The cooperation-competition interplay in the ICT industry

2018 ◽  
Vol 33 (4) ◽  
pp. 495-505 ◽  
Author(s):  
Emilene Leite ◽  
Cecilia Pahlberg ◽  
Susanne Åberg
Keyword(s):  
Single Case ◽  
High Tech ◽  
Project Leader ◽  
Business Relationships ◽  
Business Network ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Industrial Marketing ◽  
Technology Industry ◽  
Information And Communication ◽  
Ict Industry

Purpose Building on a business network perspective, the paper addresses the following question: Why do firms move between cooperation and competition in the context of high-tech industry? Hence, the purpose of this study is to contribute to the understanding of the complex cooperation–competition interplay between actors in a business network. Design/methodology/approach A single case study within the information and communication technology industry is undertaken and illustrates the cooperation–competition interplay in projects of technology. Findings The authors discuss the implications of interdependence on relationship dynamics. The main argument is that business relationships survive despite periods of competition if interdependence is high. Thus, firms move between a state of cooperation and a state of competition within business relationships, rather than ending the relationships when starting to compete. Practical implications This study suggests that managers need to pay attention to how different degrees of interdependence lead firms to be embedded in cooperative or competitive forms of relationships. Originality/value The paper contributes to the ongoing debate about cooperation, competition and coopetition within international business and industrial marketing literature. An interesting aspect in the paper is the cooperation–competition interplay, which is associated with positioning. A centrally positioned actor will choose who to bring into the partnership, with positioning concomitantly changing from project to project. The willingness of being a central actor, i.e. a project leader, places traditional buyer–supplier partners in competition. Thus, cooperation and/or competition becomes contextual.

Exploring “high tech” and “high touch” interaction capabilities: aligning the IT portfolio with customer and supplier relationships

2020 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Peter Ekman ◽  
Peter Dahlin ◽  
Cecilia Erixon ◽  
Steven Thompson
Keyword(s):  
A Priori ◽  
High Tech ◽  
Business Relationships ◽  
Organizational Relationships ◽  
Supplier Relationships ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Industrial Marketing ◽  
Study Approach ◽  
Focal Firm ◽  
Touch Interaction

PurposeTo explore the emergent characteristics of IT portfolios in business-to-business (B2B) firms. The goal is to develop a model that clarifies what interaction capabilities B2B firms develop and to what form of IT this corresponds to.Design/methodology/approachWe apply an a priori conceptual framework that is based on the Industrial Marketing and Purchasing (IMP) Group's theoretical focus on business relationships. The framework depicts the business relationship as dealing with uncertainty and equivocality as well as building and upholding reliance and trust. We utilize a case study approach involving a focal firm and ten of its customers and suppliers. Building on 60 interviews, field observations and archival data, we analyze interviewee responses and the complementary data to evaluate the role of IT in supporting or automated various aspects of organizational relationships.FindingsResults show how “high tech” and “high touch” relate to different interaction capabilities, which firms develop based on the characteristics of their business relationships. Although IT is associated with “high tech” and “high touch” interaction capabilities, some forms of IT are deployed to support the former, while other forms support the later. Both forms of technology-enabled interaction capabilities require investment, and firms must balance investment costs against the value created by improved interaction capabilities.Originality/valueOur findings emphasize the interorganizational perspective (dyadic or network) rather than a solely organizational perspective for understanding IT portfolio development. This perspective is presented through an emergent tech–touch interaction capability model that shows how B2B firms can align their IT portfolio based on the specific characteristics of their business relationships.

Intellectual landscape of research on change management: a bibliometric analysis

2021 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Visal Moosa ◽  
Abdul Hafeez Khalid ◽  
Ahmed Mohamed
Keyword(s):  
Change Management ◽  
Knowledge Base ◽  
Change Leadership ◽  
Intellectual Structure ◽  
Science Mapping ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Critical Areas ◽  
Human Aspects ◽  
Information And Communication ◽  
Ict Industry

