Resource Reconfiguration During Technological Change

A central strategic imperative for surviving technological change requires firms to attenuate the inertia and rigidity imposed by its legacy technology orientation (defined as the relative emphasis placed on technological knowledge and products aligned to an incumbent technology) and successfully transition to a new technology. We theorize that resource reconfiguration through corporate scope decisions—alliances, acquisitions, divestitures, and different postacquisition integration approaches—enables firms to achieve the twin requirements of attenuation and transition. Initially, a legacy technology orientation exerts inertia due to legacy reinforcement—decreasing the likelihood of firms making new technology acquisitions and legacy technology divestitures. New technology alliances mitigate this inertia via legacy attenuation—increasing the likelihood of acquisitions and legacy divestitures. Finally, when firms make new technology acquisitions, we theorize that acquirers choosing partial acquisition integration approaches (partial integration and partial autonomy) are more likely to achieve a successful transition to the new technology-legacy transition and, thus, more likely to survive technological change relative to firms choosing full integration or full autonomy. Using a sample of firms from the digital camera product market over 1991–2006, we found strong empirical support for our predictions. We contribute to research on technological change by demonstrating that firms may overcome the inertia of a legacy technology orientation and adapt to an emerging new technology by employing corporate scope decisions and postacquisition integration as resource reconfiguration mechanisms. Specifically, we advance the novel finding that postacquisition integration is an important survival-enhancing mechanism that facilitates adaptation to technological change.

The long and winding road of eHealth. The service ecosystem perspective

Purpose This paper aims to investigate the eHealth ecosystem’s evolution during the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic and its effects on the progression of care for patients with chronic cardiovascular disease. Design/methodology/approach To attain the aim of the study, this study chose to adopt a qualitative method that matches the complexity of the issue. The study was conducted in a real context through 44 face-to-face semi-structured interviews of key informants at different levels of the Italian eHealth service ecosystem, via Microsoft Teams. The interviews were carried out from June 2020 to January 2021. In this research, we adopted an abductive approach that enabled a process where the theoretical framework and the data analysis evolved at the same time. Findings The study results were used to develop a conceptual framework that considers the key factors enabling and constraining the evolutionary process of the eHealth service ecosystem. In particular, the drivers that emerged from the study were actor role empowerment, actor–network engagement and resource reconfiguration while the inhibitors were inter- and intra-actor misalignment, resource myopia and the platformisation gap. The findings also revealed the pivotal role of the meso level in the development of the eHealth service ecosystem, boosted by the COVID-19 pandemic. Originality/value By adopting a service ecosystem perspective, this paper contributes, at both a theoretical and a managerial level, to a better understanding of the dynamics related to the diffusion of eHealth. The study identifies the main issues that researchers, managers and policymakers should address to support the evolution of the eHealth service ecosystem, with particular regard to chronic cardiovascular disease.

Supply chain resilience during the COVID-19: empirical evidence from an emerging economy

PurposeAlthough the advances in the supply chain resilience (SCR) literature, there is a critical gap concerning this understanding in a high disruption context, such as in the case of the COVID-19. This paper aims to investigate some dimensions (agility, robustness, disruption orientation and resource reconfiguration) of the SCR during this unprecedented disruption in the Brazilian supply chain context.Design/methodology/approachSupported by the resource-based view, dynamic capabilities and the SCR literature, we developed a model, which in turn was analyzed and validated by partial least squares structural equation modelling.FindingsThe results revealed that while resource reconfiguration and supply chain disruption orientation positively affect SCR, we found a non-significant effect of supply chain robustness and agility.Practical implicationsThe findings suggest that in a considerable disruption scenario, managers with their supply chain operations in emerging economies should prioritize the development of resources to support the disruption orientation and manage the scarce resources adequately by reconfiguring them.Originality/valueOur study is one of the first that reported the dynamics of the SCR dimensions in an emerging economy during the COVID-19.

Pivot decisions in startups: a systematic literature review

PurposeEntrepreneurs' pivot decisions are poorly understood. The purpose of this paper is to review the existing literature on pivot decisions to identify the different conceptualizations, research streams and main theoretical building blocks and to offer a baseline framework for future studies on this phenomenon.Design/methodology/approachA systematic literature review of 86 peer-reviewed papers published between January 2008 and October 2020, focusing on the pivot decision in startups, was performed through bibliometric, descriptive and content analyses.FindingsThe literature review identifies four research streams concerning the pivot concept – pivot design, cognitive, negotiation and environmental perspectives. Building on previous studies, this paper provides a refined definition of a pivot that bridges elements from the four research streams identified: a pivot comprises strategic decisions made after a failure (or in the face of potential failure) of the current business model and leads to changes in the firm's course of action, resource reconfiguration and possible modifications of one or more business model elements. This study proposes a framework that elaborates the pivot literature by identifying four stages of the pivot process addressed in the existing literature: recognition, generating options, seizing and testing and reconfiguration.Originality/valueThis study provides a comprehensive review, enabling researchers to establish a baseline for developing future pivot research. Furthermore, it improves the conceptualization of pivots by summarizing prior definitions and proposing a refined definition that places decision-making and judgment at its center. That introduces new contextual and behavioral elements, contributing to a better understanding of how entrepreneurs assess alternative courses of action and envision possible outcomes to redirect a venture after failure.

Dynamic Capabilities: Closing the Competence Gap in Order to Assure Exploitation of New Opportunities

Current dynamics of business environment and challenges that businesses are facing force firms to reorganize resources for becoming more effective at opportunity identification and exploitation. However, exploitation of new opportunities is often challenged by competency gap at the firm level. Often current level of competence of the firm does not meet the requirements coming with the new opportunities. In the literature on management science, learning is perceived as one of the greatest contributors in smooth and directed resource reconfiguration process. The outcome of learning is often linked to new knowledge and competencies that allow successful exploitation of identified opportunities within an external and internal business environment. Therefore, this paper aims to propose hypothetical model on how the successful implementation of new business opportunities is linked to multiple-loop organizational learning and closing of the competence gap of the firm. The aim is achieved by synergizing extant literature in the fields of dynamic capabilities, entrepreneurship and organizational learning. Critical analysis of relevant research leads to the development of a conceptual model explaining the process of how the firm is able to close the competence gap and assure successful opportunity exploitation within the firm. This results in the formation of the research questions for future empirical research. The study adds value to the existing literature by identifying the learning process that stimulates successful opportunity exploitation, drawing on the multiple-loop learning perspective, and applying dynamic capabilities framework.

Impact of resource reconfiguration on total factor productivity of service industry

Using the Chenery-Syrquin model, this paper investigates the effect of resources reallocation on the TFP of China’s service industry from 2003 to 2016.The main findings are as follows: there are significant structural changes in the production factor configuration of various industries within the service industry. The growth of service industry is still driven mainly by factor input. The resource reconfiguration effect has not yet become the main force driving the growth of TFP of the service industry. However, the structural dividend has become more and more obvious after 2008. The marginal production of capital in most service industries has reached a stage of total reduction and rapid convergence, and there is a convergence of marginal returns of capital within the service industry. The marginal production of labor in most service industries is on the stage of decrease in growth rate and increase in the total amount. Although the marginal production of labor still exhibits divergent characteristics, it has begun to show signs of convergence at the end of the study period. There are phenomena of “mismatching resources”, and the state control or monopoly industry is more serious. The government should improve the property rights system, expand openness, and formulate supporting policies to different industries to promote the optimal allocation of resources.