Increased Coordination Costs Research Articles

The eclipse of solidarity: Precarious work, agency and collective action

Precarious work is a growing and alarming phenomenon. This paper analyses two of its distinctive normative features. First, precarity increases the risks workers face, blurring their capacity for prospection and lessening their security in accessing the opportunities associated with their jobs. Second, precarious work challenges workers’ collective action capacity. I will argue that both features threaten workers’ republican freedom. I develop the second point by presenting a conception of solidarity between workers and then showing how precarious work erodes it. On the one hand, when the labour market is dualised, precarity is distributed unevenly and the risks undergone by groups of workers are different. Thus, dual labour markets create a potential conflict of interest between the preferences of different groups, insiders and outsiders. On the other hand, various economic changes hinder workers from acting based on shared purposes due to increased coordination costs. To the extent that workers’ power depends on their bonds and collective action, primarily through unions, the eclipse of their solidarity leaves them powerless and thus increases their domination. Finally, I consider various scenarios that could boost workers’ collective power.

The geography of collective bargaining in French multi‐establishment companies

AbstractDespite growing interest in the firm bargaining process, little research focuses on the structure of bargaining within multi‐establishment firms. We question whether running negotiations at the workplace level and/or firm level is a strategic choice for employers. We hypothesize that the level chosen depends on the geography of the firm. Employers face a trade‐off: workplace bargaining is more efficient because it meets local conditions; yet higher level negotiations increase coordination costs for workers and weakens their bargaining power, which can benefit the employer. Using a French representative survey, we find a significant relation between the level of bargaining within a firm and the number, spatial distribution and heterogeneity of its establishments, suggesting that the structure of multi‐establishment firms can inform the level at which collective bargaining takes place.

Bibliometric Analysis Study about Organizational Change and Innovation

Organizational change is both a challenging obstacle and a common occurrence in high-tech companies. Change can improve adaptability and leverage knowledge based on the dynamic capability perspective, but according to the organizational inertia perspective, it can also increase coordination costs and provoke conflict. Moreover, innovation is essentially a bilateral or coupling activity. On the one hand, it involves identifying a need or, in economic terms, a demand. The marketability of a novel product or process entails technical knowledge, which may be accessible to the general public but may also include novel scientific and technical knowledge resulting from original research. We present a quantitative analysis of bibliometrics. By analyzing 456 articles, we identify the prominent academic institutions, countries, journals, authors, and co-authorship networks and their position within these variables.

Knowledge and social relatedness shape research portfolio diversification

Scientific discovery is shaped by scientists’ choices and thus by their career patterns. The increasing knowledge required to work at the frontier of science makes it harder for an individual to embark on unexplored paths. Yet collaborations can reduce learning costs—albeit at the expense of increased coordination costs. In this article, we use data on the publication histories of a very large sample of physicists to measure the effects of knowledge and social relatedness on their diversification strategies. Using bipartite networks, we compute a measure of topic similarity and a measure of social proximity. We find that scientists’ strategies are not random, and that they are significantly affected by both. Knowledge relatedness across topics explains approx 10% of logistic regression deviances and social relatedness as much as approx 30%, suggesting that science is an eminently social enterprise: when scientists move out of their core specialization, they do so through collaborations. Interestingly, we also find a significant negative interaction between knowledge and social relatedness, suggesting that the farther scientists move from their specialization, the more they rely on collaborations. Our results provide a starting point for broader quantitative analyses of scientific diversification strategies, which could also be extended to the domain of technological innovation—offering insights from a comparative and policy perspective.

The Changing Resource Needs of New Ventures and Venture Capital Syndicate Expertise Diversity

Employing a dynamic view of the resource dependence perspective (RDP), we examine how changing resource needs of new ventures will drive lead venture capitalists (VCs) to reach other partners for heterogeneous resources. A greater number of partners will increase the group resource heterogeneity, but they will also dilute lead VCs’ power over other partners and increase coordination costs in managing the group. Hence, we argue that the formation of a multiparty coalition is navigated by changing resource needs and leaders’ power constraints concern. We test our hypotheses by examing how lead venture captial (VC) investors compose their syndicates along different ventures’ life stages.

