Les dynamiques industrielles du capitalisme sont liées aux transformations des structures organisationnelles de production. Ainsi, la firme verticalement intégrée à la Chandler s’est effacée au profit de firmes modernes désintégrées. Cette profonde transformation de l’environnement industriel, qui s’est manifestée dans les années 1980 et 1990, a conduit les firmes à développer de nouvelles stratégies de coopération inter-firmes et à faire émerger des formes de quasi-intégration verticale. L’objectif de cet article est d’analyser ces changements institutionnels à l’aune (...) de la théorie économique. L’article se focalise sur les travaux originaux de trois auteurs influents qui ont développé leur propre approche de la quasi-intégration dans la seconde moitié du xx e siècle : Williamson, Houssiaux et Blois. (shrink)

The executives of listed firms play an important role in the fulfillment of corporate social responsibility. Based on behavioral consistency theory, this study examines the association of CSR performance among multiple firms for the same executive served at different times. By tracking the movement of executives across Chinese listed firms over the period 2010–2019, we find that there is a significantly positive association between the predecessor and the successor firm’s CSR performance for the same executive, implying that an individual’s value (...) and preference for CSR maintain consistency within a certain period of time. We also find that a longer employment gap and lower internal control effectiveness will damage the association of CSR performance between the predecessor and the successor firm. Our results are robust to testing in subsamples and controlling the endogeneity problems. Our conclusion provides a new perspective to understand the influence mechanism of CSR performance in the context of inter-firm executive mobility and provides empirical evidence for listed firms to improve their decision-making in hiring and evaluating executives. (shrink)

This paper extends the standard model of bundling to allow products to be substitutes and for products to be supplied by separate sellers. Whether integrated or separate, …rms have an incentive to introduce bundling discounts when demand for the bundle is elastic relative to demand for stand-alone products. Separate …rms often have a unilateral incentive to o¤er inter-…rm bundle discounts, although this depends on the detailed form of substitutability. Bundle discounts mitigate the innate substitutability of products, which can relax (...) competition between …rms and induce an integrated …rm to lower all of its prices when it follows a bundling strategy. (shrink)

Based on social exchange and customer relationship marketing theory, this study examines how ethical leadership contributes to inter-organizational conflict management (task conflict (TC) and relationship conflict), and the moderating role of task interdependence in these relationships. Data was collected from 81 suppliers and 45 corresponding managers of a large group company in China. Results show that ethical leadership is negatively associated with the levels of inter-organizational conflict, whether task or relationship. Task interdependence significantly moderates the relationship between ethical (...) leadership and TC. Managerial implication in terms of creating sound buyer–supplier relationship through an ethical perspective is discussed. (shrink)

La science économique a toujours été réticente à l’égard du concept de pouvoir, qui ne saurait être opérationnalisé dans les modèles microéconomiques et qui justifierait des rationalisations ex post. Pourtant, le pouvoir est un vecteur d’institutionnalisation sociale que les économistes se doivent d’intégrer pour faire de la firme un objet de recherche de l’économie politique et réaliser de nouveaux progrès explicatifs. Partant, l’article ambitionne de proposer une analyse méthodologique renouvelée du pouvoir, lequel implique une structure collective tout (...) en reposant sur des individus acteurs. Fort de cette clarification conceptuelle, un essai de définition du pouvoir dans la firme est proposé : le pouvoir est la capacité latente (qui sera ou non exercée) d’une entité A à contraindre et à dessiner les choix d’une entité B de telle sorte que le comportement et les actions de B soient orientés dans un sens favorable à A, et ce par des mécanismes intrinsèques à la relation socioéconomique qui peuvent être formels ou informels. Une telle définition du pouvoir permet de reconsidérer l’agir transformatif dans la firme et de lier le pouvoir aux dispositifs relationnels des organisations du capitalisme. (shrink)

Economic openness, both in terms of increased international trade exposure and enhanced inter-firm networking, has been a key element of China’s economic emergence since the implementation of market reforms and the “opening-up policy” over 30 years ago. Unfortunately, these changes have also coincided with the increased incidence of bribery and corruption. Both in general, and in the specific context of China, research on the relationship between a firm’s tendency toward openness and its propensity to engage in bribery is scarce. (...) This study seeks to fill this gap based on empirical evidence provided by a large sample of Chinese firms. The findings of the study reveal that firms’ increased networking and openness tend to occur contemporaneously with greater bribery and corruption. We suggest that this may be due to the misuse of guanxi-based networks that coincide with the presence of firms’ open network strategies, heightened by the potential loss of resource and capability heterogeneity (and hence reduced competitive advantages) in the context of openness. We further find that firms paying bribes do so as an attempt to overcome unnecessary bureaucratic processes and ineffective institutional support that might tend to hinder their development. (shrink)

La science économique a toujours été réticente à l’égard du concept de pouvoir, qui ne saurait être opérationnalisé dans les modèles microéconomiques et qui justifierait des rationalisations ex post. Pourtant, le pouvoir est un vecteur d’institutionnalisation sociale que les économistes se doivent d’intégrer pour faire de la firme un objet de recherche de l’économie politique et réaliser de nouveaux progrès explicatifs. Partant, l’article ambitionne de proposer une analyse méthodologique renouvelée du pouvoir, lequel implique une structure collective tout (...) en reposant sur des individus acteurs. Fort de cette clarification conceptuelle, un essai de définition du pouvoir dans la firme est proposé : le pouvoir est la capacité latente (qui sera ou non exercée) d’une entité A à contraindre et à dessiner les choix d’une entité B de telle sorte que le comportement et les actions de B soient orientés dans un sens favorable à A, et ce par des mécanismes intrinsèques à la relation socioéconomique qui peuvent être formels ou informels. Une telle définition du pouvoir permet de reconsidérer l’agir transformatif dans la firme et de lier le pouvoir aux dispositifs relationnels des organisations du capitalisme. (shrink)

