An integrated core competence evaluation framework for portfolio management in the oil industry

Drawing upon resource-based theory, this paper presents a core competence evaluation framework for managing the competence portfolio of an oil company. It introduces a network typology to illustrate how to form different types of strategic alliance relations with partnering firms to manage and grow the competence portfolio. A framework is tested using a case study approach involving face-to-face structured interviews. We identified purchasing, refining and sales and marketing as strong candidates to be the core competencies. However, despite the company's core business of refining oil, the core competencies were identified to be their research and development and performance management (PM) capabilities. We further provide a procedure to determine different kinds of physical, intellectual and cultural resources making a dominant impact on company's competence portfolio. In addition, we provide a comprehensive set of guidelines on how to develop core competence further by forging a partnership alliance choosing an appropriate network topology

High performance workplaces and skill development: Updating the map of the territory

The impact of High Performance Workplace Systems (HPWS) on workers and unions is a contentious area for debate in the fields of industrial relations and social science in general. Proponents of HPWS claim that one of the benefits for workers is that they enable workers to develop and raise their skill levels. This paper offers a preliminary evaluation of that claim by sketching an updated map of the territory. It concludes that the HPWS literature contains significant weaknesses concerning the definition of skill in explaining what skill development means for workers, individually and collectively

DOD Mission Engineering and Integration Explorative-Exploitative Architecture for Technology Innovation

The ability of U.S. Department of Defense to achieve timely innovation in support of U.S. National Defense and Military Strategies continues to increase in significance. The growing challenges in U.S. Department of Defense (DoD) technological innovation in a context of global security and rapid pace of global competitiveness continue to reveal many shortcomings in current weapon systems development and acquisition practice. As the pace of technological innovation is accelerating, the DoD faces the challenge that the same disruptive technological advances are also being made available to or developed by its adversaries. Based on literature review, no innovation system theory exists that accounts for organization interaction with the environment given socio-economic objectives and associated missions, including a less closed-system approach to interactions across the private and public sector boundaries. The Mission Engineering Explorative-Exploitative Architecture for Innovation expands Bennan & Tushman’s (2003) and O’Reilly & Tushman (1996) explorative-exploitative theory from a process management, innovation behavior, and private firm’s performance within the context of environmental technological change. A System Theory framework based qualitative content analyzes the innovation and Department of Defense dataset and produced a set of initial seed-categories. These seed-categories were interpreted resulting in architectural views and associated propositions. The resulting architecture contributions are propositional definitions for Mission Engineering and Integration Management functions in the context of military missions and complex situations including constructs for identifying socio-technical misalignments as basis for understanding and identifying technological innovation opportunities and associated partnerships

Reasons behind ERP package adoption: a diffusion of innovations perspective

Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) packages have been widely adopted and it is becoming clear that this is driven by multiple rationales that may be simultaneously at odds and complimentary. In this paper, we aim to develop a greater understanding of these rationales by taking ERP packages to be innovations and analysing their adoption with reference to the theory of diffusion of innovations. In particular, we consider the attributes of ERP packages that may affect their adoption such as relative advantage, compatibility, complexiblity, trialability and observability. We argue that users’ perceptions of these attributes are not always accurate and these ’misconceptions’ can further explain reasons for ERP adoption or rejection. Although our analysis aims to provide rich insights into the adoption of ERP packages, the results of the study are arguably of further interest to the more general study of packaged software and the more established literature on custom development

The determinants of eco innovation in green supply chains: evidence form an Italian sectoral study

In the last years attention has increased to the eco-innovation topic. Empirical studies have demonstrated that innovating firms grow faster, have higher productivity and are more profitable than their less innovative counterparts (Geroski et al., 1993; Roper and Hewitt-Dundas, 1998). Drawing upon a database of over 300 enterprises operating within eight defined green production chains working in the Province of Milan, this paper assesses the determinants and drawbacks of innovation. In particular, using an econometrical approach, we tested the following propositions: a) small dimension of enterprises is an obstacle to their innovation power; b) The adoption of an international strategy of production and commercialisation is an opportunity and a stimulus to eco-innovation; c) cooperation with research partners can help SMEs to overcome difficulties and help them to develop and offer eco-sustainable products and services. The econometric analysis shows a positive impact of dimension and level of internationalization on innovation capabilities. In addition, cooperation with research centers and access to capital market are positively related with effective innovations.SME, eco-innovation, supply chain, green economy.

