Inter-firm Cooperation Research Articles

Analysis of an Acquisition in the Banking Sector: Banamex and Citigroup

The Mexican banking sector during 90´s it has had transitions from private to public and to private again, and it is one of the main sectors which have received Foreign Direct Investment (FDI), mainly from Spain. In this regard the main aim of this paper is to analyze the acquisition of Banamex by Citigroup. In order to reach this aim a case analysis method was carried out. The results suggests that Citigroup invested in Banamex for consolidate its presence in Latin America, the profits in Mexico, imitate the Spanish banks that some years ago have invested in Mexican banks, the banking sector in Mexico was deregulated as consequence of neoliberal policies and the potential market that represent Mexico, finally the acquisition of Banamex allowed competition in the banking sector and the entry of new competitors in the industry. t peculiar investment strategies have on the well-known relation between size and performance of SRI funds. major-bidi;mso-bidi-theme-font:major-bidi;mso-ansi-language:EN-GB;mso-fareast-language: ZH-CN;mso-bidi-language:AR-SA'>This paper analyzes the wealth distribution taking into account the reaction of the market to the alliance as an indicator of a successful strategy. It explores the case of the automobile industry, which is characterised by a high use of inter-firm cooperation, such as strategic alliances and mergers & acquisitions, to effectively compete in the global market and face the global crisis.

Sustaining business networks: Understanding the benefit bundles sought by members of local business associations

Local business associations can be important mechanisms for stimulating inter-firm cooperation leading to economic growth and development. However, previous research suggests that the unfulfilled expectations of their members can lead to low participation, high membership churn and network instability over time. As a departure from studies that have explored why local associations supply certain benefits and services, this paper draws on an original, demand side membership survey of local business associations to identify for the first time the bundles of benefits sought by members. Two bundles of benefits (instrumental and info-social) relating to thin and thick models of rational choice, respectively, are identified in explaining why firms join and remain part of associations. The relevance of these bundles to members was found to vary with business profile and length of membership, with the value of instrumental benefits reducing over time, whereas the demand for info-social benefits remained relatively stable. The findings have important implications for local strategies for sustaining business networks.

Factors affecting e-commerce adoption among SMEs in Ghana

Electronic commerce (e-commerce) is widening the concept of business from a simple transactional approach to a broader and more complex concept of inter-firm co-operation. Amidst market globalization, growing interpenetration of national economies and the increased interdependence of national economies, e-commerce adoption remains a vital yet complex and elusive phenomenon, with very little known about its determinants. This study identifies the major determining factors in Ghanaian small and medium sized enterprises’ (SMEs) e-commerce adoption, offers practical implications, and indicates the actions required. This research integrates technological, organizational, and environmental determinisms with social constructivism to build a practical framework for understanding e-commerce adoption among SMEs in Ghana. Structural equation modeling was employed for data analysis. The results indicate that government support has the greatest direct impact on intentions to use e-commerce. Managerial support and the influence of enabling and regulatory conditions also play a vital role in stimulating SME e-commerce adoption in Ghana. The results also show that Ghanaian SMEs tend to imitate successful first-movers to avoid the risks that attend e-commerce technology.

Building inter-firm collaboration -Evidence from Vietnamese SMEs in Tourism sector

Inter-firm cooperation has received attention in recent year due to its benefit. However, little has been studied about the way to develop this relationship. In this paper we provide evidence on the development of small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) in Vietnam relying on inter-firm relationship. Using a recent national survey in 2014 for tourism sector, empirical results indicate that trust in partner, along with motivation from relationship, are the main predictor of this relationship. Further, it confirms the positive influence of similarities between partners on inter-firm cooperation. Our empirical results indicate that classical determinants of inter-firm relationship including firm age, firm size, location and the ownership are also important in Vietnam. In addition to the traditional indicators we analyze the effect of government support. Direction from the government contributed significantly to the growth of Vietnamese SMEs by fostering inter-firm cooperation, but the importance of this kind of support may be diminishing as private firms do not seem to benefit from this form of support.

