Firm-level Antecedents Research Articles

Corruption Risk in the Defence Industry Around the World: Country Level and Firm Level Antecedents

Anecdotal evidence indicates that corruption is rampant in the defence sector globally. Using a unique database on firm level corruption risk in the defence industry, we examine the role of country level and firm level antecedents. Among the country level factors we study are several measures of institutional quality, governance systems and legislative oversight, explicit mechanisms to control corruption and cultural factors such as power distance and uncertainty avoidance. Our empirical results confirm that these factors indeed influence firm level corruption risk. We also find that at the firm level, factors such as visibility, governance and shareholding play a significant role in affecting a firm’s corruption risk. The results of our study also show that the disclosure of corruption risk is associated with the mitigation of information asymmetry and consequent increase in firm level market liquidity.

Implementing and Communicating Corporate Social Responsibility: Implications of Firm Size and Organizational Cost

In this paper we address two research gaps in the extant Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) literature. The first gap results from a lack of understanding of different patterns of CSR engagement with respect to CSR communication and implementation. The second gap concerns limited knowledge about the influence of firm size on CSR engagement. We develop new theory by looking at variations in implementation and communication costs depending on firm size. This allows us to explain the large firm implementation gap (large firms are relatively strong in communicating CSR but weaker at implementing it into their structures and practices) and vice versa the small firm communication gap (weak communication and strong implementation). Our model expands a new theory of CSR engagement based on as yet underemphasized firm-level antecedents of CSR, and opens up several new avenues for future and in particular comparative research.

Knowledge outflows from foreign subsidiaries and the tension between knowledge creation and knowledge protection: Evidence from the semiconductor industry

This paper analyzes the MNC subsidiaries’ trade-off between the need for knowledge creation and the need for knowledge protection, and relates it to the extent of knowledge outflows generated within the host location. Combining research in International Business with Social Theory, we build a conceptual framework suggesting that subsidiaries that extensively draw on external knowledge sources are also more likely to generate knowledge outflows to local firms. We argue that this may be explained by the subsidiaries’ willingness to build the trust that facilitates the establishment of reciprocal knowledge linkages. However, when the value of the subsidiary's knowledge stock is very high, the need for knowledge protection restrains reciprocity mechanisms in knowledge exchanges, thus reducing the extent of knowledge outflows to the host location. This study contributes to the literature on the firm-level antecedents of FDI-mediated local knowledge outflows, as well as to the broad IB literature on the relationship between subsidiaries and their host regions. The implications for managers and policy-makers are also discussed.

Green procurement and green supplier development: antecedents and effects on supplier performance

This study adopts the opposing theoretical views of legitimacy – institutional and strategic – in evaluating firm performance and top management commitment as antecedents to green procurement and green supplier development. Additionally, the impact of green procurement and green supplier development on supplier performance is analysed. Using a sample of western European companies, we develop a structural equation model to test our hypotheses. We find that the buying firm’s market performance positively relates to the adoption of green procurement. While financial performance has no effect on green procurement, top management commitment is found to be an important driver of both green procurement and green supplier development. Moreover, the relationship between green procurement and supplier performance is fully mediated by green supplier development. The paper addresses a research gap concerning firm-level antecedents for green procurement and green supplier development showing that both practices may impact supplier performance. Furthermore, it is shown that legitimacy concerns drive basic green procurement, whereas top management is decisive for advanced practices, such as green supplier development.

How Does Industry Moderate the Effects of Firm-level Antecedents on Firm Performance?

This study explores the causal complexity related to firm performance and its antecedents. A particular focus of the article is on the configurations among industry, firm-level antecedents, and fir...

Organizational Antecedents of a Mining Firm's Efforts to Reinvent Its CSR: The Case of Golden Star Resources in Ghana1

This article reports a case study of how organizational antecedents, specifically leadership choices, decisions, culture, and organizational learning, impact and construct the corporate social responsibility (CSR) initiatives of a Canadian mid-tier mining firm operating in Ghana. The primary objective of the article is to demonstrate, through an in-depth study of a single case, that organizational- and firm-level antecedents are a powerful tool for understanding how ethical, socially responsible, and community-relevant behaviors of a mining firm in a developing area come to be constructed. The article thus contributes to the conceptual and applied literatures on CSR by suggesting that much as the voice of moral suasion, advocacy, and critical censure have been important motive forces behind CSR efforts, it seems that the sustainability and community relevance of CSR efforts are linked to identifiable internal response mechanisms that dispose or enable firms to behave in responsible ways.

Approaching global industrial marketing from a managerial cognition perspective: a theoretical framework

Purpose – This paper aims to attempt to develop an integrative theoretical framework that approaches global industrial marketing from a managerial cognition perspective.Design/methodology/approach – Drawing from the managerial cognition research, business strategy research, and international business research, this paper develops a theoretical framework that is relevant to global industrial marketing.Findings – Global industrial marketing research has much to gain from the managerial cognition literature. The framework developed in this article presents relevant managerial cognition variables, their individual and firm level antecedents, and desirable outcomes.Research limitations/implications – The framework presented in this paper provides strong theoretical foundation for further theory development in global industrial marketing research and managerial cognition research. However, given the conceptual nature of our research, empirical scrutiny and further conceptual and empirical research are required....

