High-technology Firms Research Articles

Task Interdependence by Design or by Perception? Lessons from Innovation Management Teams

We examine how teams shape task interdependence over time through an inductive, longitudinal study of four high-technology firms. We investigated their organizational designs for managing innovation which enabled us to look at the development of task interdependence between multiple innovation teams. Our central contribution is a framework of how teams contribute to the development of task interdependence. We argue that initial task design decisions are interpreted differently by affected teams. Their differentiated perceptions lead to distinct patterns of interaction, which subsequently change the initial task interdependence configuration. Overall, we present the conjunction of task and perceived interdependence as a dynamic, cyclical, multi-level process, and as an inter-team level phenomenon. At a more fundamental level, we identify team social identity as an important driver of inter-team perceptions of interdependence.

Task Interdependence by Design or by Perception? Lessons from Innovation Management Teams

We examine how teams shape task interdependence over time through an inductive, longitudinal study of four high-technology firms. We investigated their organizational designs for managing innovation which enabled us to look at the development of task interdependence between multiple innovation teams. Our central contribution is a framework of how teams contribute to the development of task interdependence. We argue that initial task design decisions are interpreted differently by affected teams. Their differentiated perceptions lead to distinct patterns of interaction, which subsequently change the initial task interdependence configuration. Overall, we present the conjunction of task and perceived interdependence as a dynamic, cyclical, multi-level process, and as an inter-team level phenomenon. At a more fundamental level, we identify team social identity as an important driver of inter-team perceptions of interdependence

Matching of resources and the design of organisations for project management

This paper addresses a common to many high-technology firms. How can firms select and resource appropriate projects while balancing the needs of management as well as technologists? We argue that such problems result in social dilemmas for organizations, requiring practical institutional designs for management and resolution. We relate this project resourcing to the well-known problem of stable marriage. Both material as well as knowledge-based resources are needed for project success. The formalization of the affords us to borrow existing theorems from the literature on matching. We conclude that the potential for social dilemmas inside the firm are fairly severe, directing institutional solutions into a relatively narrow set of choices for project selection and resourcing. We relate efficient outcomes of project resource matching to several well-known organizational forms including the functional form, the project matrix, and the project-based organization. The paper concludes that, while efficient, the project matrix organization pays a heavy cost for its compromise.

"The Power of Local Networks: Returnee Entrepreneurs, School Ties, and Firm Performance"

Returnees—nationals of a developing country who have studied or worked in a developed economy and later returned to their home countries—appear ideally positioned to start new ventures. Yet a growing body of research suggests that they perform no better—or even worse—than home-grown entrepreneurs, a phenomenon we refer to as “returnee liability.” While previous research has sought the solution to this puzzle in institutional conditions in returnees’ home countries, the key contribution of this paper is to propose a novel mechanism that accounts for returnee liability; namely, returnees’ lack of social networks in the regions where they start their new ventures. To provide evidence for this mechanism, we explore how a returnee entrepreneur’s and her top management team’s local social capital affects her venture’s performance. Using a unique, hand-coded dataset on Chinese high-technology firms, we find that ventures established by returnee entrepreneurs with more school ties in the region where the new ventures are located are less disadvantaged, relative to those founded by home-grown entrepreneurs, than those founded by returnees who have fewer school ties there. We also find that returnee entrepreneurs who lack local school ties can benefit from the local school ties of their top management team members, but only if these members have an equity stake in the venture. These findings expand our understanding of returnee entrepreneurs and provide important new evidence for the role of social networks in creating new ventures.

"Do High-Commitment Work Systems Affect Creativity? A Three-Level, Two-Wave Investigation"

This study uses three-level, two-wave time-lagged data from a sample of 55 high-technology firms, 238 teams, and 1,059 individuals in China to investigate the impact of high- commitment work systems on individual employees’ creativity, with team cohesion and team task complexity as contingency variables for the relationship. Consistent with prior research, we hypothesize that high-commitment work systems are conducive to individual creativity. We further hypothesize that this positive main impact depends on team cohesion and task complexity, such that the positive impact of high-commitment work systems on individual creativity is stronger when team cohesion is high and when the task is more complex. The findings from random coefficient modeling analyses support our hypotheses. The results provide novel insights into the relationship between high-commitment work systems and creativity from both the best-practice and the contingency perspectives. Keywords: high-commitment work systems, team cohesion, team task complexity, creativity, cross-level models