Validity of russian science policy’s instruments: what the world’s experience says?

Basing on the analysis of large number of studies revealing the mainstream science policy’s consequences the paper shows that Russian state science policy includes the instruments preventing achieving the pronounced goals. It is established that at least following components are scientifically groundless: chosen mechanisms for increase public accountability of science; intentions to apply competitive research funding ubiquitously; tendency to concentrate research at the universities, and perform it mainly by efforts of professors; trend to amalgamate research organizations. The results of empiric research from different countries shows that in reality society’s accountability is bureaucrats’ accountability. Competitive research funding decrease probability of innovative researches that are far from mainstreams. Coercion of all academics to publish research papers especially in high-sited journals decrease time for increase lectures quality. Amalgamation of research organizations increase co-ordination costs, and not results to higher value scientific results.

The ambivalent effect of complexity on firm performance: A study of the global service provider industry

Prior literature is ambivalent about whether organizational complexity has positive or negative effects on firm performance. Using rich data on global service providers, we explore this ambivalence by disentangling performance consequences of different types of organizational complexity. We show that complexity arising from the coordination of different services and operations negatively influences profit margins through increased coordination costs, whereas complexity coming from the sophistication of particular services may positively influence margins through informational advantages. We also investigate the moderating effects of process commoditization and client-specific investments. Our findings point to critical performance dilemmas facing global service providers in a highly competitive industry, and they help better differentiate performance effects of complexity at different organizational levels.

I can do that alone…or not? How idea generators juggle between the pros and cons of teamwork

Research summary: The advantages of working with a team to develop an idea are well established, but surprisingly, little is known about why some idea generators ignore these advantages by developing their ideas alone. To answer this question, we study two important trade‐offs. First, working with a team provides access to additional resources but also leads to increased coordination costs. Second, sharing the risks and costs of developing an idea necessitates sharing the potential rewards of a successful idea. We use unique data on idea generators and their submission of ideas to an innovation program in a large European company between 1996 and 2008 to show how the two different trade‐offs affect the decision of idea generators to collaborate with a team. Managerial summary: Organizations usually form teams to develop and execute innovative ideas. When people have the choice, however, will they also form a team or will they develop ideas alone? By studying idea generators and their voluntary submissions of breakthrough ideas to an innovation program, we find that the success rate is much higher for team ideas. Although teamwork has important benefits, idea generators will often develop incremental ideas alone and only accept increased coordination costs for developing radical ideas—this is even more so when they have prior team experiences. Moreover, only when idea generators were successful before and—even more so—when they developed that idea alone, will they be more open to sharing the rewards and risks of developing another idea with a team.

Flying or dying? Organizational change, customer participation, and innovation ambidexterity in emerging economies

In emerging economies, organizational change is both a difficult challenge and a common phenomenon for high-tech firms. Change can enhance adaptability and leverage knowledge based on dynamic capability perspective, but it can also increase coordination costs and—according to the organizational inertia perspective—prompt conflict. Existing findings about the effect of organizational change on firm performance are inconsistent. Accordingly, this survey study of 213 firms in the Chinese high-tech industry investigates the curvilinear and differential effects of technical and administrative organizational change, as moderated by customer participation and innovation ambidexterity. The results reveal that the effects of technical and administrative change are both U-shaped. At a low level of change, increasing technical or administrative change hinders firm performance, but as the levels increase beyond a critical point, the effect of change becomes positive. Although customer participation strengthens the effect of technical change on firm performance, both customer participation and innovation ambidexterity attenuate the effect of administrative change on firm performance.

Integration into Global Automotive Value Chains: Co-Evolution of Firm and Market Capabilities

This paper analyzes the evolution of supplier-OEM relationship in the Indian auto industry and its integration into global automotive value chain. Through a case study analysis, the paper studies the role played by government policy regimes in influencing the learning abilities of firms and markets over time. While protection encouraged learning and capability acquisition, it also increased coordination costs through regulatory controls. Deregulation increased the capabilities base and encourages flexible work practices by expanding the market. Complete liberalization led to realignment of global production capabilities and integration of the industry into the global value chain. The value chain analysis has implications for developing manufacturing capabilities and industrialization strategy.

