Firms in Context: Internal and External Drivers of Success

2018 ◽  
Author(s):  
Mercedes Delgado
Keyword(s):  
Firm Performance ◽  
Firm Strategy ◽  
Geographical Proximity ◽  
Location Choices ◽  
Strategic Positioning ◽  
Performance Dimensions ◽  
And Performance ◽  
The Relationship

How important is location for successful regional and firm performance? To answer this question the first part of the chapter reviews studies using sophisticated methods for defining and mapping clusters—geographical concentrations of related industries, firms, and supporting institutions. These studies show the importance of clusters for entrepreneurship, innovation, and other performance dimensions. The second part of the chapter examines the relationship between location and firm strategy and performance. Location within a cluster by itself does not ensure that a firm will benefit. Thus, a firm’s strategic positioning and its location choices are interrelated. I offer a framework that takes into account the role of internal agglomerations (intra-firm linkages that are facilitated by geographical proximity) and external agglomerations (inter-firm linkages in clusters) on the location choices and performance of firms.

The role of internationalization in entrepreneurial orientation-performance link: empirical study of SMEs in a developing nation perspective

2020 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Zaynab Dadzie ◽  
Ahmed Agyapong ◽  
Abdulai Suglo
Keyword(s):  
Firm Performance ◽  
Empirical Study ◽  
Entrepreneurial Orientation ◽  
Developing Nation ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Mediating Role ◽  
And Performance ◽  
The Impact ◽  
The Relationship

Purpose This study aims to examine the mediating role of internationalization in the relationship between the dimensions of entrepreneurial orientation (EO) and performance, empirical study of small and medium scale enterprises (SMEs) in a developing nation. Design/methodology/approach The study uses a sample of 158 exporting SMEs based in the sub-Saharan developing economy, Ghana. The use of hierarchical regression (ordinary least square analysis) was used by the researcher to assess the suggested model of the study. Findings Largely supporting the conjectural predictions, the study indicates that EO positively and significantly influences performance; internationalization fully mediates the relationship between innovativeness and performance of export firms; internationalization fully mediates the relationship between risk-taking and performance of export firms; and finally, internationalization partially mediates the relationship between competitive aggressiveness and performance of export firms. Managers are, therefore, encouraged to strategically develop both their EO and internationalization, as the study has confirmed that EO has both a direct and indirect relationship with performance. Originality/value This study integrated a resource-based view of the firm and international entrepreneurship theory as a theoretical foundation. Theoretically, internationalization’s mediating role reveals the relevance of this construct in the linkage between entrepreneurial orientation and firm performance. Furthermore, the study extends the entrepreneurial orientation concept to the international business literature by estimating and testing models of the mediating link between entrepreneurial orientation and performance. Moreover, the study seeks to broaden the knowledge of entrepreneurial orientation and its relationship with performance in small and medium businesses. The study further extends the limited studies on performance, driven by entrepreneurial orientation and internationalization in a developing nation (Ghanaian) context. This paper besides seeks to highlight the impact of entrepreneurial orientation on performance when channeled through internationalization. The study also reveals the dimensions of entrepreneurial orientation to be important antecedents of internationalization, in attempts at unearthing the critical predictors of firm performance, especially those of international characteristics.

scholarly journals Moderating role of productivity on diversified conglomerates and performance: the case of Malaysia

2017 ◽  
Vol 9 (2) ◽  
pp. 118-133 ◽  
Author(s):  
Alex Kwaku Gyan
Keyword(s):  
Firm Performance ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Industrial Diversification ◽  
And Performance ◽  
Diversified Firms ◽  
The Relationship ◽  
Subsequent Modification ◽  
Moderating Role ◽  
Significant Moderator

