High-technology Companies Research Articles

Strengthening capital-intensive companies in technology competition through innovation platforms

PurposeThis paper investigates how capital-intensive companies, especially in the automotive sector, navigate the challenge of balancing significant technological investments against market demands for asset-light strategies. It examines the use of innovation platforms as a strategic solution for mediating these goal conflicts and sustaining competitiveness in a technology-driven market.Design/methodology/approachThe study analysed 286 automotive companies from Europe, North America and Asia through a quantitative survey conducted in 2022, focusing on companies using innovation platforms. It applied partial least squares structural equation modelling (PLS-SEM) to assess the relationships between the use of innovation platforms, relational rents and performance.FindingsThe research found that companies using innovation platforms can achieve early-stage relational rents through partnerships and resource sharing, although these benefits have not yet translated into profitability. Companies in the sample are still developing their partner network, and while they experience collaborative advantages, they face initial challenges in converting these into financial gains. The study highlights the critical role of scaling in the network, complementarities in production, limiting the outflow of resources and capabilities besides modularisation in achieving long-term profitability.Originality/valueThis study contributes to the literature by providing empirical evidence on how capital-intensive companies use innovation platforms to balance technological investments and asset-light pressures, a topic with limited previous research. It underscores the long-term potential of such digital platforms in innovation ecosystems in generating value and the need for patient investment in promising platform effects. The findings support the strategic value of innovation platforms as capital-intensive industries face intensified competition from high-technology companies.

Resisting together or displaced aggressing? How abusive supervision climate affects team member exchange and subordinates' organizational citizenship towards teammates

PurposeIntegrating balance theory and social identify theory, this paper proposes a multilevel model to explain how abusive supervision climate of team impacts the relationship among team members as well as subordinates’ behavior towards their teammates, especially organizational citizenship behavior (OCB).Design/methodology/approachA survey was conducted to collect two-wave and multi-source data from 398 employees nested in 106 teams from Chinese high-technology companies. Hierarchical linear modeling was conducted to examine the theoretical model.FindingsThe results indicate that there is an inverted U-shape association between abusive supervision climate and subordinates’ OCB towards coworker; team member exchange (TMX) mediates their inverted U-shaped link. Furthermore, we confirm that coworker support plays a vitally moderating role upon the curvilinear link of abusive supervision climate (ASC)–TMX; specifically, when employees perceive low coworker support, negative relations between ASC and TMX will be stronger.Originality/valueThis study identifies team members’ advantageous and adverse relational response to shared threat of ASC and examines coworker support as a moderator of ASC, which provides valuable insights into when and why employees tend to cooperate with their teammates to jointly confront their leader’s abuse and highlights the importance of coworkers, thus enabling organizations to deeply understand the wider influences of ASC on interpersonal relationship between team members.

Innovation strategies for non-existent markets - Profiting from urban air mobility

Technological advances have paved the way for urban air mobility (UAM) as a new mode of transportation, providing solutions for both inner-city and regional transportation. Novel vertical take-off and landing (VTOL) vehicles promise to be less noisy and safer than existing helicopters, thus allowing for an integration of UAM into current mobility systems. However, as this market is non-existent today, companies engaged in this field face several uncertainties. Strategic decision factors supporting VTOL manufacturers to successfully commercialize their innovation are still mainly unassessed. Looking into the innovation strategy literature we find little guidance on how high-technology companies can profit from innovation in so far non-existent markets. We therefore conduct expert interviews that allow us to identify eight decision factors that VTOL manufacturers are expected to take into account when setting up their commercial strategy. Building on the findings from these interviews we suggest to enhance the Profiting from Innovation (PFI) framework by a peripheric sphere that incorporates the impact of external factors on commercial success. This approach on the one hand, allows to provide insights into strategic management approaches of VTOL manufacturers, while on the other hand, this research adds to the scientific literature on strategic decision factors in non-existent markets.

