Social capital, organizational learning and enterprise performance: an empirical study on pharmaceutical companies in China

With the transformation and upgrading of China's industrial structure, the market-driven restructuring of the global pharmaceutical value chain and the innovation-led structuring of the pharmaceutical industry have led to increasingly fierce competition among pharmaceutical enterprises and the challenge is choosing to survive or to die. In order to meet these challenges, it is necessary for pharmaceutical enterprises to deeply carry out organizational learning. Therefore, what is the effect that various types of social capital have in promoting intra-organizational and inter-organizational learning in Chinese pharmaceutical enterprises? Which types of organizational learning should be adopted to achieve collaborative innovation and improve innovation performance of Chinese pharmaceutical enterprises, thus promoting their overall performance and sustainable development? Combining empirical research with case study, including normative research, and from the perspective of exploratory learning and exploitative learning, this thesis makes a comprehensive and in-depth study of the impact of social capital on enterprise performance in Chinese pharmaceutical enterprises, theoretically explores the connections between the main research variables, constructs a theoretical model, and puts forward the hypotheses of this study. After validation, the main conclusions are drawn as follows: (1) External social capital is conducive to exploratory learning of pharmaceutical enterprises, while internal social capital is favorable for exploitative learning of pharmaceutical enterprises. (2) Exploratory learning of pharmaceutical enterprises plays a positive role in improving the ability of exploitative learning, but exploratory learning and exploitative learning have different impact on different aspects of enterprise performance. (3) Organizational learning plays an intermediary role between social capital and business performance of pharmaceutical enterprises.Com a transformação e melhoria da estrutura industrial da China, a que se junta a restruturação da cadeia de valor da indústria farmacêutica, mais orientada para o mercado e para a inovação, o desafio está entre sobreviver ou morrer e, para tal, as empresas desta indústria deverão introduzir na sua estrutura interna formas de aprendizagem organizacional contínua. Que efeito têm os diferentes tipos de capital social na aprendizagem intra e inter organizacional no caso das empresas farmacêuticas na China? Que tipos de aprendizagem organizacional devem ser adoptados para se conseguir melhorar a inovação nessas empresas e assim promover o seu desempenho e desenvolvimento sustentável? Esta tese procura responder a estas perguntas através de um estudo empírico e da análise de um caso para, a partir da perspetiva das aprendizagens incremental e exploratória, estudar o impacto do capital social no desempenho das empresas farmacêuticas chinesas escolhidas como objeto de estudo. Teoricamente exploraram-se as relações entre as variáveis da pesquisa e elaborou-se um modelo conceptual a partir do qual se propuseram as hipóteses. Os principais resultados revelam que: (1) o capital social externo afeta positivamente a aprendizagem exploratória das empresas estudadas enquanto que o mesmo sucede com a influência que o capital social interno tem na aprendizagem incremental; (2) A aprendizagem exploratória desempenha um papel positivo na capacidade de melhorar a aprendizagem incremental mas ambos os tipos de aprendizagem têm impactos diferentes no desempenho das empresas estudadas; (3) a aprendizagem organizacional, refletida na interação entre as aprendizagens exploratória e incremental desempenha um papel mediador no desempenho das empresas objeto da amostra

The role of absorptive capacity and organizational unlearning in the link between social media and service dominant orientation

Purpose – This paper aims to study the relationship between the knowledge obtained in social networks by firms together with the firms’ knowledge absorptive capacity and organizational unlearning as influencers of service-dominant (S-D) orientation, as well as the mediating role of absorption capacity and organizational unlearning in this process. Design/methodology/approach – The sample amounts to 101 responding companies, obtained from the SABI database. The companies belong to the service sector in Spain and have at least 50 employees and 5 years or more of existence in the market. The model was estimated through partial least squares structural equation modeling with smartPLS software 3.2.6. Findings – The results show that the use of social media is very important for firms to acquire knowledge and capabilities that help them to become S-D oriented. In addition, absorptive capacity and unlearning processes are dynamic capabilities necessary to transform the knowledge acquired in social media and to become S-D oriented. Research limitations/implications – Companies’ managers draw conclusions that can generate great value, while better meeting the needs and desires of the market, the more knowledge is obtained. In addition, the use of the knowledge generated in this process will reduce the risk of sudden changes in the market. Practical implications – The more knowledge is gained using social networks, the better the companies’ managers will be able to draw conclusions that can generate great value, while at the same time better satisfying the needs and desires of the market, and thus create capacities that allow the company to be service-oriented. In addition, the use of these knowledge platforms strengthens the strategic advantage of companies through the promotion of innovation and by relating dynamic capabilities with the orientation toward sustainable development. As mentioned above, a process will be generated that will reduce the risk of sudden changes in the market. Originality/value – This is one of the few studies trying to study the antecedents of S-D orientation and the first to study the direct effect of social media use, and the direct and indirect effect of absorptive capacity and organizational unlearning on S-D orientation as dynamic capabilities.Foundation for Science and Technology UIDB/04630/202