Purpose This study aims to illustrate an overarching picture of the knowledge base on change management, including contributing authors, institutions and countries. The study also aims to elicit the intellectual structure of the knowledge base using science mapping. Design/methodology/approach The authors engaged 1,457 published documents, generated from a SCOPUS search, to analyse research conducted in the area of change management. Bibliometric indicators such as authors, institutions and countries were used in the analysis. Additionally, science mapping analyses such as keyword co-occurrence and co-citation were also performed using VOSviewer. Findings The findings indicated that scholarly work in the field of change management is on the rise. Furthermore, while the contribution from different regions of the world was observed, the most impactful scholarly works came from the West and Asia. Finally, it was found that research on change management could be classified into four schools of thought; engineering and information and communication technology (ICT) industry, organisational aspects of change, leadership aspects of change and human aspects of change. Originality/value This study contributes to the knowledge base on change management by creating an intellectual landscape of the existing research. The results demonstrated that the existing literature on the topic forms four broad clusters of knowledge and that the ICT industry is the current epicentre of research in this area. These findings could benefit researchers, as well as practitioners in streamlining their actions towards the most relevant and critical areas on the topic of change management.

Networked interdependencies and interaction in a biotechnology research project

IMP Journal ◽  
2018 ◽  
Vol 12 (3) ◽  
pp. 460-482 ◽  
Author(s):  
Artur Janusz ◽  
Agata Bednarek ◽  
Leszek Komarowski ◽  
Pawel Boniecki ◽  
Per Engelseth
Keyword(s):  
Network Structure ◽  
Planning Process ◽  
Single Case ◽  
Careful Consideration ◽  
Research Strategy ◽  
Research Project ◽  
Project Organization ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Industrial Marketing ◽  
Biotechnology Research

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to reveal the interdependencies involved and how interaction takes place in the context of a project organization as a network of academic and business actors. Design/methodology/approach This study focuses on relationships between business and academia and applies a single case research strategy. Data are collected through a series of theoretically sampled in-depth interviews including company observations. The single case study provides a rich narrative of the network structure and processes involved in establishing, implementing and completing a research project in Poland. The Industrial Marketing and Purchasing Group network approach focusing on resource combinations that emerge in a network structure characterized by interdependency and integration is applied to analyze interaction in this project-organized network. Findings Change in interdependencies, interaction and integration are analyzed individually, and in conclusion in relation to each other. While supply chain management literature postulates that integration is a management goal, a driver of successful business, this study points out that integration is an outcome of interaction in a context of changing interdependencies. This means that managerial focus should rather be driven to understanding the nature of network interdependencies, their path of change and how interaction is carried out in this emergent context. Originality/value The study aims to help better understand the potential for research project cooperation by explaining how businesses and research units can cooperate through an understanding that integration is a complex phenomenon, focusing on how management may better support services production through careful consideration of that integration is developed through considerations of interdependencies as context of interaction in the varied business cultures a project network comprises. Project management is more a learning process than a planning process.

Value co-creation features: an empirical case study of B2B collaboration and interactions in New Zealand

2020 ◽  
Vol 36 (3) ◽  
pp. 219-229
Author(s):  
Yasir Rashid ◽  
Anisha Tanveer ◽  
Zeeshan Shaukat ◽  
Imran Sadiq
Keyword(s):  
New Zealand ◽  
Single Case ◽  
Methodological Approach ◽  
Business Environment ◽  
Future Research ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Creation Process ◽  
Information And Communication ◽  
Integration Project ◽  
Empirical Material

Purpose This paper aims to highlight four features of value co-creation among actors in a business-to-business environment. Service-dominant (S-D) logic of marketing is used as a theoretical lens to view at the process of value co-creation. Design/methodology/approach Using an interpretive methodological approach, the authors collected empirical material from a single case based in New Zealand. The case was based on the collaboration, interaction and relationship between vendor and client during an information and communication technology (ICT) systems integration project. The unit of analysis was “points of value creation.” Empirical material came from observation, in-depth interviews and documents such as meeting notes and email logs. Interpretation highlighted four features of the value co-creation process: motivators, outcomes, disadvantages and management. Moreover, personal and network aspects of value co-creation process emerged. Findings The findings of this study capture benefits, as well as conflicts and frustrations, in a value co-creation process. Furthermore, it provides future research motivations for researchers currently working to develop S-D logic of marketing. Originality/value It is suggested that there is relatively little direction on how value co-creation process should be undertaken in different contexts such as retail, education, health care and ICT. There is a need to understand the dynamics and specification of value co-creation process, as the literature is scarce in this field.