The Essential Elements of Japan Super Science High School Projects: A Case Study of Shizuoka Prefecture

To support the enhancement of science and technology, the Japanese government established the Super Science High School in 2002. However, there is a lack of information about this school for international scholars. We addressed this problem by observing and working with SSH in Shizuoka Prefecture and understanding their intended school models. The context of Shizuoka prefecture is interesting because it is well-known for its high-technology manufacturing company. Our “bottom-up” approach was mainly based on observation, in contrasts with other studies using a literaturebased method to define SSH schools. We identified four elements that represent the common goals and strategies employed by SSH: Independence scientific research, Scientific English, courses related to STEM, and international collaboration. This framework offers a clear picture of what exactly SSH schools are. Findings suggest that SSH identity is rooted in pedagogy, school culture, and rigorous instruction, especially in science and technology, including support from scientists and researchers from the surrounding universities as invited speakers, teacher assistance, and opportunities to conduct research in university-level laboratories. Keywords: essential elements, Japan Super Science High School, Projects, Case Study

Government Ownership and Managers’ Role: Effect to Acquisition Return Among High-Technology Companies

This study investigates the effect of high-technology (high-tech) company acquisitions and GLIC ownership on shareholders’ value creation. Study samples for empirical analyses were carried out using the market-model event-study and multivariate analysis on studies published between 2011 and 2018. The findings indicate that; (i) The CAR for high-tech acquiring firms for the three-day event window (–1,1), five-day event window (–2, +2) and 11-day event window led to significant positive returns, with at least at 10% level, signifying that investors have a favourable reaction towards short-term high-tech acquisitions; (ii) The relationship between the GLICs’ Institutional Blockholders (BPSVGLIC) and executive director (FRACEXEC) was found to affect the abnormal returns significantly negatively at a minimum 5% significance level. These results provide two practical implications; firstly, investors gain abnormal returns from their investment in high-tech acquiring companies, and secondly, firms with greater ownership stakes in GLICs could experience value destruction.

THE INFLUENCE OF RESEARCH AND DEVELOPMENT AND PATENT ACTIVITY ON BUSINESS PERFORMANCE: THE CASE OF HIGH-TECHNOLOGY COMPANIES

The purpose of the work is to determine the impact of R&D activities and patent activity on the business performance of high-tech companies with the largest number of patent applications according to the records of the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO).The research sample consists of 33 high-technology companies that were continuously on the WIPO's Top 50 PCT applicants list in the period from 2013 to 2020. Regression analyses have been performed to determine the impact of R&D activity and patent activity on the business performance of high-technology companies.The research confirms the importance of R&D and patent activity for the business performance of high-technology companies. This study revealed that R&D investment, number of granted patents and published PCT applications have a positive influence on sales revenue, gross profit, operating profit, earnings before interest and taxes, earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation, and amortization, market capitalisation. The positive influence of patent activity indicators on return on equity is also present; however, the influence of R&D investment on return on equity is negative.The research results have significant implications for R&D, intellectual property and corporate managers of high-tech companies in terms of significantly improving the efficiency of R&D investments and their impact on company’s profitability. Also, there are significant implications related to improving the effectiveness of the innovation process and patent activity and their impact on other business performance.The originality of this study is reflected in studying the influence of patent activity indicators on gross profit, earnings before interest and taxes, earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation, and amortization, and return on equity.

Factors Determining Turnaround Strategies for Declining, Large, High-tech organizations

This study aims to identify the factors that should determine turnaround strategies for declining, large, high-technology companies. Goswami (2022) indicates that many high-tech organizations have been declining recently due to an external crisis triggered by inflation and high interest rates, with many implementing turnaround strategies. This study offers an evidence-based approach to identify the factors that should be considered when selecting a turnaround strategy at declining, large, high-technology companies. An evidence-based approach was used since Pfeffer and Sutton (2006) suggested that using data to drive decisions improved management decisions. The qualitative Rapid Evidence Assessment (REA) methodology suggested by Barends et al. (2017) was used to find 14 articles (quantitative, qualitative), critically appraise, and code to synthesize the evidence and provide findings and recommendations for the turnaround of high-technology companies. The main findings of this research are that a) the selection of the turnaround strategy should differ based on whether the crisis is externally or internally triggered and should consider stakeholder management, in addition to strategic and operational factors b) An external crisis requires managerial cognition of the crisis, flexibility to adapt to the current market, aligning of the strategy of the organization with the environment and pursuing new sales markets which have not been impacted by the external crisis, focus on innovation, increased R&D spending, and increased sales/marketing. c) An internal crisis requires managerial cognition of the crisis, along with employee incentives, customer focus, communication with all stakeholders, retrenchment, restructuring, new product introduction, quality, process focus, decentralizing decision-making, and engaging in external relationships such as acquisitions/mergers/joint ventures.

