Strategic Alliance Pattern Evaluation Model for Taiwan’s Machine Tool Industry: A Hierarchical DEMATEL Method

The worldwide machine tool market is anticipated to reach a value of USD 68.9 billion by 2021, from USD 65.6 billion in 2020. This projection is based on the progressive production drop within the car industry, which is the largest customer of machine devices, and supply chain disruption. The machine tool industry in Taiwan faces a severe challenge and has been unobtrusively experiencing an inner reshuffling and innovative transformation. The developing strategic alliances reflect a basic endeavor by numerous firms to improve their specialized capabilities. This study applied the DEMATEL, a suitable method for gathering group knowledge to form a structural model and visualize the casual relationship between subsystems through a casual diagram, revealing that the causal relationships between measurement criteria and the proposed model can provide a viable assessment of the alliance with satisfactory criteria that fit the decision-makers requirements, especially when the assessment criteria are various and interrelated. Financial resources were the strongest factor within the strategic behavior dimension (D1), whereas the minimize manufacturing cost was the foremost basic determinant in the cost perspective (D2). The specialists also demonstrated that obtaining dominant technology was a determinative component within organizational learning (D3). This paper offers proposals for government authorities to plan a machine tools industry strategy for Taiwan and for companies to formulate business directions for long-run advancement.

Competitive advantage in algorithmic trading: a behavioral innovation economics approach

PurposeThis paper investigates the strategic behavior of algorithmic trading firms from an innovation economics perspective. The authors seek to uncover the sources of competitive advantage these firms develop to make markets inefficient for them and enable their survival.Design/methodology/approachFirst, the authors review expected capability, a quantitative behavioral model of the sustainable, or reliable, profits that lead to survival. Second, they present qualitative data gathered from semi-structured interviews with industry professionals as well as from the academic and industry literatures. They categorize this data into first-order concepts and themes of opportunity-, advantage- and meta-seeking behaviors. Associating the observed sources of competitive advantages with the components of the expected capability model allows us to describe the economic rationale these firms have for developing those sources and explain how they survive.FindingsThe data reveals ten sources of competitive advantages, which the authors label according to known ones in the strategic management literature. We find that, due to the dynamically complex environments and their bounded resources, these firms seek heuristic compromise among these ten, which leads to satisficing. Their application of innovation methodology that prescribes iterative ex post hypothesis testing appears to quell internal conflict among groups and promote organizational survival. The authors believe their results shed light on the behavior and motivations of algorithmic market actors, but also of innovative firms more generally.Originality/valueBased upon their review of the literature, this is the first paper to provide such a complete explanation of the strategic behavior of algorithmic trading firms.

Strategic Behavior in Family Firms

Previous research emphasizes that the participation of the family in business operations is the source of resources and capabilities that conditions the strategic behavior of the family firm. This influence has been recognized as “familiness.” However, this definition is contextualized from static reasoning that ignores the effect of family dynamics on the behavior and value generation of the family-owned business. Prior literature has recognized that the family influence has a dynamic character based on the idiosyncratic process of knowledge management that manifests itself in the company, dynamic familiness. This family capability is shaped by family organizational routines through the family influence and aims to increase its knowledge portfolios for the strategic use of its resources. This chapter addresses the relationship between family influence and the process of learning and knowledge management. The analysis of this relationship allows assessing how family influence can promote the generation of family organizational routines based on knowledge management processes.

Influence of socioemotional wealth on non-family managers’ risk taking and product innovation in family businesses

PurposeThere is a growing interest in understanding family firms’ strategic behavior using the socioemotional wealth (SEW) perspective. This study explores how family SEW dimensions influence non-family managers’ attitudes toward risk in the context of product innovation. This study also examines whether managerial risk-taking mediates the relationship between SEW and product innovation.Design/methodology/approachThe study uses a sample of 150 family firms in the United Arab Emirates and collects data from family owners and non-family managers via self-administered questionnaires. The study uses SmartPLS structural equation modeling to test the conceptual model and the proposed hypotheses.FindingsThe results indicate that multidimensional SEW influences non-family managers’ risk-taking behavior in different magnitudes and directions, thus impacting firms’ product innovation. Moreover, risk-taking partially mediates the relationship between SEW dimensions and product innovation.Originality/valueWhile product innovation could be seen as a loss scenario for family firms due to the potential loss of SEW, growth, continuity and reputation outweighed the desire to maintain control for the firms in this sample. Thus, these firms encourage non-family managers to take risks in product innovation.

The service pricing strategies and the strategic behavior of customers in an unobservable Markovian queue with unreliable server

A Stackelberg game is used to study the service pricing and the strategic behavior of customers in an unreliable and totally unobservable M/M/1 queue under a reward-cost structure. At the first stage, the server manager, acting as a leader, chooses a service price and, at the second stage, a customer, arriving at the system and acting as a follower, chooses to join the system or an outside opportunity, knowing only the service price imposed by the server manager and the system parameters. We show that the constructed game admits an equilibrium and we give explicit forms of server manager and customers equilibrium behavioral strategies. The results of the proposed model show that the assumption that customers are risk-neutral is fundamental for the standard approach usually used. Moreover, we determine the socially optimal price that maximizes the social welfare and we compare it to the Stackelberg equilibrium. We illustrate, by numerical examples, the effect of some system parameters on the equilibrium service price and the revenue of the server manager.

