Michael Abebe

Board of directors and industry determinants of corporate philanthropy

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to extend the current research on corporate philanthropy and organizational outcomes by empirically exploring two specific types of antecedents: board of director composition and industry membership. Design/methodology/approach – A theoretical framework was developed based on the resource dependence and stakeholder theories which suggest that the extent that firms build relationship with certain stakeholders is closely tied to the personal and social background of board members, in turn influencing the allocation of resources to corporate philanthropy. Hierarchical multiple regression analysis as well as analysis of variance with post hoc comparisons was conducted using multi-year data philanthropic data from 104 US corporations. Findings – The results provided empirical support for a positive relationship between the number of female board directors and the level of corporate philanthropy. In addition, the results showed significant inter-industry variations in the ...

BOARD CHARACTERISTICS AND THE LIKELIHOOD OF BUSINESS MODEL INNOVATION ADOPTION: EVIDENCE FROM THE SMART HOME INDUSTRY

What role does the board of directors play in fostering organisational innovation? This study contributes to this conversation by exploring the relationship between board characteristics and business model innovation adoption. Drawing from resource dependence theory and using the smart home business model as our context, we examined the relationship among board size, CEO duality and proportion of outside directors on the likelihood of business model innovation adoption. Our analysis of 96 firms indicates that both board size and CEO duality significantly increase the likelihood of business model innovation adoption. Our findings highlight the important resource provision role boards play in promoting organisational innovation.

BLESSING IN DISGUISE? COPING STRATEGIES AND ENTREPRENEURIAL INTENTIONS FOLLOWING INVOLUNTARY JOB LOSS

A growing body of research in entrepreneurship has explored the personality and social determinants of entrepreneurial intentions (EI). Most empirical work in this area has emphasized the “pull” approach to EI, which focuses on the pursuit of entrepreneurial opportunities. In contrast, the “push” approach to EI, which explains EI as a function of displacing events in one’s life, has received little scholarly attention. This study contributes to the “push” approach to EI by examining involuntary job loss as a specific situational factor that influences EI. This study investigates whether problem-focused and emotion-focused coping strategies predict EI among individuals who have experienced involuntary job loss. Furthermore, we test whether entrepreneurial self-efficacy (ESE) mediates the relationship between coping and EI. Using a sample of 266 individuals who had experienced recent involuntary job loss, we found that the use of problem-focused coping strategies was positively associated with EI and that this relationship was mediated by ESE. On the other hand, the use of emotion-focused coping strategies to manage job loss was unrelated to EI. Overall, our findings highlight the role of problem-focused coping in effectively managing the impacts of involuntary job loss.

The effect of firm strategic orientation on corporate philanthropic engagement

This study explores corporate strategic orientations as important drivers of firms’ philanthropic engagement. Specifically, the purpose of this paper is to empirically examine the relationship between two broad corporate strategic orientations – domain offense (DO) and domain abandonment (DA) strategies – and the level of philanthropic engagement.,The authors propose that firms pursuing aggressive DO strategies are more likely to invest in corporate philanthropy as part of their market expansion efforts. On the contrary, firms pursuing DA strategies are less likely to invest in corporate philanthropy because of decreased slack resources, rather conservative external stakeholder expectations as well as a firm’s conscious decision to disengage with external stakeholders. Hierarchical multiple regression analysis was conducted using data from 122 publicly traded US corporations from 2008 to 2013.,The findings provided empirical support for a significant positive relationship between DO strategies (acquisition and strategic alliance intensity) and firms’ philanthropic engagement. However, the relationship between DA strategies (divestiture and plant/facility closing) and firms’ philanthropic engagement was not found to be significant. Overall, the findings indicated that philanthropic engagements along with carefully crafted DO strategies help firms expand their market presence.,Organizational leaders that systematically target philanthropic causes that effectively converge with important corporate strategies do benefit in the long run by achieving better brand equity and overall enhanced corporate reputation.,By empirically investigating the relationship between corporate strategic orientations and philanthropic engagement, this study contributes to the on-going scholarly discussion on the link between corporate strategies and philanthropic engagements.