Factors Determining Turnaround Strategies for Declining, Large, High-tech organizations

This study aims to identify the factors that should determine turnaround strategies for declining, large, high-technology companies. Goswami (2022) indicates that many high-tech organizations have been declining recently due to an external crisis triggered by inflation and high interest rates, with many implementing turnaround strategies. This study offers an evidence-based approach to identify the factors that should be considered when selecting a turnaround strategy at declining, large, high-technology companies. An evidence-based approach was used since Pfeffer and Sutton (2006) suggested that using data to drive decisions improved management decisions. The qualitative Rapid Evidence Assessment (REA) methodology suggested by Barends et al. (2017) was used to find 14 articles (quantitative, qualitative), critically appraise, and code to synthesize the evidence and provide findings and recommendations for the turnaround of high-technology companies. The main findings of this research are that a) the selection of the turnaround strategy should differ based on whether the crisis is externally or internally triggered and should consider stakeholder management, in addition to strategic and operational factors b) An external crisis requires managerial cognition of the crisis, flexibility to adapt to the current market, aligning of the strategy of the organization with the environment and pursuing new sales markets which have not been impacted by the external crisis, focus on innovation, increased R&D spending, and increased sales/marketing. c) An internal crisis requires managerial cognition of the crisis, along with employee incentives, customer focus, communication with all stakeholders, retrenchment, restructuring, new product introduction, quality, process focus, decentralizing decision-making, and engaging in external relationships such as acquisitions/mergers/joint ventures.

Factors Determining Turnaround Strategies for Declining, Large, High-tech organizations

This study aims to identify the factors that should determine turnaround strategies for declining, large, high-technology companies. Goswami (2022) indicates that many high-tech organizations have been declining recently due to an external crisis triggered by inflation and high interest rates, with many implementing turnaround strategies. This study offers an evidence-based approach to identify the factors that should be considered when selecting a turnaround strategy at declining, large, high-technology companies. An evidence-based approach was used since Pfeffer and Sutton (2006) suggested that using data to drive decisions improved management decisions. The qualitative Rapid Evidence Assessment (REA) methodology suggested by Barends et al. (2017) was used to find 14 articles (quantitative, qualitative), critically appraise, and code to synthesize the evidence and provide findings and recommendations for the turnaround of high-technology companies. The main findings of this research are that a) the selection of the turnaround strategy should differ based on whether the crisis is externally or internally triggered and should consider stakeholder management, in addition to strategic and operational factors b) An external crisis requires managerial cognition of the crisis, flexibility to adapt to the current market, aligning of the strategy of the organization with the environment and pursuing new sales markets which have not been impacted by the external crisis, focus on innovation, increased R&D spending, and increased sales/marketing. c) An internal crisis requires managerial cognition of the crisis, along with employee incentives, customer focus, communication with all stakeholders, retrenchment, restructuring, new product introduction, quality, process focus, decentralizing decision-making, and engaging in external relationships such as acquisitions/mergers/joint ventures.

Racial Differences in Perceptions of Genetic Wellness Programs.

Genetic wellness programs (GWPs) are a highly innovative workforce wellness product. Recently marketed to U.S. employers by at least 16 vendors, GWPs take advantage of low-cost DNA sequencing to detect genetic risk factors for an increasing array of diseases. The purpose of this research is to understand perceptions, concerns, and barriers related to GWPs, among employees from Black, White, and Asian backgrounds and different income levels. Qualitative study with 3 focus groups (FGs). Employees of large high-technology companies (deemed likely early GWP adopters). 21 individuals recruited online through User Interviews. FG guide developed via literature review and landscape analysis, and pre-tested. FGs led by a trained moderator and audio-recorded. Transcripts content analyzed for key themes. Nearly all respondents saw potential benefits to GWP participation for themselves or their families. However, there were profound differences in perceptions of risks to GWP participation between Black and White/Asian respondents. These differences surfaced in three broad areas: privacy and discrimination risks; family impact risks; and feelings about the employer. Willingness to participate in a GWP also varied between Black employee respondents and White and Asian employee respondents (including low-income White employees). Only 27% of Black employees would participate in GWP, compared to 90% of the other employees. Most employees appear likely to support employer adoption of GWPs. However, Black employees report significant concerns regarding participation. Addressing these concerns through program design would benefit all employees, and could increase trust and uptake of GWPs.