The Austrian School's conventional theory of the firm is based on an attempt to synthesize Coase's concept of the firm as a centrally planned hierarchy with the Austrian theory of entrepreneurship and monetary calculation. This paper is a critique of that program as well as an attempt to outline the alternative theory of the firm, one based on the synthesis of the contractual agency theory of the firm with the same Austrian arguments about entrepreneurship and calculation. The firm in this (...) paper is defined as a nexus of various markets for goods as well as for labor and managerial services rather than as a hierarchy or “organization.” Both the neoclassical and Austrian critiques of the latter concept are utilized to prove that a clear distinction between the market and the firm cannot be established. That distinction is based on the misunderstanding of the firm's dynamics as exclusively tied to the managing/transaction costs ratio as well as on the mischaracterization of inter-firm relations as commanding ones. On the other hand, the central planning view of the firm is equally at odds with the key Mises's argument that rational economic planning is impossible in the absence of market prices. If this is so, the firm, as understood in a Coasian paradigm, would not have any reason to exist, or any reason to contribute positively to economic efficiency, because it would simply represent a centrally planned “island of incalculability” in a wider market setting. Since the firm is a nexus of various markets, its operation is contrary to the Coaseian assumptions led by the price signals. Only insofar as the internal firm's operation is driven by the price signals can the firm be efficient. (shrink)

What makes some firms more innovative than others and what determines the source of these innovations are questions that are still not adequately answered due to the complex, often esoteric, nature of the innovation process. This paper considers the effect of one externally oriented strategy (extent of formal inter-organizational linkages) and one internally oriented strategy (degree of knowledge intensity) on overall levels of innovativeness and the source of these innovations. Using data collected from firms operating in the bioscience-technology industries (...) in both New York and Utah, our results suggest that both of these strategies have a significant effect upon innovation levels and the source of innovation (internally versus externally stimulated). Interestingly, there were few firms that undertook both of these strategies simultaneously and thus the proposed interaction effect where increased absorptive capacity (on the basis of knowledge intensity) would make external linkages even more valuable could not be discerned. (shrink)

We leverage insights and theories from the extensive inter-firm alliance literature to explore the effect of the sector of the partners on Firm–NGO alliance governance. Our analysis suggests that the sector of the partners has an important impact on alliance governance, not only because it constrains the availability of some governance mechanisms but also because it makes alternative mechanisms available or relevant to the partners. Specifically, we predict that B2N alliances will rely on contracts, a restricted scope, and non-equity (...) hostages, such as reputational hostages and stakeholder involvement, rather than equity, leading to limited protection against opportunism. As a consequence, B2N alliance partners will need to rely on trust-based governance mechanisms to a greater extent than B2B alliance partners, although trust will be harder to build in B2N alliances. (shrink)

Recent downward trends in corporate giving have renewed interest in the factors that shape corporate philanthropy. This paper examines the relationships between charitable contributions, firm size and industry. Improvements over previous studies include an IRS data base that covers a much broader range of firm sizes and industries as compared to previous studies and estimation using an instrumental variable technique that explicitly addresses potential simultaneity between charitable contributions and profitability. Important findings provide evidence of a cubic relationship between charitable giving (...) and firm size and evidence of strong industry effects. The plus-minus-plus regression coefficient sign pattern for the cubic firm size model suggests that small and large firms give more relative to total receipts with lower giving ratios among medium size firms. One interpretation for this finding is that small firms are close to the communities they serve while high visibility creates a need for large firm philanthropy. Strong industry effects provide evidence of inter-industry differences in giving culture and/or different public relations requirements across industries. (shrink)

Recent discussions in the area of corporate social responsibility suggest that organizational size has complex meanings and thus requires more scholarly attention. This article explores organizational size in the context of relative power in inter-organizational networks. To shed light on the ways relative power interacts with size we studied social responsibility practices among cleaning subcontractors in three firms of different sizes. Our focus on the network differentiates these firms on the basis of their size and sector. Semi-structured interviews were (...) used to trace cleaning subcontractors' CSR-related practices. We analyzed subjective reports and discursive practices involved in subcontractors' self-presentations. While the economic and philanthropic dimensions of social responsibility were presented by the cleaning subcontractors as independent of network constraints, the findings show that the legal and ethical dimensions were subject to large client-firm pressures. What we learn from our data is that the four dimensions of Carroll's model, the economic, legal, ethical, and philanthropic, should all develop from and be evaluated against a fifth root dimension of inter-personal commitment. (shrink)

We leverage insights and theories from the extensive inter-firm alliance literature to explore the effect of the sector of the partners on Firm-NGO (B2N) alliance governance. Our analysis suggests that the sector of the partners has an important impact on alliance governance, not only because it constrains the availability of some governance mechanisms but also because it makes alternative mechanisms available or relevant to the partners. Specifically, we predict that B2N alliances will rely on contracts, a restricted scope, and (...) non-equity hostages, such as reputational hostages and stakeholder involvement, rather than equity, leading to limited protection against opportunism. As a consequence, B2N alliance partners will need to rely on trust-based governance mechanisms to a greater extent than B2B alliance partners, although trust will be harder to build in B2N alliances. (shrink)

