Matteo Rossi, Giuseppe Festa, Fabio Fiano and Rosa Giacobbe
Recently, corporate venture capital (CVC) has been gaining increasing attention worldwide as a special form of venturing through which non-financial corporations invest in target…
Abstract
Purpose
Recently, corporate venture capital (CVC) has been gaining increasing attention worldwide as a special form of venturing through which non-financial corporations invest in target companies, usually technological firms, as start-ups. These investments mostly aim not at financial goals but constitute a strategic way for the corporation to obtain access to new technologies and innovations through financing entrepreneurial initiatives. The purpose of this paper is to analyze the connections between the core business of the parent company and its venturing investments, investigating, in particular, its “ambidexterity,” i.e., the ability of the CVC company to invest in ventures close to its core activities, exploiting internal resources and exploring new markets.
Design/methodology/approach
Stemming from the results of previous studies, this research has applied a discriminating analysis methodology to the 18 most active CVC companies in the world, all of which have technology innovation as the core business of the corporation, in the 2015/2017 period.
Findings
An evident correlation between the Financing Round (as the independent variable) and the Entrepreneurial Intensity (as the dependent variable) influences the CVCs investment policies and their behavior with respect to their ambidexterity. This link could also influence the strategic orientation of the CVC policy, forcing the company to appropriately govern and manage the starting nature and/or the variable nature of the CVC (ambidextrous, hybrid, dis-ambidextrous or random).
Research limitations/implications
The current research has used only secondary data to explore the behavior of only 18 CVCs in a relatively short period. Thus, it would be advisable to extend the number of observations, to enlarge the period under investigation, and to retrieve field data to obtain more detailed and reliable results.
Originality/value
The main objective/contribution of this study is to understand if there is a correlation between the Financing Round (as the independent variable) and the Entrepreneurial Intensity (as the dependent variable) for the 18 most active CVCs in the world, according to CB Insights, in 2015–2017, adopting and further confirming the model by Rossi et al. (2019). The statistical investigation, based on the conclusions of that linear regression model, has highlighted a total or large correlation between these two variables for the current research perimeter, which includes CVC companies with technology as the core business of the corporation.
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This chapter has four parts. The first section addresses the legal analysis of the Argentine local governments' autonomous regime, considering its provinces and municipalities…
Abstract
This chapter has four parts. The first section addresses the legal analysis of the Argentine local governments' autonomous regime, considering its provinces and municipalities, and the second section analyzes the portfolio of policies – nationals, provincials, locals – to attend the emergency of COVID-19, which show that the Federal State was dedicated to the overall strategy: sustaining the income of citizens, businesses, and subnational governments; and the purchase and distribution of health equipment and supplies, while the attention of COVID-19 cases fell to the provinces and municipalities. The third section analyzes the coordination mechanisms during the pandemic mainly based more on presidential leadership with the support of governors and mayors than on institutional mechanisms. Finally, the role of the political agency especially as for the main interjurisdictional conflicts that took place in 2020 and 2021 once the authorities dimensioned the pandemic scope as well as the Kirchnerism/anti-Kirchnerism cleavage that characterizes Argentine politics since 2008.
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This paper contributes to laying a foundation for a research agenda in international business (IB) on multinational enterprises (MNEs) and economic inequality, through an…
Abstract
Purpose
This paper contributes to laying a foundation for a research agenda in international business (IB) on multinational enterprises (MNEs) and economic inequality, through an extensive literature review and development of a conceptual framework.
Design/methodology/approach
The author conduct a systematic review of studies on economic inequality in IB literature, complemented by a broader selective review of studies in general management, economics, political science, sociology and other disciplines.
Findings
The review confirms that economic inequality has received little attention in IB research. Most contributions are recent conceptual studies, while empirical studies are scarce. Studies in economics and other disciplines provide further insights on the effects of MNEs on inequality, although specific findings are somewhat mixed.
Research limitations/implications
The author develop a simple framework outlining channels of effects from MNEs activities on different forms of inequality, discuss challenges and opportunities for IB in addressing this topic and identify some avenues for future IB research on economic inequality.
Originality/value
This paper is the first comprehensive review of literature in IB on economic inequality. It also presents relevant literature on MNEs and economic inequality from various other disciplines and outlines the contributions that the IB discipline can make to the study of this topic.