Portfolio Construction in Terms of APPL Based on Fama and French Five-factor Model

In the contemporary world, research has been working towards creating a model that can better explain the relationship between financial investment and risk. Iterative financial models such as CAPM, Fama French three factor model (FF3F) are strengthening the explanatory power of the extra investment risk of portfolio investments. Nevertheless, due to the global pandemic, the variability of the explanatory power of financial analysis models in the stock market has become more fickle. The objective of this paper is to analyze the portfolio investment data of Apple, one of the world's largest high technology companies, from 2017 to 2022 using the Fama French five factor model (FF5F) to determine whether the model still has strong explanatory power on the stock market during the pandemic. According to the analysis, the FF5F model coefficients still robust in explaining Apple's stock markets over five-year global pandemic period. It seems as if the epidemic and similar force majeure factors do not affect the explanatory efficiency of the model, but it is unknown that whether the actual impact is not captured by the FF5F model. The results of this study based on the FF5F model shed lights for reducing portfolio investment risks.

Government response and Talent Stickiness: What Causes the Location Transfer of High-Tech Industries

Location selection of high-tech enterprises is one of the key topics in current research. The researchers discovered that Chinese Internet companies have a long tradition of positioning and development in prime cities. In the last few years, more and more Internet businesses have opted to leave the top cities. Through collecting and sorting relevant literature, this paper uses the empirical research method by Process-Tracing Method in a case study to discuss why Huawei's headquarters officially moved from Shenzhen to Dongguan. However, with The Times's development, the city's location advantage has changed. Shenzhen's policies and geographical position are no longer sufficient to attract Huawei's high-tech industry. With the development of the city, Shenzhen has brought increasing production costs for high-technology companies and industries. Compared with Shenzhen, the enterprise will develop better when the factory is relocated to Dongguan. The real estate cost of the enterprise will be significantly reduced, and talent stickiness will also be greatly improved.

Will there always be a return on investment? The effects of investment in employee development on employee entrepreneurship

This study offers a theoretical model of how and when investment in employee development affects employee entrepreneurship. Drawing from the creativity theory of knowledge spillover entrepreneurship, we examined whether employee creativity mediates the relationship between investment in employee development and employee entrepreneurship. We also examined the moderating effects of the institutional environment for entrepreneurship and the corporate entrepreneurial environment on this mediated relationship. Two time-lagged studies were conducted in China to test our hypotheses. Study 1 involved 219 full-time employees from five high-technology companies, and the results showed that investment in employee development was positively associated with employee entrepreneurship through employee creativity. Study 2 replicated this mediation finding with 289 full-time employees from organizations in a variety of industries. The results also showed the moderated mediation effects of investment in employee development on employee entrepreneurship via employee creativity, which was contingent on the institutional environment for entrepreneurship and the corporate entrepreneurial environment. We discuss the theoretical and practical implications of these results for investment in employee development and employee entrepreneurship.

Are narcissists more creative? Only if we believe it: How narcissism can relate to creativity.

The relationship between narcissism and creativity has inspired interesting debates for decades. Drawing on a new perspective, the current study tried to explain how narcissism influences others' creativity evaluation in the organizational context. Based on the theory of impression management, we suggested that narcissism and creativity may have a more complex relationship rather than a simple linear link. To test this relationship, we conducted a survey of 596 subordinates and 60 leaders in three high-technology companies. The result showed that there was an inverted U-shaped relationship between narcissism and creativity evaluation. Moreover, personal reputation mediated this curvilinear relationship and this relationship was significant only when narcissists were low in political skill. Theoretical and practical implications, limitations and future directions have also been discussed.

