Patricia M. Swafford

A framework for assessing value chain agility

Purpose – To gain understanding of value chain (VC) agility in terms of value‐adding processes, this paper seeks to present a VC agility framework and then to develop the involved constructs.Design/methodology/approach – A framework of VC agility and its theoretical underpinnings is presented. Within the framework, drivers and determinants of VC agility are identified as characteristics enabling flexibility within key components of a firms VC. Also, it is posited that information technology (IT) capability impacts the levels of achieved flexibility and agility, and that VC agility impacts business performance.Findings – From scale development, key determinants of flexibility within VC activities are identified. Correlation analysis suggests that firms derive higher levels of agility through integrating information across the VC rather than within VC activities. Firms with flexibility in their VC functions enjoy higher levels of ensuing VC agility and on‐time delivery, ROA, and market share.Research limit...

International responsiveness of entrepreneurial new ventures from three leading emerging economies

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to answer the question, “How do international new ventures (INVs) from emerging economies become responsive to the demands of their international customers?”Design/methodology/approach – The authors propose a model of international responsiveness that incorporates founding team experience, international firm experience, international strategic orientation, and investment in international supply chain and test the model using data from 293 INVs from three leading emerging economies: China, India, and South Africa.Findings – Results show that for INVs from emerging economies international strategic orientation mediates the relationship between international firm experience, investment in international supply chain, and international responsiveness. In addition, the authors identify a significant difference in the effects of international strategic orientation on international responsiveness among subgroups of INVs.Practical implications – Given the specific context of ...

Emerging Economies: Operational Issues in China and India

This article addresses the current state of the infrastructure and other factors within China and India to consider in making operation expansion decisions. We compare the logistics, telecommunication, and energy infrastructure of these two nations followed by a discussion of their labor productivity, economic growth, and political and cultural stability. We find that China is ahead of India in terms of transportation and telecommunications infrastructure, but India leads in terms of skilled labor for supporting information technology (IT) and complex manufacturing-based operations. While it will be difficult for India to catch up with Chinas manufacturing base, there is a strong opportunity for India to become the back office of the world. We then outline the opportunities and challenges that MNCs may face by investing in these countries and close with advice for managers in making expansion decisions.

Contextualizing or decontextualizing? The peril of using Western social capital scales in China

Purpose – The purpose of this study is to promote Chinese indigenous research by examining a case in which adopting social capital (SC) scales developed in the Western context for Chinese samples can decontextualize inter-firm guanxi management in the Chinese context. Design/methodology/approach – Adopting the existing Western scales to measure SC, we collected data from Chinese executives participating in executive master of business administration programs on buyer–supplier relationship. Using the same items and data source, we identified post hoc factors representing guanxi dimensions. Ordinary least squared regressions were used for both guanxi and SC dimensions to test the hypotheses. Findings – Our analysis showed that Chinese natives responded to the Western SC items according to their understanding and mindsets rooted in guanxi. This was evidenced by the results from the post hoc-derived guanxi dimensions with the same data, which show better regression results for the hypotheses tested, although ...