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Hasliza Hassan, Abu Bakar Sade and Muhammad Sabbir Rahman
The hypermarket industry in Malaysia has created a huge momentum for modern retailing concepts. The industry has been developing impressively, and the word hypermarket seems in…
Abstract
Purpose
The hypermarket industry in Malaysia has created a huge momentum for modern retailing concepts. The industry has been developing impressively, and the word hypermarket seems in need of a new definition. There is an overlap of the definitions for hypermarket, supermarket and shopping mall. Thus, the purpose of this paper is to focus on recent Malaysian hypermarket retailing developments that could be used as sources for definition. A few expansion opportunities are also emphasized in this paper.
Design/methodology/approach
A review of the literature from various research studies in the field was made. In order to strengthen the existing findings, practical implementations on hypermarket retailing within the Malaysian market were also studied in this research. In general, this research focuses on hypermarket retailing in the Malaysian scenario.
Findings
Malaysian hypermarkets can be defined using retail developments within the industry as sources for definition works. This industry can also be expanded further through: product brand extension; service experience enhancement; self‐checkout technology; coupons promotion; online hypermarket; and one district one industry (SDSI) market intervention program.
Originality/value
The definition of hypermarket in this research paper is streamlined further to differentiate it from a supermarket or shopping mall. With the potential expansion opportunities, it is expected that there will be a clearer path to outgrow this industry.
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Federico Alvino, Assunta Di Vaio, Rohail Hassan and Rosa Palladino
This paper investigates the literary corpus on the role of intellectual capital (IC) for the sustainable and innovative development of organisations. It provides a quantitative…
Abstract
Purpose
This paper investigates the literary corpus on the role of intellectual capital (IC) for the sustainable and innovative development of organisations. It provides a quantitative overview of the academic literature that constitutes this field. The paper discusses whether IC, through the implementation of knowledge management (KM) processes, can influence the entrepreneurial orientation (EO) towards the creation of sustainable business models (SBMs), which are outlined in the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) 2030 agenda and adopted by all United Nations member states in 2015.
Design/methodology/approach
Based on a database containing 45 publications in the English language with a publication date from 1990 to 2019 (October), a bibliometric analysis was conducted. Data on publications, journals, authors and citations were collected, re-checked and examined by applying bibliometric measures.
Findings
The bibliographic analysis identified that the research published on IC in the perspective of sustainability focusses mainly on the measurement of results, in terms of increased business performance. The results show that the IC is linked to the concept of long-term value. Therefore, the development potential of the IC is linked to the 2030 agenda for sustainable development (SD). These results also provide a framework for the literature on IC and SDGs by highlighting the connection with the EO to develop SBMs.
Originality/value
This paper contributes to the literature on IC as a driver for SD. In more detail, it provides a systematic review of the literature on these topics under the umbrella of the SDG perspective.
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Raj Agnihotri, Adam Rapp and Kevin Trainor
This study seeks to address the issue of managing buyer‐seller relationships. Specifically, a framework incorporating the constructs of information communication, sales…
Abstract
Purpose
This study seeks to address the issue of managing buyer‐seller relationships. Specifically, a framework incorporating the constructs of information communication, sales technology, product knowledge, and customer satisfaction is proposed.
Design/methodology/approach
Empirical support was derived from salesperson survey data combined with customer‐reported satisfaction ratings. All 254 sales representatives of the women's health care division of a pharmaceutical company were surveyed for this research study.
Findings
The results suggest that managers can benefit by extending salesforce training to address not only technical knowledge but also communication skills. Providing technology with the potential to increase customer satisfaction through improved information communication would be beneficial as well.
Practical implications
The research suggests that managers should invest resources not only in providing salespeople with technical knowledge, but also in training them in effective communication skills. Further, the benefit has been shown, in terms of customer satisfaction, of providing technology to support communication between salespeople and customers.
Originality/value
The study uses the relationship marketing approach to explore the critical role of information communication construct in a buyer‐seller exchange process. Moreover, the inclusion of salesperson experience as a possible moderator of the links to this construct brings additional value.
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Pedro Mota Veiga, Ronnie Figueiredo, João J. M. Ferreira and Filipe Ambrósio
The objective of this article is to empirically study the influence of the characteristics of small- and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) in the processes of knowledge creation…
Abstract
Purpose
The objective of this article is to empirically study the influence of the characteristics of small- and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) in the processes of knowledge creation, knowledge transfer and innovation in conjunction with the utilisation of private and public knowledge (KM) in accordance with the “spinner innovation model” (SIM).
Design/methodology/approach
The article deploys a sample of primary data generated by a questionnaire applied to the managers of hotel SMEs in Portugal. This involved the application of the covariance and multiple regression analytical methods.
