Journal of Strategy and Management

Celse, Jérémy; Chang, Kirk; Max, Sylvain; Quinton, Sarah

2016 Journal of Strategy and Management

doi: 10.1108/JSMA-02-2015-0015

Purpose– The purpose of this paper is to analyse employees’ lying behaviour and its findings have important implication for the management and prevention strategies of lying in the workplace. Employee lying has caused both reputational and financial damage to employers, organisations and public authorities. This study adopts a psycho-cognitive perspective to examine the mechanism of lying reduction and the influence envy has on lying behaviour. Design/methodology/approach– Incorporating social comparison phenomenon and cognate studies this study suggests that envy may restrain people from lying in the workplace. Specific hypotheses are developed and tested with 271 participants using dice game scenarios. Findings– Research findings have found that people are likely to lie if lying brings them benefits. However, the findings also reveal that the envy aroused between two people may act as a psychological barrier to reduce the tendency to lie. Originality/value– The research findings have provided an alternative perspective to the current prevailing view of envy as a negative emotion. Envy need not always be negative. Envy can provide an internal drive for people to work harder and enhance themselves but it can also act as a brake mechanism and self-regulator to reduce lying, and thereby has a potentially positive value.

Purkayastha, Anish; Sharma, Sunil

2016 Journal of Strategy and Management

doi: 10.1108/JSMA-07-2014-0060

Purpose– The purpose of this paper is to report on an inductive research that analyzes the unique decisions of three firms that shape their business model and, consequently, provide a competitive advantage. Design/methodology/approach– Given the paucity of prior research on the effect that a firm’s business model has on its competitive advantage, addressing the research question warrants an in-depth qualitative study. The study requires explicitly capturing decisions from a firm’s chosen business model and how these decisions are linked to its competitive advantage. The authors take on an inductive research approach to study three longitudinal case studies of organizations that have either successfully implemented their adopted business model or are implementing unique business models. Findings– First, the authors identify nine different theoretically grounded propositions based on decisions taken by the firms the authors studied, which shape their business model and give them a competitive advantage. Second, the authors look at these decisions in an integrated manner and categorize these into structural decisions and strategic decisions. Third, the authors extend an existing line of thought that predominantly views the business model as complementary to a firm’s product or service innovation. The authors emphasize on the criticality of the business model as a higher level construct formed from multiple structural and strategic decisions that, eventually, become a source of competitive advantage. Originality/value– The findings help to identify a possible theoretical explanation of newer forms of organization, evolving from product, process or service innovation, combined with their unique business model. They help in guiding practitioners to identify sources of competitive advantage through the innovative business models.

Sukoco, Badri Munir

2016 Journal of Strategy and Management

doi: 10.1108/JSMA-10-2014-0086

Purpose– Equity contributions in joint ventures (JVs) formation are crucial and how firms decide to contribute its equity less has been explored. Based on the equity theory, the purpose of this paper is to argue that the perceived benefits-to-cost (B/C) ratio of their partners determines the level of contribution made by a focal firm. This study then argues that business relatedness, number of partners, and learning orientation in JVs are the determinants. The conditions that explain the moderating effects of business relatedness and number of partners on the likelihood of an equity contribution are also discussed. Design/methodology/approach– In total, 853 high tech industry ventures in USA spanning from 1995 to 2008 are used to test the developed hypotheses. Findings– A firm tends to employ disproportional equity contributions when their business highly related with its partners, which is similar to high number of partners dues to low B/C ratio. On the other hand, exploration JVs leads firms to employ proportional equity contributions. Further, this study shows that exploration learning positively moderates the effect of business relatedness on the likelihood of proportional equity contribution. Originality/value– This study extends the equity theory by integrating the logic of resource-based view and organizational learning into the formation of JVs.

Mory, Linda; Wirtz, Bernd W.; Göttel, Vincent

2016 Journal of Strategy and Management

doi: 10.1108/JSMA-12-2014-0097

Purpose– The purpose of this paper is to investigate how employees perceive corporate social responsibility (CSR) within their organizations, thus employees’ Internally Perceived CSR and how it impacts their organizational commitment. Design/methodology/approach– For conceptualizing, the constituents of Internally Perceived CSR – Individual CSR-Perception, Organizational CSR-Perception and their respective factors – are derived from social exchange theory, social identity theory and further relevant literature. The study’s research model is tested through a survey consulting 386 respondents from a company operating in renewable energies. Findings– The results lead to the following conclusions: Internally Perceived CSR strongly impacts employees’ Affective Organizational Commitment and comparatively low influences Normative Organizational Commitment. Moreover, Affective Organizational Commitment mediates Normative Organizational Commitment. Originality/value– The implementation of CSR has evolved to a crucial component of both organizational behavior and management. Nevertheless, the internal CSR-dimension has been largely neglected so far.

Chun, Douglas

2016 Journal of Strategy and Management

doi: 10.1108/JSMA-01-2015-0002

Purpose– The purpose of this paper is to consider the linkages between two theories of firm performance, aspiration theory and the resource-based view (RBV), possible ways in which these theories may interact, and how the culture from which the firm originated can be a factor in how the firm may react to Schumpeterian shock issues suggested in RBV of the firm. Design/methodology/approach– This paper takes a theoretical approach. Findings– Firms generally look to firms sharing their own cultural backgrounds when selecting similar others. However when the environment is no longer beneficial to firms sharing these goals and objectives, the focal firm may consider firms from other cultural backgrounds when forming aspiration levels. Research limitations/implications– Empirical studies would be necessary to verify these finding: do firms show a preference to firms from their own cultural backgrounds when choosing firms to serve as reference groups for goals and objectives? Would Schumpeterian Shocks cause firms to seek other firms outside of their own culture to set new goals and objectives? Practical implications– Firms should be aware of their own possible biases when deciding which firms to base its goals and objectives on, and widen the cultural scope of their competitive views to include firms from other cultural backgrounds, diversifying their repertoire of strategies and improving the survivability of the organization. Originality/value– The combination of different managerial theories is not common in management literature, and the author was unable to find an article combining the RBV, Aspiration Theory and cultural theories. If management theories are valid, then it is important to understand the relationships between these theories.

Kilubi, Irene

2016 Journal of Strategy and Management

doi: 10.1108/JSMA-01-2015-0008

Purpose– Strategic technology partnering (STP) is considered to be significant for the access to novel technologies that are unknown to organisations. However, the performance heterogeneities within organisations can be explained by STP capabilities. Hence, the purpose of this paper is threefold: first, to provide a classificatory framework by categorising the various STP capabilities; second, to draw conclusions from the analysis of the empirical findings; and third, to guide further publications and identify future research needs. Design/methodology/approach– The present paper adopts a systematic literature review (SLR) methodology. In this research, the extant empirical research on STP capabilities will first be classified and integrated within a classificatory framework. Lastly, the review insights will provide methodological suggestions along with theoretical themes for future research that have not been yet explored. Findings– The study findings show that there is a strong need for a clear and unified terminology for the distinctive capabilities of STP and research has mainly highlighted certain common capabilities while other essential ones lack analysis. The SLR further reveals that most research has been quantitative in nature relying on secondary database research. Originality/value– This SLR provides a thorough overview of prior research on STP capabilities investigating 65 articles published in highly ranked peer-reviewed journals, spanning a 22-year period from 1992 to 2014. In sum, his review structures extant STP capabilities literature into a proposed classificatory framework referred to as “CLONT-framework” and highlights its critical importance in strategic management and innovation research from a theoretical, empirical, and practical point of view.