Blessing in Disguise? Social and Institutional Determinants of Entrepreneurial Intentions following Involuntary Job Loss

In this study, drawing from occupational identity theory, we argue that self‐employment decision is influenced by the extent to which ones perceived social status will be enhanced by pursuing such a career, as well as the presence of favorable institutional climate. Using nonprofit employment assistance agencies, we surveyed 266 individuals in the southern part of the United States who had faced involuntary job loss. The result of our hierarchical moderated regression data analysis indicates that perceived social status and business climate were significant predictors of self‐employment intentions. Overall, our findings highlight the role of social and institutional environment in facilitating self‐employment.

Board political experience and firm internationalization strategy: A resource dependence perspective

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to empirically examine the link between board of director composition and firm performance. Specifically, the paper argues that board political experience influences the firm’s internationalization strategy as directors with significant political experience provide guidance, resources, and network access that enhance the firm’s international presence. The authors also posit that board political connections would be more helpful for firms operating in high-regulation industries. Design/methodology/approach The authors tested the predictions using data from 156 large US firms. Data on directors’ background were gathered from SEC proxy filings, while data pertaining to internationalization were obtained from Compustat and Mergent Online databases. Hierarchical moderated regression analysis was employed to empirically test the hypothesized relationships. Findings The findings provide strong support for the positive relationship between board political experience and the degree of firm internationalization. Contrary to the authors’ predictions, the level of industry regulation does not seem to significantly affect this relationship. Research limitations/implications Firms aggressively pursuing international strategy could benefit from having directors on their board with robust political experience. One of the limitations of the study is that the types of international activities for firms is not specified in the study as it might be in the form of joint-venture capacity, strategic alliances or for firms that might be born-global. Originality/value This study makes original contribution to the on-going research on board political activity and firm performance through internationalization strategy. The findings suggest that having directors’ with political experience is an important asset in influencing firm’s corporate strategy.

Entrepreneurial network composition and the venture creation process: an empirical investigation

Numerous entrepreneurship scholars have explored the role of social networks in the entrepreneurship process (Katz and Gartner, 1988; Reynolds and Miller, 1992; Liao and Welsch, 2005). Still others have maintained focus on the acquisition of resources through social network contacts (Shane and Venkataraman, 2000; Aldrich and Zimmer, 1986). However, in the social networking literature pertaining to entrepreneurship, a disproportionate number of studies has presented a rather static view of social networks. Such a static view seems to overlook the fact that social networks are dynamic in nature, changing in structure and composition over time (Jack et al., 2008; Doreian and Stokman, 1997; Liao et al., 2005; Maurer and Ebers, 2006). In addition, the networking perspective of entrepreneurship has either focused on network characteristics such as strength of ties (Shane and Cable, 2002), embeddedness among the ties (Hite, 2005) and structure of the network (Human and Provan, 1997), or placed emphasis on developing networks such as networking ability (Semrau and Sigmund, 2010) and network practices (Anderson et al., 2010). While there is general understanding of entrepreneurship as a dynamic process at the nexus of individuals and opportunities (Shane and Venkataraman, 2000; Shane, 2003), how entrepreneurs maintain social networks at different stages of their venturing becomes crucial to business performance (SlotteKock and Coviello, 2010). To our knowledge, whether and why entrepreneurs’ social network composition systematically varies across stages of the new venture formation has not been empirically examined. Our research intends to fill this research gap. Specifically, this study empirically investigates whether

A Glass Half Full? The Role of Entrepreneur Alternative Issue Interpretations on Firm Growth Intentions

Abstract Despite the extensive research on the determinants and consequences of firm growth, research focusing on how the actual process unfolds is still evolving. An important part of firm growth process research is entrepreneurial cognition. The purpose of this chapter is to explore the relationship between entrepreneurial cognition and firm growth intentions. Specifically, we propose a theoretical model of entrepreneurial cognitive interpretation and categorization of market information as it relates to firm growth intentions. Drawing from the strategic cognition literature in general and strategic issue interpretation literature in particular, we propose that entrepreneurs’ interpretation of market information as opportunity or threat, gain or loss, and controllable or uncontrollable influences their firm growth intentions. Furthermore, our theoretical model discusses the condition under which favorable interpretation of market information leads to higher growth intentions by incorporating insights from the Entrepreneurial Orientation (EO) construct. This chapter extends our understanding of firm growth processes by highlighting the important role cognitive interpretation and categorization play in facilitating or hindering entrepreneurial firm growth.