In stakeholder theory, most research on cooperation has been focused on inter-organizational collaboration field centered at the dyadic level, excluding the relational or network data. Relational or network data are important as the firms do not simply respond to each stakeholder individually but to an interaction of influences from the entire stakeholder set. The purpose of this article is to analyze the cooperation process among the firm and its stakeholders by considering the relational data and to describe the role (...) of the firm in such cooperation processes. The empirical evidence is provided by an inductive in-depth case study on the company 'Gas-Nat' and its stakeholders cooperating on the 'natural gas pipeline program' in Argentina. To do so, I combined both quantitative sociometric data and qualitative data from grounded theory and ethnographic observations. This research suggests a stakeholder cooperation model based on structural and relational factors. The results indicate that stakeholder cooperation is not just determined by stakeholder position, but they can vary depending on the political opportunity structure in the network and on the framing process. It was found that network structure may create a context for selective cooperation but doesn't explicitly determine it which is different from the previous research in stakeholder network literature. The role of the firm in the cooperation process was found as a tertius iungens role which implies to join, unite, or connect, and it is different from the existing prominent network literature of tertius gaudens. (shrink)

Cet article est consacré aux relations inter-institutionnelles et à la manière dont elles traduisent des principes généraux. Dans ce type de contexte, la communication et la délibération prennent en charge des tâches interprétatives ainsi que des opérations d’élaboration de compromis. Cela est illustré par l’exemple de l’allocation du pouvoir lorsque des principes généraux d’arrière-plan sont de nature à favoriser des migrations d’autorité. On examine ensuite le concept de marges de manoeuvre institutionnelles.

Prior work shows limited success in retail firms’ efforts to create socially responsible supply chains by enforcing suppliers’ compliance with labor standards, partly due to conflicting sourcing demands exerted on the supplier by siloed functional units within the retail firm. To ensure the substantive adoption of labor standards throughout its supply chain, we argue that the retail firm must improve their degree of “supply chain labor compliance integration” by minimizing cross-functional tensions in human capital, identities, processes and goals. We define (...) supply chain labor compliance integration, identify its determinant organizational practices that reduce cross-functional tensions, and explain the mechanisms by which it improves the retail firm’s supply chain labor standards performance. This work offers theoretical and practical insights on the retail firm’s capacity for managing socially responsible supply chains, and more broadly, on how systematically minimizing intra-organizational tensions arising in the pursuit of competing organizational priorities is a prerequisite for their simultaneous execution in inter-organizational business exchanges. (shrink)

Recent discussions in the area of corporate social responsibility suggest that organizational size has complex meanings and thus requires more scholarly attention. This article explores organizational size in the context of relative power in inter-organizational networks. To shed light on the ways relative power interacts with size we studied social responsibility practices among cleaning subcontractors in three firms of different sizes. Our focus on the network differentiates these firms on the basis of their size and sector. Semi-structured interviews were (...) used to trace cleaning subcontractors' CSR-related practices. We analyzed subjective reports and discursive practices involved in subcontractors' self-presentations. While the economic and philanthropic dimensions of social responsibility were presented by the cleaning subcontractors as independent of network constraints, the findings show that the legal and ethical dimensions were subject to large client-firm pressures. What we learn from our data is that the four dimensions of Carroll's model, the economic, legal, ethical, and philanthropic, should all develop from and be evaluated against a fifth root dimension of inter-personal commitment. (shrink)

In recent years, major disasters have figured prominently in the media. While corporate response to disasters may have raised corporate philanthropy to a new level, it remains an understudied phenomenon. This article draws on comparative research on corporate social responsibility (CSR) and corporate philanthropy to explore the geography of corporate philanthropic disaster response. The study analyzes donation announcements made by Fortune Global 500 firms from North America, Europe and Asia to look for regional patterns across three recent disasters: the South (...) Asian Tsunami, Hurricane Katrina, and the Kashmiri earthquake. The results reveal inter-regional differences in the overall likelihood of donations and in their cash value, in addition to the identification of home-region- and local presence effects. Implications for researchers and practitioners are discussed. (shrink)

In this study, we evaluate how individual virtues and inter-organizational management control systems influence buyer–supplier performance through relationship quality. Results from a sample of 232 firms confirm that virtues and IOMCS relate positively to relationship quality and performance, respectively. However, IOMCS lose their positive influence on relationship quality when considered along with virtues. That is, when both variables enter the regression model simultaneously, virtues win. This interesting finding has particular resonance at a time when research on ethics still needs (...) to reinforce its positive effects on the practice of management. (shrink)

In this study, we evaluate how individual virtues and inter-organizational management control systems influence buyer–supplier performance through relationship quality. Results from a sample of 232 firms confirm that virtues and IOMCS relate positively to relationship quality and performance, respectively. However, IOMCS lose their positive influence on relationship quality when considered along with virtues. That is, when both variables enter the regression model simultaneously, virtues win. This interesting finding has particular resonance at a time when research on ethics still needs (...) to reinforce its positive effects on the practice of management. (shrink)

Alliances and other forms of cooperation between firms often promise great benefits, for example, by the exchange of knowledge or co-specialization of resources. At the same time, the necessary actions to realize these benefits can augment vulnerability to opportunistic behaviour of partners. In addition to formal contracts to mitigate the resulting behavioural uncertainties, often, mechanisms, such as reputation or ethical values, are suggested as important supplements. However, when it comes to assessment of a specific cooperation opportunity, it is difficult to (...) account systematically for the economic consequences of these 'softer factors'. Therefore, this paper aims to surpass mere financial analysis of chance and risk and to integrate systematically both reputation and ethical values into an economic assessment of cooperative relationships. For this purpose, we develop a theoretical framework that is based on a simple-decision model to account for reputation and ethical values of potential partners as drivers of behavioural uncertainty reduction. We also discuss how this framework can be used to assess cooperative relationships and illustrate these ideas with reference to the inter-organizational accounting practices of a large drugstore chain and its suppliers. (shrink)

