Construing Corporate Diversification and the Role of Information Technology for Diversified Firms in the Knowledge Economy

Traditional approaches to corporate diversification are inadequate for understanding the role of corporation and strategy in the knowledge economy. This paper discusses (1) the need to construe corporate diversification in terms of knowledge-based relatedness and knowledge management capabilities of firms and (2) the role of IT for diversified firms. Knowledge-based relatedness captures relatedness of the most strategic knowledge resources—product, customer, managerial, and IT knowledge resources—residing across businesses of the firm whereas knowledge management capability captures the ability of the firm to create, transfer, integrate, and leverage knowledge across its businesses. While knowledge-based relatedness provides a potential for performance through knowledge-based synergies, knowledge-management capability converts this potential into actual performance. IT knowledge relatedness is key to both creation and realization of knowledge-based synergies across the diversified firm

The influence of top management team attention patterns on global strategic posture of firms

Drawing upon the managerial cognition and the upper echelons perspectives, this study proposes that the cognitive capabilities of top executives significantly affect globalization efforts. Specifically, the study suggests that managerial attention patterns or the cognitive processes of [noticing and constructing meaning] about the environment influence strategic posture of firms. Based on a longitudinal sample of U.S. firms operating in technologically intensive industries, the results indicate that firms were more likely to develop an expansive global strategic posture when their top management paid attention to the external environment and considered a diverse set of elements in this environment. On the other hand, firms led by top management that paid more attention to the internal environment were less likely to be global

