Stakeholder engagement as a facilitator of organizational learning

This paper examines the relationship between stakeholder engagement and competence building. Following the dual perspective of the firm, which indicated that managers deal with both transactions and competences concurrently, we argue that stakeholder interactions also concern both transaction cost reduction and value creation. Based on a review of the extant literature, we incorporated a micro-macro connection between organizational learning and competence building. Further to this, we developed a conceptual framework by linking stakeholder engagement and organizational learning. This framework demonstrates that stakeholder relations may have significant effects on organizational learning and thus stakeholder engagement can play the role of facilitator in building firm competences

Differences in retail strategies on the emerging organic market

Abstract: Purpose – The organic product market can be considered as an emerging market. Since the 1990s it has experienced rapid growth, and supermarket chains have become the sales channel with the largest market share and are the main driver for further growth. However, different supermarket retail groups have very different strategies concerning the marketing of organic products. The purpose of this paper is to gain insight into the different strategies of retailers who are active in the organic product market and to explain the drivers which may underlie them. Design/methodology/approach – The strategies of the three most important Belgian retailers that market organic products, and in particular organic beef, are analyzed. Data were collected through interviews with the retailers' staff and through observations in retail outlets. Also, GfK-household panel data which recorded all purchases of 3,000 Belgian households and a postal survey with 529 respondents were used as data sources. Findings – The different strategies used by retailers to market organic foods are associated with the overall characteristics and marketing strategies of the retail groups. Some retail groups have clear “first mover” advantages from engaging in the organic product line, while for others an adaptive strategy is more appropriate. Research limitations/implications – The insights from this paper will help the understanding and facilitate the development of future strategies for organic and other high-value or premium products, which will be of interest to researchers and stakeholders who are active in these markets. Practical implications – The retail sector is not a single homogeneous block, but instead consists of retailers who pursue quite different strategies. This concept may have major implications for the future development of high-value markets. Originality/value – Existing relevant theories were applied to the adoption of the organic product line, a segment in the portfolio of retailers that is becoming more important. The empirical material collected sheds new light on the drivers behind retail strategies

ORGANIZATIONAL COMPETENCES FOR THE ROMANIAN TOURISTIC FIRM AND WAYS TO CONCEIVE THEM

Between the vocation and the competence of an organization there is a complexand a subtle relation. If the vocation it means searching and finding the need or the need typethat will be covered, the competence means to know, to want and to be capable to deliver theservices that can produce the user satisfaction in efficiency conditions for the firm.competences, vocation, capability, knowledge

Entering China : an operations management case study

Market forces and international competition are driving companies to reduce costs. The operations management issues experienced by 50 Australian companies when investing in China were examined. Many experiences were found to be common to most of the participant\u27s industries. Relationships with government, associations, local partners and members of supply chains were considered highly important. Levels of technology in China were not considered to be a significant issue. Access to staff with sufficient technology training (particularly for product development) and technology implementation was an important issue. The paper presents a model relating the various operations management issues identified to one another.<br /

Can Corporate Entrepreneurship Form Second-order Competences? The Role of Internal and External Contingencies

The influence of Corporate Entrepreneurship (CE), and second-order competences (SOC) on a firm’s performance are largely acknowledged. Yet, the association between CE and SOC remains largely under-investigated, less so potential moderators of their relationship. Drawing on the resource-based view of the firm, we study whether and how second-order R&D and Marketing competences are influenced by CE. We theoretically argue, and empirically test, the positive influence of CE on SOC. We also find that while such gains are enhanced as environmental hostility increases, they are diminished by the interplay of organizational structure. Data collected from executives of firms from knowledge-intensive industries, analyzed using regression modeling, supports our predicted model's main arguments and offers some support for contingency relationships. Several novel theoretical and managerial implications are discussed

Dynamic Capabilities; exploring media industry level capabilities

The competitive dynamics of many industries have changed considerably over the past decade, and perhaps, none more so than in the Media Industry. Industries have long been examined by researchers from a strategic perspective with various themes of inquiry relating to; industry structure and positioning, industry evolution and development, industry lifecycle, industry change and industry consolidation. Fundamentally, this body of knowledge emphases the importance of an organisation’s strategic fit with their competitive environment. This paper extends our knowledge of industry analysis into the domain of dynamic capabilities. As such, it examines the notion of dynamic capabilities existing at industry level and in doing so it presents the findings from a survey of UK media executives into the existence dynamic capabilities in the UK Media Industry

Entrepreneurial Orientation and Second-order Competences: The Moderating Role of Environmental Hostility and Organizational Structure

The influence of Entrepreneurial Orientation (EO) on a firm’s performance and success is broadly recognized. Similarly, second-order competences—defined as the firm’s competence to build new competences—as a critical resource of a firm’s competitive advantage are also important to a firm’s success. However, the direct association between EO and second-order competences remains largely elusive. Our study investigates in what ways and how EO associates with second-order R&D and Marketing competences while accounting for specific contingencies. We mainly argue that a firm’s manifestation of EO behavior benefits second-order competences; yet, while such gained effects are enhanced as environment hostility increases, these benefits are diminished by organizational structure. Analysis of data, collected using a web-based survey from executives of firms from different industries, using regression modeling, provide support to our main arguments and some support to the contingency factors. Important and novel theoretical and managerial implications emerge from this study

Option chain and change management : a structural equation application.

The aim of this work is to establish empirically with a structural equation model (SEM) the existence of links between the options perceived by the members of an industry, the expectation of future rents produced by the exercise of these options and firm or industry specific factors. The theoretical part of this work is based on the notion of option chain developed by Bowman and Hurry (1993). The empirical part is on the video-game industry. A questionnaire based dataset on 211 video-game creators allows us to represent the concepts of potential and real option from a strategic point of view. The study shows that the relations between perceived opportunities, capacities building and rent expectations are shared by the members of this industry and can be expressed as options.Real options, Innovation and change management, structural equation analysis, video-game industry.

Educational Mismatches, Wages and Economic Growth: A Causal Analysis for the French Case since 1980

In the last two decades, France has experienced an increase in mismatches between education and work. This article studies twenty two years of French productivity to highlight the causes and effects of overeducation on the employee wages and the national income. From the INSEE and Cereq data, this analysis shows a positive effect in the short term on wages of the least qualified and overeducated worker. Furthermore, overeducation phenomenon does not penalize the higher graduates. Paradoxically, if it is always profitable for individuals to increase their education investment; in term of growth, overeducation of the higher graduates produce an unfavourable short term effect on GDP.