Predicting top management approval and team performance in technology industry

2017 ◽  
Vol 46 (1) ◽  
pp. 46-67 ◽  
Author(s):  
Chieh-Peng Lin ◽  
Min-Ling Liu ◽  
Sheng-Wuu Joe ◽  
Yuan-Hui Tsai
Keyword(s):  
Team Performance ◽  
Previous Literature ◽  
Hierarchical Regression ◽  
High Tech ◽  
Top Management ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Technology Industry ◽  
Team Planning ◽  
Goal Clarity ◽  
The Relationship

Purpose To complement previous research on team performance, the purpose of this paper is to analyze the development of team performance and top management approval at the team level. In the proposed model, team performance and top management approval are influenced by the team leader’s charisma, teamwork exhaustion, and goal clarity via the full mediation of team planning. The effects of the leader’s charisma and goal clarity on team planning are moderated by teamwork exhaustion. Design/methodology/approach Empirical testing of this model based on hierarchical regression modeling, by investigating team personnel in high-tech firms, confirms the applicability of team planning among these firms’ work teams. Findings A team leader’s charisma and goal clarity positively relate to team planning, while teamwork exhaustion is not associated with team planning. Team planning further positively relates to team performance and top management approval, respectively. A team leader’s charisma negatively moderates the relationship between teamwork exhaustion and team planning, while goal clarity positively moderates the relationship between teamwork exhaustion and team planning. Originality/value While previous literature has focused in depth on team planning and its antecedents and outcomes, there still exists an important gap regarding potential moderation in the formation of team planning. This study provides some important findings that complement previous literature by examining three fresh exogenous determinants for explaining team planning, their interaction effects, and how they indirectly relate to team performance and top management approval via the full mediation of team planning.

Value of initial relationships in new business start-ups

2020 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Jose Novais Santos ◽  
Joao Mota
Keyword(s):  
New Ventures ◽  
Customer Relationships ◽  
Value Functions ◽  
Business Relationships ◽  
Business Network ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Customer Base ◽  
New Business ◽  
Start Ups ◽  
Over Time

Purpose Several studies have focussed on new ventures and the development of their first business relationships. However, the understanding of the value functions and involvement in those relationships remain inadequate. The purpose of this paper is to explore the relating process of a new venture by combining the value function framework and the notion of the degrees of involvement in business relationships. Design/methodology/approach The authors rely on two exploratory longitudinal case studies that focus on two start-ups. In both cases, the evolution of initial relationships with suppliers and customers over a period of time are studied. Findings The process of relating can occur through a diversity of business relationships manifested in both their value functions and their degree of involvement. The combination of value functions is not stable over time nor is the degree of involvement in business relationships. Moreover, specific interdependencies emerge between the value functions in the customer base and the supplier base of the new ventures over time. Originality/value This paper is among the few that explore the emergence of new ventures by considering both suppliers and customer relationships. From a business network perspective, the paper also shows that combining value functions and degrees of involvement provides a better understanding of the role of relationship diversity in the process of becoming a node in the business network.

Integrating sustainability in business network initiation: the case of an Italian pasta maker

2021 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Andrea Sabatini ◽  
Thomas O’Toole ◽  
Gianluca Gregori
Keyword(s):  
Network Theory ◽  
Negative Impact ◽  
Single Case ◽  
New Ventures ◽  
New Venture ◽  
Business Network ◽  
Case Study Methodology ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Study Methodology

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to explore how sustainability is integrated into a new venture’s business network initiation. This study unpacks sustainability in business network initiation using temporal bracketing and identifying its main processes. Temporal bracketing supports the understanding of the evolution of sustainability in network initiation. The processes help explore the sustainability patterns that emerge from the new venture’s attempt to integrate sustainability into network initiation. Design/methodology/approach The exploratory case study of an Italian pasta maker draws on industrial network theory to focus on the business network initiation of new ventures. The novelty is the integration of sustainability into the business network initiation literature. This paper adopts a single case study methodology and an abductive approach to analysis. Findings This study finds that sustainability in network initiation is achieved through three periods of initiation and through five processes that are overlapping, intertwined and reciprocal. This study suggests that sustainability can have a positive or negative impact when integrated into the initiation process. Originality/value This paper provides a conceptual framework for understanding how a new venture integrates sustainability in its network initiation. The framework comprises periods and processes of network initiation which show how a new venture can integrate sustainability in its business activities and resources through interaction with network actors.

