Sang Lee, Taewon Hwang and Hong‐Hee Lee
This study aims to investigate the emerging new phenomenon of corporate blogging and its objectives. In particular, this study focuses on how Fortune 500 firms attempt to maintain…
Abstract
Purpose
This study aims to investigate the emerging new phenomenon of corporate blogging and its objectives. In particular, this study focuses on how Fortune 500 firms attempt to maintain control, while supporting employee autonomy in corporate blogging.
Design/methodology/approach
Using the framework of corporate blogging strategies proposed in this study, corporate blogging practices of the 2005 Fortune 500 companies were analysed.
Findings
Most organisations maintain high levels of control by implementing top‐down blogging strategies, while few support employee autonomy by applying a bottom‐up blogging strategy. Because of the inherent limitation of each strategy, many organisations attempt to take advantage of the complementary mechanism that balances autonomy and control. Organisations emphasising bottom‐up blogging tend to focus on product development and customer service content strategy, while those practising top‐down blogging focus on thought leadership or promotional content strategy.
Research limitations/implications
This study reports leading blogging firms among the Fortune 500 companies. However, the study sample accounts for only 3.6 percent of the 500 firms. The results of the study shed insights on newly emerging corporate blogging in terms of its trends, issues, and possible future direction.
Practical implications
Companies that adopt blogs must realise that developing a candid dialogue with customers is the best way to build a meaningful customer relationship.
Originality/value
This study is the first attempt to systematically investigate the corporate blogging phenomenon.
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Sang M. Lee, Taewon Hwang and Donghyun Choi
The purpose of this study is to examine the current open innovation practices in the public sector of leading countries.
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this study is to examine the current open innovation practices in the public sector of leading countries.
Design/methodology/approach
Using a framework based on the role of the government in open innovation, this study analyses a profile of early open innovation adopters based on collected data from secondary sources.
Findings
First, the USA, Australia and Singapore developed open innovation policies at the national level, facilitating a positive innovation climate. Many projects, especially those in online platforms, were established under these policies. Second, although outside‐in open innovation principles seem to be popular, there have been emerging attempts to exploit the value of government data through inside‐out approaches.
Research limitations/implications
Most governments are in the early stages of adoption of open innovation and are in the process of understanding relevant issues. Future research should investigate how governments adopt open innovation, in particular inside‐out initiatives.
Practical implications
Governments should develop an overarching strategic plan, which would help its employees to recognise that new change is consistent with the needs of their workplace practices. Some organizations and projects led by citizens help the government engage external ideas in solving issues that are beyond its control.
Originality/value
This study is the first attempt to examine the current open innovation policies at the government level.
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Kyung Jin Cha, Taewon Hwang and Shirley Gregor
Despite much research on information technology (IT)-enabled organizational transformation (OT), there are still many issues to be addressed. The purpose of this paper is to fill…
Abstract
Purpose
Despite much research on information technology (IT)-enabled organizational transformation (OT), there are still many issues to be addressed. The purpose of this paper is to fill this gap by proposing an integrative model that includes specific transformation resources, capabilities, and outcomes pertaining to the success of IT-enabled OT.
Design/methodology/approach
Using the resource-based view, organizational learning theory, and business process reengineering, the authors developed an integrative model of IT-enabled OT. To validate this model, the authors conducted in-depth case studies of five firms that reported successful IT-enabled OT and five others that reported less successful.
Findings
This study offers three important findings. First, flexible IT and policies were found to be key transformation resources. Second, training, teamwork, leadership, and project ownership were identified as key transformation capabilities. Third, strategic outcomes such as responsiveness, customer satisfaction, and business scope were suggested as key transformation outcomes. The benefits realized by the less successful group tended to be limited to the operational level. Overall, the findings provide evidence that strategic benefits from the success of IT-enabled OT can be obtained by combining specific transformation resources and capabilities.
Originality/value
The results of this study make three contributions to the literature on IT-enabled OT. First, the authors shed light on the underlying mechanism by which specific transformation resources and capabilities lead to the improvement of specific outcomes. Second, IT-enabled OT has been conceptualized from a variety of theoretical perspectives. Third, the authors brought together the diverse literature on IT-enabled OT, presenting an empirically validated integrative model of IT-enabled OT.
