The Relationship of Competition and Financial Commitment Revisited: A Fuzzy Set Qualitative Comparative Analysis in European Newspaper Markets

Abstract The purpose of this paper is to explore causal complexity in the relationship between environmental uncertainty and firm’s performance. Due to complexity in the external and internal environment, the relationship between environment and firm performance rests not only on a single attribute but on the interrelation and complementarities between multiple characteristics such as firm features and external factors. This study examines the influence of a firm’s specific characteristics and the dimensions of environmental uncertainty on the company’s performance. Fuzzy-set qualitative comparative analysis is used to analyze data collected via questionnaires from 58 Polish small and medium enterprises (SMEs). The results suggest that characteristics of the general business environment, as well as the firm-specific characteristics all matter to firm performance. In addition, our findings clearly demonstrate that the determination of high firm performance is underpinned by substantial interdependence among the selected conditions and complexity. Therefore, any particular condition may have a different or even opposite effect on the outcome depending on the presence or absence of other conditions. Based on this, we conclude that external environmental uncertainty characteristics, with the dimensions of competitive intensity, technological turbulence and market/demand turbulence, are not as important as the other conditions for high-performing firms. The study offers a new perspective on the relationship between environmental uncertainty and firm performance with its systematic comparative analysis of complex cases. It identifies different combinations of conditions (paths) leading to a high firm performance.

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A Mixed Approach to the Work-Motherhood Relation: An Application of Fuzzy Set Qualitative Comparative Analysis and Generalized Linear Models

Comparative Sociology ◽

10.1163/15691330-12341251 ◽

2013 ◽

Vol 12 (1) ◽

pp. 31-65 ◽

Cited By ~ 1

Author(s):

Giulia Maria Dotti Sani ◽

Mario Quaranta

Keyword(s):

Comparative Analysis ◽

Generalized Linear Models ◽

Fuzzy Set ◽

Linear Models ◽

Qualitative Comparative Analysis ◽

Close Link ◽

Institutional Contexts ◽

Complementary Techniques ◽

Mixed Approach ◽

The Relationship

Abstract Female labor force participation and total fertility rates have been negatively correlated until the early ’80s. By the end of that decade, however, the relationship changed sign. Scholars have suggested a close link between individual reproductive behavior, labor market participation and institutional contexts, but we still lack clear evidence of the underlying micro-level mechanism. We propose the use of complementary techniques, fuzzy set Qualitative Comparative Analysis and Generalized Linear Models, as the different assumptions underlying the two, combinatory vs. additive, may lead to new insights on how the combination of institutional features can produce different outcomes in terms of the work-motherhood relationship.

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Exploring the Factor-Performance Relationship of Integrated Project Delivery Projects: A Qualitative Comparative Analysis

Project Management Journal ◽

10.1177/8756972819832206 ◽

2019 ◽

Vol 50 (3) ◽

pp. 335-345

Author(s):

Jung Ho Yu ◽

Seung Eun Yoo ◽

Jung In Kim ◽

Tae Wan Kim

Keyword(s):

Comparative Analysis ◽

Success Factors ◽

Qualitative Comparative Analysis ◽

Project Delivery ◽

Integrated Project Delivery ◽

Change Orders ◽

Critical Success ◽

Integrated Project ◽

Relationship Of ◽

The Relationship

This study aims to explore the relationship between the critical success factors (CSFs) and the performance of integrated project delivery (IPD) projects based on empirical data from IPD projects. Data from 16 projects, in relation to 25 success factors and four performance areas (schedule performance, cost performance, defects, and change orders), were gathered and analyzed according to the qualitative comparative analysis method. As a result, this study identifies 17 factors as conditions that frequently occurred in successful IPD projects. This study also derives combinations of factors that led to IPD project success regarding each of the four performance areas.

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Environmental proactivity and firm performance: a fuzzy-set analysis

Management Decision ◽

10.1108/md-05-2014-0288 ◽

2015 ◽

Vol 53 (3) ◽

pp. 648-667 ◽

Cited By ~ 13

Author(s):

Kaja Primc ◽

Tomaž Čater

Keyword(s):

Comparative Analysis ◽

Firm Performance ◽

Fuzzy Set ◽

Qualitative Comparative Analysis ◽

Past Research ◽

Content Type ◽

High Performing ◽

New Perspective ◽

Using Data ◽

The Relationship

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to explore causal complexity in the relationship between environmental proactivity and firm performance. Using data collected from 27 Australian firms and controlling for the organizational life cycle, type of industry and external contingencies, the study empirically examines environmental proactivity in high-performing firms from polluting industries. Design/methodology/approach – The data were analyzed using fuzzy-set qualitative comparative analysis. Findings – In general, the results of the analysis imply that environmental proactivity is not always associated with high firm performance, and that environmental proactivity is not as important as the other causal conditions for high-performing firms in highly polluting industries. Research limitations/implications – The study addresses the relationship between environmental and firm performance more holistically by including a number of the firm’s external and internal factors identified as important in past research. Second, it offers a new perspective on the relationship with its systematic comparative analysis of complex cases. Next, it identifies different combinations of conditions (paths) leading to a high firm performance and, finally, the core complementary model allows an exploration of which factors are essential and which are less important or even irrelevant to high-performing firms. Practical implications – Based on the findings, firms from highly polluting industries can determine in which circumstances, if any, the adoption of environmental proactivity will result in a positive firm performance. Originality/value – The study is valuable because it contains a rich set of measures of the firm’s external and internal environment, thus allowing a more holistic examination of the relationship between environmental proactivity and firm performance.

