We present an analytical framework explaining offshoring in this paper. We address the question: why do firms offshore their business functions? Given the growing prevalence of offshoring as a ...dominant business practice in the world of global business, this question merits further research attention. We propose that firms embark on offshoring when they perceive three sets of interrelated advantages: disintegration advantages (D), location-specific resourcing advantages (L) and externalization advantages (E). Theories from multiple disciplines form the foundation of Disintegration–Location–Externalization (DLE) framework. Implications for managers, government policy makers and recommendations for future research are explored.
•In this study we utilize linguistic distance, as opposed to cultural distance, to explain why cross-border mergers and acquisitions often fail to create value for the acquiring firm.•The degree of ...linguistic distance between the nations of the acquiring and targeted firms has detrimental effects on the M&A integration process leading to reduced financial performance.•The acquiring firms’ integration capabilities, developed in response to prior acquisition experiences, are often instrumental in mitigating the detrimental effects of linguistic distance.
The aim of this study is to examine the effects of language on post-acquisition performance of US based cross-border acquisitions. In this study we attempt to show that post-acquisition performance is explained by the linguistic distance between the acquirer and target country of the acquisition. In addition, this study explains the moderating role of acquisition experience in the linguistic distance-acquisition performance relationship. An analysis of 1120 US acquisitions in 33 target countries over a period of 6 years (2007 to 2012) demonstrates that linguistic distance has explanatory value in post-acquisition performance. Our analysis also demonstrates that the acquirer’s cross-border acquisition experience plays a significant role as a moderator of this linguistic distance—acquisition performance relationship. In addition, our analysis of lingua franca proficiency also lends support to our hypothesized relationships and demonstrates the robustness of our findings.
Research recognizes that emerging market firms (EMFs) have relatively underdeveloped absorptive capacity. Yet, scarce attention has been paid to the conditions that constrain or facilitate EMFs' ...absorptive capacity development. In this article, we explore how differences in home country resource environments influence EMFs' absorptive capacity. We suggest that home country institutions and factor markets influence EMFs' choice among three learning strategies: duplicative imitation, creative imitation, and innovation. Building on the organizational learning perspective, we then explore how learning strategies of EMFs' from different emerging economies influence their preferences with respect to sources of new knowledge, and consequently the implications of these strategic choices for their absorptive capacity. web URL: http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1090951616300682
The increase in offshore outsourcing of information technology-enabled business processes has renewed scholarly attention to better understand the dynamics of service provider firms. In this study, ...we examine how offshore outsourcing service providers’ internal and relational resources and capabilities jointly predict their economic performance. Analysis of data collected from a sample of 105 Indian service providers suggest that rent generation from firm-specific, idiosyncratic resources is positively moderated by the level of management capability possessed by such firms. Theoretical and managerial implications of the findings are discussed and avenues of future research are offered.
The business landscape is currently witnessing widespread migration of service functions from developed nations like the U.S to several foreign destinations as India, China, Ireland, Philippines etc. ...This happens as more and more firms engage in international outsourcing of services (IOS) to survive in today's highly competitive business environment. Despite increase in IOS, the nature of partnerships involved between clients and their overseas providers have not received adequate attention in the scholarly literature. In this paper, we develop a conceptual model that explains three possible types of IOS partnership. We discuss how these partnerships vary in the way they are conceived and implemented. Propositions are offered after elaborating on each type of partnership. We conclude by discussing the academic and practical implications of our model.