Alliances and other forms of cooperation between firms often promise great benefits, for example, by the exchange of knowledge or co‐specialization of resources. At the same time, the necessary actions to realize these benefits can augment vulnerability to opportunistic behaviour of partners. In addition to formal contracts to mitigate the resulting behavioural uncertainties, often, mechanisms, such as reputation or ethical values, are suggested as important supplements. However, when it comes to assessment of a specific cooperation opportunity, it is difficult to (...) account systematically for the economic consequences of these ‘softer factors’. Therefore, this paper aims to surpass mere financial analysis of chance and risk and to integrate systematically both reputation and ethical values into an economic assessment of cooperative relationships. For this purpose, we develop a theoretical framework that is based on a simple‐decision model to account for reputation and ethical values of potential partners as drivers of behavioural uncertainty reduction. We also discuss how this framework can be used to assess cooperative relationships and illustrate these ideas with reference to the inter‐organizational accounting practices of a large drugstore chain and its suppliers. (shrink)

This paper investigates the process through which firms and non-profit organizations reconcile divergent worldviews in the development of firm–NPO partnerships. Drawing on data from two long-lived firm–NPO partnerships, this study suggests that the dynamics of reconciliation in situations of institutional complexity can be better understood by examining how firms and NPOs manage the interplay of both market and social logics in an inter-organizational context. We have found that during the initial stages of collaboration, partners manage differences by engaging in (...) joint pilot projects and by demonstrating management’s commitment to the partnerships. Subsequently, after firms and NPOs sign a formal partnership agreement, they seek to maintain a sustainable mode of interaction by adopting three distinct mechanisms for managing tensions arising from the partnership: negotiating activity scope, monitoring and learning, and modifying organizational practices. Our research findings contribute to the literature on cross-sector partnership and institutional complexity by highlighting the means by which organizations reduce tensions associated with divergent institutional logics and maintain successful partnerships. (shrink)

Il est temps aujourd’hui de réfléchir au dialogue inter-religieux du point de vue d’une théologie pratique du dialogue . L’article aborde donc le dialogue à partir des questions de nos contemporains, liées pour une grande part aux effets de la mondialisation: quel vivre-ensemble dans des sociétés plurielles? quels liens entre religieux, politique et juridique? Des pistes sont ensuite proposées pour vivre les rencontres de manière féconde: entrer dans la dynamique des identités, être enraciné dans sa tradition, pouvoir entendre (...) des résonances chez l’autre, travailler ensemble à un avenir partagé, sans exclusion de quiconque. (shrink)

Allthough small business accounts for over 90% of businesses in U.K. and indeed elsewhere, they remain the largely uncharted area of ethics. There has not been any research based on the perspective of small business owners, to define what echical delemmas they face and how, if at all, they resolve them. This paper explores ethics from the perspective of small business owner, using focus groups and reports on four clearly identifiable themes of ethical delemmas; entrepreneurial activity itself, conflicts of personal (...) values with business needs, social responsibility and the impact of owners' personality on business ethics. The mechanisms for resolving ethical dilemmas is not at all clear, as there appears to be a web of filters which are used in an inter-connected way. However a common starting point for resolving an ethical delemma which involves others is based on identifying who it is (e.g., a friend or institution) and the quality of the relationship with that person. The research yielded a rich source of material on business ethics and it is clear that future researchers must focus on this sector if business ethics is to make significant advances. (shrink)

L'article propose une analyse comparative des positions de Popper et de Kuhn sur quatre points liés : la comparaison des « cadres théoriques » ou des « paradigmes scientifiques » ; le pouvoir contraignant que sont susceptibles d'avoir les arguments invoqués dans les discussions critiques ; les éléments qui, en fin de compte, pèsent ou doivent peser sur les praticiens lorsqu'il s'agit d'élire un cadre théorique au détriment d'un autre ; et enfin, la conception qu'ont chacun des deux auteurs (...) de ce que Kuhn a nommé la « science normale ». On commence par discuter en détails les comptes-rendus dans lesquels Popper explique pourquoi les choix scientifiques de Galilée et de Kepler sont conformes à la méthodologie falsificationniste. On montre de là, premièrement, qu'à suivre à la lettre ces comptes-rendus, il faut conclure que les données expérimentales non problématiques – les énoncés de base unanimement acceptés – ne suffisent pas à elles seules à imposer en droit la falsification empirique (puisque sur la base des mêmes mesures de Tycho Brahé, Kepler a eu raison d'admettre que l'hypothèse des orbites circulaires était empiriquement réfutée, tandis que Galilée a eu raison d'admettre le contraire). On montre alors, deuxièmement, qu'au-delà des différences importantes entre Popper et Kuhn au niveau des lexiques et de l'idéal de scientificité, la méthodologie poppérienne, bien qu'elle se revendique « logique », ne donne concrètement pas plus que la conception kuhnienne pourtant si souvent stigmatisée comme « sociologique », lorsqu'il s'agit d'indiquer ce qu'un bon scientifique devrait faire, que ce soit en période « révolutionnaire » ou en période de « science normale ». (shrink)