"Boundary-Crossing Job Mobility, New Product Area Entry and Performance of Entrepreneurial Ventures"

How does career boundary-crossing affect an entrepreneur’s new venture? When entrepreneurs cross industry or functional boundaries to lead startups, they may lack specific experience needed for performance. Conversely, the diverse experiences they carry can enhance exploration and lead to the emergence of innovation in startups. We highlight important consequences of career boundary-crossing, using a multi-industry longitudinal sample of high-technology firms. We find that entrepreneurs who cross functional boundaries are more likely to lead their startups into new product areas. We also find that entrepreneurs’ industry boundary-crossing is associated with startup failure, but it also increases the probability of an IPO.

R&D employees' innovative behaviors in Taiwan: HRM and managerial coaching as moderators

Recently, scholars have acknowledged the importance of exploring factors affecting R&D employees' innovative behaviors in high-technology firms. In addition to the employee's individual differences, an organization's contextual factors serve as the moderators in facilitating the research and development (R&D) employee's innovative behaviors. This survey-based research investigates the influence of HRM (incentive pay system and training) and managerial coaching on the relationships between the R&D employee's characteristics (intrinsic motivation and prior work experience) and the innovative behaviors. A total of 127 R&D employees formed the research sample along with 23 R&D managers who evaluated their employees' innovative behaviors. The results indicate that intrinsic motivation and prior work experience correlate significantly with innovative behaviors. Both HRM (incentive pay system and training) and managerial coaching positively moderates the relationships between employee characteristics and innovative behaviors. Implications for HRM practice and suggestions for future research are discussed.

Flexibility-Oriented HRM Systems, Absorptive Capacity, and Market Responsiveness and Firm Innovativeness

Although market responsiveness and firm innovativeness are important aspects of firm performance, little is known about which human resource management (HRM) systems foster these performance aspects and how. Building on prior research, we delineate flexibility-oriented human resource management (FHRM) systems in terms of resource- and coordination-flexibility-oriented HRM subsystems. In addition, we draw on organizational learning theory and the concept of absorptive capacity (AC) to articulate the mechanisms through which these systems might influence market responsiveness and firm innovativeness. We develop and validate measures of FHRM systems using a series of four independent samples. Our findings based on a sample of high-technology firms indicate that FHRM systems are positively associated with firm-level potential and realized AC and that potential AC, in turn, is positively associated with market responsiveness and firm innovativeness.

Why do firms seek to share human resource management knowledge? The importance of inter-firm networks

This study untangles the social processes and inter-firm mechanisms underlying human resource management (HRM) knowledge networks. The research questions serve to advance understanding of why HRM knowledge flows between firms under contractual relationships and in the absence of formal relationships. The study analyzes data from a complete network of 51 high-technology firms located in a science and technology park to report the structural properties and relational dimensions of inter-firm flow of HRM knowledge. The results from this social network analysis show that the firms in the study actively engage in the sharing of HRM knowledge. Specifically, the results not only indicate the preeminence of formal ties but also of relational factors relating to firm legitimacy, prestige, and collaborative interaction. Participation in inter-firm knowledge networks appears to be an effective tool for obtaining HRM knowledge as well as for enhancing legitimacy and prestige between firms and developing trust and reciprocity within collaborative relationships.

Organizational ethical climate, perceived organizational support, and employee silence: A cross-level investigation

This article reports on a study investigating the cross-level relationships of organizational ethical climate on employee silence. Using a sample of 408 full-time employees from 24 high-technology firms in Taiwan, the study conducted multilevel analyses to examine its hypotheses. The results showed that instrumental climate – one type of organizational ethical climate – had a positive association with acquiescent silence, but not with defensive silence. Another two types of organizational ethical climate – caring climate and independence climate – had a negative association with both acquiescent silence and defensive silence. Rules climate and the law and code climate, the remaining types of organizational ethical climate, were not associated with either the acquiescent silence or the defensive silence. The results also showed that the associations of the instrumental climate, caring climate, and independence climate with acquiescent silence and defensive silence are mediated by the perceived organizational support – an individual-level variable. Implications for management and future research are discussed.