Adaptive institutions in social-ecological systems governance: A synthesis framework

Adaptive governance of social-ecological systems depends on adaptive institutions. Efforts to understand the factors affecting adaptive institutions have identified many variables, but our understanding is constrained by multiple definitions of these concepts. In this article, we synthesize across two decades of studies relating to adaptive institutions. After clarifying some definitional confusion in the literature, we provide a theoretical framework to guide research on purposeful institutional change. While numerous scholars have identified a wide variety of important factors, we find that many of these factors can be traced back to (1) federalism and polycentricity and (2) networks and learning. Our synthesis suggests several avenues for future research centered on these factors. For example, how might the potential negative effects of key facilitating variables such as polycentricity (e.g., racial segregation and income sorting) and heterogeneous networks (e.g., increased coordination costs) hinder adaptive institutions? How can learning through both scientific and time-and-place knowledge promote adaptive institutions? More broadly, social science can play an important role in identifying factors that foster adaptability in different contexts, so that policy makers can promote such adaptability.

The Proposed GSD Model to Solve Coordination and Communication Problems

Global Software Development (GSD) is the most recent and major trend in software engineering domain. It provides many benefits but also faces various challenges in control, communication and coordination due to socio-cultural, geographical and temporal distance. Scrum is increasingly being applied in GSD as it supports teamwork between developers and customers. Scrum method offers a distinctive feature to mitigate the effects of socio-cultural and geographical but not temporal distance on coordination in GSD projects. This paper explains how Scrum helps to mitigate the effects of temporal distance that includes increased coordination costs in GSD projects.

Mitigating Coordination Costs in Global Software Development Using Scrum

Global Software Development (GSD) is the most recent and major trend in software engineering domain. It provides many benefits but also faces various challenges in control, communication and coordination due to socio-cultural, geographical and temporal distance. Scrum is increasingly being applied in GSD as it supports teamwork between developers and customers. Scrum method offers a distinctive feature to mitigate the effects of socio-cultural and geographical but not temporal distance on coordination in GSD projects. This paper explains how Scrum helps to mitigate the effects of temporal distance which includes increased coordination costs in GSD projects. A web application called (Distributed Scrum Web Application) provides various advantages for Scrum teams. The main advantage of this application is to facilitate communication among distributed team members. Index Terms—Global software development, scrum, coordination costs, distributed applications, sprint.

Investors as Capabilities: Intra-Investor Complementarities and Startup Performance

The contribution of investors to the performance of their portfolio companies within the VC industry has been researched thoroughly. A novel aspect of this paper is that it examines the impact of a syndicated investment using two different measures: (a) the total number of investors; and (b) the total number of different investor types. Using a novel dataset and while controlling for the endogeneity, this paper finds that having more investors of the same type has a positive curvy-linear impact on the portfolio company's performance. However, a larger number of investor types has only a positive linear impact on the company's performance. It is suggested that a tradeoff between having more investor complementarities and increased coordination costs is the driving mechanism of these results.

Whether or not to prepare for offshoring: A simulation study

A consequence of offshoring is increased coordination costs. To counter this, firms can strive to identify a cost reducing organizational configuration either ex ante or ex post to the offshoring i...

How tight an embrace? Choosing the optimal degree of partner interaction in alliances based on risk, technology characteristics, and agreement provisions

AbstractThis study examines a key question one asks when negotiating an alliance: ‘how tight or loose a relationship do we wish to have with our partner?’ Interaction with one's partner is necessary in order to coordinate operations, effectively transfer tacit knowledge, monitor for opportunism, maximize joint synergistic value, and make sure that an appropriate share of the net benefit created by the alliance is appropriated by the technology provider. However, too tight an ‘embrace’ or too high a degree of interaction between the allies can increase coordination costs and increase the chance of unintended technology leakage. The sample, comprising 95 international alliances involving technology transfers, is grouped into four clusters with rising levels of interaction between allies. The optimal degree of interaction between the partners is explained by variables drawn from (1) technology characteristics and future technology policy, (2) coordination costs and risks, (3) agreement provisions, and (4) firm and sector characteristics that existed during the negotiation of the alliance. Using a proportional odds model, variables in the ‘coordination costs and risks’ and ‘agreement provisions’ categories found the most support in the results.