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to investigate the previous mixed findings in the relationship between diversification and firm performance. Using international and industrial conglomerates, the paper introduces productivity as a moderating variable to ascertain whether the mixed views in the diversification-performance nexus is due to variations in productivity. The findings in both proxies of performance (q and return on asset (ROA)) show that productivity is not a significant moderator in the diversification-performance link, except that under industrial conglomerates productivity enhances ROAs significantly. Meanwhile, the results show that diversification either has no significant value on firm performance or relates negatively with performance – a contrasting result to the hypothesis of this study. Design/methodology/approach This study adopts diversification measurement, categorisation approach and the methodology used in the work of Fauver et al. (2004) and the subsequent modification by Lee et al. (2012). This study, however, investigates the moderating effect of productivity on diversified firms and not ownership as shown in the previous studies. Performance is measured by two proxies to show robustness of the study. ROA is an accounting tool and Tobin’s q reflects a market-based performance of the firm. Findings The results show that productivity has no moderating impact on a market-based performance of a diversified firm. Regarding ROA, results show a split in finding by showing that productivity has no significant impact on international diversification; however, for industrial diversification, results show significant impact. Originality/value The paper adds to knowledge of finance by ruling out the view that the inconsistencies in the diversification and performance nexus in emerging economies could be due to vagaries in productivity. It is confirmed that productivity technically does not strengthen the link between diversification and performance: suggesting that factors other than productivity could establish a maximal impact on that link to minimise the inconsistencies in the findings on diversification-performance link.

scholarly journals The role of firm characteristics on the relationship between gender diversity and firm performance

2016 ◽  
Vol 54 (6) ◽  
pp. 1407-1419 ◽  
Author(s):  
Mehmet Nihat Solakoglu ◽  
Nazmi Demir
Keyword(s):  
Firm Performance ◽  
Emerging Market ◽  
Gender Diversity ◽  
Firm Level ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Specific Factors ◽  
And Performance ◽  
The Relationship ◽  
Measures Of Performance

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to understand the effect of gender diversity on firm performance and evaluate how that relationship is influenced by some firm-specific factors for firms in an emerging market. Design/methodology/approach – The authors collected firm level financial data and firm level characteristics for the firms listed in BIST100 index of Borsa Istanbul for the period between 2002 and 2006. Due to endogeneity of gender diversity and firm performance, the authors utilize unbalanced panel data with 2SLS specification. To observe the sensitivity of results across measures of performance, three measures of performance, two accounting-based and one market-based, are utilized. Findings – Overall, the authors find some weak evidence that gender diversity impacts firm performance. In particular, the findings imply significant association between gender diversity and firm performance for firms that are targeting local markets, for firms in the financial sector and for firms that are family or block-owned. Moreover, findings are fragile with respect to the measures of diversity and performance selected. Originality/value – Although the relationship between gender diversity and firm performance are investigated several times in the past, there are not many studies that examines the role of firm-specific factors on that relationship. By revealing the factors that are important, this study provides an explanation why the existing literature leads to mixed results.

scholarly journals Achieving innovative firm performance through human capital and the effect of social capital

2020 ◽  
Vol 15 (2) ◽  
pp. 326-344
Author(s):  
Sarminah Samad
Keyword(s):  
Social Capital ◽  
Human Capital ◽  
Firm Performance ◽  
The Past ◽  
Research Fields ◽  
Innovative Firm ◽  
Overall Performance ◽  
And Performance ◽  
The Relationship

AbstractFor the past decade, human capital has been recognized as one of the crucial assets of any firm’s overall performance. Previous studies widely advocated a linear link between human capital and innovative firm performance, arguing that there are a variety of factors to examine if the relationship between human capital and innovative firm performance is to be properly understood. The focus of this study was to examine the effect of social capital on the relationship between human capital and innovative firm performance. Specifically, it examined the relationship between human capital and social capital and between human capital and innovative firm performance. It also examined the relationship between social capital and innovative firm performance. A total of 294 questionnaires were obtained from managerial staff in automotive companies in Malaysia and the data was analysed using the Partial Least Squares (PLS) test. The results indicated a direct effect between human capital and innovative performance. It was found that human capital is significantly related to social capital and that there is a significant relationship between social capital and innovative firm performance, indicating the ability of social capital to improve innovative firm performance. Finally, it revealed that innovative firm performance could be achieved by human capital through the role of valuable social capital and that good innovative firm performance leads to more prudent and sustainable organisations. The results provide pertinent implications for academia, policymakers and market players while also contributing to the research fields of strategic management, human capital, social capital and performance.