Focusing on Diversity and Core Competency

학위논문(박사) -- 서울대학교대학원 : 공과대학 협동과정 기술경영·경제·정책전공, 2022.2. 황준석.본 졸업논문에서는 한국 정부가 신재생에너지핵심기술개발 사업을 보다 전략적으로 관리할 수 있는 방안에 대하여 다루고 있다. 본 논문은 해당 분야에 자원기반관점(RBV)을 적용해 그 동안 관리 요인으로 고려되지 않았던 투입물과 산출물을 자원으로써 관리할 필요가 있음을 주장하고자 한다. 본 논문은 연구팀과 컨소시엄의 다양성과 산출물의 다양성이 성과에 미치는 영향을 분석하고, 여기에 기술적 차별성과 핵심과제 군을 활용한 전략적 관리 방안을 제시함으로써 정책결정자의 의사결정에 필요한 정보를 제공하고자 한다. 국내 신재생에너지핵심기술개발사업은 연간 2,000억 이상 투자되는 규모가 매우 큰 사업이다. 특히 최근 전 세계적으로 신재생에너지기술개발 투자가 늘어나는 흐름에 따라, 국내사업도 예산 비중이 더욱 늘어나고 있어 현 시점에서 본 연구의 결과가 향후 예산 집행의 효율성 향상에 도움을 줄 수 있을 것으로 판단한다. 본 논문은 세 개의 세부 연구로 구성되어 있다. 첫 번째 연구에서는 연구개발 컨소시엄 내의 인구학 및 협력 다양성이 기술개발 산출물에 어떠한 영향을 미치는지에 대해 중점적으로 분석하였다. 종속변수로는 지적 및 실험 산출물을 활용했고, 분석 방법은 위계적 회귀분석을 사용했다. 2009년부터 2015년 사이에 신재생에너지핵심기술개발사업에서 종료된 과제에 대해 분석한 결과, 여러가지 전략적 관리방안이 도출되었다. 인구학적 다양성은 나이의 경우 일관적으로 부정적인 영향을 보였으나, 그 외에는 양방향으로 영향을 미치는 것으로 나타났으며 이질적 협력은 결과에 긍정적이었다. 두 번째 연구에서는 산출물의 다양성이 결과물에 미치는 영향에 대해 분석해 보았다. 또한, 산출물의 다양성 외에 산출물의 양적 요소와 질적 요소가 결과물에 미치는 영향에 대해서도 분석하였다. 종속변수로는 사업화 여부와 고용 효과를 사용하였으며, 분석 방법으로는 위계적 회귀분석을 사용했다. 신재생에너지핵심기술개발사업에서 2009년부터 2015년 사이에 종료된 과제에 대해 분석한 결과, 산출물의 다양성은 사업화와 고용 효과에 영향을 미치는 것으로 보았다. 또한, 핵심과제 군의 경우 특허의 질적 요인이 사업화에 중요한 영향을 미쳤으나, 전체과제 군에서는 국가인증의 확보가 더욱 중요한 것으로 나타났다. 세 번째 연구에서는 앞서 두 개에서 분석한 연구모델에 대하여 기술적 차별성과 핵심과제에 대한 논의를 더하여 신재생에너지핵심기술개발사업의 대한 전략적 관리 방안에 대하여 포괄적으로 기술하였다. 본 연구에서는 앞서 연구의 변수들의 분석 모형에 기술의 차별성을 조절변수로 더하였으며, 핵심과제 군을 별도로 분류하여 회귀분석 결과의 차이가 있는지 확인하였다. 마찬가지로 2009년부터 2015년 사이에 종료된 과제에 대해 분석한 결과, 기술적 차별성은 핵심과제 군과 전체과제 군에 다른 영향을 미치는 것으로 나타났다. 특히, 핵심과제 군의 경우, 특허의 질적 요소에 대한 논의와 더해져, 기술적 차별성이 성과에 중요한 영향을 미치는 것으로 나타났다. 분석 결과를 종합하면 신재생에너지핵심기술개발에서 전체과제 군과 핵심과제 군은 기술적 차별성에 대한 중요도가 다름을 알 수 있다. 또한, 다양성의 경우 전반적으로 중요하지만, 인구학적 다양성 요소의 경우 긍정적인 요소와 부정적인 요소가 나뉘므로, 무분별한 다양성의 조성은 권장되지 않는다. 전략적 R&D 관리방안은 주어진 데이터를 여러 관점에서 분석하고, 이를 통해 시사점을 도출하는 것으로부터 시작한다고 할 수 있다. 현재 국내 신재생 에너지기술개발사업은 다른 에너지기술개발사업과 분리된 특성의 평가제도가 시행되고 있지 않기 때문에, 사업의 성과제고와 관리기관의 전문성 제고를 위해 더 다양한 전략적 사업관리 방안이 제시될 필요가 있다. 이와 같은 관점에서 본 졸업논문은 공공분야 R&D 관리자와 정책결정자들에게 유용한 정보를 제공할 수 있으며, 이는 다양성의 관리 실무체계 향상에도 활용될 수 있을 것으로 기대된다.This dissertation addresses key issues on the strategic management in public renewable energy technology development program (PRETDP). Strategic R&D management is important for PRETDP because innovation in technology grows to be more important for national competitiveness, yet governments only have finite resources. Adopting resource-based view on public R&D management, this study viewed diversity as a resource that could be studied and used to achieve better performance of PRETDP. This study also wants to blend diversity with discussion of technology difference and core competency, which are classic subjects of study for strategic R&D management. By adding perspectives on technology difference and core competency, this study sought to provide practical insights for managerial practice of PRETDP. The first article aims to provide managerial insights for R&D portfolio by analyzing the effect of R&D team diversity on outputs of PRETDP. This article approached diversity with two different perspectives: one as a demography and another as a collaboration. For output variables, this article considered intellectual and experimental outputs. This study analyzed 430 projects completed between 2009 and 2015 in PRETDP by using hierarchical regression analysis. As a result, this study found that demographic diversity of R&D teams in PRETDP can have impacts on performance at both directions. This study found that heterogeneous collaboration can have a positive impact on experimental output for all projects’ group. Also, this study found that technology difference is important for projects’ group with core competency, while it has negative impact for all projects’ group in PRETDP. The second article aims to investigate relationship between output diversity and outcome with consideration of both in output quantity and quality. For output quantity variables, this article used academic publication, patent registrations, prototypes, and certifications. For output quality, this article considered Impact Factor, SMART patent index, national certification, and type of prototype. Two types of outcome variables were considered as dependent variables: commercialization and employment effect. Using same data sample as previous study and research method, this study found that output diversity has influence on commercialization and employment effects of all projects. The third article aims to re-investigate relationship between input-to-output and output-to-outcome with consideration on technology difference and core competency. Based on same research model of previous two essays, this article added technology