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How Business Model Designs Influence Firm Growth in a Transforming Economy: A Configurational Perspective

Management and Organization Review ◽

10.1017/mor.2020.54 ◽

2021 ◽

pp. 1-28

Author(s):

Jun Wu ◽

Wenwen An ◽

Xin Zheng ◽

Jianqi Zhang

Keyword(s):

Comparative Analysis ◽

Business Model ◽

Fuzzy Set ◽

Firm Growth ◽

Qualitative Comparative Analysis ◽

High Growth ◽

Development Stage ◽

Corporate Ownership ◽

Holistic Understanding ◽

The Relationship

ABSTRACT This study adopts a configurational perspective to examine how business model designs and contextual factors in transforming economies combine to create value. We investigate configurations of efficiency-centered and novelty-centered business model designs, corporate ownership, development stage, and external regulatory volatility associated with high growth in a transforming economy. Using a fuzzy-set qualitative comparative analysis of Chinese firms, we find five solutions associated with superior growth, suggesting that the effective configurations of business model designs vary in different contexts. Our study offers a holistic understanding of the relationship between business model designs and firm growth, and yields useful insights for business model designs for practitioners.

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Relative educational poverty: conceptual and empirical issues

Quality & Quantity ◽

10.1007/s11135-021-01226-3 ◽

2021 ◽

Author(s):

Judith Glaesser

Keyword(s):

Comparative Analysis ◽

Empirical Study ◽

Panel Study ◽

Qualitative Comparative Analysis ◽

Educational Status ◽

Basic School ◽

Relationship Of ◽

The Relationship ◽

Relevant Work ◽

Over Time

AbstractThis paper’s goal is to discuss implications for the empirical study of low educational status arising from the use of the concept of educational poverty in research. It has two related conceptual foci: (1) the relationship of educational poverty with material poverty and to what extent useful parallels exist, and (2) the distinction of absolute and relative (educational) poverty and whether the notion of absolute (educational) poverty is a sensible one. For the concept of educational poverty to be analytically fruitful, clear conceptualisation and operationalisation of the relevant issues are required. The paper contributes to the aim of providing these by building on existing work on educational poverty and by drawing on relevant work on material poverty as well as discussing some conceptual challenges and some of the challenges arising from the operationalisation of the concepts. Some of these challenges are illustrated using examples based on data from the German National Educational Panel Study (NEPS). In a further step, factors which may lead to a greater risk of being in relative educational poverty are analysed, employing the method multi-value Qualitative Comparative Analysis. The empirical findings highlight the relative nature of educational qualifications: the usefulness of a basic school leaving qualification has changed over time, and it has not been the same for different groups. Thus, a conceptualisation of low educational status as educational poverty has been shown to be useful, and it has been demonstrated that the relative nature of educational poverty ought to be taken into account by researchers.

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Authentic Leadership and Job Satisfaction: A Fuzzy-Set Qualitative Comparative Analysis (fsQCA)

Sustainability ◽

10.3390/su11082412 ◽

2019 ◽

Vol 11 (8) ◽

pp. 2412 ◽

Cited By ~ 3

Author(s):

Baquero ◽

Delgado ◽

Escortell ◽

Sapena

Keyword(s):

Job Satisfaction ◽

Comparative Analysis ◽

Fuzzy Set ◽

Authentic Leadership ◽

Qualitative Comparative Analysis ◽

Self Awareness ◽

Moral Perspective ◽

Hotel Managers ◽

The Relationship

The relationship between leadership and job satisfaction has attracted considerable scientific interest, especially in relation to the quality of tourism businesses. This study investigated this relationship within the framework of authentic leadership. The study also explored differences between outsourced workers and internal hotel employees in terms of the influence of authentic leadership on job satisfaction. Fuzzy-set qualitative comparative analysis (fsQCA) offered valuable new insight. This study was based on a sample of 58 heads of department of four/five star hotels in the Canary Islands, Spain. The results suggest that high levels of leadership in the four subscales of authentic leadership (balanced processing, relational transparency, self-awareness, and internalized moral perspective) are sufficient to increase job satisfaction. The same outcome is achieved with high levels of balanced processing, even though it is accompanied by low transparency and low levels of internalized moral perspective. There are no major differences between outsourced workers and internal employees, except in terms of the importance of self-awareness. These results can help hotel managers reflect upon leadership and can provide new approaches for scientific research in this area.

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