scholarly journals Divestiture strategy, CEO power and firm performance

2020 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Rayenda Khresna Brahmana ◽  
Hui-Wei You ◽  
Xhin-Rong Yong
Keyword(s):  
Firm Performance ◽  
Generalized Method Of Moments ◽  
Strategic Decision ◽  
Ceo Power ◽  
Content Type ◽  
And Performance ◽  
The Impact ◽  
The Relationship ◽  
Moderating Role

Purpose This study aims to examine the moderating role of chief executive officer (CEO) power on the relationship between divestiture strategy and firm performance by framing the relationship under the agency and power circulation theories. Design/methodology/approach This study focuses on a sample of 319 non-financial public-listed companies in Malaysia from the year 2012–2016 and estimates the model under two-step generalized method of moments panel regression to eliminate the endogeneity issue. Findings The results show that divestiture strategy decreased the firm performance. Meanwhile, greater CEO power changed that divestiture effect but still failed to increase the performance. This study also indicates the CEO power strengthens the relationship between firm performance and divestiture. Research limitations/implications The overall findings show that the positive moderating role of CEO power on the relationship between divestiture and performance. This research confirmed the agency and power circulation theories by showing that CEO power can make divestiture strategy works. However, the moderating plot tells different. CEO power may strengthen the relationship between divestiture and performance; it fails to boost up the performance in overall. Therefore, this study is about CEO power on the strategic decision and gives a good implication for corporate governance concerning the impact of CEO power on the organization’s alignment process. Originality/value This study examines the effect of CEO power on the performance of divestiture strategy implementation by contesting the agency and power circulation theories within an emerging country context.

scholarly journals Does More Corporate Governance Enhance Managerial Performance? CFO Perceptions And The Role Of Mindfulness

2014 ◽  
Vol 30 (4) ◽  
pp. 989 ◽  
Author(s):  
John J. Williams ◽  
Alfred E. Seaman
Keyword(s):  
High Reliability ◽  
Governance Structures ◽  
Unexpected Finding ◽  
Managerial Performance ◽  
Performance Effects ◽  
Performance Dimensions ◽  
And Performance ◽  
Relationship Of ◽  
The Relationship

The results of studies into the effects of enhanced governance structures have been equivocal and there is virtually no literature on the performance effects of individual managers, such as the professional accountant in practice. This paper reports the results of an empirical study designed to assess the relationship of governance structures, specifically the conformance and performance dimensions defined by the International Federation of Accountants (2009), to mindfulness and managerial performance among CFOs in Canadian firms. Organizational theory describing high reliability organizations provides the theoretical framework for specifying and appraising capacity for mindfulness. As predicted, there is no significant direct relationship between governance and managerial performance for the conformance dimension; instead, this relationship is explained by the path through capacity for mindfulness and on to managerial performance, both of which are positively significant. Likewise, there is no significant relationship between governance and managerial performance for the conformance dimension; however, although there is a significant path between the performance dimension and capacity for mindfulness, the path from the latter to managerial performance is insignificant. Implicating the powerful role of the controllability principle in accounting may explain this unexpected finding.

Making More by Doing Less: An Analysis of Outsourcing and its Effects on Firm Performance

2000 ◽  
Vol 26 (4) ◽  
pp. 763-790 ◽  
Author(s):  
K. Matthew Gilley ◽  
Abdul Rasheed
Keyword(s):  
Firm Performance ◽  
Direct Effect ◽  
Firm Strategy ◽  
Moderating Effects ◽  
Environmental Dynamism ◽  
Nonfinancial Performance ◽  
And Performance ◽  
The Relationship ◽  
Significant Direct Effect

This study empirically examined the extent to which outsourcing of both peripheral and near-core tasks influences firms’ financial and nonfinancial performance. In addition, the potential moderating effects of firm strategy and the environment on the outsourcing-performance relationship were examined. Results indicate that, whereas there was no significant direct effect of outsourcing on firm performance, both firm strategy and environmental dynamism moderated the relationship between outsourcing and performance.

scholarly journals EXPRESS: Unbundling the Effects of Internationalization on Firm Performance in Emerging Economies: The Moderating Effects of Strategic Resource Decisions