Early Internationalization in the Digital Context : A Capabilities-based Approach

In the fields of international entrepreneurship (IE) and international business (IB), digitalization influences the early internationalization of firms. While we know that digitalization facilitates early internationalization, we do not yet know the exact underlying capabilities that drive this process. The dissertation attempts to bridge this gap by utilizing a capabilities-based approach. This approach offers relevant insights for both IE and IB literature and provides new understanding on how early internationalizing firms develop their digital capabilities for achieving sustainable internationalization outcomes. The dissertation consists of four essays. The first essay, which is a literature review, evaluates IE and IB literature dealing with digitalization and examines to what extent digitalization underlies the causes, processes, and outcomes of early internationalization. The second, third, and fourth essays focus on the capabilities underlying early internationalization processes and outcomes in a digital context. The essays illustrate how the development of international dynamic capabilities and learning advantage of newness of early internationalizing firms occur; they also open up the functionality of digital technology as a supportive mechanism. Theoretically, the essays contribute to IE and IB research streams by providing novel insights and understanding of the phenomenon of early internationalization in a digital context from a capabilities-based approach. Overall, the dissertation cross-fertilizes perspectives from IE, IB, and information systems to contribute to our understanding of early internationalization in the digital context. It also responds to the calls for more research on the impact of digitalization on internationalization, and capability development studies.Digitalisaatio vaikuttaa yritysten varhaiseen kansainvälistymiseen kansainvälisessä yrittäjyydessä ja kansainvälisessä liiketoiminnassa. Tiedämme, että digitalisaatio kiihdyttää varhaista kansainvälistymistä, mutta emme tiedä tarkalleen, mitkä kyvykkyydet edistävät tätä prosessia. Väitöskirja pyrkii vastaamaan tähän tutkimusvajeeseen kyvykkyyksiin perustuvan lähestymistavan kautta. Lähestymistapa antaa olennaisia näkemyksiä sekä kansainvälisen yrittäjyyden että kansainvälisen liiketoiminnan kirjallisuuteen ja lisää ymmärrystä siitä, kuinka varhain kansainvälistyneet yritykset kehittävät kyvykkyyksiään digitaalisesti siten, että kansainvälistymisen tulokset ovat kestäviä. Väitöskirja koostuu neljästä esseestä. Ensimmäinen essee on kirjallisuuskatsaus, jossa arvioidaan kansainvälisen yrittäjyyden ja kansainvälisen liiketoiminnan digitalisuutta käsittelevää kirjallisuutta ja tarkastellaan missä määrin digitaalisuus määrittää syitä, prosesseja ja kansainvälistymisen tuloksia. Toisessa, kolmannessa ja neljännessä esseessä keskitytään kyvykkyyksiin, jotka toimivat varhaisen kansainvälistymisprosessin sekä kansainvälistymisprosessin tulosten taustalla digitaalisessa kontekstissa. Esseet havainnollistavat, miten varhain kansainvälistyvien yritysten kansainväliset dynaamiset kyvykkyydet ja varhaisen oppimisen etu kehittyvät. Esseissä käsitellään myös digitaalitekniikan toimivuutta tukimekanismina. Esseiden teoreettinen kontribuutio kohdistuu kansainvälisen yrittäjyyden ja kansainvälisen liiketoiminnan tutkimuskenttään tarjoten uusia oivalluksia ja ymmärrystä varhaisen kansainvälistymisen ilmiöstä digitaalisessa kontekstissa kyvykkyyksiin perustuvan lähestymistavan kautta. Väitöskirjassa hyödynnetään kansainvälisen yrittäjyyden, kansainvälisen liiketoiminnan ja tietojärjestelmätieteen näkökulmia lisäämään ymmärrystä varhaisesta kansainvälistymisestä digitaalisessa kontekstissa. Väitöskirja vastaa myös toivomuksiin lisätä tutkimusta digitalisaation vaikutuksesta kansainvälistymiseen sekä kyvykkyyksien kehittämiseen.fi=vertaisarvioitu|en=peerReviewed

Orchestration of the Marketing Strategy under Competitive Dynamics

Constructing suitable marketing strategy and implementing it effectively is an art and science both like orchestration of a symphony. The discussion in this paper blends this analogy with the science of marketing demonstrating the levels of strategy development in a competitive marketplace. The paper presents the marketing-mix in contemporary context and argues that performance of a marketing firm can be maximized, when a firm develops a creative marketing strategy and achieves marketing strategy implementation effectiveness. The discussion in the paper reveals that marketing managers of different levels simultaneously operate within the firm and perceive the need for strategy development with varied preferences. A consequence of this is development of robust strategies and their effective implementation which, in turn, leads to increased market performance. Thus, it is important for researchers to investigate various strategy integration perspectives and this paper provides guidance by reviewing the existing literature.Marketing strategy, strategy integration, marketing-mix, customer value,strategy implementation, market competition, risk factors, brand building, customer centric strategy, routes to market

Social media use and the challenge of complexity: evidence from the technology sector.

