Business group persistence and institutional maturity: the role of management practices

Author(s):  
Zhixiang Liang ◽  
Michael Carney

Abstract A widely accepted account of business group (BG) functioning suggests that this common corporate form will dismantle and restructure with the progressive maturity of market-supporting institutions. However, even in mature institutional settings, BGs appear to persists and thrive. We hypothesize that BG persistence arises from an evolving competitive advantage because their competitive advantages with certain types of management practices do not decay with institutional development. We test our hypothesis with data assembled in the World Bank Enterprise Surveys (WBES). Empirical results show that several bundles of management practice differentiate BG affiliates and independent firms in the early phase of development but become less prominent at later stages. However, some of the differences in management practice bundles disappear, but others continue to differentiate independent firms and group affiliates in mature institutional jurisdictions.

Author(s):  
Vidmantas Tūtlys ◽  
Daiva Bukantaitė ◽  
Sergii Melnyk ◽  
Aivaras Anužis

The paper compares the institutional development of skills formation in Lithuania and Ukraine by focusing on the implications of the post-communist transition and Europeanization and exploring the role of policy transfer. The research follows the theoretical approach of historical institutionalism and skills formation ecosystems. Despite similar critical junctures typical for the institutional development of skills formation in Lithuania and Ukraine within this timeframe, the existing differences of these development pathways can be explained by the different policy choices and different impacts of the institutional legacy. The main implication of integration with the EU for skills formation in Lithuania and Ukraine is related with enabling holistic and strategic institutional development of skills formation institutions. The paper concludes that policy transfer was one of the key driving forces and capacity-building sources in the development of skills formation institutions in both countries.


SAGE Open ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (2) ◽  
pp. 215824402110084
Author(s):  
Anthony Frank Obeng ◽  
Yongyue Zhu ◽  
Samuel Awuni Azinga ◽  
Prince Ewudzie Quansah

Organizational performance has made it imperative for rural and community bank management to employ the best organizational conditions that influence employee’s performance. Recent banking clean-up in Ghana has also emphasized the need for employees’ performance. This has become necessary to espouse management practices, employee behaviors, and attitudes that predict job performance. Drawing on social exchange theory and reciprocity norm, the study examines the effect of organizational climate on job performance. Valid responses received through a structured questionnaire were 431. Hierarchical multiple regression was employed to validate the hypotheses from the literature review. Relying on empirical data from Ghana, the findings revealed that, first, harmonious work passion partially mediated organizational climate and job performance relationship. Second, leader–member exchange negatively moderated the relationship between organizational climate and harmonious work passion. Finally, however, coaching as a management practice positively strengthened organizational climate and job performance relationship. The theoretical and practical contribution is also discussed.


2019 ◽  
Vol 28 (82) ◽  
pp. 1-18 ◽  
Author(s):  
Javier Serrano ◽  
Rafael Myro

Purpose This paper aims to analyse the relevance of management and productivity in the behaviour of firms in international trade. Design/methodology/approach Using a survey of Spanish manufacturing firms, the authors use a management quality index to serve as a proxy for the good management practice of the firm. Findings The results demonstrate that exporter and multinationals firms are more productive and better managed than domestic firms. Furthermore, in the periods in which switcher firms decide to export or to invest abroad, they are better managed but are not more productive than in the rest of the periods. Finally, results indicate that regardless of its positive relationship with productivity, management also has a direct impact on the firm’s probability of exporting and involving in foreign direct investment. Originality/value This paper aims to reconcile the recent international trade literature, which focusses on the role of productivity heterogeneity in international trade, with the international business literature, concentrated on depicting the key management practices that impact internationalization.


2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Christopher Cornwell ◽  
Ian M. Schmutte ◽  
Daniela Scur

In an influential study, Bender et al. [Bender S, Bloom N, Card D, Van Reenen J, Wolter S (2018) Management practices, workforce selection, and productivity. J. Labor Econom. 36(S1):S371–S409] document consistent relationships between management practices, productivity, and workforce composition using administrative data from German firms matched to ratings of their practices from the World Management Survey. We replicate and extend their analysis using comparable data from Brazil. The main conclusions from their study are supported in ours, strengthening the view that more structured practices affect organizational performance through workforce selection across different institutional settings. However, we find that more structured management practices are linked to greater wage inequality in Brazil, relative to greater wage compression in Germany, suggesting that some of the consequences of adopting structured practices are tied to the local context. This paper was accepted by Joshua Gans, business strategy.


2010 ◽  
Vol 1 (3) ◽  
pp. 33-48 ◽  
Author(s):  
John Davies

This paper develops a systems perspective on the interdependent relationships between management academics, management theory and management practice. The author re-examines issues raised by Ghoshal, not only about how the uncritical acceptance of an ideologically based gloomy vision of human nature has led to “bad management theories ... destroying good management practices”, but also how practice can impact the development of theory. The approach provides an opportunity to reinterpret and reveal the systemic nature of related feedback and learning processes labelled as the double hermeneutic by Giddens (1987) and as reciprocal determinism by Bandura (1978), to draw a parallel with the role of theory in the decision sciences. This paper provides a constructive illustration of the use of the systems representational tools of system dynamics to develop a systems perspective on these matters to identify the underpinning systemic structure that gives rise to Ghoshal’s views. Finally, the author identifies a means of addressing issues of concern to management theorists, analysts, and practitioners.


2011 ◽  
pp. 2044-2059
Author(s):  
John Davies

This paper develops a systems perspective on the interdependent relationships between management academics, management theory and management practice. The author re-examines issues raised by Ghoshal, not only about how the uncritical acceptance of an ideologically based gloomy vision of human nature has led to “bad management theories ... destroying good management practices”, but also how practice can impact the development of theory. The approach provides an opportunity to reinterpret and reveal the systemic nature of related feedback and learning processes labelled as the double hermeneutic by Giddens (1987) and as reciprocal determinism by Bandura (1978), to draw a parallel with the role of theory in the decision sciences. This paper provides a constructive illustration of the use of the systems representational tools of system dynamics to develop a systems perspective on these matters to identify the underpinning systemic structure that gives rise to Ghoshal’s views. Finally, the author identifies a means of addressing issues of concern to management theorists, analysts, and practitioners.


2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Robert Rieg ◽  
Patrick Ulrich

While scholars agree that ownership matters for firm performance in general, the detailed effects are still debated. We argue that ownership impacts firm performance not only directly but also through implementing different levels of management practice that impact firm performance too. We show that interactions between ownership and management practice have positive and negative effects on firm performance depending on how different owners can exploit the benefits of management practices or not. In that sense, ownership moderates the effect of management practices on performance


Author(s):  
John Davies

This paper develops a systems perspective on the interdependent relationships between management academics, management theory and management practice. The author re-examines issues raised by Ghoshal, not only about how the uncritical acceptance of an ideologically based gloomy vision of human nature has led to “bad management theories ... destroying good management practices”, but also how practice can impact the development of theory. The approach provides an opportunity to reinterpret and reveal the systemic nature of related feedback and learning processes labelled as the double hermeneutic by Giddens (1987) and as reciprocal determinism by Bandura (1978), to draw a parallel with the role of theory in the decision sciences. This paper provides a constructive illustration of the use of the systems representational tools of system dynamics to develop a systems perspective on these matters to identify the underpinning systemic structure that gives rise to Ghoshal’s views. Finally, the author identifies a means of addressing issues of concern to management theorists, analysts, and practitioners.


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