L’article propose une analyse comparative des positions de Popper et de Kuhn sur quatre points liés : la comparaison des « cadres théoriques » ou des « paradigmes scientifiques » ; le pouvoir contraignant que sont susceptibles d’avoir les arguments invoqués dans les discussions critiques ; les éléments qui, en fin de compte, pèsent ou doivent peser sur les praticiens lorsqu’il s’agit d’élire un cadre théorique au détriment d’un autre ; et enfin, la conception qu’ont chacun des deux auteurs (...) de ce que Kuhn a nommé la « science normale ». On commence par discuter en détails les comptes-rendus dans lesquels Popper explique pourquoi les choix scientifiques de Galilée et de Kepler sont conformes à la méthodologie falsificationniste. On montre de là, premièrement, qu’à suivre à la lettre ces comptes-rendus, il faut conclure que les données expérimentales non problématiques — les énoncés de base unanimement acceptés — ne suffisent pas à elles seules à imposer en droit la falsification empirique (puisque sur la base des mêmes mesures de Tycho Brahé, Kepler a eu raison d’admettre que l’hypothèse des orbites circulaires était empiriquement réfutée, tandis que Galilée a eu raison d’admettre le contraire). On montre alors, deuxièmement, qu’au-delà des différences importantes entre Popper et Kuhn au niveau des lexiques et de l’idéal de scientificité, la méthodologie poppérienne, bien qu’elle se revendique « logique », ne donne concrètement pas plus que la conception kuhnienne pourtant si souvent stigmatisée comme « sociologique », lorsqu’il s’agit d’indiquer ce qu’un bon scientifique devrait faire, que ce soit en période « révolutionnaire » ou en période de « science normale ». (shrink)

1. Firmly grounded in Political Discourse Theory (PDT), this article is a study of how the spatial–political imaginary of conservative Protestants in nineteenth-century Derry city, a contested spac...

L’article propose une analyse comparative des positions de Popper et de Kuhn sur quatre points liés : la comparaison des « cadres théoriques » ou des « paradigmes scientifiques » ; le pouvoir contraignant que sont susceptibles d’avoir les arguments invoqués dans les discussions critiques ; les éléments qui, en fin de compte, pèsent ou doivent peser sur les praticiens lorsqu’il s’agit d’élire un cadre théorique au détriment d’un autre ; et enfin, la conception qu’ont chacun des deux auteurs (...) de ce que Kuhn a nommé la « science normale ». On commence par discuter en détails les comptes-rendus dans lesquels Popper explique pourquoi les choix scientifiques de Galilée et de Kepler sont conformes à la méthodologie falsificationniste. On montre de là, premièrement, qu’à suivre à la lettre ces comptes-rendus, il faut conclure que les données expérimentales non problématiques — les énoncés de base unanimement acceptés — ne suffisent pas à elles seules à imposer en droit la falsification empirique (puisque sur la base des mêmes mesures de Tycho Brahé, Kepler a eu raison d’admettre que l’hypothèse des orbites circulaires était empiriquement réfutée, tandis que Galilée a eu raison d’admettre le contraire). On montre alors, deuxièmement, qu’au-delà des différences importantes entre Popper et Kuhn au niveau des lexiques et de l’idéal de scientificité, la méthodologie poppérienne, bien qu’elle se revendique « logique », ne donne concrètement pas plus que la conception kuhnienne pourtant si souvent stigmatisée comme « sociologique », lorsqu’il s’agit d’indiquer ce qu’un bon scientifique devrait faire, que ce soit en période « révolutionnaire » ou en période de « science normale ». (shrink)

Abstract:Opportunism impacts the behavior of firms in market situations where they purchase goods and services externally and create dependency relationships with other firms. Opportunism as a business issue is addressed in economics and marketing literature as an important factor in transaction cost analysis and market governance. Management and business ethics scholars, however, do not address this issue in depth, if at all.The recent bankruptcy of MCI WorldCom highlights some of the risks inherent in a world economy where customers and companies (...) of one society are dependent upon the business practices of partner companies in other societies. Telecommunications customers and companies in Asia, Europe and other places, who depended upon MCI WorldCom for connections to North America, now have important areas of their business in jeopardy because of the uncertainty about the fate of a critical business partner.MCI WorldCom’s situation appears to be the result of an attempt to obtain personal gain, at the expense of others, by at least one senior manager. This is called opportunism. Williamson (1985) defined opportunism as “self-interest seeking with guile.” It can wreak havoc with companies, customers, stock markets and economies and is demonstrated regularly in press accounts of misstatements on financial reports and other ways senior managers use their positions to enhance their personal wealth and influence.This paper will focus on the ethical issues surrounding business relationships and how Confucianism, with its focus on trust, reciprocity and mutual benefit in relationships, can offer a moral foundation to the inter-firm arrangements that are so much a part of the contemporary business landscape. (shrink)

In this article, we shift the usual analytical attention of the GPN framework from lead firms to suppliers in the network and from production to IT services. Our focus is on how Indian IT suppliers embed in the Netherlands along the threefold characterization of societal, territorial and network embeddedness. We argue that Indian IT suppliers attempt to display societal embeddedness when they move to The Netherlands. Our findings reveal that the endeavour by Indian IT suppliers to territorially dis-embed from the (...) Dutch context is reinforced by their peripheral position in the network and their ability to offshore work in a bid to contain costs, in addition to the influence of client domination. Therefore, territorial embeddedness is considered to be secondary to societal embeddedness which is intertwined with client interest while neglecting the interest of other network members. Nonetheless, the inter-firm relationship is complex, given the tension between societal, territorial and network embeddedness. While preferring Indian IT suppliers because of their low pricing, Dutch clients also insist on compliance with the institutional context of the Netherlands especially when it comes to Dutch employees. This results in hybridization which means that Indian IT suppliers find ways to adhere to the institutional framework for Dutch nationals while simultaneously insulating Indian employees from the same. Consequently, a highly unfair segmented internal labour market develops, with Dutch nationals being treated more favourably as compared to Indian nationals. Nonetheless, to address these violations, Indian employees prefer individual strategies of resilience and rework rather than a collectivization response. (shrink)