Spin-in and spin-out for growth – On the acquisition and divestiture of high-tech firms

2021 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Christina Öberg
Keyword(s):  
Single Case ◽  
Secondary Data ◽  
Study Data ◽  
High Tech ◽  
Strategic Decisions ◽  
Resource Based View ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Company Growth ◽  
A Company

PurposeThis paper describes and discusses company spin-ins and spin-outs as a means to understand company growth in a dynamic context. The following question is asked: How can growth be understood in spin-ins and spin-outs of innovative firms? The paper suggests return on capabilities as a measure to understand growth in an open innovation context.Design/methodology/approachThe empirical part of the paper consists of a single case study. Data was captured through interviews and secondary data sources.FindingsThe paper points to that resources alone do not explain strategic decisions by a company and how spin-ins and spin-outs result from the need for capabilities, changes in business foci and temporary solutions to deal with overcapacities or lack of alternatives.Originality/valueThe paper contributes to research by discussing contemporary issues in strategy and innovation and relating them to the resource-based view and the growth of the firm. Spin-outs, and acquisitions and divestitures as interlinked events have rarely been focused on in the literature, while they remain frequent phenomena in practice.

The digital divide and social inclusion among refugee migrants

2015 ◽  
Vol 28 (2) ◽  
pp. 344-365 ◽  
Author(s):  
Khorshed Alam ◽  
Sophia Imran
Keyword(s):  
Digital Divide ◽  
Digital Technology ◽  
Social Inclusion ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Technology Industry ◽  
Australian Community ◽  
Information And Communication ◽  
Centre Piece ◽  
Physical Access ◽  
Migrant Groups

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to examine the factors which influence refugee migrants’ adoption of digital technology and its relevance to their social inclusion in Australia. Design/methodology/approach – This research developed a conceptual framework keeping the “use” of digital technology as the centre-piece of the digital divide. The empirical data were derived from a series of focus group discussions with refugee migrants in an Australian regional city, Toowoomba in Queensland. Findings – There is a digital divide among refugee migrant groups and it is based on inequalities in physical access to and use of digital technology, the skills necessary to use the different technologies effectively and the ability to pay for the services. The opportunities to use digital technology could support the social inclusion of refugee migrant groups in the broader Australian community. Research limitations/implications – Further research is required to examine whether this digital divide is unique in the regional context or common to Australian society and to confirm factors that might contribute significantly to refugee migrants’ social inclusion. Originality/value – This paper determined the role digital technology can play in building social capital and hence social inclusion among refugee migrant groups. Many of the factors identified as influencing refugee migrants’ use of digital technology can inform the Australian government and the information and communication technology industry in devising supportive policies and plans to reduce the risk of social exclusion, alienation and marginalisation among refugee migrant groups.

Retooling business relationships

2017 ◽  
Vol 33 (7) ◽  
pp. 35-37
Keyword(s):  
Design Methodology ◽  
Reading Time ◽  
Global Market ◽  
Business Relationships ◽  
Business Network ◽  
Strong Argument ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Pertinent Information ◽  
Practical Implications

Purpose This paper aims to review the latest management developments across the globe and pinpoint practical implications from cutting-edge research and case studies. Design/methodology/approach This briefing is prepared by an independent writer who adds their own impartial comments and places the articles in context. Findings Strategies are often seen as something enacted by a particular firm upon others, often with the goal of “winning”. Yet the global and connected nature of business at present means that such selfish pursuits often undermine the ability of a firm to survive and profit in the long term. As such, strategy can be viewed as something that exists within a business network, one built up of business relationships. Firms can work together to achieve individual goals but without harming each other. Rarely can firms act alone in the global market, often relying on others to provide resources. Because of this, there is a strong argument for considering business relationships as another, perhaps the most important, resource that a firm has. Strategy tools can be used within a firm to boost the nature of these business relationships, ultimately improving and securing a network of firms who all profit from each other’s success. Practical implications The paper provides strategic insights and practical thinking that have influenced some of the world’s leading organizations. Originality/value The briefing saves busy executives and researchers hours of reading time by selecting only the very best, most pertinent information and presenting it in a condensed and easy-to-digest format.

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