Culture and social capital network effects on the survival and performance of high-tech micro and small firms

2018 ◽  
Vol 25 (1) ◽  
pp. 81-106 ◽  
Author(s):  
Cory Hallam ◽  
Carlos Alberto Dorantes Dosamantes ◽  
Gianluca Zanella
Keyword(s):  
Social Capital ◽  
Firm Performance ◽  
Empirical Research ◽  
Cultural Context ◽  
Small Firms ◽  
Mediating Effect ◽  
High Tech ◽  
Regional Culture ◽  
Content Type ◽  
The Impact

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to propose an integrated theory to explain the effect of regional culture on high-technology micro and small (HTMS) firm outcomes. The integrated culture-social capital outcomes (CSCO) model examines the impact of culture on performance and evolution of HTMS firms through the mediating effect of intra-firm and inter-firm social capital. Design/methodology/approach Theoretical insights from social capital and culture are combined with the results of previous empirical observations to explain cross-cultural differences in the performance of HTMS firms. The authors then propose the CSCO model as a means to integrate and advance theory building. Findings The CSCO model explains the impact of culture on performance and evolution of HTMS firms through intra-firm and inter-firm social capital networks. Cultural context affects the performance of high-tech micro and small firms through the nature and structure of the networks involved in building and exploiting inter-firm and intra-firm social capital. Moreover, regional culture indirectly influences the balance between positive and negative effects of social capital on firm performance. These observations explain inconsistent findings from past empirical research and contribute to understanding the “embeddedness paradox” of social capital. Research limitations/implications The present model is not comprehensive. It does not account for many contextual factors identified in organizational network and cluster literature that contribute to the development of HTMS firms. Future research should consider the relationships between the three dimensions of social capital and seek to test the model with rigorous data collection and analysis. Originality/value While past studies focus on the direct relationship between regional culture and firm performance, this paper proposes the mediating effect of internal and external social capital between cultural context and firm performance. This proposal contributes to social capital and entrepreneurship literature and provides a potential explanation for inconsistent findings in past empirical research.

Exploring the family effect on firm performance

2015 ◽  
Vol 21 (6) ◽  
pp. 898-917 ◽  
Author(s):  
Yosra Mani ◽  
Lassaad Lakhal
Keyword(s):  
Social Capital ◽  
Firm Performance ◽  
Family Firms ◽  
Family Firm ◽  
Social Capital Theory ◽  
Three Dimensions ◽  
Capital Theory ◽  
Cognitive Dimension ◽  
Content Type ◽  
The Impact

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to investigate how internal social capital – as a part of the familiness resources– affects family firm performance. The social capital theory states that internal social capital within family businesses is composed of three dimensions: the structural dimension, the relational dimension, and the cognitive dimension. The aim of the paper is to study the relationship between each dimension of internal social capital and family firm performance. Design/methodology/approach – The paper employs an empirical investigation which is based on a sample of 114 Tunisian family firms. Findings – Results demonstrate that the structural and relational dimensions are positively associated with financial and non-financial family firm’s performance. However, the cognitive dimension has a significant positive effect on financial performance but not on non-financial family firm performance. Originality/value – The proposed model aims to test the direct effect of internal social capital dimensions on financial and non-financial family firm’s performance. Besides, there is a lack of empirical evidence aiming at understanding the impact of structural, cognitive and relational social capital on the performance of family firms.

The impact of market orientation on small firm performance: a configurational approach

2022 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Sanjay Chaudhary ◽  
Deepak Sangroya ◽  
Elisa Arrigo ◽  
Giuseppe Cappiello
Keyword(s):  
Firm Performance ◽  
Market Orientation ◽  
Small Firm ◽  
Small Firms ◽  
Emerging Economy ◽  
Competitive Environment ◽  
Strategic Flexibility ◽  
Competition Intensity ◽  
Content Type ◽  
The Impact