Findings
The results demonstrate that some of the SME characteristics return significant impacts on private and public KM: the processes of knowledge creation, transfers of knowledge and innovation. The results also identify how private KM statistically predicts the processes of knowledge creation and transfer and innovation while public KM shapes and influences the creation of knowledge.
Research limitations/implications
As with any other such study, the key limitation stems from the sample made up of 82 hotel directors, which represents only a low rate of response even though the project deployed all of the procedures available to avoid such an outcome.
Practical implications
The SIM approach to the innovation process may assist strategic decision-makers to improve their tools and relations, avoid repeated working overlaps in existing processes as well as enabling more competitive approaches in terms of innovation.
Social implications
Furthermore, the responses ascertained reflect only the universe of study, conditioned by the context that produced them; hence, any generalisation of the results requires due caution.
Originality/value
This is the first study to empirically analyse the influence of the characteristics of SMEs over the processes of creating and transferring knowledge and innovation based upon applying the SIM and observing the extent of public and private knowledge in the hotel sector of Europe, more specifically, Portugal.
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Daniel Carnerud, Carmen Jaca and Ingela Bäckström
The purpose of this paper is to depict how Kaizen and continuous improvement (CI) are represented in scientific journals focusing on quality management (QM) from the 1980s until…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to depict how Kaizen and continuous improvement (CI) are represented in scientific journals focusing on quality management (QM) from the 1980s until 2017. Additionally, the study aims to examine how Kaizen is studied and described and how the relationship between Kaizen and CI is portrayed.
Design/methodology/approach
The study applies a mixed methods approach to search for tendencies and outlines concerning Kaizen and CI in four scientific journals focusing on QM and two focusing on OM. The data set contains entries from 1980 until 2017, which makes it possible to depict how Kaizen has evolved over more than 30 years.
Findings
The findings show that Kaizen and CI attained special interest in the mid-1990s, after which interest appears to have decreased. However, the findings imply that a regenerated interest for the areas spiked post 2010. In addition, the results indicate that Kaizen is on the one hand accepted by one part of the management community but on the other hand completely ignored by the rest. Finally, the data illuminate a need to strengthen and clarify Kaizen’s theoretical basis and its relationship to CI.
Practical implications
If an aspiration exists to increase the success rate of Kaizen implementation, the results from the study highlight the need to address and clarify epistemological, terminological and theoretical issues.
Originality/value
Prior data mining studies pinpointing how Kaizen and CI have evolved over the last 30 years appear not to exist.
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This study investigates the influence of six interrelated contextual factors, namely organisational structure, quality of information technology, business strategy in terms of…
Abstract
Purpose
This study investigates the influence of six interrelated contextual factors, namely organisational structure, quality of information technology, business strategy in terms of deliberate strategy-formulation, market orientation, market competition and perceived environmental uncertainty (PEU), on the usage intensity of innovative management accounting techniques commonly referred to as strategic management accounting (SMA); the impact of SMA usage on competitive advantage; and the moderating influence of the contextual factors on the relationship between SMA usage and competitive advantage.
Design/methodology/approach
Survey data were obtained through a structured questionnaire from publicly listed manufacturing companies on the main board of the Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE). Ordinary least squares (OLS) regression and moderated regression were used to analyse data. Both exploratory factor analysis (EFA) and confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) were used to examine the validity and reliability of variables as first and second order of analysis. Structural equation modelling (SEM) (maximum likelihood estimation method) was applied to assess the robustness of result.
Findings
Market orientation and deliberate strategy-formulation emerged as significant determinants of SMA usage intensity. Although there is a significant relationship between SMA usage and competitive advantage, the strength of the relationship is moderate. Organisational structure, deliberate strategy-formulation and PEU significantly moderate the relationship between SMA usage and competitive advantage.
Research limitations/implications
The emergence of deliberate strategy-formulation, as both a significant predictor of SMA usage intensity and as the strongest moderator of the relationship between SMA usage and competitive advantage, establish that it is organisations that take a proactive approach to strategy issues that may derive the most benefit from SMA utilisation.
Practical implications
The result from this study brings to fore the need to involve management accountants in strategy-formulation and implementation in order to leverage their competence in deploying SMA techniques to enhance organisational competitiveness.
Originality/value
The current study is the first, to the researcher's knowledge, to specifically examine interrelated contextual factors distinctively affecting SMA usage and organisational competitiveness in a developing country. Whilst these six factors have been stressed as important determinants of the adoption of innovative management accounting techniques, the study provides empirical evidence on the extent to which they exert on SMA. The study presents empirical evidence on the relevance of market orientation—a construct which has surprisingly received little research attention in management accounting literature—as a variable which could affect the adoption of management accounting innovation.