Abstract:Opportunism impacts the behavior of firms in market situations where they purchase goods and services externally and create dependency relationships with other firms. Opportunism as a business issue is addressed in economics and marketing literature as an important factor in transaction cost analysis and market governance. Management and business ethics scholars, however, do not address this issue in depth, if at all.The recent bankruptcy of MCI WorldCom highlights some of the risks inherent in a world economy where customers and companies (...) of one society are dependent upon the business practices of partner companies in other societies. Telecommunications customers and companies in Asia, Europe and other places, who depended upon MCI WorldCom for connections to North America, now have important areas of their business in jeopardy because of the uncertainty about the fate of a critical business partner.MCI WorldCom’s situation appears to be the result of an attempt to obtain personal gain, at the expense of others, by at least one senior manager. This is called opportunism. Williamson (1985) defined opportunism as “self-interest seeking with guile.” It can wreak havoc with companies, customers, stock markets and economies and is demonstrated regularly in press accounts of misstatements on financial reports and other ways senior managers use their positions to enhance their personal wealth and influence.This paper will focus on the ethical issues surrounding business relationships and how Confucianism, with its focus on trust, reciprocity and mutual benefit in relationships, can offer a moral foundation to the inter-firm arrangements that are so much a part of the contemporary business landscape. (shrink)

This paper develops a Foucauldian analytics of resistance in relation to components of a system of governance – a governmentality. Techniques of resistance that can transform a governmentality towards the development of a new politics of truth require the design of techniques of resistance to counter directly oppressive techniques of biopower and disciplinary power, in turn to produce new regimes of practices or counter-conduct that can engender a new mentality and set of discourses to convey it. Strategies of resistance towards (...) transformative change in the governance of a population as well as of the self therefore require development following, and in relation to, an analytics of governance. I thread these points through a particular case, the problem of care for the infirm elderly in the United States, focusing specifically on nursing homes by critically synthesizing issues from inter-disciplinary literatures and casting them in terms of governmentalities. I frame the problems of eldercare broadly in terms of interrelated neoliberal and scientific mentalities and associated discourses, and then examine the associated techniques of biopower, disciplinary power, and regimes of practices to identify roots of problems, explain failures of policies, and crucially, to frame the design of techniques of resistance to produce new regimes of counter-conduct. I suggest avenues of resistance in relation to existing governmentalities on the terrain of inter-firm relations and everyday life in nursing-home care, all currently entangled with government policies, economies of documentation, and dehumanizing scientific practice. (shrink)

The importance of organizational ambidexterity was stressed in different fields of management. This study was using a distinct method to measure the differences in the degree of ambidexterity to bridge the gap with the previous studies and to provide more insights in the successful management of exploitation and exploration. This study surveyed Taiwanese small and medium-sized enterprises to test the hypotheses. We issued 1000 questionnaires in total and received 234 valid ones. Results indicate exploitative and explorative capabilities exerting non-linear effect (...) on performance. Likewise, ambidexterity and its interaction with market orientation have positive influence on firm performance. This study used structural equation modeling to analyze data, as this approach is known to be particularly advantageous for the exploratory nature of this study. We also used hierarchical regression analysis to test interaction and moderating effects. The study contributes to the literature in two ways. First, we offer a clearer understanding of the complete concept of social capital, including inter-firm and intra-firm social capital, and how contributes to improving and extending existing exploitative capabilities. Second, this study outlines how market orientation can have different effects on an ambidextrous strategy that is adopted to improve Taiwanese SMEs performance. (shrink)

This article provides a new mechanism in understanding how partner heterogeneity moderates an alliance's ability to advance corporate social responsibility goals. I identified the antecedents for firms to select a more diverse set of partners and explored whether more diverse alliances (especially cross-sector alliances) may facilitate partners to achieve more proactive environmental outcomes. I employ 146 environmental alliances formed in the U.S. between 1990 and 2009 to test the assertions. Results suggest that firms with innovative orientation and alliance experiences tend (...) to choose a more diverse set of partners (especially cross-sector partners); and such partner heterogeneity in turn moderates an alliance's environmental outcomes—compared to inter-firm alliances, cross-sector alliances are more likely to facilitate partners to pursue more proactive environmental strategies. (shrink)

This article maintains that a new wave in the development of the productive forces of society triggered by the revolution in information and communication technologies is taking place. Production carried out by single organizations is increasingly replaced by forms of production that are based on close long-term collaboration between specialized firms. This transition reflects the increasing importance of research and development as well as collective learning in business competition. New information and communication technologies enable new forms of distributed and collaborative (...) knowledge creation and learning. The article explores an emerging new form of innovation-oriented inter-firm collaboration called co-configuration and the new kind of dualistic agency it seems to be calling for. In this form of collaboration the traditional boundary between producer and provider as well as the boundaries between product development, sales and maintenance within the provider organization become blurred. The article presents a case of the development of co-configuration work in the provision of optimization software for pulp production. The case shows some of the contradictions involved in this new form of collaboration and the development of a new kind of object-oriented collaborative agency mediated through a real-time information and communication technological platform and uniting two processes of continuous development. (shrink)