PurposeIn this study, the authors examine the influence of market orientation on small firms' performance. The authors theorize that the association between market orientation and small firm performance provides an incomplete picture in a competitive environment. The application of configuration approach which involves simultaneous consideration of market orientation, strategic flexibility and competition intensity is crucial to examine driver of firm performance.Design/methodology/approachThe sample of the research study consists of 272 small firms from an emerging economy, India. Ordinary least squares regression has been used to investigate the hypothesized relationships.FindingsThe authors noted that the three-way interaction between market orientation, strategic flexibility and competition intensity elucidates variance in small firm performance over and above a contingency model and a direct relationship.Research limitations/implicationsThe findings contribute to the existing literature by exhibiting the effect of market orientation on firm performance. The configuration model suggests that small firms can outperform competitors in a lower competitive environment if they have high market orientation and high strategic flexibility investment. To leverage market opportunities and achieve better firm performance, small firms’ owners should analyze the usefulness of current capabilities in a changing competitive environment concurrently and align market orientation to those conditions.Originality/valueThe strategic management and marketing literature suggests that relationship between market orientation and performance is ambiguous. The findings offer insights to managers regarding the appropriate use of strategic flexibility in leveraging the benefits of market orientation in a highly competitive environment. Furthermore, by collecting data from the context of an emerging economy, India, the authors attempt to strengthen the applicability of market orientation in different contexts.

scholarly journals A Meta-Analysis on the Impact of Social Capital on Firm Performance in China’s Transition Economy

2020 ◽  
Vol 12 (7) ◽  
pp. 2642 ◽  
Author(s):  
Tu LYU ◽  
Xiangfeng JI
Keyword(s):  
Social Capital ◽  
Firm Performance ◽  
Transition Economy ◽  
Meta Analysis ◽  
High Tech ◽  
The Social ◽  
Specific Performance ◽  
Market Areas ◽  
The Impact ◽  
The Relationship

There is almost no research consensus on the influence of social capital on firm performance in China, which motivates our study in this paper. Our research aim here is to identify the effect of contextual and methodological moderators on the relationship between social capital and firm performance in China’s transition economy. Meta-analysis is employed to explore the impact of social capital on firm performance and to identify moderators affecting the relationship based on 106 independent studies between 2008 and 2018. The results demonstrate that the social capital–performance link is positive and significant in China. Particularly, social capital has a stronger positive relationship with performance in high-tech industries or in low-level marketization. Meanwhile, the social capital–performance link depends on the specific performance measures and dimensions. The paper clearly indicates the value of cultivating social capital and reveals that distinct types of social capital are needed at different points in different industries and market areas.

The influence of investors’ opinions of human capital and multitasking on firm performance: a knowledge management perspective

2020 ◽  
Vol 24 (7) ◽  
pp. 1585-1603
Author(s):  
Shashank Vaid ◽  
Benson Honig
Keyword(s):  
Human Capital ◽  
Knowledge Management ◽  
Firm Performance ◽  
Small Firms ◽  
Abnormal Returns ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Managerial Succession ◽  
Top Executive ◽  
The Impact ◽  
The Relationship

Purpose The purpose of this study is to examine the disruption-adaptation associated with knowledge management (KM) of entrepreneurial multitasking of top strategy and tactics executive (TSTE) succession in positions responsible for both S and T. This provides insight into KM and firm performance during turbulent periods. Design/methodology/approach The study examines investor’s opinions of human capital in the context of managerial succession. The data was based on 900 publicly available appointment announcements between 2006–2014, allowing for the examination of 459 observations of succession in 51 industries. Findings The findings indicate that the relationship between KM of entrepreneurial multitasking and firm performance was more positive for high innovation firms than for low innovation firms. As well, the relationship between investors’ opinions of a top executive manager’s human capital and firm performance is more positive for small firms than for large firms and more positive for high innovation firms than for low innovation firms. Research limitations/implications The study contributes to the literature by systematically examining the announced appointment of executives in one context where KM of entrepreneurial multitasking is prevalent – across marketing strategy and sales tactics (hereafter, S and T) responsibilities – for multiple firms listed at major US stock exchanges across a wide range of industries, using lagged performance data to discern performance outcomes. It highlights important issues related to organizational structure and human capital for firm performance and KM in dynamic environments. Further research could examine the impact on firm performance of a change in structure – from a joint sales and tactics position to a sales or tactics position and vice versa. By studying the impact of change to and from an intertwined position, future scholars can determine the level of risk stemming from coordination uncertainty changes with time. Practical implications Of practical relevance, the study shows that vesting dual responsibility for S and T in one executive during managerial succession may not be as universally valuable or adaptive as previously thought. One practical extension of this research may also be that larger firms that are more likely to have clearly defined silos may find that such vesting of multitasking responsibility not as valuable. High innovation and small firms may gain from new executives’ multitasking responsibility for S and T. Thus, firms should think twice before vesting S and T responsibilities with one incoming executive during the leadership change. Social implications Responsibility for both S and T compounds ambiguous accountability, frequently leaving the locus of customer-related problems unclear, and therefore unsolved. Originality/value Extant research has overlooked the relationship between the top management team’s (TMT) abilities to multitask firm performance over time across contexts of external and internal change, operationalized as firm innovation and firm size. Nor have studies explored the firm performance implications of external stakeholders’ opinions of such human capital across these contexts. A novel measure of executive-specific human capital – abnormal returns generated the appointment announcement, is introduced. Understanding the capability of a top executive to simultaneously multitask both S and T responsibilities is a critical component of KM; also relevant are investors’ opinions of their human capital, a particular oversight given the challenge of the “great transformational leader” with servant leadership theory (Carayannis et al., 2017; Gregory Stone et al., 2004).