Knowledge sharing and innovation in Spanish and Colombian high‐tech firms

PurposeThe aim of this paper is to empirically test the degree of influence of different knowledge sharing mechanisms (ICT‐based, personal interaction‐based, and embedded in management processes) on innovation capability (both on ideation and on innovation project management), as well as the influence of each first‐level innovation capacity on company performance.Design/methodology/approachA questionnaire was designed and addressed to the CEOs of the companies making up the target population (Spanish and Colombian medium‐high and high technology firms with more than 50 employees and R&D activities). Structural equation modelling (SEM) based on partial least squares (PLS) was then applied to test the hypotheses drawn from the research.FindingsThe results obtained show that knowledge sharing is a key issue in order to enhance innovation capability. With the exception of ICT‐based knowledge sharing mechanisms (whose influence on the generation of new ideas is not statistically significant), all types of mechanism considered exert a significant impact both on ideation and on innovation project management (although their degree of relevance varies), and account for a great deal of variance in both constructs. Differences between countries arise when it comes to the influence of each first‐level innovation capacity on company performance.Research limitations/implicationsTraditional limitations of cross‐sectional studies apply.Originality/valueThe main contribution of this paper is to provide empirical evidence about the impact of knowledge sharing on innovation. Moreover, it reveals what the most effective knowledge sharing mechanisms are for this purpose and provide companies with a basic framework in order to shape their knowledge management strategies in this domain.

The moderating role of innovation culture in the relationship between knowledge assets and product innovation

Developing successful technological innovations is essential for creating and sustaining a firm's competitive advantage. This paper analyses the internal complexity that characterises technological innovation in firms. The innovation capability of a firm depends closely on its intellectual and/or organisational knowledge assets and on its ability to deploy these assets. This paper goes beyond the direct relationships between human and technological knowledge assets and product innovation, proposing a moderating role of innovation culture on these relationships. Using a questionnaire to survey 251 Spanish high and medium-high technological manufacturing firms, multiple regression models were developed. After analysing the relationship between human capital and product innovation developed by firms, the results reveal the existence of the moderating role of innovation culture in a knowledge-based product innovation model.

Effect of Alliance Orientation on Firm Performance: An Empirical Study on High-Technology Firms in China

Based upon the dynamic-capability view and social capital theory, this paper examines the effect of alliance orientation on firm performance. Hypotheses are tested with data collected from 195 high-tech firms in China. Results show that alliance orientation has a significant and positive effect on firm performance. Moreover, market dynamism exerts a positive moderating effect on the relationship between alliance orientation and firm performance, whereas technological dynamism negatively moderates the relationship. Moreover, relational capital partially mediates the same relationship and the interaction effects of alliance orientation and market dynamism on firm performance.

Bootlegging in the R&D Departments of High-Technology Firms

OVERVIEW:The existence of bootlegging during the innovation process raises the question why employees undertake such a clandestine activity. This research examines why employees choose to bootleg and hide their innovative activities from the rest of the organization, especially the senior management. The research is based on 55 in-depth interviews with bootleggers working in R&D departments of 34 high technology companies. This paper concludes that the activity was undertaken to reduce the uncertainty associated with an idea and so increase the likelihood of being accepted by senior management and developed further through official channels. It also found that the primary motivation behind bootlegging was the desire of the individual to undertake work that will benefit the organization.