Considerable research has been devoted to examining the factors that influence postacquisition performance. Yet the empirical evidence remains inconclusive as to the extent to which these factors ...affect postacquisition performance. Building on the theory of relative standing, we propose turnover of acquired firm CEO and top management team (TMT) as an important mechanism through which commonly examined firm and deal characteristics influence postacquisition performance. Specifically, the examined antecedents represent conditions that create perceptions of diminished relative standing among acquired firm executives postacquisition. First, we conduct a meta-analysis to quantitatively synthesize existing empirical research on the effect of the specified antecedents on executive turnover and on postacquisition performance. Then, we combine meta-analysis with structural equation modeling to examine the links between four antecedents, executive turnover, and postacquisition performance in a mediation model. Meta-analytic results (based on 112 studies and 399 effect sizes) reveal that the most significant factors affecting postacquisition performance are executive turnover and the level of integration of the acquired firm. However, TMT and CEO turnover have opposite effects on postacquisition performance. Our results also show that sample and measurement characteristics of primary studies moderate the identified relations. As expected, we find that CEO and TMT turnover mediate relations between three of the four examined antecedents and postacquisition performance. We discuss theoretical contributions and provide directions for future research.
Based on a sample of 102 US organizations, this study examines the impact of knowledge characteristics, recipient learning intent, source attractiveness, and relationship quality on the effectiveness ...and efficiency of knowledge transfer from the international business affiliates of these organizations. Findings indicate that recipient learning intent and source attractiveness positively impact the effectiveness of knowledge transfer. In addition, recipient learning intent was found to have a positive effect on knowledge transfer efficiency. In particular, results highlight the strong positive impact that the quality of the relationship between the source and the recipient has on both the efficiency and effectiveness of cross‐border knowledge transfer. The study also indicates that knowledge value is positively associated with recipient learning intent and that knowledge value, rarity and non‐substitutability influence source attractiveness. Finally, findings suggest that the relationship between knowledge characteristics and knowledge transfer is partially mediated by recipient learning intent and source attractiveness.
Firms from developed nations are increasingly resorting to business process outsourcing (BPO) as part of their global sourcing strategy. Although BPO is a growing practice, there has been limited ...empirical attention in understanding the phenomenon, particularly from the perspective of provider firms that execute important business processes for their overseas clients. In this paper we focus on the resources and capabilities that are utilized by the providers in fulfilling their clients' sourcing needs. Using resource-based view and social exchange as theoretical foundations, we argue that providers' human capital, organizational capital, management capability, and partnership quality are crucial assets that are deemed valuable by the clients and are utilized by the providers in attaining higher performance. Using a sample of Indian BPO providers, we empirically test three models (direct, mediating and moderating) to understand how these assets impact firm-level performance. Results show that resources and capabilities relate to performance in varying measures and partnership quality has partial-mediating and moderating effects on these relationships. We conclude by discussing the theoretical and practical implications of the study and highlighting avenues of future inquiry.
Using knowledge-based view (KBV) and contingency arguments, we develop and test a model that investigates the relationship between the effectiveness and efficiency of cross-border knowledge gained ...from international business affiliates (IBAs) and the focal (recipient) firm's performance. We argue that both of these dimensions of learning not only have a direct and positive effect on the performance of the focal firm but also a synergistic one. Also, we suggest that the direct and positive effect of both the effectiveness and the efficiency in learning from the IBA on focal firm performance is moderated by the technological turbulence of the context in which the focal firm operates. Results indicate that the effectiveness of learning, although not the efficiency in learning, positively impacts the focal firm's performance. However, cross-border learning efficiency and effectiveness jointly improve the focal firm's performance. Results show that the level of technological turbulence attenuates the positive effect of the effectiveness of learning on the focal firm's performance. In fact, under high technological turbulence conditions, effective learning becomes detrimental to the focal firm's performance.
Entrainment refers to the synchronization of the tempo and/or phase of two or more activities within a system. This article utilizes entrainment theory to develop a conceptual model and related ...propositions describing and explaining the relationship between temporal fit, misfit, and performance at the organizational level of analysis. Essential to the development of our model is the concept of organization-environment (O-E) temporal fit, which is a state of synchronization or alignment of organization and environment activity cycles. O-E temporal fit is positioned as an important contingency element because temporal misfit implies inefficiencies, substandard performance, and the potential death of the organization over time. Overall, this article offers a theoretical perspective that fills a gap in the extant organizational research literature regarding the elusive and understudied perspective of time and posits its relationship to organizational performance.
PDF
