Gerard George

Absorptive Capacity: A Review, Reconceptualization, and Extension

Researchers have used the absorptive capacity construct to explain various organizational phenomena. In this article we review the literature to identify key dimensions of absorptive capacity and offer a reconceptualization of this construct. Building upon the dynamic capabilities view of the firm, we distinguish between a firms potential and realized capacity. We then advance a model outlining the conditions when the firms potential and realized capacities can differentially influence the creation and sustenance of its competitive advantage.

A Capabilities Perspective on the Effects of Early Internationalization on Firm Survival and Growth

Recent critiques of internationalization process models question the wisdom of delaying internationalization. Internationalizing late allows firms to assemble resources and gain experience but also allows inertia to develop. We resolve this tension by positing that internationalization has differing effects on firm survival and growth. These effects are moderated by organizational age, managerial experience, and resource fungibility. Our framework provides insights into the evolution of capabilities across borders and may be tested and built upon by organization researchers.

National culture and entrepreneurship: a review of behavioral research

Conceptual arguments for the association between cultural characteristics and entrepreneurship have existed for decades but only in the last 10 years has this relationship been the focus of empirical scrutiny. In this article, we review and synthesize the findings of 21 empirical studies that examine the association between national cultural characteristics and aggregate measures of entrepreneurship, individual characteristics of entrepreneurs, and aspects of corporate entrepreneurship. The study concedes that a predominant number of empirical studies have used Hofstedes conceptualization of national culture and that other domains have been underdeveloped. A preliminary model that integrates past findings is extended. The review highlights fruitful avenues for future research.

The Business Model in Practice and its Implications for Entrepreneurship Research

While the term “business model” has gained widespread use in the practice community, the academic literature on this topic is fragmented and confounded by inconsistent definitions and construct boundaries. In this study, we review prior research and reframe the business model with an entrepreneurial lens. We report on a discourse analysis of 151 surveys of practicing managers to better understand their conceptualization of a business model. We find that the underlying dimensions of the business model are resource structure, transactive structure, and value structure, and discuss the nature and implications of dimensional dominance for firm characteristics and behavior. These findings provide new directions for theory development and empirical studies in entrepreneurship by linking the business model to entrepreneurial cognition, opportunity co–creation, and organizational outcomes.

The effects of business-university alliances on innovative output and financial performance: a study of publicly traded biotechnology companies

Abstract Companies in the biotechnology industry face major challenges in developing and commercializing new products. Focusing on publicly traded biotechnology firms that are not members of university incubators or research parks, this paper argues that the links these companies develop with universities can have beneficial effects on a companys operations. Analysis of 2457 alliances undertaken by 147 biotechnology firms shows that companies with university linkages have lower research and development (R&D) expenses while having higher levels of innovative output. However, the results do not support the proposition that companies with university linkages achieve higher financial performance than similar firms without such linkages.

The effects of alliance portfolio characteristics and absorptive capacity on performance A study of biotechnology firms

Abstract In many high technology industries, strategic alliances have become important for improving a firms financial performance by providing knowledge that can be used to develop the capabilities needed to introduce new products. Therefore, researchers have examined those characteristics of alliances that can contribute to the performance of high technology companies. There is agreement that the structure and knowledge flows within alliances can affect a firms innovativeness. However, to date, researchers have studied alliances as individual events or transactions, failing to recognize their synergistic effects as a coherent portfolio. Viewing alliances as a portfolio of strategic agreements, we suggest that portfolio characteristics will be associated with a high technology firms innovative and financial performance. Also, we suggest that portfolio characteristics will influence absorptive capacity. We test these propositions using a sample of 2456 alliances formed by 143 biopharmaceutical firms. The results indicate that alliance portfolio characteristics and absorptive capacity jointly influence performance. The implications of these findings for high technology firms are discussed.

Ownership and the Internationalization of Small Firms

Small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) play an important role in international markets. This study argues that the ownership structures of SMEs influence their proclivity to take risks and expand the scale and scope of their internationalization efforts. Data from 889 Swedish SMEs reveal that internal owners (CEOs and other senior executives) tend to be risk averse and have a lower proclivity to increase scale and scope of internationalization than external owners (venture capitalists and institutional investors). The results provide interesting insights into the behavioral change of executives regarding the scale and scope of internationalization in the presence of external ownership.

Senior Team Attributes and Organizational Ambidexterity: The Moderating Role of Transformational Leadership

Organizations capable of pursuing exploration and exploitation simultaneously have been suggested to obtain superior performance. Combining both types of activities and achieving organizational ambidexterity, however, leads to the presence of multiple and often conflicting goals, and poses considerable challenges to senior teams in ambidextrous organizations. This study explores the role of senior team attributes and leadership behaviour in reconciling conflicting interests among senior team members and achieving organizational ambidexterity. Findings indicate that a senior team shared vision and contingency rewards are associated with a firms ability to combine high levels of exploratory and exploitative innovations. In addition, our study shows that an executive directors transformational leadership increases the effectiveness of senior team attributes in ambidextrous organizations and moderates the effectiveness of senior team social integration and contingency rewards. Hence, our study clarifies how senior executives reconcile conflicting demands and facilitate the balancing of seemingly contradictory forces in ambidextrous organizations. Implications for literatures on senior team attributes, transformational leadership and organizational ambidexterity are discussed.

The Net-Enabled Business Innovation Cycle and the Evolution of Dynamic Capabilities

Wheelers Net-Enabled Business Innovation Cycle (NEBIC) integrates IS and strategy research to offer an interesting and timely perspective on value creation. We extend Wheelers theoretical propositions, highlighting the interplay between strategy, IS, and entrepreneurship in a quest for competitive advantage. This interplay is crucial to the creation of the dynamic capabilities that enable companies to gain an advantage through NEBIC. The importance of opportunity recognition and absorptive capacity in bringing about the changes that make NEBIC viable is also highlighted.

The Effects of Culture and Structure on Strategic Flexibility During Business Model Innovation

This study uses responses from 107 multinational firms to reveal CEO perceptions of the drivers of strategic flexibility during business model innovation. While the positive effect of creative culture is confirmed, partner reliance reduces strategic flexibility during business model innovation. Further, structural change is disaggregated into efforts that either focus managerial attention on core activities or reconfigure existing activities. CEOs perceive that structural flexibility requires structural simplification while retaining control of non-core functions. We find that the relative magnitude of business model innovation effort moderates the effect of reconfiguration on strategic flexibility. The implications for theories of organizational design and dynamic capabilities are discussed.