difference as a moderating variable to observe interaction between technology difference and diversity variables. Also, this article extracted core projects’ group from PRETDP to observe difference between all projects’ group and core projects’ group in terms of diversity and technology difference. Using same data sample as previous study and research method, this study found that technology difference works differently for core projects’ group and all projects’ group. This finding links with another finding that quality of patent is important for core projects while earning certification is more important for all projects’ group. Findings from three studies can provide managerial insights for R&D managers to make strategical decision on PRETDP management. The implementation of strategic R&D management can be started from the analysis of accumulated data. By turning random data into meaningful information, R&D managers can have more insights to make strategical decision. PRETDP has been receiving uniformized assessment as rest of energy technology development program. It did not have strategic managerial plan for its core projects management, either. Findings in these studies can provide valuable information to managerial institution of PRETDP to think about the change in their managerial practice.Abstract i Table of contents v List of figures and tables x Chapter 1. Introduction 1 1.1. Research background 1 1.2. Problem statement 3 1.3. Research objectives 5 1.4. Research question 7 1.5. Research outline 11 Chapter 2. Literature Review 13 2.1. Public Renewable Energy Technology Development Program (PRETDP) 13 2.1.1. Why strategic R&D management gains attention in PRETDP 15 2.1.2. Importance of core project and technology difference management 17 2.1.3. Importance of R&D team diversity management 21 2.2. Applying strategic R&D management in public sector 25 2.2.1. Adoption of Resource-Based View 26 2.2.2. Management control and R&D team diversity 29 2.2.3. Technology difference and core competency 32 2.2.4. Diagnostic system to measure R&D performance 34 Chapter 3. Analysis on the relationship between R&D team diversity and output in PRETDP with respect to demography and collaboration 45 3.1. Introduction 45 3.2. Demographic diversity 48 3.2.1. Gender diversity 50 3.2.2. Age diversity 52 3.2.3. Diversity in educational background 53 3.2.4. Diversity in educational level 55 3.3. Collaboration diversity 56 3.3.1. UIG Collaboration 57 3.3.2. Homogeneous and heterogeneous collaboration 60 3.4. Methodology 62 3.4.1. Data set 62 3.4.2. Research model and variables 63 3.4.2.1. Dependent variables 63 3.4.2.2. Independent variables 64 3.4.2.3. Control variables 68 3.4.2.4. Hierarchical regression model 70 3.5. Results 72 3.5.1. Dataset analysis 72 3.5.2. Econometric analysis result on R&D output 72 3.6. Discussion 77 3.7. Conclusion 82 Chapter 4. Analysis on the relationship between output diversity and outcome in PRETDP: focusing on output quantity and quality 85 4.1. Introduction 85 4.2. Strategic management of public R&D output 88 4.2.1. Importance of output in public R&D 89 4.2.2. Output diversity 90 4.2.3. Output quantity and quality 92 4.3. Methodology 97 4.3.1. Data Collection and Research Model 97 4.3.2. Research model and variables 98 4.3.2.1. Dependent variables 98 4.3.2.2. Independent variables 99 4.3.2.3. Moderating variable 100 4.3.2.4. Control variables 101 4.3.2.5. Hierarchical regression model 103 4.4. Result and Discussion 106 4.4.1. Dataset analysis 106 4.4.2. Econometric analysis result on R&D outcome 106 4.5. Discussion 109 4.6. Conclusion 113 Chapter 5. Consideration on the strategic R&D management of PRETDP: focusing on technology difference and core competency 116 5.1. Introduction 116 5.2. Technology difference and core competency 118 5.3. Strategic management of PRETDP 121 5.4. Methodology 124 5.4.1. Data Collection and Research Model 124 5.4.2. Research model and variables 125 5.4.2.1. Dependent variables 125 5.4.2.2. Independent variables 126 5.4.2.3. Moderating variable 128 5.4.2.4. Control variables 130 5.4.2.5. Hierarchical regression model 132 5.5. Result and Discussion 133 5.5.1. Econometric analysis result on moderating effect and core projects 133 5.5.2. Econometric analysis result on moderating effect and core projects 137 5.6. Discussion 141 5.6.1. The moderating effect of technology difference on R&D output 141 5.6.2. The moderating effect of technology difference on R&D outcome 146 5.7. Conclusion 150 Chapter 6. Conclusion 154 6.1. Summary 154 6.2. Contribution 158 6.3. Limitation and future research 162 Reference 164 Appendix 204 국문 초록 210박

