Isabel Díez-Vial

Explaining Vertical Integration Strategies: Market Power, Transactional Attributes and Capabilities

We analyse vertical boundaries of firms by identifying and comparing industrial, transactional and firm-specific factors in such a way that industrial organization, new institutional economics and the capability-based view are all taken into account. After testing the model in 155 firms in the Spanish meat industry, we observe that only factors associated with both transaction costs and capabilities have a statistical and economic relevance for explaining vertical integration. Firms vertically integrate to create specific investment between stages of the value chain, to internally exploit their pool of knowledge and capacities, and to guarantee quality of inputs and services employed. On the other hand, firms avoid high levels of vertical integration in the presence of high demand changes in order to stay flexible. Finally, providers or clients with market power do not seem to affect vertical boundaries in any consistent way. Copyright Blackwell Publishing Ltd 2007.

Firm Size Effects on Vertical Boundaries

Firms vertically integrate to avoid dependence on external providers/clients. At the same time, vertical integration offers the possibility to exploit existing capabilities among similar stages and pursue flexibility. This article attempts to analyze how firm size affects these vertical integration drivers, proposing a model and testing it in 155 firms. For all firms, the decision to vertically integrate is a trade‐off; firms exchange greater flexibility for the security of lower opportunism and better use of their own capabilities. Results indicate that the impact of vertical integration is more noticeable in small firms than in large ones. As firms grow in size, they are less likely to worry about staying flexible and instead focus more on leveraging capabilities along the value chain.

Social capital as a driver of local knowledge exchange: a social network analysis

The objective of this paper is to take an in-depth look, from a network perspective, at the role that social capital plays in improving knowledge exchange between organizations. To do this, we consider the three dimensions of social capital: the structural dimension, as measured by the position of firms bridging structural holes; the relational dimension, as gauged by the level of trust and friendship in each relationship; and the cognitive dimension, as estimated by the presence of a shared culture. We also evaluate the level of organizational and human capital present in terms of the firms in the network. Empirical evidence has been gathered from the Madrid Science Park in Spain by applying the social network analysis methodology. The results show that the three dimensions of social capital play a significant role in increasing knowledge exchange in this network, while human and organizational capital differences are only significant for a sub-sample.

Internationalization pathways and the performance of SMEs

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to examine the effect of the chosen specific internationalization pathway on the relationship between internationalization and firm performance. Design/methodology/approach – This paper analyses the internationalization pathway among small- and medium-sized enterprises which internationalize through exporting and are more limited in terms of the resources they can leverage across markets. Findings – Empirical evidence obtained from a sample of wineries in La Rioja shows that the internationalization – export performance relationship is characterized by a U-shaped curve for firms with a gradual internationalization pathway, and an S-shaped curve for firms with an accelerated internationalization pathway. Research limitations/implications – This empirical study on the impact of export intensity on performance has acknowledged the importance of costs caused by the liability of foreignness and the transaction and coordination costs involved in each market expansion proce...

Intangible resources, export channel and performance: is there any fit?

As the resource-based view suggests, firms choose their export channel on the basis of their internal pool of resources. Following this approach, we firstly hypothesize that firms with intangible resources will establish direct export channels to better exploit, protect and develop their firm-specific resources. Secondly, we propose that firms that establish their export channel on the basis of their internal resources outperform those firms that do not. To obtain empirical evidence we used a Heckman two-step model for the DOC Rioja wine industry. The results confirm that firms improve their export performance when jointly considering internal resources and the export channel. Also, human resources are the most relevant intangible resources in our model. This paper contributes by offering empirical evidence on the exporting channel strategies chosen by Spanish wineries. This paper makes a theoretical contribution by examining the performance consequences of following the RBV approach. Likewise, it has important practical implications for managers, who can improve their firms export performance by assessing their internal resources before considering which export channel to choose.