Antitrust for High-Tech and Low: Regulation, Innovation, and Risk

Severe limitations on antitrust enforcement officials’ knowledge and the potential impact of ill-advised investigations and prosecutions on markets suggest that officials should exercise extraordinary caution in enforcement of restraints on single-firm conduct. Although it is common to depict antitrust enforcement as protecting market competition while other forms of regulation are seen as intrusions (justifiable or not) into market operation, antitrust enforcement has characteristics and risks similar to other forms of regulation. Indeed, government antitrust enforcement can be especially problematic, as it requires discretionary selection among an extraordinary range of possible targets, imposes significant burdens on companies that are under investigation or subject to suit, invites efforts by individual firms to motivate officials to deploy resources against rivals, and can seriously disrupt competition among firms. Antitrust authorities need to exercise special care in making enforcement decisions respecting conduct of individual dominant firms in high-technology industries, where antitrust enforcers’ abilities to understand and predict industry evolution are most limited and where enforcement actions are most likely to rest on debatable predicates about the effects of specific conduct. Critically, market boundaries that so often are taken for granted as setting the proper framework for evaluating effects of a leading firm’s conduct frequently fail to capture the most important sources of competition for the firm, which in many industries (including many high-technology industries with strong network effects) are dynamic and involve potential replacement of the technology that is associated with the government’s market definition. This has led to ill-advised enforcement initiatives which have dramatically burdened the target companies (even at the formal investigation stage) and has prejudiced market development without compensating benefits to consumers. Further, while network effects can establish or sustain dominance within a narrowly defined market, network effects also can have just the opposite effect: they can be the reason that a firm’s dominance comes to an end, as the success of a dominant firm is a spur to investment in competing technologies, including technologies that can replace the currently successful product or service. At a time when companies publicly identified as potential antitrust enforcement targets include a very large number of leading high-technology firms (among them, Facebook, Apple, Google, IBM, AT&T, Microsoft, and Intel), it is important to look critically at prior enforcement efforts predicated on similar theories. This article examines government enforcement decisions respecting four prior targets and draws lessons for enforcement going forward.

Top Management Attention to Innovation: The Role of Search Selection and Intensity in New Product Introductions

We develop and test an attention-based theory of search by top management teams and the influence on firm innovativeness. Using an in-depth field study of 61 publicly traded high-technology firms and their top executives, we find that the location selection and intensity of search independently and jointly influence new product introductions. We have three important findings. First, in contrast to the portrait of local managerial search, we find teams that select locations that contain novel, vivid, and salient information introduce more new products. Next, unlike information-gathering approaches that merely “satisfice,” persistent search intensity may lead to increases in new product introductions. Finally, level of search intensity must fit the selected location of search to maximize new product introductions.

TMT Potency and Strategic Decision‐Making in High Technology Firms

abstractConfidence is necessary for effective top management team (TMT) functioning, however overconfidence or hubris has been associated with poor outcomes. Researchers have struggled to untangle questions of how much confidence is functional and whether there are different forms of confidence. Using data from a field study of 54 public high‐technology firms we provide a richer understanding of the complex influence of one type of confidence, TMT potency on strategic decision‐making. Specifically, using a field study of TMTs of 54 public high technology firms we find potency at least partially mediates the relationship between TMT experience and knowledge, TMT interaction process, and strategic decision speed. Post‐hoc analysis of high potency teams suggests that potency may be either functional – leading to high performance, or dysfunctional – resulting in low performance. Potency appears to be a multi‐faceted construct consisting of both level and domain boundedness. We offer propositions that begin to untangle the origins of functional versus dysfunctional potency or hubris.

Myth or reality? Assessing the moderating role of CEO compensation on the momentum of innovation in R&D

This study researches the influences of CEO compensation on firm behavior to examine the interactive relationship between the behavioral momentum of innovation in R&D and CEO compensation. The models presented in this study are based on evolutionary, institutional, and agency theories to test hypotheses using data from 107 companies in the high-technology sectors in the United States. The results indicate that the pre-succession innovative behavior of these high-technology firms on R&D can positively affect these firms' post-succession innovative behavior towards R&D. That is, positive momentum in R&D innovation prevails in a firm across a change of the CEO. However, for the role of CEO compensation, short- and long-term compensation does not positively moderate this behavioral momentum in R&D. Hence, the moderating impact of short- and long-term CEO compensation to enhance the momentum of innovation in R&D can be romanticized. These findings provide boards of directors with evidence as to how a CEO succession matters to a firm's behavioral momentum in R&D, and whether CEO compensation can be strategized to change a firm's innovation and momentous behavior.