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Birger Maekelburger, Christian Schwens and Rüdiger Kabst
Purpose – The purpose of this chapter is to suggest a dynamic framework to investigate foreign market mode choices of small- and medium-sized enterprises (SME) over…
Abstract
Purpose – The purpose of this chapter is to suggest a dynamic framework to investigate foreign market mode choices of small- and medium-sized enterprises (SME) over time.
Design/methodology/approach – We introduce a dynamic economic perspective drawing on the behavioural Uppsala Internationalisation Model (UIM) and the economic Transaction Cost Economics (TCE) framework. Often stigmatised as being static, TCE can benefit from the dynamic nature of the UIM. The UIM framework, however, can benefit from the economic determinants of the TCE.
Findings – We test the framework and our hypotheses in a dataset of 206 internationally operating German SMEs with the two data points initial and subsequent mode choice in the same foreign market. Thereby we demonstrate the hypothesised shifting effects of asset specificity and learning on the chosen foreign market mode over time.
Originality/value: The contribution of this chapter is on the link between the UIM and TCE. Particularly for SMEs, dynamics are relevant due to limited international experience and the notion of efficiency is important due to resource constraints. The investigation along the two data points, initial mode and subsequent mode, provides new insights into the effects of asset specificity and learning over time.
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Taewoo Roh, Dong-Sung Cho, Hwy-Chang Moon and Yun-Cheol Lee
– The aim of this study is to examine the entry mode that retail firms correctly choose when culture is simultaneously considered has a positive effect on firm performance.
Abstract
Purpose
The aim of this study is to examine the entry mode that retail firms correctly choose when culture is simultaneously considered has a positive effect on firm performance.
Design/methodology/approach
This study relies on the two-step analysis originally derived from Heckman and applied into multinational enterprises (MNEs) entry mode by Shaver. To figure out the probability of entry mode in the first step, the paper uses the logit regression that independent variable is four culture dimensions and dependent variable is the entry mode (joint venture vs wholly owned subsidiary). Since the selection bias is relatively reduced by adding lambda calculated in the first step to the second step that verifies the degree of fit, the safety for interpretation of subsequent models is secured.
Findings
This study collected 96 entries of top global retail firms and found out the relationship between culturally determined entry mode and firm performance is positively significant. While existing literatures dealing with manufacturing firms' international entries showed that wholly owned subsidiary is favored over joint venture when the cultural distance is high, this study focusing on retail firms in the service sector indicates that those firms are more likely to enter the global market with joint venture. Finally, firms that appropriately understand cultural distance demonstrated higher performance in the target country.
Originality/value
This study focuses on the relationship between culturally determined entry mode and firm performance in the service sector, whereas extant literatures heavily depend on the one in the manufacturing sector. Moreover, the two-step analysis is exquisitely adopted to confirm the hypotheses.
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Samuel Ogbeibu, Abdelhak Senadjki and Tan Luen Peng
The purpose of this paper is to elicit a conceptual understanding of the moderating effect of trustworthiness on the relationship between organisational culture and employee…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to elicit a conceptual understanding of the moderating effect of trustworthiness on the relationship between organisational culture and employee creativity.
Design/methodology/approach
This study is theoretical in nature and draws conceptual insights from an integration of theoretical and conceptual underpinnings: the competing values framework, trustworthiness from the integrative model of organisational trust and the componential theory of individual creativity.
Findings
Trustworthiness plays a major role in influencing the degree at which managers engender employee creativity. This study postulates that clan and adhocracy organisational culture dimensions have a positive impact on employee creativity, while market and hierarchy organisational culture dimensions have negative impacts on employee creativity. Employee creativity would be engendered if organisational cultures are tailored towards improving the ability of employees. Engendering of employee creativity is contingent on an acceptable degree of benevolence and integrity expressed between managers and their respective employees.
Originality/value
By integrating several methodological underpinnings to produce a multidimensional model for engendering employee creativity, from the lens of a supportive organisational culture, this study offers novel insights for both managerial practice and actions.