Alliance portfolio formation and configuration by small and medium ICT firms

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to explore the forming and configuring of interfirm cooperation in small and medium enterprises (SMEs) characterized by different rates of growth. Design/methodology/approach – The study applies a qualitative approach. A multi-site case study was conducted in 26 Polish ICT firms. Findings – The research indicates that SMEs manage alliances ad hoc and are characterized by a constantly emerging portfolio of partners. The results also indicate that “stable-growth” and “hyper-growth” firms adopt different approaches to managing alliances and they are characterized by different attitude of top managers towards uncertainty. Practical implications – The results suggest that the managers’ attitude affects the formation and management of alliance portfolio in SMEs. The authors further highlight the importance of managerial agency within the firms and indicate that managers can actively shape the alliance portfolio of their firms. Originality/value – The paper theoretically contributes to alliance portfolio literature through the adoption of both managerial and structural perspectives. More precisely, this study provides the factors related to managers that might affect a firm’s alliance portfolio configuration. All of these factors relate to managers’ approach to uncertainty. Furthermore, this study extends the previous research through focusing on SMEs.

Moral Hazard in Inter-Firm Cooperation: A Study of Building Information Modelling Implementation

Active cooperation of building information modelling (BIM) implementation will benefit the society such as facilitating sustainable constructions. Given the government’s promotion of BIM and report...

Law and Trust

This survey addresses the question of whether strong legal enforcement crowds out or in the amount of trust in a society. The author reviews the empirical studies in the literature on macroeconomics, inter-firm cooperation and laboratory experiments, finding that mandatory legal rules, especially formal contracts, normally undermine trust except when they are perceived as legitimate, or there are no strong social norms of fairness (i.e. the population in a society is considerably heterogeneous), or the environment in which repeated commercial relationships take place becomes highly uncertain.

Wybrane zagadnienia współpracy badawczo-rozwojowej przedsiębiorstw w ujęciu ekonomii gałęziowej

Celem niniejszej pracy jest analiza wybranych zagadnien wspolpracy badawczo-rozwojowej przedsiebiorstw dyskutowanych w ramach ekonomii galeziowej. Rozpatrywanatu problematyka dotyczy czterech, wzajemnie powiązanych zagadnien, tj. stabilności wspolpracy badawczo-rozwojowej przedsiebiorstw, organizacji tej kooperacji, asymetriipomiedzy uczestnikami wspolpracy oraz jej wplywu na prawdopodobienstwo powstania kartelu na rynku produktu. Z analizy cytowanych prac teoretycznych wynika, ze warunkiem koniecznym osiągniecia korzyści ze wspolpracy badawczo-rozwojowej jest skuteczne rozwiązanie problemu „pasazera na gape” w procesie dzielenia sie wiedzą przez wspolpracujące przedsiebiorstwa i tym samym utrzymanie stabilnej kooperacji. Przeszkodą dla powstania stabilnej wspolpracy mogą byc jednak zbyt niskie bądź zbyt wysokie wartości asymetrii pomiedzy przedsiebiorstwami. Natomiast skuteczna stabilizacja wspolpracy badawczo-rozwojowej moze zostac osiągnieta dzieki m.in. licencjonowaniu know-how, intensyfikacji wymiany wiedzy w ramach wspolpracy oraz roznym formom organizacyjnym kooperacji (partnerstwa badawcze, kartele badawczo-rozwojowe). Z punktu widzenia dobrobytu spolecznego (efektywności rynku) istotny jest jednak fakt, ze zacieśnianie wspolpracy na etapie badawczo-rozwojowym zwieksza bodźce przedsiebiorstw do utworzenia kartelu takze na rynku produktu finalnego.

Cooperation’s characteristics for potential innovative SMEs in crisis: The Greek paradigm

This study focuses on the role of business cooperation and firms’ exporting activity as the determinants of Greek manufacturing SMEs’ innovative extend use, contributing to the existing empirical literature. The empirical analysis based on unique both quantitative and qualitative data, derived from a survey covering more than 158 small and medium-sized Greek manufacturing firms, and examines factors affecting innovation activity, emphasizing on clustering activities. We find that inter-firm cooperation enhances innovation activity, which in turn empowers firms’ growth by improving domestic and overseas sales performance. This study opens the floor for a greater perspective in managerial and financial firms’ characteristics; Firms should take initiatives to promote collaborative networks for innovation and create trade associations that represent SMEs, in order to facilitate social interaction. Also, government should offer incentives to SMEs with high innovation potential (e.g. tax allowances) and invigorate linkages between universities, research centers and the private sector by creating effective institutional arrangements. Finally, we seek to provide policy implications to business owners, policy makers and academics, to optimize performance, in the shadow of economic turbulence that the country experiences.

