How knowledge acquisition creates a competitive edge? A qualitative inquiry from international consultancy alliance

PurposeThe current study attempts to bridge the existing gap related to the role of knowledge acquisition from international alliance partners to improve competitiveness by examining the distinct processes of knowledge acquisition and the challenges confronted in this learning process in order to enhance local and international market performance.Design/methodology/approachFollowing case-study approach based on systematic combining, the study presents a case of knowledge acquisition and learning in the context of an international consultancy alliance between leading Pakistani and Chinese engineering firms using six in-depth interviews of key engineers to explore the dynamic mechanisms for knowledge acquisition and learning from the Chinese firm. Grounded analysis drawn upon the Straussian version of grounded theory (GT) {{Strauss, 1990 #136} Strauss, 1998 #139} is used for data analysis in this research.FindingsIt was found that the processes of explicit and implicit knowledge acquisition from Chinese firms are integrated consultancy working, social and technical adaptability and seeking confirmation about the work done and knowledge/theories and models used in work. However, these processes are quite complex, posing serious challenges for National Engineering Services, Pakistan to acquire the required knowledge, which can be addressed through partners' motivation to share and acquire knowledge, cultural intelligence and friendship and informal association. The study also found that the knowledge acquired from technologically advanced international organizations by the host partner in the international strategic alliance not only provides a competitive edge to the local host in its local market but also builds its capacity to undertake similar projects in other parts of the world, substantially enhancing its market success.Originality/valueAdding up to the current literature that focuses on knowledge acquisition in a parent-subsidiary relationship, the current research proposes a framework for knowledge acquisition in the unique context of international strategic alliances. The research provides managerial guidelines to manage knowledge acquisition for gaining a competitive edge that would be helpful for the managers in the era of growing interdependence among the organizations across the borders.

Demand Chain Strategy and Chinese Firm Performance

The purpose of this research is to enhance the extant understanding of the information technology (IT)-strategy relationship. The study aims to test the robustness of the relationships among the concepts of IT analytic capability, demand chain strategy, and firm performance besides investigating the interaction effects of product life cycle (PLC) management on the IT-strategy relationship. Based on the resource-based view (RBV) of the firm and the research paradigm of “capability-strategy-performance,” 300 Chinese fashion firms were surveyed to collect data by Demand Chain Research Institute of Shanghai University. In order to test the hypothetical relationship in the conceptual model, valid questionnaires from 185 firms were collected in this study, and the effective rate reached 61.7%. Findings suggest that IT analytic capability associates positively with demand chain strategy, and PLC plays a moderation role between IT analytic capability and demand chain strategy. The findings further support the link between demand chain strategy and better firm performance. This study contributes to existing information systems and operation management literature by the above effects in the retail context. Overall, these results reflect recent business and transformation changes from supply chain strategy to demand chain strategy for the Chinese fashion industry.

What Enables a Chinese Firm to Create New-to-the-World Innovations? A Historical Case Study of Intrafirm Coopetition in the Instant Messaging Service Sector

Chinese firms have been widely seen as imitative. This historical case study explores what organizational mechanisms allowed Tencent, a Chinese firm in the fast-changing instant messaging (IM) service sector, to achieve a new-to-the-world innovation with its WeChat smartphone app. Tracing the competitive dynamics in the Chinese IM sector from its inception, we found that Tencent was able to create the innovative WeChat product through a crisis-induced intrafirm coopetition dynamic that was embedded in variation-selection-retention evolutionary processes spanning the market, the firm, and the business unit levels. Building on the intrafirm coopetition and evolutionary literatures, the paper shows that three business units simultaneously competed and cooperated in developing alternative IM products while being exposed to market selection for survival. The coopetition dynamic took place in three key areas: technology, product promotion, and complementary assets of suppliers. The relative balance between competition and cooperation changed over time, and top management guidance and firm-level routines were essential in managing the challenges of coopetition within the firm.

Modeling the Impacts of Venture Capital Investment on Firm Innovation

Taking firms listed on the Chinese Growth Enterprise Market (GEM) in 2008–2017 as the sample, this study investigates the impact of venture capital (VC) investment on Chinese firm innovation using propensity score matching and a difference-in-differences (PSM-DID) model. The results show that, overall, firms’ innovation inputs and outputs do not show obvious enhancement due to VC entry, but instead show a strong and then weak inhibitory effect. VCs have heterogeneous impacts on firm innovation; that is, compared to other types of firms, firms with technology-dependent characteristics and firms whose actual controllers are experts in the same industry can effectively mitigate the adverse impact of VC on innovation inputs and gradually promote growth in the quantity and quality of the innovation outputs after the second year of VC entry. This study not only reveals the impact of VC on firm innovation activities in the Chinese capital market but also provides empirical evidence to help improve the financial innovation service system and the use of the capital market to promote innovation in China.