A Shaky “Wedge”: An Analysis of India’s Strategic Behavior under the US “Indo-Pacific” Strategy

America’s Indo-Pacific strategy is essentially a combination of its Asia-Pacific and Indian strategies: through the consolidation of its strategic alliances, it can deepen its relations with Asia-Pacific allies, and through its “wedging strategy” it can pull India into its orbit to become a strategic “fulcrum” bridging the region. India was both a key member and leader of the non-aligned movement, while also previously forming a “quasi-alliance” with the Soviet Union. At present, it has responded to the US Indo-Pacific strategy with cautious initiative. From the vantage point of a state targeted vis-à-vis a wedging strategy, India’s strategic behavior is shaped by the strategic environment, its primary strategic objectives, and the relations between allies within the context of a unique strategic environment. This paper identifies two types of strategic environments: the general strategic environment and the specialized strategic environment; it further identifies primary strategic objectives as economic development, sovereign integrity and independence, national security and great state status (especially with respect to that of regional or global major powers); meanwhile, the alliance relationship is defined according to the extent to which there are divisions across state interests and the capacity of states to act autonomously vis-à-vis the alliance. Through an analysis of India’s diplomatic experiences, this paper argues that against the backdrop of America’s “Indo-Pacific” strategy and a lose general strategic environment, the primary strategic objective of achieving major state status and a “large divide over interests and a major space for autonomous action” shape India’s cautious initiative with respect to its alliance relationships.

Unpacking Strategic Behavior in Cyberspace: A Schema-Driven Approach

The contemporary literature on cybersecurity and related interstate interactions often cites the need to overcome uncertainty due to an inherent deficit of information about cyber operations. While this notion continues to appear relevant in studies that advance our understanding of state behavior in cyberspace, noticeable gaps remain. These gaps particularly stem from the limited utility of cyber operations to shift the balance of strategic power between states or to signal intent and resolve effectively. In response, this article advances a cognitive-cultural framework wherein behavior reflects preferences derived from schema usage. Using cross-national wargames, the article illustrates the schematic use of strategic culture as a basis for deriving strategic objectives and the means with which these are achieved. Consequently, the article serves as the initial foray in expanding our understanding of interstate behavior in cyberspace.

How do users interact with Virtual Geographic Environments? Users’ behavior evaluation in urban participatory planning

For the past twenty years, the adoption of Virtual Geographic Environments is thriving. This democratization is due to numerous new opportunities offered by this medium. However, in participatory urban planning these interactive 3D geovisualizations are still labeled as very advanced means, and are only scarcely used. The involvement of citizens in urban decision-making is indeed carefully planned ahead to limit off-topic feedback. A better comprehension of Virtual Geographic Environments, and more specifically of users’ strategic behaviors while interacting with this medium could enhance participants’ contributions. The users’ strategic behavior was assessed in this article through an experimental study. A total of 107 participants completed online tasks about the identification of 3D scenes’ footprints, the comparison of buildings’ heights, and the visibility of objects through the scenes. The interactions of the participants were recorded (i.e. pressed keys, pointing device interactions), as well as the camera positions adopted to complete specific tasks. The results show that: (1) users get more efficient throughout the study; (2) interruptions in 3D manipulation appear to highlight difficulties in interacting with the virtual environments; (3) users tend to centralize their positions within the scene, notably around their starting position; (4) the type of task strongly affects the behavior of users, limiting or broadening their explorations. The results of this experimental study are a valuable resource that can be used to improve the design of future urban planning projects involving Virtual Geographic Environments, e.g. with the creation of personalized 3D tools.

Strategic behavior of nontraditional lenders in agricultural credit markets

PurposeThis paper examines credit products, operational performance and business models employed by nontraditional lenders (NTLs) in agricultural credit markets.Design/methodology/approachTwo research methods were employed in this study: (1) an executive interview to collect primary data and (2) a case study approach to analyze the findings and develop insights.FindingsThe findings indicate the presence of significant differences among lenders across and within three categories of NTLs (large volume, vendor financing and collateral-based NTLs). For example, collateral-based NTLs employ different strategies focusing on types of loans, funding sources, commodities they support and geographic coverage to further segment the market. NTLs in this study were able to capture market by successfully identifying gaps in the supply side of agricultural credit and developing products that meet the needs of that niche (e.g. heavy renters, large operations, producers seeking fixed interest rates for term loans, financially fragile producers). Most of the interviewed NTLs had credit standards comparable to those of traditional lenders and consider them both competitors and partners since many NTLs partner with traditional lenders on participation loans, loan servicing and/or sourcing funds.Originality/valueThe supply side of a nontraditional lending has not been studied extensively due to the proprietary nature of data. The executive interviews conducted in this study allowed for accumulation of industry data, which is not available otherwise.