Trust, Guilt, and Securities Regulation

This Article analyzes the importance of trust in securities investing and how guilt about breaching such trust has implications for securities regulation. Both U.S. federal securities laws and the regulations of the National Association of Securities Dealers impose high standards of professional conduct upon securities professionals. But exactly what are and should be the legal responsibilities of securities professionals remain the subject of much debate. In particular, courts disagree over when broker-dealers are fiduciaries of their clients. A legal consequence of a fiduciary relationship is a duty of fair dealing. This Article is the first to analyze the emotional, moral, and psychological consequences of broker-dealers\u27 being fiduciaries. This Article explains how finding that securities professionals are fiduciaries can alter both expectations about securities professionals\u27 behavior and that behavior itself, as well as cause those professionals to feel guilt from breaching their clients\u27 trust or pride from honoring such trust. This insight has implications for the costs and benefits of finding a fiduciary duty. In particular, there is an emotional or psychological deterrence effect, in addition to the deterrence effect of monetary fines or legal sanctions, from finding a fiduciary duty. This Article demonstrates how fiduciary law can affect behavior even without extensive enforcement or severe legal penalties

Theory and research in strategic management: Swings of a pendulum

The development of the field of strategic management within the last two decades has been dramatic. While its roots have been in a more applied area, often referred to as business policy, the current field of strategic management is strongly theory based, with substantial empirical research, and is eclectic in nature. This review of the development of the field and its current position examines the field’s early development and the primary theoretical and methodological bases through its history. Early developments include Chandler’s (1962) Strategy and Structure and Ansoff’s (1965) Corporate Strategy. These early works took on a contingency perspective (fit between strategy and structure) and a resource-based framework emphasizing internal strengths and weaknesses. Perhaps, one of the more significant contributions to the development of strategic management came from industrial organization (IO) economics, specifically the work of Michael Porter. The structure-conduct-performance framework and the notion of strategic groups, as well as providing a foundation for research on competitive dynamics, are flourishing currently. The IO paradigm also brought econometric tools to the research on strategic management. Building on the IO economics framework, the organizational economics perspective contributed transaction costs economics and agency theory to strategic management. More recent theoretical contributions focus on the resource-based view of the firm. While it has its roots in Edith Penrose’s work in the late 1950s, the resource-based view was largely introduced to the field of strategic management in the 1980s and became a dominant framework in the 1990s. Based on the resource-based view or developing concurrently were research on strategic leadership, strategic decision theory (process research) and knowledge-based view of the firm. The research methodologies are becoming increasingly sophisticated and now frequently combine both quantitative and qualitative approaches and unique and new statistical tools. Finally, this review examines the future directions, both in terms of theory and methodologies, as the study of strategic management evolves.Yeshttps://us.sagepub.com/en-us/nam/manuscript-submission-guideline

Behind the Scenes of Technology Entrepreneurship in Kenya: A Rich Microcosm for Contextualizing and Advancing Global Organization Studies

Technology entrepreneurship is on the rise around the world. In the quest for change, comparative advantage, innovation creation and socioeconomic progress, a turn to entrepreneurial solutions to persistent developmental challenges has provided a powerful and captivating alternative to past solution approaches. As a consequence, innovation clusters have mushroomed, and an enthusiasm for entrepreneurial activity has caught the attention of many in localities as diverse as Kenya’s Silicon Savannah, Nigeria’s Yabacoon Valley, South Africa’s Silicon Cape, Chile’s Chilecon Valley and Germany’s Silicon Allee, to mention just a few. Yet despite this new, vibrant entrepreneurial activity that continuous to nourish a global wave of excitement, we know little about how technology entrepreneurship is actually performed in these disparate places. This doctoral thesis sought to fill this gap by taking a look “behind the scenes” of one of the most prominent innovation clusters in Africa — Kenya’s information and communications technology (ICT) sector. In this empirical setting, industry participants were in the midst of actively negotiating and rationalizing how technology entrepreneurship needs to work to make it a success, to unlock the benefits of a knowledge economy for Kenya and to carve out a space in the global innovation landscape for innovations made in Africa. Three interconnected academic papers form the core of this thesis. The first paper provides a detailed illustration of the local and global prescriptions that influence entrepreneurial action in Kenya’s ICT sector and inspired the conceptualization of a dynamic process model of globalization. The second paper offers a fine-grained view into the work realities of Kenyans and the generation of the multidimensional work portfolios across which workers diversify their activities to achieve economic survival, create wealth and exert agency for change. The third paper is a theoretical piece that theorizes the process of nonnative organizational forms diffusing and becoming adopted in new organizational environments. All in all, the thesis can be seen as an attempt to study the complexities that reign in African economies through an organizational lens and thus to foster a global organizational scholarship research agenda and discourse that can be of benefit to the many rather than just the few