Costs and benefits of inter-departmental innovation collaboration

Inter-departmental innovation collaboration facilitates innovation performance. At the same time, it has been identified as a source of increased coordination costs. Using organizational information processing theory, this paper builds and tests hypotheses on the costs and benefits of innovation-related collaboration within firms. Based on a sample of 433 German manufacturing firms we show inter-departmental innovation collaboration to increase process innovation performance, but also to produce costs in terms of project delay and project termination. These costs, however, do not affect innovation performance at the firm level. This finding suggests firms to be well able to balance the costs and benefits of inter-departmental collaboration across their innovation project portfolio. Theoretical and managerial implications are discussed.

Implementing Programmes to Reduce Nitrate Pollution from Agriculture in Brittany, France

Programmes to reduce nitrate pollution from Brittany's farms involve regulations, subsidies and communications with farmers. Complexity and frequent changes in programmes have contributed to farmers' investment decisions that look unsound in retrospect and to the inability of farmers to keep track of requirements. Regulatory complexity and changes have also led regulators to incur increased coordination costs and to experience losses of credibility. Moreover, compliance costs plus regulators' inability to independently verify compliance give farmers incentives to ignore some requirements. Enforcement of regulations was low during the 1990s, but monitoring (and associated changes in compliance) increased notably after 2000 following pressure from the European Union in response to water quality violations in Brittany.

FEDERALISM AND THE BALANCE OF POWER: CHINA'S HAN AND TANG DYNASTIES AND THE ROMAN EMPIRE

Abstract. This paper compares the institutional history of the Han Dynasty (206 BC–AD 220), Tang Dynasty (AD 618–AD 906) and the Roman Empire (27 BC–AD 476). I document a common institutional reform in all three cases: the central government assumed power to appoint key regional officials and diffused authority across a greater number of regional officials. I argue that this served to increase coordination costs among key regional officials, making rebellion and resistance to central directives more costly. As a result, this institutional reform shifted the balance of power toward the central government, giving it more control.

Towards the 24-Hour Knowledge Factory: Offshore-Onsite Team Dynamics

Globalization and the spread of advanced information and communication technologies have encouraged a transition to distributed, virtual work practices. By reducing the costs of communication, these technologies now make it possible for more people than ever before to collaborate and compete in real time on different kinds of work from anywhere in the world - using computers, email, networks, teleconferencing, and dynamic new software applications. Thus, according to Thomas Friedman in his book, World is Flat, The global competitive playing field has being leveled (Friedman, 2005, p.8). Connected to the flattening of the world is the increase in the diffusion of offshoring of knowledge intensive work towards emerging countries, such as India, China, and Romania. Although offshoring is becoming a part of our everyday social lexicon, we find little empirical evidence in the academic literature on the implications of offshoring for organizations and knowledge workers, or on the disruptive forces that offshoring brings to local, day-to-day work practices. Certainly, the literature on geographically dispersed or globally distributed teams (GDTs) shows the many organizational challenges of distributed collaboration, exploring issues like compatibility with existing hierarchical structures, awareness of other team member's activities, increased coordination costs, trust between distant members, status differentials, and leadership (e.g., Mohrman, 1998, Paul and McDaniel, 2004, Metiu, 2006, Weisband, in press). Moreover, previous studies explain how distance limits some of the important benefits that come from collocation, such as spontaneous conversation, collaborative social environments, mutual learning and influence (e.g. Hinds and Kiesler, 2002; Cummings, 2004). Some of this research was conducted in situations involving offshoring, but much of it reflects distributed work that remained onshore and does not distinguish between different types of globally distributed work arrangements (Saunders and Ahuja, 2006). Many of the conclusions and insights from these studies, therefore, may apply to the case of offshoring, but more work is needed to better define the specific upsetting effects of offshoring on knowledge workers and organizations.