The Bright Side of Being Uncertain: The Impact of Economic Policy Uncertainty on Corporate Innovation

Purpose: This study aims to theoretically hypothesize and empirically examine the impact of economic policy uncertainty (EPU) on firms' innovation performance as well as the contingency conditions of this relationship. Design/methodology/approach: This study collects and combines secondary longitudinal data from multiple sources to test for a direct impact of EPU on firms' innovation performance. It further examines the moderating effects of firms' operational and marketing capabilities. A series of robustness checks are performed to ensure the consistency of the findings. Findings: In contrast to the common belief that EPU reduces the innovativeness of firms, the authors find an inverted-U relationship between EPU and innovation performance, indicating that a moderate level of EPU actually promotes innovation. Further analysis suggests that firms' operational and marketing capabilities make the inverted-U relationship steeper, further enhancing firms' innovation performance at a moderate level of EPU. Originality/value: This study adds to the emerging literature that investigates the operational implications of EPU, which enhances our understanding of the potential bright side of EPU and broadens the scope of operational risk management.</p

The Impact of 3D Printing Implementation on Stock Returns: A Contingent Dynamic Capabilities Perspective

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to theoretically hypothesize and empirically test the impact of 3D printing (3DP) implementation on stock returns. It further explores how the stock returns due to 3DP implementation vary across different industry environments. Design/methodology/approach – This paper integrates the dynamic capabilities view with contingency theory to provide a contingent dynamic capabilities (CDC) perspective on 3DP implementation. It argues that implementing 3DP enables firms to enhance their manufacturing capabilities and gain a competitive advantage, but the extent to which the competitive advantage can be realized is contingent on the fit between 3DP-enhanced manufacturing capabilities and firms’ operating environments. Those arguments are tested based on an event study of 232 announcements of 3DP implementation made by U.S. publicly listed firms between 2010 and 2017. Findings – The event study results show that firms implementing 3DP gain higher stock returns compared with their non-implementation industry peers over two years after the implementation. Such stock returns due to 3DP implementation are more pronounced for firms operating in more munificent, more dynamic, and less competitive industry environments. Those findings are consistent with our CDC perspective. Originality/value – This is the first research empirically examining the impact of 3DP implementation on stock returns. It provides important implications for managers to implement 3DP to enhance firms’ manufacturing capabilities and for researchers to study 3DP implementation from the CDC perspective

The bright side of being uncertain: the impact of economic policy uncertainty on corporate innovation

Purpose: This study aims to theoretically hypothesize and empirically examine the impact of economic policy uncertainty (EPU) on firms' innovation performance as well as the contingency conditions of this relationship. Design/methodology/approach: This study collects and combines secondary longitudinal data from multiple sources to test for a direct impact of EPU on firms' innovation performance. It further examines the moderating effects of firms' operational and marketing capabilities. A series of robustness checks are performed to ensure the consistency of the findings. Findings: In contrast to the common belief that EPU reduces the innovativeness of firms, the authors find an inverted-U relationship between EPU and innovation performance, indicating that a moderate level of EPU actually promotes innovation. Further analysis suggests that firms' operational and marketing capabilities make the inverted-U relationship steeper, further enhancing firms' innovation performance at a moderate level of EPU. Originality/value: This study adds to the emerging literature that investigates the operational implications of EPU, which enhances our understanding of the potential bright side of EPU and broadens the scope of operational risk management

The effects of competitive environment on supply chain information sharing and performance: An empirical study in China

Information sharing in supply chains has become an important topic over the past decade. This study uses data from 617 Chinese manufacturing firms to investigate the relationships among competitive environments, supply chain information sharing (SCIS), and supply chain performance. The results of structural equation modeling analysis show that (i) international competition is positively related to all three types of SCIS whereas local competition is not significantly related to any of the three types, (ii) internal information sharing is positively related to external information sharing with suppliers and customers, and (iii) internal information sharing and information sharing with customers are positively related to superior supply chain performance, whereas supplier information sharing is not significantly related to performance. The findings enhance our understanding of the relationships among competitive environment, SCIS, and supply chain performance in Chinese manufacturing settings

A comparative study of advanced manufacturing technology and manufacturing infrastructure investment in Singapore and Sweden

This empirical study compares the advanced manufacturing technology(AMT)investment, the manufacturing infrastructure investment,and the interaction effectbetween these two types of investments using data from a sample of firms in Singapore and Sweden. The results suggest that the interaction of AMT investment andmanufacturing infrastructure investment has a positive impact on the firm profit and growth in Sweden, but does not have a positive impact on firm profit and growth inSingapore. In addition,this study shows that the AMT investment has significant positive correlation with infrastructure investment and firm performance in Sweden but not inSingapore

The Impact of 3D Printing Implementation on Stock Returns: A Contingent Dynamic Capabilities Perspective

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to theoretically hypothesize and empirically test the impact of 3D printing (3DP) implementation on stock returns. It further explores how the stock returns due to 3DP implementation vary across different industry environments. Design/methodology/approach – This paper integrates the dynamic capabilities view with contingency theory to provide a contingent dynamic capabilities (CDC) perspective on 3DP implementation. It argues that implementing 3DP enables firms to enhance their manufacturing capabilities and gain a competitive advantage, but the extent to which the competitive advantage can be realized is contingent on the fit between 3DP-enhanced manufacturing capabilities and firms’ operating environments. Those arguments are tested based on an event study of 232 announcements of 3DP implementation made by U.S. publicly listed firms between 2010 and 2017. Findings – The event study results show that firms implementing 3DP gain higher stock returns compared with their non-implementation industry peers over two years after the implementation. Such stock returns due to 3DP implementation are more pronounced for firms operating in more munificent, more dynamic, and less competitive industry environments. Those findings are consistent with our CDC perspective. Originality/value – This is the first research empirically examining the impact of 3DP implementation on stock returns. It provides important implications for managers to implement 3DP to enhance firms’ manufacturing capabilities and for researchers to study 3DP implementation from the CDC perspective

The impact of institutional pressures on supplier integration and financial performance: Evidence from China

With the rapid development of Chinese manufacturing industry and economy, there is an increasing emphasis on the Chinese institutional environment. In this study, we examine the impact of the three aspects of institutional pressures – normative, mimetic, and coercive – on the two dimensions of supplier integration – system and process – and their impact in turn on financial performance. We test the relationships with data collected from 617 manufacturers in China. Our results show that normative and mimetic pressures are positively related to both system and process integration; while coercive pressures are only positively related to process integration and not significantly related to system integration. The results also indicate that both system and process integration have a positive impact on financial performance. By developing and testing a theoretical model about institutional pressures, supplier integration, and financial performance in the context of the Chinese manufacturing industry, this study contributes to both the institutional and supply chain management literature, as well as providing a better understanding of Chinese manufacturing practices