What Level of Analysis is Most Salient for a Global Theory of Corporate Governance?

What Level of Analysis is Most Salient for a Global Theory of Corporate Governance?

The internationalisation of small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs): a multi-level integrative framework

The internationalisation activities in small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) have attracted a great deal of scholarly interest in the last couple of decades. Despite the growing number of studies that focus on one or more antecedents of internationalisation activities in SMEs, there is a lack of an integrated theoretical framework that conceptualises the antecedents of internationalisation in SMEs as a multi-level organisational phenomenon. To fill this gap, we propose a multi-level integrated theoretical framework of SMEs internationalisation based on the open system perspective of organisations. This study integrates the extant literature on SME internationalisation by discussing behavioural (managerial), firm-level (resource endowments and strategy) and industry-level (life cycle and competition) antecedents. Drawing from the product-life cycle, resource-based view, organisational learning, social network and strategic management literatures, we develop an integrated framework and related propositions on the drivers of internationalisation activities in SMEs.

Antecedents of Shareholder Activism in Target Firms: Evidence from a Multi‐Country Study

ABSTRACTManuscript Type: EmpiricalResearch Question/Issue: This study seeks to better understand the antecedents of shareholder activism targeted at firms located in three common law countries (i.e., USA, UK, and Australia) and three civil law countries (Japan, Germany, and South Korea) during the 2003–07 time period.Research Findings/Insights: Our findings suggest that the antecedents of shareholder activism vary by the motivation of the activist. We demonstrate that activists target firms with two motives (a) to improve the financial performance, and (b) to improve the social performance of the firm. With respect to the target firm level antecedents, we find that firm size is unrelated to financial activism, but positively related to social activism; ownership concentration is negatively related to both financial and social activism; and prior profitability is negatively related to financial activism, but positively related to social activism. Further, these relationships in the case of financial activism are generally stronger in common law legal systems, whereas those in the case of social activism are generally stronger in environments with a greater level of income inequality.Theoretical/Academic Implications: Our findings suggest that future research should differentiate between the motivations of the activism event. Further, we find that while agency logic works well for financial activism, institutional theory provides stronger explanations for social activism. Overall, we demonstrate the complementary nature of these two theories in explaining shareholder activism.Practitioner/Policy Implications: We found that the “exposure” to shareholder activism varies by the motivation of the activist, and the nature of the firm and its national context. An understanding of these issues would help firms develop proper response strategies to activism events.

Why Do Firms Employ Foreigners on Their Top Management Teams? A Multilevel Exploration of Individual and Firm Level Antecedents

In Europe, in particular, the number of foreigners appointed to top management teams has increased significantly over the past decade. However, the question of why some firms elect to employ foreign nationals on their top management teams remains unclear. This study utilizes a multi-level methodology to test the degree to which employment of a foreigner on the top management team is driven by individual level human capital characteristics versus firm level strategic considerations. Results from empirical tests on a sample of Swiss publicly listed companies suggest that degree of international diversification is positively associated with the likelihood of having a foreign executive, whereas human capital characteristics do not explain the propensity to employ a foreigner on the top management team. Further analyses indicate that nationality diversity at the board level, as well as the international experience of the top management team, are possible predictors of the probability of having a foreigner on the top management team.

The Antecedents and Consequences of Top Management Fraud

Fraud by top management is a topic that has stirred public interest, concern, and controversy. In this article, the authors analyze fraud by senior executives in terms of its nature, scope, antecedents, and consequences. They draw on the fields of psychology, sociology, economics, and criminology to identify societal-, industry, and firm-level antecedents of management fraud and the individual differences that enhance or neutralize the likelihood and degree of such fraud. The authors also review the consequences of management fraud on various stakeholder groups such as shareholders, debtholders, managers, local communities, and society.

Explaining New CEO Origin: Firm Versus Industry Antecedents

We classified newly chosen CEOs' origins into three categories: intrafirm, intraindustry, and outside-industry, and examined their firm-level and industry-level antecedents. In a sample of 220 CEO ...

Innovation in Queensland Firms

The challenges in the business environment are forcing Australian firms to be innovative in all their efforts to serve customers. Reflecting this need there have been several innovation policy statements both at Federal and State government level aimed at encouraging innovation in Australian industry. In particular, the innovation policy statement launched by the Queensland government in the year 2000 primarily intends building a Smart State through innovation. During the last few decades the Australian government policy on innovation has emphasized support for industry R&D. However industry stakeholders demand a more firm-focused policy of innovation. Government efforts in this direction have been hindered by a lack of a consistent body of knowledge on innovation at the firm level. In particular the Australian literature focusing on firm level antecedents of innovation is limited and fragmented. This study examines the role of learning capabilities in innovation and competitive advantage. Based on a survey of manufacturing firms in Queensland the study finds that both technological and non-technological innovations lead to competitive advantage. The findings contribute to the theory competitive advantage and firm level antecedents of innovation. Implications for firm level innovation strategies and behaviour are discussed. In addition, the findings have important implications for Queensland government's current initiatives to build a Smart State through innovation.