Social Media encourages networks in the complex and dynamic environment within which firms are immersed. The purpose of this study is to analyze the role and impact of Social Media on complexity variables and organizational performance. More specifically, we explore the presence of elements of “spontaneous order creation”: heterogeneous agents with motives to connect with each other, and their impact on innovativeness and dissipative structures. The research model was tested on a sample of 201 technology firms through Structural Equation Modelling (SEM). Our research contributes to extant literature by exploring the impact of digitally enabled networks (Social Media) on complexity dynamics through analysis of their influence on firm performance. We aim to advance explanation of how increasing complexity changes behavioral dynamics in complex ecosystems, and how information and Social Media can be used to cope with the new managerial challenges posed by increasing digital complexity.This work was supported by the Spanish Ministry of Economy, Industry, and Competitiveness within the framework of two projects: ECO2017-88222-P and B-SEJ-042-UGR18. Moreover, it was supported also with funds provided by the University of Malaga and Granada

Designing Scalable Business Models

Digital business models are often designed for rapid growth, and some relatively young companies have indeed achieved global scale. However despite the visibility and importance of this phenomenon, analysis of scale and scalability remains underdeveloped in management literature. When it is addressed, analysis of this phenomenon is often over-influenced by arguments about economies of scale in production and distribution. To redress this omission, this paper draws on economic, organization and technology management literature to provide a detailed examination of the sources of scaling in digital businesses. We propose three mechanisms by which digital business models attempt to gain scale: engaging both non- paying users and paying customers; organizing customer engagement to allow self- customization; and orchestrating networked value chains, such as platforms or multi-sided business models. Scaling conditions are discussed, and propositions developed and illustrated with examples of big data entrepreneurial firms

Capabilities for growth

This study explores firm growth and its relation with firm-specific capabilities. Organisations can benefit from growth in many ways, including greater efficiencies through economies of scale, increased power, the ability to withstand environmental change, increased profits and increased prestige for organizational members. The second element of research in this study, firm-specific capabilities, refers to the ability to integrate, build and reconfigure internal and external competencies to address rapidly changing environments. The fields of growth and capabilities seem to be complementary. However, the exact relationship currently seems to be underdeveloped. In this study, an attempt is made to incorporate the development of capabilities in the process of organisational growth. The following issues are addressed: The way organisations strive to grow, the manner in which firm-specific capabilities are incorporated and translated into the corporate strategy and whether these companies have succeeded.

The Economics of Electronics Industry: Competitive Dynamics and Industrial Organization

This entry highlights fundamental changes in the electronics industry that have transformed its competitive dynamics and industrial organization: a high and growing knowledge intensity; the rapid pace of change in technologies and markets; and extensive globalization. That explosive mixture of forces has created two inter-related puzzles. The first puzzle is that a high degree of globalization may well go hand in hand with high and increasing concentration. This runs counter to the dominant view, based on the assumption of neo-classical trade theory, that globalization will increase competition and hence will act as a powerful equalizer both among nations and among firms. Multinational corporations, after all, may not be such effective "spoilers of concentration", as claimed by Richard Caves (1982). The second related puzzle is that this industry fails to act like a stable global oligopoly, even when concentration is extremely high: a market positions are highly volatile, new entry is possible, and not even market leaders can count on a guaranteed survival.

The business model: Theoretical roots, recent developments, and future research

The paper provides a broad and multifaceted review of the received literature on business models, in which we attempt to explore the origin of the construct and to examine the business model concept through multiple disciplinary and subject-matter lenses. The review reveals that scholars do not agree on what a business model is, and that the literature is developing largely in silos, according to the phenomena of interest to the respective researchers. However, we also found some emerging common ground among students of business models. Specifically, i) the business model is emerging as a new unit of analysis; ii) business models emphasize a system-level, holistic approach towards explaining how firms do business; iii) organizational activities play an important role in the various conceptualizations of business models that have been proposed, and iv) business models seek not only to explain the ways in which value is captured but also how it is created. These emerging themes could serve as important catalysts towards a more unified study of business models.Business model; strategy; technology management; innovation; literature review;