Sense of virtual community, commitment and knowledge contribution: an empirical research based on MI community

2021 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Shanji Yao ◽  
Xinnuo Zheng ◽  
Dewen Liu
Keyword(s):  
Empirical Research ◽  
Affective Commitment ◽  
Empirical Studies ◽  
Virtual Community ◽  
Mediating Effect ◽  
Three Dimensions ◽  
Network Marketing ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Knowledge Contribution ◽  
The Impact

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to find a way to encourage community members to actively create content and contribute knowledge through the study of the relationship between virtual community awareness, commitment and knowledge contribution, so as to make virtual community revitalize and provide a better platform for enterprises to carry out network marketing. Design/methodology/approach This study establishes a theoretical model that member knowledge contribution’s prepositive impact in virtual community. SOVC is an independent variable, commitment is a mediating variable and knowledge contribution is a dependent variable. Through 139 valid questionnaires from MI community, relationships among sense of virtual community (SOVC), commitment and knowledge contribution are deeply discussed. Findings Empirical results show that, as three dimensions of SOVC, membership, influence and immersion can all drive commitment and knowledge contribution in different degrees. In the two-dimensional division of commitment, only affective commitment can drive knowledge contribution. Affective commitment and calculative commitment can play a mediating role in the impact of SOVC on knowledge contribution. Originality/value Empirical research that the academia has done on important issues such as the impact of SOVC and commitment on knowledge contribution is deficient. Furthermore, those researches which have explored the mediating effect of commitment in the impact of SOVC on knowledge contribution remain merely on theoretical deduction level, and empirical studies based on Chinese background are also rare. In China, MI community is the typical representative of virtual community that runs successfully, and choosing it to conduct research can not only provide representatives on sample but also duplicate on the result popularity. Thus, this paper chooses MI community as the empirical object to explore the relationships among SOVC, commitment and knowledge contribution.

The mediating effects of HRM practices on the relationship between SCM and SMEs firm performance in Thailand

2020 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Siriwan Kitchot ◽  
Sununta Siengthai ◽  
Vatcharapol Sukhotu
Keyword(s):  
Firm Performance ◽  
Structural Equation ◽  
Mediating Effect ◽  
Equation Modeling ◽  
Cross Sectional ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Hrm Practices ◽  
Expert Opinions ◽  
The Impact ◽  
The Relationship

Purpose This paper aims to investigate the relationships among supply chain management (SCM) implementation, human resource management (HRM) practices and small- and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) firm performance in Thailand. It further examines whether HRM practices have a mediating effect on such relationship. Design/methodology/approach A survey instrument was developed based on the literature review which then was verified by SCM expert opinions. Cross-sectional surveys of sample employees of SMEs in Thailand were undertaken by both direct and mail surveys. Of about 779 questionnaires distributed, 203 usable questionnaires were returned. Structural equation modeling (SEM) was performed to analyze the obtained data. Findings The statistical results reveal that SCM indirectly improves firm performance of small- and medium-sized firms through HRM practices. The latter, HRM practices, is found to fully mediate the impact of SCM implementation on SME firm performance. These results suggest that SCM cannot enhance SME firm performance if its implementation is undertaken without effective HRM practices. Originality/value This study identified the research gap in SCM areas by recognizing the scarcity of research on SCM in SMEs and by identifying and integrating HRM practices as a significant behavioral support system to SCM implementation in SMEs. Its results reveal that HRM practices fully mediates the impact of SCM on SMEs’ firm performance.