:Opportunism impacts the behavior of firms in market situations where they purchase goods and services externally and create dependency relationships with other firms. Opportunism as a business issue is addressed in economics and marketing literature as an important factor in transaction cost analysis and market governance. Management and business ethics scholars, however, do not address this issue in depth, if at all.The recent bankruptcy of MCI WorldCom highlights some of the risks inherent in a world economy where customers and companies (...) of one society are dependent upon the business practices of partner companies in other societies. Telecommunications customers and companies in Asia, Europe and other places, who depended upon MCI WorldCom for connections to North America, now have important areas of their business in jeopardy because of the uncertainty about the fate of a critical business partner.MCI WorldCom’s situation appears to be the result of an attempt to obtain personal gain, at the expense of others, by at least one senior manager. This is called opportunism. Williamson defined opportunism as “self-interest seeking with guile.” It can wreak havoc with companies, customers, stock markets and economies and is demonstrated regularly in press accounts of misstatements on financial reports and other ways senior managers use their positions to enhance their personal wealth and influence.This paper will focus on the ethical issues surrounding business relationships and how Confucianism, with its focus on trust, reciprocity and mutual benefit in relationships, can offer a moral foundation to the inter-firm arrangements that are so much a part of the contemporary business landscape. (shrink)

Research into strategic alliances has traditionally focused on motivation and performance. More recently, network dynamics and alliances as complex and evolving arrangements are emerging areas for investigation. Thus far, little research has been undertaken that integrates these emerging themes in the context of the impact of deteriorating exogenous environments on network alliances. -/- The ICT industry provides such a context, with the rapid deterioration of fortunes in the industry as a result of equity market moves since early 2000. This research (...) looks at the Bluetooth consortium, a loosely framed network of firms involved in the development and commercialization of wireless technical applications for information technology based products. It finds that matters related to intellectual property ownership and inter-firm coordination in complex product development have been problematic, with the deterioration of environmental munificence driving a slowing of network investment and product development success. (shrink)

Aspects of the Japanese human resources management system are discussed to illustrate the underly ing significance of human values in Japanese organizational management, with a particular aspect of Japanese human resource management used as an illustrative case. Relevant literature is reviewed to introduce the relational Japanese management and human resources management systems, and to explain the system of inter-firm employee transfer within the corporate group known as the 'shukko' system. The paper then discusses various impacts of this HRM practice (...) upon major stakehold ers and identifies otherwise redundant employees as major beneficiaries of the system, thereby demon strating that human values are critical to the conceptualization and application of Japanese human resources management practices. (shrink)

Inter-organizational models are both a well-documented phenomena and a well-established domain in management and business ethics. Those models rest on collaborative capabilities. However, mainstream theories and practices aimed at developing these capabilities are based on a narrow set of assumptions and ethical principles about human nature and relationships, which constrain the very development of capabilities sought by them. This article presents an Aristotelic–Thomistic approach to collaborative entrepreneurship within and across communities of firms operating in complementary markets. Adopting a scholarship (...) of integration approach and evaluating the six studies of communities of organizations, we contribute an inter-organizational network model based on the assumptions about human motives and choice offered by Aristotle. We argue that the sustainability of inter-organizational communities depends on how rich is the set of assumptions about human nature upon which they are based. In order to develop and sustain collaborative capabilities in inter-organizational communities, a set of assumptions that takes both self-regarding and others’-regarding preferences as ends is required to avoid any kind of instrumentalization of collaboration, which is an end in itself. Implications for theory and practice are discussed. (shrink)

We propose adding a temporal dimension to stakeholder management theory, and assess the implications thereof for firm-level competitive advantage. We argue that a firm’s competitive advantage fundamentally depends on its capacity for stakeholder management related, transformational adaptation over time. Our new temporal stakeholder management approach builds upon insights from both the resource-based view (RBV) in strategic management and institutional theory. Stakeholder agendas and their relative salience to the firm evolve over time, a phenomenon well understood in the literature, and requiring (...) what we call level 1 adaptation. However, the dominant direction of stakeholder pressures can also change, namely, from supporting resource heterogeneity at the firm level to fostering industry homogeneity, and vice versa. When dominant stakeholder pressures shift from supporting heterogeneity towards stimulating homogeneity in industry, the firm must engage in level 2 or transformational adaptation. Stakeholders typically provide valuable resources to the firm in an early stage . Without these resources, which foster heterogeneity (in line with RBV thinking), the firm would not exist. At a later stage , stakeholders also contribute to inter-firm homogeneity via isomorphism pressures (in line with institutional theory thinking). Adding a temporal dimension to stakeholder management theory has far reaching implications for this theory’s practical relevance to senior level management in business. (shrink)

This paper provides an empirical case study of the relationship between corporate social responsibility (CSR) and the new competition regulation in the Netherlands. The leading question in this case study is whether the new institutional arrangement has allowed for the possibility that reasonable exceptions can be made to the principle that inter-firm cooperation is prohibited. That is to say: does the new institutional arrangement allow for the possibility of 'well organized but not 'perfect' markets'? The investigation focuses on the (...) Netherlands, which constitutes an exemplary case as the Dutch are committed to both strengthen the competitiveness of the market and allow for exceptions on behalf of non-economic values such as CSR. The authors expect that the Dutch context will prevent a doctrinal and categorical rejecting of any good argument to make an exception to the rule that inter-firm cooperation must be prohibited. (shrink)

