Augustine A. Lado

Strategic orientations, competitive advantage, and business performance

Abstract Internally oriented business units, externally oriented business units, and businesses with dual emphasis (which are internally and externally oriented) are analyzed with respect to their performance. The results of the empirical investigation reveal that the internally oriented and the externally oriented businesses have not achieved competitive advantage and are underperformers. The results also portray that the businesses with dual emphasis have achieved competitive advantage and perform well.

Expert Systems, Knowledge Development and Utilization, and Sustained Competitive Advantage: A Resource-Based Model

In this paper, we propose a resource-based model to explain how expert systems generate sustained competitive advantage for a firm. Speciftcally, we analyze the extent to which expert systems (ESs) exhibit the attributes of value, rareness, imperfect imitability, and non substitutability associated with a rent-generating resource (e.g., Barney, 1991). Then, we discuss how expert systems yield sustainable competitive advantage through fostering organizational knowledge development and utilization. Finally, we examine the role of ESs in engenden’ng a reciprocal, mutually enhancing relationship with organizational competencies, leading to sustained competitive advantage. Propositions are ofleered to facilitate future research.

Information systems and competitive advantage: a competency-based view

Abstract In this paper, we offer a competency-based view of how information systems (IS) can be used to achieve competitive advantage. Building on the resource-based research that links distinctive organizational competencies to sustainable competitive advantage, we argue that the potential contributions of IS to competitive advantage can be understood in terms of their impact on the development and utilization of distinctive organizational competencies. To explore the potential IS linkage to organizational competencies, we examine whether and to what extent IS can be used to foster and facilitate the development and utilization of three types of organizational competencies at the operational level: input-based competencies, transformation-based competencies and output-based competencies. Our analysis shows that IS may play an important role in enabling firms to develop and leverage these organizational competencies. We discuss research and managerial implications of the competency-based framework for the strategic management of IS.

MNC-Host Government Bargaining Power Relationship: A Critique and Extension Within the Resource-Based View

In this paper, we critique the literature on MNC-Host government bargaining power relationship, and propose an integrative theoretical model within the resource-based view of the firm. Recognizing that a firm’s bargaining power is directly related to rent generation, we analyze how firm-specific resources provide the basis of a sustainable bargaining power for the MNC vis-a-vis the host government. Furthermore, we identify several industry and country characteristics as moderators of the relationship between MNC resources and bargaining power. In the last section of the paper, we offer directions for future research and theory development in this area.

Customer focus, supply‐chain relational capabilities and performance : Evidence from US manufacturing industries

Purpose – This paper aims to investigate the extent to which a firms customer focus drives several interlinked facets of supply chain management and their relationships to customer service and financial performance.Design/methodology/approach – Drawing on diverse streams of research, the authors develop and test an integrated model in which customer focus is proposed to foster supply‐chain relational capabilities, leading to beneficial performance outcomes. This studys empirical validity is enhanced by collecting data from over 200 US manufacturing firms and testing the model using SEM.Findings – This empirical investigation documents significant positive relationships between (a) customer focus and supply‐chain relational capabilities, (b) customer focus and customer service, (c) supply‐chain relational capabilities and customer service, and (d) customer service and financial performance.Practical implications – This study holds the important implication for managers that, in order to be effective, sup...

Transfer of Technology to Promote Entrepreneurship in Developing Countries: An Integration and Proposed Framework

That entrepreneurship is vitally important to the economic development of a nation Is Indubitable. However, divergent approaches to promoting and fostering entrepreneurial development in the developing countries have been suggested. This paper explores the role of technology transfer to promote entrepreneurship in the LDCs. We argue that entrepreneurial development depends, among other things, on the technology content and context, mode of technology transfer, the recipient countrys level of economic development, and the absorptive capacity of local firms. Propositions and implications are offered to guide future research and practice in international entreprenuership.

Issues in Foreign OutsourcingFocus on Applications Development and Support.

The decision to outsource applications development and support to a foreign vendor involves not only the myriad issues pertinent to outsourcing in general, but a host of additional risks and challenges unique to firms operating in different legal and cultural environments. Careful assessment of these issues helps determine whether offshore outsourcing will realize its potential to reduce costs, improve software quality, and achieve economies of scale in skills acquisition.

Linking information technology to global business strategy to gain competitive advantage : an integrative model

While information technology has been recognized as critically important for supporting global business strategy, the contingent relationships between salient dimensions of an information technology and key sources of competitive advantage have not been systematically explicated and discussed in the literature. Instead, a universal view of the role of information technology in developing competitive advantage for a firm is often adopted. Taking a contingency perspective, this paper more systematically examines the links among global business strategies, global information technologies (GIT) and competitive advantage within an integrative framework. Additionally, the issue of sustainability of GIT-based competitive advantages is addressed using the conceptual tool kits of the I/O (industrial organization)-based and resource-based theories of strategic management. The proposed conceptual model provides an encompassing framework for future research on the increasingly important topic of global information technology and its potential to generate competitive advantage for firms.

Influences of relative rewards of top managers on firm performance

In this work the impacts of top managers’ relative rewards on firm performance are examined. What is suggested and empirically found is that greater disparities in interrank values of salary streams may lower the performance of more focused firms (such as single-product firms or related diversifiers). It is also suggested and found that higher gaps in interrank values of salary streams may boost the performance of less focused firms (unrelated diversifiers). In contrast, it is proposed and found that expanded differentials in interrank values of stock options may improve performance, regardless of the strategic profile of the enterprise. Moreover, it is contended and found that intrarank disparities in salary streams or options may adversely influence the performance of the more focused as well as the less focused firms.

Customer orientation, relationship quality, and performance: The third-party logistics provider’s perspective

Purpose Drawing on the customer value-based theory and the resource dependency theory, the purpose of this paper is to investigate how Chinese third-party logistics (3PL) providers leverage their customer orientation to improve operational performance directly in a stable environment or through building and maintaining high-quality 3PL relationships in an uncertain environment. Design/methodology/approach A survey-based approach is employed to collect data from managers at 132 3PL providers in mainland China. Confirmatory factor analysis is used to assess measures and hierarchical regression is utilized to test the hypothesized relationships. Findings This study documents significant positive effects of customer orientation and relationship quality on operational performance, as well as significant mediation effect of relationship quality. However, the effect of customer orientation on operational performance decreased, while the effect of relationship quality on operational performance became stronger, under high rather than low environmental uncertainty. Practical implications An important implication for managers based on this study is that, in order to be effective, Chinese 3PL providers would need to become more customer oriented and to continually develop and leverage high-quality 3PL relationships in order to enhance their operational performance, especially in situations of high environmental uncertainty. Originality/value The paper documents the importance of developing and leveraging high-quality 3PL relationships as a key mediator of the relationship between customer orientation and operational performance. It also documents how environmental uncertainty exerts a powerful moderating influence in this relationship, providing insights into understanding how customer orientation is leveraged by 3PL providers to improve their performance.