The interrelationship between intellectual capital and firm performance: evidence from China's manufacturing sector

2020 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Jian Xu ◽  
Jingsuo Li
Keyword(s):  
Firm Performance ◽  
Intellectual Capital ◽  
Manufacturing Sector ◽  
Value Added ◽  
Physical Capital ◽  
Listed Companies ◽  
High Tech ◽  
Manufacturing Companies ◽  
Content Type ◽  
The Impact

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to examine the impact of intellectual capital (IC) and its components (human, structural and relational capitals) on the performance of manufacturing listed companies in China. This paper also investigates the impacts of company ownership, industry attributes and region on the IC-performance relationship.Design/methodology/approachThe study uses the data of 953 manufacturing companies listed on the Shanghai and Shenzhen Stock Exchanges over the period 2012–2016. The modified value-added intellectual coefficient (MVAIC) model is applied to measure IC efficiency. Finally, multiple regression analysis is employed to test the research hypotheses.FindingsThis study reveals that IC can enhance firm performance in China's manufacturing sector. Overall, earnings are affected by physical capital, human capital (HC) and structural capital (SC), and profitability and productivity are influenced by physical capital, HC, SC and relational capital. Physical capital is the most influential contributor to firm performance. In addition, state-owned enterprises have a greater impact of IC on firm performance than private-owned enterprises; high-tech manufacturing companies have higher IC performance than non-high-tech manufacturing companies; manufacturing companies in China's eastern region have higher IC performance than the counterparts in central and western regions.Practical implicationsThe findings may help managers, stakeholders and policymakers in developing countries to effectively and efficiently manage their IC resources.Originality/valueThis is the first study to evaluate IC and its relationship with firm performance among Chinese manufacturing listed companies using the MVAIC model.

High performance work systems and firm performance

2020 ◽  
Vol 34 (5) ◽  
pp. 33-35
Keyword(s):  
Social Capital ◽  
Firm Performance ◽  
High Performance ◽  
Mediating Effect ◽  
Work Systems ◽  
Content Type ◽  
High Performance Work Systems ◽  
Hr Practices ◽  
Pertinent Information ◽  
Employee Social Capital

Purpose The link between high-performance work systems (HPWS) and firm performance can be enhanced through the mediating effect of relational correlations. By building employee social capital and incorporating relevant HR practices within the HPWS, optimum results can be attained. Design/methodology/approach This briefing is prepared by an independent writer who adds their own impartial comments and places the articles in context. Findings The link between high-performance work systems (HPWS) and firm performance can be enhanced through the mediating effect of relational correlations. By building employee social capital and incorporating relevant HR practices within the HPWS, optimum results can be attained. 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.

Business strategy, performance appraisal and organizational results

2020 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Alberto Bayo-Moriones ◽  
Jose Enrique Galdon-Sanchez ◽  
Sara Martinez-de-Morentin
Keyword(s):  
Firm Performance ◽  
Human Resources ◽  
Performance Appraisal ◽  
Competitive Strategy ◽  
Management Practices ◽  
Robust Regression ◽  
Innovation Strategy ◽  
Content Type ◽  
The Impact ◽  
Developmental Performance

PurposeThe purpose of this study is to analyze how the design of performance appraisal is influenced by the competitive strategy of the firm. Then, this paper examines if the alignment between appraisal and strategy impacts firm performance.Design/methodology/approachThe study sample includes 258 Spanish firms in the manufacturing and services sectors. This information was gathered through questionnaires addressed to the CEO and the senior human resources manager. Several econometric models are estimated, using robust regression analysis and including a set of relevant control variables.FindingsA positive relationship is found between an innovation strategy and developmental performance appraisal. A cost strategy has a negative impact on the adoption of developmental performance appraisal. The findings also confirm that firms with a quality strategy and developmental appraisal have higher performance. In addition, firms adopting an innovation strategy and administrative appraisal enjoy higher return of equity.Research limitations/implicationsFuture research should analyze the dynamics of the relationships between appraisal, strategy and performance to rule out the flaws of cross-sectional data. Another potential extension is the analysis of the interactions of the design of other human resources management practices with both competitive strategy and firm performance.Practical implicationsFirms can improve performance by aligning performance appraisal design with strategy. Those with an innovation strategy should choose administrative appraisal, and those competing on quality should focus on developmental appraisal.Originality/valueThis paper compares the theoretical recommendations on performance appraisal for different competitive strategies, what firms actually do, and the impact that the alignment between appraisal and strategy has on firm performance.

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