The dynamics of Guanxi in Chinese high-tech firms: Implications for knowledge management and decision making

■ This paper employs multiple theoretical perspectives - resource- and knowledge-based views as well as social network theory - to explore the dynamics of guanxi in the context of Chinese entrepreneurial firms. ■ We propose a dynamic model and offer multiple propositions for researchers to examine the role of guanxi for knowledge management and decision-making at various developmental stages of such firms. © Gabler Verlag 2006

What Do Partners Share in Strategic Alliances?

Part 4: Enterprise ArchitectureInternational audienceThis study categorizes resources into firm-specific and general resource; costs into accounting and non-accounting cost; and risks into visible and invisible risks. Using data from 167 Canadian firms in technology industries, we find that sharing firm-specific resources and non-accounting costs are negatively correlated with environmental dynamism but sharing general resources, accounting costs and visible risks are positively correlated with environmental dynamism. Findings suggest that sharing certain resources, costs and risks do not necessarily incur high transaction costs

Organizational renewal in family firms

We investigate whether organisational renewal impacts upon the performance of family firms, and identify aspects of “familiness” acting as facilitators or inhibitors of organisational renewal. A survey instrument captured data on relevant family-related characteristics, organisational renewal, and firm performance from CEOs of 140 family firms in Greece. Regression analysis was used to test hypotheses. We found strong evidence that organisational renewal impacts positively upon profit growth of family firms. Where CEOs had a strong growth aspiration for the future, were firm founders, and where succession planning was taking place, renewal was more likely to be enacted. Efforts are focused on creating a business which will thrive in the future, and not curating an organisational heirloom shaped and constrained by the past. Their strong future focus liberates these family firms from possible cross-generational path dependency, allowing the special resources of their family's business to act instead as a springboard for on-going organisational renewal. Conversely, those family firms with a high level of family altruism indicated by extensive kin-employment seemed to be more probably destined for stagnation than stewardship, as they promote (past-focused) historical family sentiment and tradition. The dangers of cross-generational path dependency indeed seem pronounced in such past-focused firms