential.
Practical implications
The technique is a resource for scholars of SHRM in Africa. They can use it to supplement other approaches for studying SHRM.
Originality/value
This chapter discusses a typology of experimental analysis. The lack of such a typology in the context of Africa makes it a valuable contribution. Thus, it fills a contextual gap in the SHRM research methodology literature. It can therefore help graduate students and junior faculty improve their research.
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David C. Wyld, Sam D. Cappel and Daniel E. Hallock
Years ago, Henry D. Lloyd defined religion as being the “conscience in action.” The concept of religion is one which is indeed completely individualised in both perspective and…
Abstract
Years ago, Henry D. Lloyd defined religion as being the “conscience in action.” The concept of religion is one which is indeed completely individualised in both perspective and importance. However, as Bailey (1983) observed, the very basis for theology lies in the explanatory power of religion when examined through the perspective of psychology. Byron (1988) saw a theological basis to the functions of management and entrepreneurship, linking these activities to the religious duty of stewardship.
Tianhong Ouyang and Kumar K. Tamma
Thermal solidification processes are an important concern in today’smanufacturing technology. Because of the complex geometric nature ofreal‐world problems, analytical techniques…
Abstract
Thermal solidification processes are an important concern in today’s manufacturing technology. Because of the complex geometric nature of real‐world problems, analytical techniques with closed‐form solutions are scarce and/or not feasible. As a consequence, various numerical techniques have been employed for the numerical simulations. Of interest in the present paper are thermal solidification problems involving single or multiple arbitary phases. In order to effectively handle such problems, the finite element method is employed in conjunction with adaptive time stepping approaches to accurately and effectively track the various phase fronts and describe the physics of phase front interactions and thermal behaviour. In conjunction with the enthalpy method which is employed to handle the latent heat release, a fixed‐grid finite element technique and an automatic time stepping approach which uses the norm of the temperature distribution differences between adjacent time step levels to control the error are employed with the scale of the norm being automatically selected. Several numerical examples, including single and multiple phase change problems, are described.
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Bahrun Borahima, Noermijati Noermijati, Djumilah Hadiwidjojo and Ainur Rofiq
Regardless of its relevance for economic development, the influence of strategic orientation by innovation orientation, and strategic marketing by marketing capability on firm…
Abstract
Regardless of its relevance for economic development, the influence of strategic orientation by innovation orientation, and strategic marketing by marketing capability on firm performance, this interesting study focused on firms with strategic industries (defense and security) in Indonesia. It approached the gap in three ways. Initially, the examination was conducted on the role of innovation orientation, marketing capability, the interaction of innovation orientation and marketing capability on firm performance. The next step was considering the contribution of state-owned enterprise (SOE) and non-SOE. Finally, this relationship was studied in strategic industries of firms in Indonesia. The firm performance in this study, which we chose, was operational performance. The proposed conceptual model would be tested by distributing questionnaires to 41 firms in Indonesia. This study gave insight into the matters, which should be the companies’ focus, to improve their operations’ performance. By using PLS-based structural equation modeling (SEM) analysis, the results of the relationship between innovation orientation, marketing capability, and the interaction between innovation orientation and marketing capability on operational performance were identified. The findings could be clarified via the variations in the characteristics of enterprises (SOE and non-SOE). Moreover, there were clear variations in the findings, which were recognized among the firms’ relatively different characteristics. The main finding was a challenge to generalize the relationship from strategic orientation and strategic marketing to performance. The results of firm characteristics also had considerable managerial relevance. The authors recommend strategic industries (defense and security) in Indonesia in achieving operational performance excellence. Management’s importance is paying attention to the relationship between innovation orientation, marketing capability, and dynamic capability in running a company organization.
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Frances Mary D’Andrea and Yue-Ting Siu
For students who are blind or visually impaired, technology enables greater access to the educational curriculum, immediate and independent access to information, and full…
Abstract
For students who are blind or visually impaired, technology enables greater access to the educational curriculum, immediate and independent access to information, and full participation in community and citizenship. This chapter reviews research on technology use by students with visual impairments, and highlights effective practices, promising developments, and ongoing challenges. The authors discuss the implications of these advancements on policy, instruction, professional development, and future research.
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The impact of form of government on municipal expenditures has been debated by several scholars and researchers over the past thirty years. Part of the support for preference of…
Abstract
The impact of form of government on municipal expenditures has been debated by several scholars and researchers over the past thirty years. Part of the support for preference of the council-manager form of government over the other government forms relies on claims that the council-manager form provides increased efficiency in the operation of government. Results of numerous municipal expenditure studies, however, reveal that this outcome is not always clearly demonstrated. Almost all of this existing literature has utilized data from municipalities with populations greater than 25,000. This study evaluates the relationship between form of government and per capita expenditures in cities and towns with populations between 2,500 and 25,000. Survey data from 559 cities and towns are analyzed to determine whether or not their form of government can be significantly related to municipal per capita expenditures. Results of this analysis reveal that council-manager cities and towns exhibit significantly higher per capita expenditure levels than cities and towns with the non-council-manager forms of government.