THE IMPACT OF R&D ACTIVITY ON THE BUSINESS PERFORMANCE OF HIGH-TECHNOLOGY COMPANIES

This paper aims to examine the influence of R&D activity on the business performance of high-technology companies. In order to provide an empirical investigation of the impact of R&D activity on the business performance of high-technology companies, correlation and regression analyses have been utilized.This study discovered that investment in R&D has a positive influence on EBIT, net earnings, EBITDA, and total assets, while its influence on ROA was confirmed to be statistically significant and negative. Additionally, the influence of R&D intensity performance indicator (RDI) on ROA as a short-term financial performance indicator was not confirmed. The study revealed that return on R&D investment (RORDI) has a statistically significant and positive influence on ROA in the current, observed year.The evaluation of the obtained results can be a basis for drawing more detailed conclusions, contributing to the future R&D strategy and existing literature, and emphasizing the importance of R&D investment for various business performances.The originality of this study is reflected in the comprehensive analysis of the influence of specific indicators of R&D activity, such as RORDI, on the business performance of high-technology companies. This paper is also beneficial because none of the existing studies have explored the impact of investment in R&D on EBITDA.

The contribution of collaboration to the development of sustainable innovation in high-tech companies

This study proposes a method for examining the sustainability of collaborations using multivariate regression models. It demonstrates the use of the method by examining the effect of the collaboration strategies of high-technology companies on their product-development and financial performance. Data collected from 195 high-tech companies on internal R&D investments, investment in collaborations with external companies and organizations, and revenues generated from the resulting product development, were analyzed using multivariate regression models. The findings revealed that companies engaging in external collaborations increase their revenue by 3.95 times compared with firms that do not.

Helping You Also Benefits Me? Leader Self-deprecating Humor and Subordinate Learning from Failure

From the standpoint of motivated information processing theory, we cast perspective taking as a novel explanatory mechanism and further propose leader-member exchange as a boundary condition to explain why and when leader self-deprecating humor has the potential to spur subordinate learning from failure. We conducted a multi-wave survey and tested our model with a sample of 604 members of 152 teams in the context of a Chinese high-technology company. Through multilevel path analyses, we demonstrate that leader self-deprecating humor is positively associated with subordinate learning from failure via perspective taking, and this mediated effect is stronger when leader-member exchange is higher. Our work enhances theoretical understanding of the pro-social nature of leader self-deprecating humor, and also highlights its boundary condition of leader-member exchange, thereby yielding useful insights for practitioners who aim to encourage subordinates to learn from failure.

Globalization from Below: Labor Inequality in the German Shipbuilding Industry, 1960–2000

This article examines how globalization shaped work and employment in the German shipbuilding industry in the second half of the twentieth century. Official documents show that, as a response to global competition, originally large and labor-intensive shipyards in the northwest of Germany evolved into lean and nimble high-technology companies across four decades. Oral history interviews with former migrant and nonmigrant staff of two leading shipyards reveal that this large-scale industry transformation is a hitherto hidden history of labor mobility, migration, and evolving dimensions of diversity in the workplace. Migration is a lens through which to understand how corporate responses to global developments led to persistent patterns of social exclusion and inequality between and within groups of workers with and without migrant backgrounds that have not been documented before, namely: social divisions, unequal access to vocational training and retraining programs, unequal career opportunities, unfair redundancies, and unequal impact of precarious work.

What makes talents stay? Perceived organizational support and future time perspective

PurposeThis study aims to integrate self-determination and social exchange theories to assess how the three-way interaction between human capital, perceived organizational support (POS) and future time perspective (FTP) affects turnover intention.Design/methodology/approachThe study uses a sample of 586 engineers and their immediate supervisors working in Taiwanese high-technology companies to examine the hypothesized relationships.FindingsThe results indicate that human capital with a high POS has a lower turnover intention than that with a low POS. Moreover, a three-way interaction is observed between human capital, POS and FTP, indicating that human capital predicts lower turnover intention when both POS and FTP are high.Practical implicationsThe findings suggest that managers should hire employees who have high human capital and who are predisposed to FTP and provide strong organizational support to retain outstanding manpower.Originality/valueThis study is one of the first to examine the interaction effects of POS and FTP on the relationship between human capital and turnover intention.

How Nonlinear Science Leads to Continuous Innovation in an Academic and Productive High-Tech Community

In this contribution, the fundamental importance that Nonlinear Science gave and is giving to a community of researchers from both university and private companies in terms of innovation and advanced knowledge will be explained. In the literature it is not often discussed the development and the history of researcher groups and the decisive role that some events positively address the scientific community and the development of the territory. Today, after more decades, the authors remark the impact that Nonlinear Science had on their community, leading to a continuous innovation process in academic research groups and in high technology companies. The genesis of this process is reported and detailed in the paper.