Moderating influence of internal resources on cluster externalities

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to assess the benefits to firms arising from their geographical concentration; paying particular attention to the impact of specialized employees, information and knowledge spillovers and a collective reputation. Design/methodology/approach – The authors have taken into account two main approaches: a cluster one, where location may increase firms’ competitiveness; and the resource-based view, where internal resources are the key for firms’ success. Empirical evidence has been gathered from the Ham cluster in Spain combining secondary and primary data. The authors undertook a Tobit regression model since the dependent variable is limited. Findings – The authors observe that firms with human resources tend to benefit more from cluster externalities. On contrary, R&D and advertising investments induce firms to isolate themselves from crowded areas and prevent any local leakage. Research limitations/implications – It would be interesting to better understand the role tha...

The brokerage role of supporting organizations inside clusters: how does it work?

ABSTRACT The objective of this research is to examine in depth the brokerage roles that supporting institutions play in conducting local business and applying technical knowledge inside clusters. We identify three main roles: a coordination role, characterized by the efforts that organizations play in internally coordinating themselves and establishing a shared institutional framework; an interconnector role, where organizations foster communication along the value chain of the industry; and a gatekeeper role that allows organizations to connect cluster members with external networks. Results obtained in the Toy Valley cluster provide evidence that each kind of supporting organization tends to specialize in specific roles, since universities are best for a coordination role with regard to technical knowledge while private organizations are key for vertical communication and coordination. Similar results were obtained when analysing the extra-cluster contacts that these organizations develop as gatekeepers, as they tend to establish specific communication conduits with similar alters in external networks.

The effect of science and technology parks on firms’ performance: how can firms benefit most under economic downturns?

ABSTRACT The objective of this research is to evaluate the effect of the economic recession on the performance of firms located in science or technological parks. Compared to off-park firms, we propose that under an economic crisis park benefits are more noticeable, since firms located inside parks have less resource restraints and access to external sources of information and knowledge. Moreover, we observe that as firms invest on internal R&D, they tend to reinforce these park benefits. Empirical evidence gathered data on employment and sales from 2007 to 2012 for the group of firms which participated in the Spanish Technological Innovation Panel. The results confirm the positive role played by science and technology park locations under economic downturn environments, especially when firms investing in internal R&D.

Firm’s strategic choices and network knowledge dynamics: how do they affect innovation?

Purpose This paper aims to explain how the evolution of knowledge networks and firms’ strategic choices affect innovation. Endogenous factors associated with a path-dependent evolution of the knowledge network are jointly considered with a firm’s development of international relationships and increasing internal absorptive capacity over time. Design/methodology/approach In a biotech cluster, the authors gathered data on the firms’ characteristics and network relationships by asking about the technological knowledge they received in the cluster in 2007 and 2012 – “roster-recall” method. Estimation results were obtained using moderated regression analysis. Findings Firms that increase their involvement in knowledge networks over time also tend to increase their innovative capacity. However, efforts devoted to building international links or absorptive capacity negatively moderate the impact of network growth on innovation. Practical implications Practitioners have two alternative ways of increasing innovation inside knowledge networks: they can increase their centrality by developing their knowledge network interactions or invest in developing their internal absorptive capacity and new international sources of knowledge. Investing in both of these simultaneously does not seem to improve a firm’s innovative capacity. Originality/value Coupling firms’ strategic options with knowledge network dynamics provide a more complete way of explaining how firms can improve their innovative capacity.

How Local Knowledge Networks and Firm Internal Characteristics Evolve Across Time Inside Science Parks

In this chapter we analyze how firms’ characteristics, along with the network that each firm establishes, evolve through three different periods of time: incubation, growth, and maturity. We observe that as firms stay longer in the park, they have a higher number of direct relationships, and also these relationships tend to be stronger in terms of both frequency and friendship. Nevertheless, this higher level of interactions do not benefit firms in the same way, being the best period for improving innovation, the growth initial period, in which firms have between 3 and 6 years.