Competing through Cooperation: How the Nature of Technological Change affects Coopetition

We introduce a model of cooperation with competitors. We argue that the nature of a technological discontinuity is an antecedent to the type of inter-firm cooperation. Previous literature has shown...

Alliance formation as growth opportunity for non-publicly traded companies: a value-added service provided by private equity investors

We analyze the role of Private Equity firms (PE-Firms) as a governance mechanism, focusing on their role as social intermediaries, helping their portfolio companies to form alliances and thereby spurring entrepreneurial growth. Alliances as long term inter-firm cooperations are considered to be a main source of firm-innovation. External growth via alliances is especially important for small to medium sized companies (SME) – largely dominant in Europe (up to 99%)–, because their internal resources are limited. Since a few years, these facts lead governments to undertake actions aimed to create environments that boost inter-firm linkages and entrepreneurial clusters. In European countries, such actions are reinforced since the financial crisis (McCahery and Vermeulen, 2010; Glachant et al., 2008). PE-Firms intervene in this context because they represent the most important source of capital for, mainly non-publicly traded, SME. They provide finance in return for an equity stake for each firm’s life-cycle stage, ranging from venture capital to later stage financing solutions. As residual claimers, they generally stay on the board (or assimilate) and are active investors, providing their portfolio companies with managerial assistance and advice. They can therefore be considered a governance mechanism (Charreaux, 1997). In our study, we investigate if PE-Firms are themselves able to help their portfolio companies form alliances. As active investors, do they provide their portfolio companies with the value added service of forming alliances in addition to managerial advice? More specifically, the study addresses the questions of how and why PE- Firms act as relational intermediaries to help their portfolio companies form alliances. Both questions are investigated in the light of the PE- Firms’ contribution to the value creation process that comes with alliance formation. Within the preponderant paradigm of efficiency, two main perspectives can be relied on in terms of value creation: the contractual view (mainstream theories: Williamson; Jensen and Meckling) and the knowledge-based view, which underlies the resourced based perspective (Penrose; Barney). A growing body of literature analyzes the role of PE-Firms in alliance formation in the light of mainstream theories (Lindsey, 2002; 2008; Hsu, 2006; Ozmel et al., 2013). They mainly show that PE-Firms help to form alliances by reducing market inefficiencies. However, by relying solely on those theories, it is not possible to account for a potential role of PE- Firms in rent seeking (Mahoney and Pandian, 1992) by detecting new growth opportunities and enabling their portfolio companies to take advantage of them by forming alliances. We endeavour to fill this theoretical gap and stress the necessity of relying on both perspectives (dual theory of the firm). We rely on the French Private Equity market as ground for our investigations. Answers are provided by means of the dual theory of the firm (Cohendet and Llerena, 2005; Conner and Prahalad, 1996; Conner, 1991). The theoretical construct is tested empirically by means of a study with explanatory design, based on the pattern of evidence from a multiple case study with explanatory design, based on eight alliances formed in the presence of four French Private Equity firms. Results show that French PE-Firms do play a role in alliance formation. Those alliances are formed within their investment portfolio as well as with external companies. The roles that play PE-firms can be intentional (detecting new growth opportunities, driven by the PE-firm’s competences) as well as non-intentional (reducing marked inefficiencies though, mainly, informal mechanisms such as reputation and trust). Furthermore, our study highlights the benefits of the joint use of these theories and the complementary nature of both theories in explaining the phenomenon as a whole.

