Suresh Kotha

Mass customization : the new frontier in business competition

The article reviews the book “Mass Customization: The New Frontier in Business Competition,” by B. Joseph Pine II.

Does Stakeholder Orientation Matter? The Relationship Between Stakeholder Management Models and Firm Financial Performance

Little empirical work has been done on the effect of stakeholder management on corporate performance. In this study, we contributed to stakeholder theory development by (1) deriving two distinct stakeholder management models from extant research, (2) testing the descriptive accuracy of these models, and (3) including important variables from the strategy literature in the tested models. The results provide support for a strategic stakeholder management model but no support for an intrinsic stakeholder commitment model. Implications of these findings for management practice and future research are discussed.

Strategy, advanced manufacturing technology and performance: empirical evidence from U.S. manufacturing firms

Abstract This study investigates the complex relationships among strategy, advanced manufacturing technology (AMT) and performance using survey responses from 160 U.S. manufacturing firms. In contrast to previous studies that emphasize only the flexibility dimension of AMT, this study adopts a multidimensional view of AMT by stressing the information processing capability inherent in AMTs. The study found support for four dimensions of AMT: information exchange and planning technology (IEPT), product design technology (PDT), low-volume flexible automation technology (LVFAT), and high-volume automation technology (HVAT). The results found also indicate empirical support for the studys major premise that a fit between certain strategy–AMT dimensions will be associated with superior performance. Using the findings, the study discusses the implications of the findings and suggests several avenues for future research.

Explaining manufacturing technology use, firm size and performance using a multidimensional view of technology

Abstract This study examines the relationships among the variables Advanced Manufacturing Technology (AMT) use, Firm Size, and Performance in US manufacturing firms using a multidimensional definition of AMT. The studys four major findings are based on empirical analyses of survey data collected from 160 manufacturing firms. First, evidence indicates that there are at least four dimensions of AMT including: Information Exchange and Planning Technology (IEPT), Product Design Technology (PDT), High-Volume Automation Technology (HVAT), and Low-Volume Flexible Automation Technology (LVFAT). This brings to light a key difference between the literature and the four empirically determined dimensions of AMT: empirical dimensions include two distinct dimensions for shop floor technology while most conceptual schemes do not. Second, AMT use across three of these dimensions increases linearly as firm size increases logarithmically; however, the use of some dimensions of AMT increase more rapidly with firm size than others. Third, AMT use does not show any direct impact on firm performance. Finally, firm size weakly moderates the AMT-performance relationship; perhaps, due to their superior resource base, larger firms are able to use AMTs more effectively.

Reputation Building and Performance: An Empirical Analysis of the Top-50 Pure Internet Firms

This study examines the relationship between three types of reputation building activities - marketing investments, reputation borrowing, and media exposure - and firm performance using a sample of Top-50 pure Internet firms. The study addresses a question of paramount practical importance about how the strategic choices of Internet firms affect their performance in both financial and product markets. The finding suggests that reputation building activities may be one of the key determinants of competitive success for Internet firms. At the same time, it raises questions regarding the longevity of the impact of such activities.

The Value Relevance of Network Advantages: The Case of E-Commerce Firms

We show that network advantages constitute an important intangible asset that goes unrecognized in the financial statements. For a sample of e–commerce firms, we find that network advantages created by Web site traffic have substantial explanatory power for stock prices over and above traditional summary accounting measures such as earnings and book value of equity. Also, network advantages are positively associated with one–year–ahead and two–year–ahead earnings forecasts provided by equity analysts. When we allow network advantages to be endogenously determined by managerial actions, we find that at least part of the value relevance of network effects stems from the presence of affiliate referral programs and higher media visibility.

International Market Entry by U.S. Internet Firms: An Empirical Analysis of Country Risk, National Culture, and Market Size

Internet firms face somewhat unique challenges when expanding abroad. On what basis do U.S. Internet firms choose the international markets they enter? The authors posit that international market entry decisions are based on balancing perceived risks and returns inherent in a foreign target market. Drawing on a sample of almost 7,000 country entry decisions by 179 U.S. Internet firms, they find that country risk, cultural distance, and uncertainty avoidance reduce the likelihood of international market entry, whereas individualism and masculinity increase it. International market size, however, moderates these relationships by weakening the negative effects, while strengthening the positive effects.

Competing on the Internet:: The case of Amazon.com

Rapid technological change and the growth of the Internet have enabled firms to rewrite the rules of the competition in many sectors of the US economy. Although many academics recognize the importance of the Internet, research highlighting successful business models that some firms have developed to compete via the Internet have been slow in coming. Using an in-depth case study on Amazon, this paper highlights how this exemplar firm is exploiting this emerging technology-driven media to rewrite the rules of competition in the book retailing industry.

Catching Fire and Spreading It: A Glimpse Into Displayed Entrepreneurial Passion in Crowdfunding Campaigns.

Crowdfunding is an emerging phenomenon that enables entrepreneurs to solicit financial contributions for new projects from mass audiences. Drawing on the elaboration likelihood model of persuasion and emotional contagion theory, the authors examined the importance of displayed entrepreneurial passion when seeking resources in a crowdfunding context. They proposed that entrepreneurs’ displayed passion in the introductory video for a crowdfunding project increases viewers’ experienced enthusiasm about the project (i.e., passion contagion), which then prompts them to contribute financially and to share campaign information via social-media channels. Such sharing further facilitates campaign success. In addition, the authors proposed that perceived project innovativeness strengthens the positive effect of displayed passion on social-media exposure and the funding amount a project garners. They first tested their hypotheses in 2 studies using a combination of survey and archival data from the world’s 2 most popular crowdfunding platforms: Indiegogo (Study 1) and Kickstarter (Study 2). They then conducted an experiment (Study 3) to validate the proposed passion contagion process, and the effect of displayed entrepreneurial passion at the individual level. Findings from these 3 studies significantly supported their hypotheses. The authors discuss the theoretical and practical implications of their findings.

Building Reputational Stocks Through Strategic Action Flows:Lessons From amazon.com And Its Competitors In Internet Retailing

A growing body of strategy research has recognized that a firms reputation is one of its most valuable intangible assets. For Internet firms, unprotected by traditional barriers to entry and locational advantages, reputation is a key source of competitive advantages. Drawing on the premise that a firm?s reputation is an asset stock that is accumulated through a flow of strategic actions (Dierickx & Cool, 1989), we analyzed the actions of Amazon.com, Barnesandnoble.com and CDNow to develop a framework about reputation building by Internet retailers. Our framework proposes that these firms relied on three types of actions: symbolic, competitive, and relational. Amazon.com, the firm that accumulated a superior reputational stock, took a greater number of more diverse and synergistic actions earlier than its competitors. Based on this analysis, the framework links the types of strategic of actions and their pattern over time to the accumulation of reputation stock.