Sharan Kaur

Do Managerial Ties Support or Stifle Open Innovation

Purpose - Research investigating the role of factors affecting open innovation remains scarce. This paper thus examines the role of managerial ties in facilitating the two types of open innovation - inbound and outbound.Design/Methodology/Approach - Data are collected using the questionnaire survey method from 339 middle and top managers working in four high-tech industries in Malaysia.Findings - Results show that in most high-tech industries in Malaysia, managerial ties with universities and with government officials facilitate in-bound open innovation, while ties with managers at other firms do not significantly relate to it in any high-tech industry. Further, managerial ties are not found to relate significantly to out-bound open innovation in any high-tech industry except in the aerospace and electronics industries wherein ties with government officials relate negatively and positively to out-bound innovation, respectively.Practical Implications - This study provides empirical evidence about the managerial ties practitioners should and should not forge to succeed in the open innovation paradigm.Originality/Value - This study is probably the only study so far that gauges the impact of managerial ties on open innovation. The results of this study fill a major gap in the current open innovation theory besides providing insights for practitioners.

Effects of individual characteristics on expatriates' adjustment and job performance

Purpose – Researchers have been focusing on the predictors of expatriates’ adjustment and job performance at different levels (individual level, organizational level and societal level), but still some of the predictors have been ignored or unclear in the expatriate literature. The purpose of this paper is to develop a comprehensive framework in order to better understand the role of individual factors in expatriate adjustment and job performance. Design/methodology/approach – The review of past research is used to develop a conceptual framework. Findings – This conceptual paper provides theoretical ground for individual factors which include Big Five, self-efficacy, previous international experience, cultural sensitivity and social network and proposes that expatriate adjustment (work, general and interaction adjustment) mediates the relationship between individual factors (personality traits (Big Five), self-efficacy, previous international experience, cultural sensitivity and social network) and expatriate job performance (rated by peer and supervisor). Practical implications – This paper also provides practical implications for the managers and professionals involved in expatriates’ selection, training and performance management. This paper suggests that managers involved in selection of candidates for international assignment should consider personality traits, level of self-efficacy, previous international experience, social network and cultural sensitivity at the time of selection of candidates for international assignment. Furthermore, managers should design pre-departure training programs in a way that enhances candidates’ self-efficacy level, overcomes cultural sensitivity, and motivates them to expand social network. Finally, managers should explain to the candidates how they can use their personal skills and knowledge to gain work, general and interactions adjustment in order to achieve job tasks. Originality/value – The proposed framework is developed based on the past theoretical review in order to cover the gap and contribute to the body of knowledge in expatriate literature. Based on the proposed framework, this paper invites researchers to empirically test the suggested propositions in order to further strengthen and develop understanding about individual factors including Big Five and other expatriates’ adjustment and job performance predictors.

Open Innovation in SMEs: Drivers and Inhibitors

Open innovation has of late emerged as a popular innovation management concept that advocates opening up of the innovation processes in firms. Despite researchers writing against open innovation being a new concept, research into open innovation activities of firms, as evidenced by the growing number of related research papers and books, has proliferated. In this concept paper, through a scrutiny of published open innovation research work, we look at the concept of open innovation in general and then zoom in on the factors that drive and inhibit its implementation especially in SMEs. The analysis shows that the drivers of open innovation include meeting customer demand, while employee resistance in the form of not-invented-here (NIH) and not-shared-here or not-sold-here (NSH) syndromes can inhibit open innovation. The paper, with implications for practice and theory, ends with a summary of open innovation and its drivers and inhibitors.

Effectiveness of innovation protection mechanisms in Malaysian high-tech sector

Purpose - – The purpose of this paper is to empirically investigate the effectiveness of innovation protection mechanisms in four high-tech industries in Malaysia. Design/methodology/approach - – A questionnaire survey is administered to 339 managers working in four Malaysian high-tech industries. Findings - – The authors find that in most industries, patents are considered as the most effective innovation protection mechanism, while lead time is considered as least effective. In firms with private and foreign ownerships, patents and in firms categorized as “others” “moving quickly down the learning curve” are considered as the most effective protection mechanisms. It also emerges that “being first to market (lead time)” is considered as the least effective protection mechanism under all ownership structures. Further, young and middle-aged firms report patents, while old firms report secrecy as the most effective innovation protection mechanisms. Research limitations/implications - – This paper restricted analysis to the high-tech sector in Malaysia, and thus, the findings are not generalizable to other industries. Second, this paper took into consideration only four innovation protection mechanisms. The authors suggest that future research should investigate the issue at hand in other industries and consider other innovation protection mechanisms to have a holistic view of how Malaysian firms view different innovation protection mechanisms. Practical implications - – In addition to providing inputs for policy-making, the results of this paper are expected to help practitioners in deciding on the right kind of innovation protection mechanisms for their innovations based on their industry, ownership structure and firm age. Originality/value - – This paper is the first of its kind conducted in the Malaysian high-tech sector and as such is expected to help policy-makers to design and implement effectively innovation protection policies.

Organizational culture profile of Malaysian high-tech industries

Purpose – The role of organizational culture in determining success or failure of firms stands proven beyond doubt in numerous studies. The purpose of this paper is to examine organizational culture of the Malaysian high-tech sector and highlights the organizational culture dimensions most and least dominant in this sector. The study also examines differences with respect to organizational culture across the high-tech industries and different ownership types. Design/methodology/approach – Questionnaire survey method is used to collect the data from middle and top managers working in Malaysian high-tech industries. Findings – Five dimensions of organizational culture emerge in this study. Results indicate that harmony and social responsibility are the most and least dominant dimensions of organizational culture respectively. Significant differences are found in organizational culture across industries and ownership types. Originality/value – While organizational culture seems to be a fairly well-researched...

Electronic Training Methods: Relative Effectiveness and Frequency of Use in the Malaysian Context

This study comparatively examines the relative effectiveness and frequency of use of modern and conventional training methods, as much rhetoric has surrounded the use of techniques like distance learning and computer-based training methods. The responses from 200 employees suggest that no significant difference exists with respect to frequency of use, but a significant difference exists in terms of effectiveness. The result shows that on-the-job training (OJT) methods are widely used and are perceived as the most effective method, whereas distance learning is not widely used because it is perceived as less effective. This study also reveals that a significant difference exists between modern training methods and conventional training methods in terms of attaining training objectives. OJT is given the highest rating for attaining training objectives.