Small Business Development in Nizhilinsky Nasleg Area of the Kobyaysky Municipal District

Among the numerous factors of social and economic development of the region is the development of small business located in rural areas engaged in agrarian sector as well as development of inter-firm cooperation, the agricultural cooperatives. Article is devoted to the analysis of legal issues related to the development of SMEs, development of practical recommendations for development of municipalities in the form of rural settlements using a case study of the Nizhilinsky Nasleg area of the Kobyaysky municipal district. Using the example of consumer cooperative ‘Kytalyktakh’ the paper analyses the development features of agricultural cooperatives in rural area of the Republic of Sakha (Yakutia). DOI: 10.5901/mjss.2015.v6n6s7p223

Explaining Dynamic Strategies for Defending Company Legitimacy: The Changing Outcomes of Anti-Sweatshop Campaigns in France and Switzerland

This article analyzes and compares the dynamically changing outcomes of anti-sweatshop campaigns in France and Switzerland through a qualitative comparative case study using interviews and analysis of firsthand and secondary data. In both countries, some targeted firms made early concessions and later withdrew from those concessions. To explain these changing outcomes over time, the article develops a perspective that puts emphasis on interaction phases and highlights corporate strategic responses to anti-sweatshop movement demands. Analyzing those responses as driven by legitimacy contests between companies and activists, the study explains why anti-sweatshop movements had significant outcomes early on and shows the mechanisms that allowed firms to withdraw from initial concessions at a later stage. In the course of changing interaction dynamics and contexts, companies developed strategies building on competing sources of legitimacy to circumvent movement demands. The companies thereby compensated for the legitimacy losses inflicted by their withdrawal from earlier concessions and the legitimacy deficits of other solutions. The analysis reveals three strategies firms used to achieve and compensate legitimacy and discusses their contextual combination comparing the two cases: inter-firm cooperation, ethical product labels originating in collaborations with competing social movement actors, and publicly fighting back against campaign makers.

Expert insights on the determinants of cooperation in family firms in tourism and hospitality sector

Despite the inherent differences between family and non-family firms and heterogeneity among family companies, family involvement is under-researched in organizational studies, which limits the generalization of findings and leads to theoretical ambiguity. However, we do not know enough about the family firm specific determinants of inter-firm cooperation and how this may affect firm performance. Thus, we examine formal and informal cooperative strategies of family firms in the tourism and hospitality sector in the metropolitan area of Hamburg (Germany) by drawing upon networks and social capital theories and the extant family firm literature. Since cooperation is a strategic action which can be influenced by outsiders’ perceptions, we do not solely focus on family firm owners' attitude towards collaboration. Instead, we develop propositions about family firms' cooperative behavior derived from an initially conducted online survey with tourism experts. We find support for our propositions that tourism experts expect family involvement to drive firms' cooperative behavior which in turn can influence firm performance. Thereby, personal attributes of the cooperation partner seem to be more salient in family firms than in non-family firms.

Cooperation between family businesses of different size: A case study

For family businesses, entering into inter-firm cooperation with another family business can be a fruitful strategy for sustaining business success and ensuring survival. However, the typical characteristics of family businesses (e.g. informal organisation structures, restrictive information policy) imply a lower propensity to combine resources on an inter-firm level—which becomes even more prevalent when the relationship is asymmetrical. Against the background that, however, not only research focusing on the cooperation tendencies of family businesses is underdeveloped, but also studies on asymmetrical inter-firm relationships are scant, we aim at examining business-related prerequisites for cooperation between family businesses of different size. By employing a qualitative research design, we gain insights into the importance of similarities in terms of a shared history and synergies in terms of mission and values (i.e., familiness) for balancing deficits in power, from the perspective of the smaller partner. Furthermore, we demonstrate that the development of trust between the cooperation partners, through the active demonstration of a track record as a reliable business partner, as well as making good on promises made, can also aid the long-term success of the cooperation in spite of differences in size and scale of the family businesses involved.

The Degree of Cooperation in International Strategic Alliances and Value Creation Outcomes: Empirical Study on Service Firms in Yemen

<p>International strategic alliances (ISAs) are one of the partnership options that may be used by firms in achieving their goals. It is an inter-firm cooperation where firms commit some of their resources and capabilities towards the alliance to create a competitive advantage. Yemeni services industry need to improve its competitiveness and the quality of services it provides to the people and therefore, forming a strategic alliances with foreign partners is considered one of the best strategies. Although the involvement of Yemeni’s service firms in ISAs are evidence, but there is no previous study conducted to determine whether these alliances do create value to the firms or not. Therefore, this study is conducted with the objectives of determining whether Yemeni’s service firms’ involvement in ISAs do create value to the firms or not and what kind of value creation outcomes are created by this ISAs. Alliances may also come in various forms with different degree of cooperation. This study will also look at the influence of the degree of cooperation is ISAs on the value creation outcomes. Survey of 214 service firms’ managers revealed that ISAs do create value to the organization with financial value top the list. Improvement in customer service and better return on investment (ROI) are among the most important advantage gain by these service firms from their involvement in ISAs. This study also posits a significant positive relationship between the degree of cooperation in ISAs and the value creation outcome.</p>

