| Redundant Governance Structures: An Analysis of Structural and Relational Embeddedness |
| | Rowley, Timothy J. | U. of Toronto | rowley@mgmt.utoronto.ca | (416)-978-6859 |
| | Behrens, Dean | U. of Toronto | dbehrens@chass.utoronto.ca | (416)-978-8265 |
| | Network researchers have argued that both relational embeddedness - characteristics of relationships - and structural embeddedness - characteristics of the relational structure - influence firm behavior and performance. Using strategic alliance networks in the semiconductor and steel industries, we build on past embeddedness research by examining the interaction of these factors. We argue that the roles relational and structural embeddedness play in firm performance can only be understood with reference to the other. Moreover, we argue that the influence of these factors on firm performance is contingent on industry context. More specifically, our empirical analysis suggests that strong ties in a highly interconnected strategic alliance network negatively impacts firm performance. This network configuration is especially sub-optimal for firms in the semiconductor industry. Furthermore, strong and weak ties are positively related to firm performance in the steel and semiconductor industries, respectively. |
| | Keywords: networks; embeddedness |
| Creating annd Managing a High Performance Knowledge-Sharing Network: The Toyota Case |
| | Nobeoka, Kentaro | Kobe | nobeoka@white.rieb.kobe_u.ac.jp | 81785839105 |
| | This paper examines in detail the institutionalized knowledge sharing routines developed by Toyota and its suppliers. By examining how Toyota facilitates knowledge-sharing with, and among, suppliers we are able to identify the key variables that influence inter-organizational and network learning. Moreover, since Toyota is early in the process of creating a learning network with U.S. suppliers, we have the opportunity to examine how a firm creates a new knowledge-sharing "network." Data from Toyota's network suggests that the amount of inter-organizational learning that takes place within a production network increases when the network: (1) creates inter-organizational routines that create an "identity" for the network, (2) creates organizational units with the explicit responsibility to accumulate, store, and diffuse relevant knowledge within the network, (3) creates "rules" or norms for participation in the network that essentially eliminates the free rider problem by minimizing the amount of firm-specific knowledge that is considered proprietary, (4) creates a range of processes and "nested networks" within the full network to facilitate the effective transfer of both explicit and tacit knowledge, and (5) creates incentives for knowledge acquisition and application. |
| | Keywords: Learning; Networks; Relational Advantage |
| Alliance Capability & Success: A Knowledge-Based Approach |
| | Kale, Prashant V. | U. of Pennsylvania | kale@management.wharton.upenn.edu | 215-898-7722 |
| | Singh, Harbir | U. of Pennsylvania | singhh@wharton.upenn.edu | (215) 898-6752 |
| | In the age of alliances, the competitive advantage of a firm would reside in its capability to manage alliances better than peers or competitors. Adopting a knowledge-based approach, we examine the antecedent organizational processes that underlie the development of a firm's Alliance Capability. We find that organizational processes that facilitate the accumulation, codification and sharing of alliance management know-how embedded in the firm's prior and on-going alliance experience, are central to the firm's alliance capability and success. A multi-method approach comprising large sample survey and in-depth fieldwork on the alliance management practices and performance of US-based firms is used to test the theoretical framework. While the present research is restricted to examining the development of alliance capability, it has the potential to inform the development of organizational capabilities in other settings as well |
| | Keywords: Firm Capabilities; Knowledge Management; Strategic Alliances |
| Firms' Knowledge-Sharing Strategies in Emerging High Technology Industries |
| | Spencer, Jennifer W. | U. of Houston | jspencer@uh.edu | 713-743-4661 |
| | Firms in emerging high technology industries must make a strategic choice concerning whether to protect or share their
technological knowledge. In this paper, I explore the circumstances that reward firms for sharing knowledge with
potential and existing competitors. I also discuss how the risks and benefits of a knowledge-sharing strategy vary
according to a firm's commercialization strategy and industry context. |
| | Keywords: Knowledge Sharing; innovation; emerging industries |