Comportamiento del inversionista a diferentes niveles de inversión en I+D

<p>Este trabajo analiza, usando una metodología alterna a la existente en la literatura del tema, la existencia de rendimientos anormales en el corto plazo ocasionados por cambios en la intensidad de la inversión en proyectos de investigación y desarrollo, I+D (R&D intensity).</p><p>Se observa que los inversionistas obtienen rendimientos anormales en portafolios de empresas que incrementan entre cinco a diez unidades la intensidad del I+D (o cuando este incremento es mayor a 25 unidades).</p><p>Sin embargo, ante decrementos en la intensidad del I+D no se observan desviaciones en los rendimientos esperados; asimismo, el rendimiento anormal es mayor en empresas de alta tecnología. El periodo analizado es 2001-2006 en los mercados AMEX, NYSE y NASDAQ.</p>

Intra-metropolitan Competition for Attracting High-technology Firms

Frenkel A. Intra-metropolitan competition for attracting high-technology firms, Regional Studies. Since metropolitan regions function as a preferable location for high-technology firms, the competition between different sites for attracting such firms centres mainly on the quality of the nearby surroundings (growth pole milieu). This study employs the regional competitive advantage conceptual model, which points to the competitive advantages created by the region's capital assets. The empirical study examines competition among intra-metropolitan locations for attracting high-technology firms in the Tel Aviv metropolitan region of Israel. Four industrial parks were selected for analysis, and 117 managers of high-technology firms located those parks were interviewed. Frenkel A. La compétition intra-métropolitaine pour attirer les entreprises à la pointe de la technologie, Regional Studies. Etant donné que les régions métropolitaines servent d'emplacements privilégiés des entreprises à la pointe de la technologie, la compétition entre des emplacements différents pour attirer de telles entreprises porte largement sur la qualité du milieu environnant (pôles de croissance). Cette étude emploie le modèle conceptuel de l'avantage compétitif régional qui indique les avantages compétitifs créés par les capitaux fixes de la région. L'étude empirique examine la compétition entre des emplacements intra-métropolitains situés dans la région métropolitaine de Tel Aviv en Israël pour attirer les entreprises à la pointe de la technologie. On a sélectionné quatre technopôles à analyser et on a interviewé 117 managers des entreprises à la pointe de la technologie situées dans ces technopôles. Entreprises à la pointe de la technologie Modèle du choix d'emplacement Région étropolitaine Capital géographique Frenkel A. Intrametropolitaner Wettbewerb zur Anwerbung von Hochtechnologiefirmen, Regional Studies. Da metropolitane Regionen ein bevorzugter Standort für Hochtechnologiefirmen sind, konzentriert sich der Wettbewerb zwischen verschiedenen potenziellen Standorten für solche Firmenzentren in erster Linie auf die Qualität der nahen Umgebung (Wachstumspol-Milieu). In dieser Studie kommt ein konzeptuelles Modell des regionalen Wettbewerbsvorteils zum Einsatz, mit dem sich die Wettbewerbsvorteile herausarbeiten lassen, die durch das Kapital einer Region erzeugt werden. In der empirischen Studie wird der Wettbewerb zwischen potenziellen intrametropolitanen Standorten für Hochtechnologiefirmen in der israelischen Metropolitanregion Tel Aviv untersucht. Für die Analyse wurden vier Industrieparks ausgesucht und 117 Manager von Hochtechnologiefirmen in diesen Parks interviewt. Hochtechnologiefirmen Standortwahlmodell Metropolitane Region Raumkapital Frenkel A. Competencia intra-metropolitana para atraer a empresas de alta tecnología, Regional Studies. Dado que las regiones metropolitanas son el lugar preferido de las empresas de alta tecnología, la competencia entre los diferentes lugares para atraer a tales empresas se centra principalmente en la calidad de los entornos cercanos (medio de polos de crecimiento). En este estudio se emplea el modelo conceptual de las ventajas competitivas regionales que destaca las ventajas competitivas creadas por los bienes de capital de la región. En el estudio empírico se analiza la competencia entre los lugares intra-metropolitanos para atraer a las empresas de alta tecnología en la región metropolitana de Tel Aviv en Israel. Para el análisis se seleccionaron cuatro parques industriales y se entrevistó a 117 directores de empresas de alta tecnología ubicadas en estos parques. Empresas de alta tecnología Modelo de elección del lugar Región metropolitana Capital espacial