The Multilateral Standard of Review: Export Restrictions, GATT Exceptions and Exemptions

This dissertation argues for the adoption of a new interpretative standard that urges the WTO adjudicator to explicitly take account of the economic heterogeneity of the WTO Membership when construing exemption provisions in the GATT 1994. In particular, the judicial decision maker should construe and interpret exemption provisions using the embedded standard of review, such that the Member States’ economic conditions enlighten the contextual interpretation of the language of the provision. This multilateral standard of review compels the adjudicator to accord conditional deference to developmental policies, as applied by a Member State in expression of its preferred economic strategy to expand the trade and production of goods and services. This dissertation examines the history of the standard of review in the GATT 1947 and GATT 1994 in order to critically examine its application to the construction and interpretation of the exemption provision of Article XI:2(a) GATT 1994. The proposed multilateral standard of review overcomes the post-modern critique of judicial practice by emphasizing the collaborative intent of the Membership, as revealed through the adjudicator’s understanding of the object and purpose of the agreement

Why South African boards construe elements of their regulatory obligations differently in respect of enterprise risk management (ERM)

Internationally, Boards of companies are increasingly required by law to take responsibility for their risk oversight. For example, the Sarbanes- Oxley Act (2002) in the USA; 2010 UK Corporate Governance Code; The revised Code of, and Report on, Governance Principles for South Africa (King III), (2009) firmly place the onus on the Board for managing risk in the organization. There is appreciable evidence that a high proportion of Boards do not fully embrace these obligations (Beasley M.S et al., 2010, 2011, 2012; FSA, 2007; Deloitte, 2012), leaving businesses highly vulnerable and unprepared for risky events. The aim of this research is to understand why South African Boards, in view of their strict corporate governance regulatory obligations, manage their risks differently. The objectives of this constructivist research are to question Boards on the extent of their adherence to legislated risk management requirements; and by analysing their repertory constructs understand how Board members construe elements of their risk; and further to understand whether Boards suffer from cognitive bias when faced with risky choices as predicted by Prospect Theory; and whether this cognitive bias adds to the risk exposure of the organisation. The research uses empirical data to demonstrate the extent of the shortfall between legislative directives and company practice. As a result of establishing how Boards construe risk, the outcome also highlights reasons for the shortfall between what regulators regard as risk oversight and the challenges Boards face in meeting these risk oversight obligations. The research examines the causal relationships between certain variables and the risk attitude and processes adopted by the Board. The following issues are evaluated: the differences in attitude to risk between highly compliant Boards and weakly compliant Boards; the differences in risk attitudes between members of the Board; and between Boards of different companies. The results suggest that; South African Boards face extreme difficulties in making sense of the risk environment; Board members are subject to a high degree of cognitive bias when facing risk and uncertainty; it seems unlikely that Boards behaviour towards risk can be described fully by the tenets of Prospect Theory; Boards suffer from source dependence in assessing risk; Boards’ behaviour towards risk is linked to their degree of regulatory adherence in terms of corporate governance. A behavioural form of moral hazard is identified where Boards which have implemented enterprise risk measures develop a sense of overconfidence in the belief that such measures will automatically and fully protect the business in all circumstances which in turn adds to the overall risk of the business. A further important indicative result of this research is a ‘Common / Variable Characteristics of Risk’ hypothesis. Boards appear to possess a common set of behavioural characteristics which govern the way they manage their risk, and a variable set of behavioural characteristics, the extent of which is directly linked to the level of risk readiness of the Board, and which also impacts on the way they manage their risk. This research highlights a possible phenomenon referred to as ‘Reality Drift’ in which Boards of companies may gradually lose touch with key aspects of their businesses through a process of cognitive bias and false and inadequate information. This phenomenon may explain why Boards of many regulated companies make errors of judgement and overlook areas of major risks to their businesses. This research also briefly addresses many important research questions around risk and risk management as posed in recent relevant publications. Finally, this research appears to be unique in the study of intact Boards, and adds to the important body of literature in respect of ‘sensemaking’ and ‘group sensemaking’, particularly in the area of risk management. This research is likely to be of assistance to regulators and company stakeholders in understanding how Boards perceive their regulatory obligations relating to risk oversight, and will provide further insight into risk management processes