Growth of Youth-owned MSEs in Ethiopia: Characteristics, Determinants and Challenges

The study examines the factors that influence the growth of youth-owned MSEs in Ethiopia using a sample survey of 909 operators which were selected through a multi-stage random sampling techniques. The result of the cross-tabulated descriptive statistics showed that the personal attributes, firm characteristics, inter-firm cooperation and policy predictability affected the growth of the MSE operators. Growth rate was also influenced by the diverse and heterogeneous character of the youth-owned MSEs. Unlike many other studies, the findings of this study reveal that the average growth rates of microenterprises are much lower than the small enterprises. Female-owned firms registered relatively lower growth rate compared to their male counterpart. The results obtained from the regression indicate that among the personal attributes of youth MSE owners: education, sole ownership form of business organization, small enterprise category, experience in similar business, and gender (male MSE owners) are significant variables which positively influence the growth of the youth operators. Out of the firm-level attributes, access to training before starting business, social networking and access to loan are statistically significant variables which negatively affect growth rate. On the other hand, access to product markets, future plan of the enterprises, saving culture, size of start-up capital and current capital are found as significant variables influencing the growth of youth-owned MSEs. The predictability of policies and inter-firm cooperation are also found to be significant variables affecting growth and expansion of youth-owned MSEs. Since the growth rate of microenterprises and women-owned enterprises are lower, the study suggests revisiting the current support program by crafting tailored interventions. Moreover, although inter-firm cooperation and policy predictability affect the growth of youth-owned MSEs, due focus should be given to improve social networking and building the trust and confidence of the operators on government policies and strategies. Keywords: Youth-owned micro and small enterprises (MSEs), Growth rate of firms

ALLIANCE MODE IN INTER-FIRM COOPERATION: A REAL OPTION VIEW

ABSTRACT This paper intends to explain and predict the alliance mode in inter-firm cooperation from the real option view. In the past, this issue has been explored from organization economics perspective, especially by drawing on transaction cost theory. However, it is suggest that real option view can be a useful theory in distinguishing between market-based alliance and equity-based alliance. This attempt also expands the real option literature in alliance because in the past, the choice between market vs hierarchy has been the main focus of research. Specifically, it is proposed that two factors – the level of perceived uncertainty and the perceived value of underlying real asset – influence the choice between market-based vs. equity-based alliances. Keywords Alliance mode, Real option, Inter-firm cooperation

Network effects, cooperation and entrepreneurial innovation in China

The rapid rise of an innovative private manufacturing economy in China challenges standard economic explanations of growth, which typically assume the existence of well-defined formal institutions such as property rights and company laws safeguarding investor and creditor interests. We highlight the social structure of cooperation that enables innovative activity in private manufacturing firms when formal property rights protection remains weak. We show how network effects linked to inter-firm cooperation in industrial clusters allowed private entrepreneurs to quickly develop reliable business norms to reduce the inherent risk of malfeasance and contract breach in formal and informal collaborative efforts. Survey data from a sample of 700 manufacturing firms located in China’s Yangzi Delta region confirms that both formal and informal types of inter-firm collaboration are effective, though in different areas of innovative activity.

Inter-Firm Cooperation and Internationalization Process: The Example of Polish Manufacturing Companies

The purpose of this article is to explore the selected aspects of inter-firm cooperation between the manufacturing firms and their partners. Authors aim also to empirically investigate how this cooperation allows performing a successful internationalization and gaining competitive advantage on the foreign markets. Analysis is carried out on a sample of 7 Polish manufacturing companies that are cooperating with foreign suppliers or customers on a regular basis. Data were gathered using a tailored questionnaire distributed via e-mail. The results show that Polish companies rarely choose cooperative entry methods when aiming for internationalization of their operations. They do not perceive a direct link between cooperation with other Polish companies and the success of internationalization. These results are in line with other research. The conducted study shows that the problem of improving a manufacturer’s competitive position on international markets by developing business relationships is still complex and requires further exploration.