2021 ◽  
pp. 1069031X2110306
Author(s):  
Nilay Bicakcioglu-Peynirci ◽  
Robert E. Morgan
Keyword(s):  
Firm Performance ◽  
Emerging Economies ◽  
Emerging Market ◽  
Strategic Marketing ◽  
Slack Resources ◽  
Moderation Effect ◽  
Strategic Resource ◽  
And Performance ◽  
Resource Decisions ◽  
The Relationship

We investigate how strategic resource decisions—concerning slack resources and strategic marketing ambidexterity—influence the relationship between internationalization and firm performance of emerging market firms. Based upon the resource-based view, we synthesize two dominant, yet divergent, perspectives that explain the respective resource slack advantages and liabilities in the internationalization literature: the flexible capacity and the efficient capacity perspectives. We also explore the moderating role of strategic marketing ambidexterity which comprises a bundle of marketing activities covering both exploitation-dominant actions and exploration-dominant actions. We empirically examine our hypothesized relationships with data from a sample of 1,683 firm-year observations for the period between 2005 and 2018 and find that distinct forms of resource slacks have contrasting effects on the relationship between internationalization and performance. Our results provide strong evidence for positive moderation effect of unabsorbed slack resources and a negative moderation effect of absorbed slack resources on the internationalization-performance relationship. We also indicate nonsignificant moderating effect of strategic marketing ambidexterity, demonstrating that internationalization attains higher firm performance regardless of its exploration-dominant or exploitation-dominant strategic emphasis in emerging economies.

scholarly journals Evaluating the Role of Government Collaboration in the Perceived Performance of Community-Based Nonprofits: Three Propositions

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
José Nederhand
Keyword(s):  
The Political ◽  
Network Ties ◽  
Community Based ◽  
Role Of Government ◽  
Perceived Performance ◽  
Political Network ◽  
And Performance ◽  
Nonprofit Collaboration ◽  
The Relationship

Abstract The topic of government-nonprofit collaboration continues to be much-discussed in the literature. However, there has been little consensus on whether and how collaborating with government is beneficial for the performance of community-based nonprofits. This article examines three dominant theoretical interpretations of the relationship between collaboration and performance: collaboration is necessary for the performance of nonprofits; the absence of collaboration is necessary for the performance of nonprofits; and the effect of collaboration is contingent on the nonprofits’ bridging and bonding network ties. Building on the ideas of governance, nonprofit, and social capital in their respective literature, this article uses set-theoretic methods (fsQCA) to conceptualize and test their relationship. Results show the pivotal role of the nonprofit’s network ties in mitigating the effects of either collaborating or abstaining from collaborating with government. Particularly, the political network ties of nonprofits are crucial to explaining the relationship between collaboration and performance. The evidence demonstrates the value of studying collaboration processes in context.

scholarly journals The Role of Steps and Game Elements in Gamified Fitness Tracker Apps: A Systematic Review

2021 ◽  
Vol 5 (2) ◽  
pp. 5
Author(s):  
Aatish Neupane ◽  
Derek Hansen ◽  
Jerry Alan Fails ◽  
Anud Sharma
Keyword(s):  
Social Influence ◽  
Design Space ◽  
Real Life ◽  
Network Clustering ◽  
And Performance ◽  
Fitness Tracker ◽  
Game Elements ◽  
The Relationship ◽  
Contingent Rewards

This article reviews 103 gamified fitness tracker apps (Android and iOS) that incorporate step count data into gameplay. Games are labeled with a set of 13 game elements as well as meta-data from the app stores (e.g., avg rating, number of reviews). Network clustering and visualizations are used to identify the relationship between game elements that occur in the same games. A taxonomy of how steps are used as rewards is provided, along with example games. An existing taxonomy of how games use currency is also mapped to step-based games. We show that many games use the triad of Social Influence, Competition, and Challenges, with Social Influence being the most common game element. We also identify holes in the design space, such as games that include a Plot element (e.g., Collaboration and Plot only co-occur in one game). Games that use Real-Life Incentives (e.g., allow you to translate steps into dollars or discounts) were surprisingly common, but relatively simple in their gameplay. We differentiate between task-contingent rewards (including completion-contingent and engagement-contingent) and performance-contingent rewards, illustrating the differences with fitness apps. We also demonstrate the value of treating steps as currency by mapping an existing currency-based taxonomy onto step-based games and providing illustrations of nine different categories.

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