Success Factors Impacting Artificial Intelligence Adoption --- Perspective From the Telecom Industry in China

As the core driving force of the new round of informatization development and the industrial revolution, the disruptive achievements of artificial intelligence (AI) are rapidly and comprehensively infiltrating into various fields of human activities. Although technologies and applications of AI have been widely studied, and factors that affect AI adoption are identified in existing literature, the impact of success factors on AI adoption remains unknown. Accordingly, the main study of this paper proposes a framework to explore the effects of success factors on AI adoption by integrating the technology, organization, and environment (TOE) framework and diffusion of innovation (DOI) theory. Particularly, this framework consists of factors regarding the external environment, organizational capabilities, and innovation attributes of AI. The framework is empirically tested with data collected by surveying telecom companies in China. Structural equation modeling is applied to analyze the data. The results indicate that compatibility, relative advantage, complexity, managerial support, government involvement, and vendor partnership are significantly related to AI adoption. Managerial capability impacts other organizational capabilities and innovation attributes of AI, but it is indirectly related to AI adoption. Market uncertainty and competitive pressure are not significantly related to AI adoption, but all the external environment factors positively influence managerial capability. The study provides support for firms\u27 decision-making and resource allocation regarding AI adoption. In addition, based on the resource-based view (RBV), this article conducts study 2 which explores the factors that influence the firm sustainable growth. Multiple regression model is applied to empirically test the hypotheses with longitudinal time-series panel data from telecom companies in China. The results indicate that at the firm level, the customer value and operational expenses are significantly related to sustainable growth. Also, at the industry level, industry investment significant impacts sustainable growth. Study 2 provides insights for practitioners the way to keep sustainable growth

Strategic Partnering with Chinese Companies: Hidden Motives and Treasures

In this paper we aim to investigate the key drivers of international alliance formation from the perspective of Chinese companies. Our results indicate that Chinese companies enter into alliances with Western companies mainly to get accesses to international markets and to develop their technological and managerial competences further. Therefore we can say that Chinese companies particularly value task-related criteria when selecting Western partners. Nevertheless we also find that Chinese companies also include 'soft' factors such trust, compatibility or reputation in their partner selection process. We therefore conclude that in searching for Western partners, Chinese companies try to find a combination of 'hard' competencies such as technology and other resources as well as more 'soft' attributes such as trust, mutual understanding and commitment.Strategic alliances, China, Innovation, Internationalization

The Permeability of Network Boundaries: Strategic Alliances in the Japanese Electronics Industry in the 1990s

This paper looks at the choice of strategic partners for alliance formation in the Japanese electronics industry during the post-bubble economic period 1992-97. Results from a dyad analysis of 128 companies suggest that firms tend to look for partners within their existing vertical keiretsu networks of organizations for alliances that target the creation of resources that build on existing knowledge (production or distribution) but that this common keiretsu effect disappears for alliances that involve new knowledge creation (new product or technology development). The role of corporate networks, environmental uncertainty and their implications for our understanding of strategic alliance formation and the dynamics of social networks are discussed.

Leveraging Open-standard Interorganizational Information Systems for Process Adaptability and Alignment: An Empirical Analysis

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to understand the value creation mechanisms of open-standard inter-organizational information system (OSIOS), which is a key technology to achieve Industry 4.0. Specifically, this study investigates how the internal assimilation and external diffusion of OSIOS help manufactures facilitate process adaptability and alignment in supply chain network.Design/methodology/approachA survey instrument was designed and administrated to collect data for this research. Using three-stage least squares estimation, the authors empirically tested a number of hypothesized relationships based on a sample of 308 manufacturing firms in China.FindingsThe results of the study show that OSIOS can perform as value creation mechanisms to enable process adaptability and alignment. In addition, the impact of OSIOS internal assimilation is inversely U-shaped where the positive effect on process adaptability will become negative after an extremum point is reached.Originality/valueThis study contributes to the existing literature by providing insights on how OSIOS can improve supply chain integration and thus promote the achievement of industry 4.0. By revealing a U-shaped relationship between OSIOS assimilation and process adaptability, this study fills previous research gap by advancing the understanding on the value creation mechanisms of information systems deployment

The organization and performance evaluation of R&D projects in a dynamic environment

Faster technological development, shorter product life-cycles, and more intense global competition have transformed the current competitive environment for most firms. This new competitive landscape forces organizations to actively acquire knowledge, as a firm's competitive advantage is now more dependent on continuous knowledge development and enhancement. Therefore, knowledge has become a central theme in strategic management. Against this background, we argue that the knowledge characteristics of R&D projects are fundamental variables to explain governance decisions. Drawing upon the case of STMicroelectronics, we provide evidence that partnering or contracting with universities for innovation is common practice for developing new -original- knowledge, as opposed to applying existing knowledge, for solving a problem. However, the firm is more reluctant to partner, especially with another firm, when this knowledge directly enhances its competitiveness. Moreover, we find that R&D project performance is a bi-dimensional construct. One dimension picks up project efficacy and immediate benefits, while the other includes learning and long-term benefits. Though spanning firm boundaries for innovation does not seem to have appreciable effects on perceived project efficiency, it nonetheless brings about intertemporal benefits related to learning and capabilities development. In a dynamic environment, building knowledge may be more important than protecting it. Thus, an open innovation process may be an exceptionally effective way to build and develop the firm's technological future.Innovation strategy; R&D projects' organization; R&D projects' performance; open innovation;