This paper provides an empirical case study of the relationship between corporate social responsibility (CSR) and the new competition regulation in the Netherlands. The leading question in this case study is whether the new institutional arrangement has allowed for the possibility that reasonable exceptions can be made to the principle that inter-firm cooperation is prohibited. That is to say: does the new institutional arrangement allow for the possibility of `well organized but not `perfect’ markets’? The investigation focuses on the (...) Netherlands, which constitutes an exemplary case as the Dutch are committed to both strengthen the competitiveness of the market and allow for exceptions on behalf of non-economic values such as CSR. The authors expect that the Dutch context will prevent a doctrinal and categorical rejecting of any good argument to make an exception to the rule that inter-firm cooperation must be prohibited. (shrink)

This article analyzes and compares the dynamically changing outcomes of anti-sweatshop campaigns in France and Switzerland through a qualitative comparative case study using interviews and analysis of firsthand and secondary data. In both countries, some targeted firms made early concessions and later withdrew from those concessions. To explain these changing outcomes over time, the article develops a perspective that puts emphasis on interaction phases and highlights corporate strategic responses to anti-sweatshop movement demands. Analyzing those responses as driven by legitimacy contests (...) between companies and activists, the study explains why anti-sweatshop movements had significant outcomes early on and shows the mechanisms that allowed firms to withdraw from initial concessions at a later stage. In the course of changing interaction dynamics and contexts, companies developed strategies building on competing sources of legitimacy to circumvent movement demands. The companies thereby compensated for the legitimacy losses inflicted by their withdrawal from earlier concessions and the legitimacy deficits of other solutions. The analysis reveals three strategies firms used to achieve and compensate legitimacy and discusses their contextual combination comparing the two cases: inter-firm cooperation, ethical product labels originating in collaborations with competing social movement actors, and publicly fighting back against campaign makers. (shrink)

Personalist Economics: Moral Convictions, Economic Realities, and Social Action examines the nature of the worker and consumer from a personalist perspective, comparing that body of knowledge to what is received from conventional economics. A running theme throughout this book is that personalist economics is attentive to both aspects of human material need - physical need and the need for work as such - in a way that does not disregard human wants. Accordingly, this book is more concerned about the philosophical (...) base and description of the economy's significant characteristics than social economic policy. Personalist Economics explores four dimensions of particularly acute human physical need: unemployment, poverty, homelessness, and death. In addressing these four aspects of need, the book delves into the second and third domains of social economics: description of the significant characteristics of the economy, and social economic policy. In the same way, Personalist Economics explores two types of economic cooperation - supra-firm alliances and inter-firm partnerships - as means for addressing certain aspects of human material need. This book concludes with a lengthy discussion of the challenges facing personalist economics in the years ahead. (shrink)

AbstractIntegrity is considered an important corporate value. Yet recent global events have highlighted the challenges firms face at living up to their stated values, especially when extended supply chain partners are involved. The concept of Supply Chain Integrity (SCI) can help firms shift focus beyond internal corporate integrity, toward supply chain integrity. Researchers and managers will benefit from an understanding of the SCI concept toward implementing SCI to better align supply chain partners with stated corporate values. This research fully develops (...) and empirically grounds the firm-level, inter-firm-oriented SCI concept. The thematic analysis of six firms’ archival and website content elaborated empirical descriptions of SCI themes and enabled the development of a process model for SCI, presenting a novel view of the underlying process by which firms can assess, develop, and maintain SCI across their supply chains. We propose the SCI model as an evolutionary process to improve a firm’s supply chain sustainability, rather than a dichotomous end state where firms either “have” integrity or they don’t. The SCI model could be used as a tool to help leaders create necessary change to better align values and supporting statements with culture, while influencing and affecting stakeholders across the supply chain. This is particularly important in today’s world, where business leaders must consider all stakeholders and address important stakeholder-driven issues such as supply chain sustainability, resilience, and security, which are now at the forefront in the ever-changing environment. (shrink)

The enterprise network is of great significance in explaining the risk-taking of individual firm. However, some unobservable networks hidden in different firms have long been neglected. Using the text data of the annual reports of China’s listed firms from 2007 to 2018, this paper adopts a textual analysis method to capture the managers’ perceptions of pressure, and build a special kind of hidden inter-firm networks, that is, the perceived competition networks of managers. In addition, this paper discusses the impact (...) of network characteristics on corporate risk-taking behavior. Empirically, there is a positive association between competition strength and corporate risk-taking, as well as the density of perceived competition network. Furthermore, this paper explores the risk-taking behaviors of peer firms in focal firm’s perceived competition network, and finds that the improvement of peer firms’ risk-taking significantly increases the risk bearing level of focal firm, that is, the positive spillover effect of risk-taking behavior among firms in perceived competition networks. Moreover, managers’ personal traits significantly moderate the impact of network characteristics on corporate risk-taking, which is mainly reflected in younger and male managers. Our findings can enrich the literature on social interactions and corporate behaviors, and help firms to improve their understanding of perceptible peer firms. (shrink)

During the last decade, the interaction based models have received increased attention in economics, mainly with the recognition that modeling aggregate patterns of behavior requires viewing individuals in their social environments continuously in interaction with each other. The existing literature suggests that statistical mechanics tools can be useful to model interactions among economic agents. In addition to statistical mechanics, the network approach has also gained popularity, as is evident in the rising attention attributed to small world models and scale free (...) network topologies. These developments point to the fact that interdisciplinary research in economics, mainly using the tools of physics has accelerated to a great extent. In this paper, we review the analogies made between molecules and economic agents in statistical mechanics models, as they are utilized in economics literature. We perform a simulation study by using the small world model and statistical mechanics, to demonstrate the influence of network structure in the spreading of organizational forms, in particular the research collaboration decisions of firms. (shrink)