International Journal of Management and Decision Making, 2020
While extant literature has shown that formal contracts and relational governance are at play in ... more While extant literature has shown that formal contracts and relational governance are at play in strategic alliances design, surprisingly little is known about the prerequisites of administration within these organisational structures to reach to their potential benefits. Alliances' administration needs not only functional but also cognitive capabilities. To deeper understand of relationship between managerial cognition and alliance design, current study was employed the concept of cognitive capability and relationships between psychological underpinnings of cognitive capability and performance of alliances with contractual or relational design were studied. Using OLS regression analysis, the empirical models comprised of perception, attention, problem-solving, communication and social cognition are designed to explain the role of cognitive capability in performance of strategic alliances with contractual and relational designs. Results provide a clear understanding of the importance of cognitive capability in alliances' design and show how these psychological underpinnings fuel alliances' performance in contractual and relational governance's. Reference to this paper should be made as follows: Jalali, S.H. (2020) 'Interplay between cognition and design: how performance of strategic alliance with different design affected by cognitive capabilities?', Int.
International Journal of Management and Network Economics, 2019
Pursuing underpinnings of managerial cognition, researchers have been exploring cognitive capabil... more Pursuing underpinnings of managerial cognition, researchers have been exploring cognitive capability in organisations. Although such investigations have largely focused on managerial decision making, few studies have explored the cognitive capability as a needed capability for strategic alliances' partners. In this article, the cognitive capability is considered as a key capability in alliances' partner selection, and relationships between psychological underpinnings of cognitive capability and alliance performance are studied in different time frames of alliances' endurance. Using OLS regression analysis on data from 115 international alliances, the empirical models comprised of perception, attention, problem-solving, communication and social cognition are designed to explain the role of cognitive capability in performance of strategic alliances. Results provide a clear understanding of the importance of cognitive capability in alliances' partner selection and show how these psychological underpinnings fuel alliances' performance in short/medium-term and long-term.
The growth of alliances in developing countries has generated significant interest among scholars... more The growth of alliances in developing countries has generated significant interest among scholars. Forming alliance is a reliable solution for companies based in developing countries to gain an advantage in international markets. Most of the previous studies present generic models or sets of characteristics for partner selection. In contrast, the current study suggests the partner characteristics which alliances' leaders should care about to be financially prosperous in international markets. Grounded in the resource-based view and review of recent studies, the theoretical framework of partner characteristics consisted of 13 variables. The data was gathered from Iranian alliances and analyses were done through the principal component and multiple regression analyses. The findings stress the importance of cognitive capability and knowledge stock as the most effective partner characteristics in export performance of alliances. Specifically, results introduce a framework that addresses why managers select partners with certain, specific characteristics to improve the export performance of alliances.
Firms increasingly adopt cooperative strategies and form strategic alliances with foreign partner... more Firms increasingly adopt cooperative strategies and form strategic alliances with foreign partners to be prosperous in entering to international market. Most of scholars have typically focused on generic, conceptual models for alliances partner selection, addressing only limited dimensions of the partner characteristics. This paper presents a new empirical framework that considering the effect of partner characteristics on export performance of alliances, in the case of short/medium-term alliances and long-term ones. The study explores the effective partner characteristics for each type of alliances based on a sample of 540 alliances which rooted in East European region and also, have at least one Iranian partner. The findings stress the differences between varied partner characteristics in short/medium-term and long-term alliances. More specifically, results introduce a framework that addresses certain and specific partner characteristics to improve the export performance of alliances, due to the time frame of strategic alliances.
Partner selection is one of the most discussed issues in strategic alliances literature. However,... more Partner selection is one of the most discussed issues in strategic alliances literature. However, the majority of research has typically focused on generic partner characteristics and presented conceptual models for alliance partner selection, addressing clan image but only limited pieces of the partner selection puzzle. Rooted in the resource-based view, this paper suggests that partner selection is contingent upon the intended time frame of strategic alliances and presents a new and intensive conceptual framework that examines the appropriate partner capability for strategic alliances, in the case of short/medium-term alliances and long-term ones. Based on empirical evidences from 736 alliances in the CEE region, the findings stress the differences between varied partner capabilities in short/medium-term and long-term alliances. Accordingly, the significance of technological capability increases with the number of year's alliances endured. Moreover, the importance of market capability decreases significantly when alliances last for a longer time frame.
Most of international strategic alliances are failed due to weak choices and decisions about corp... more Most of international strategic alliances are failed due to weak choices and decisions about corporate governance. Todays, as alliance formation is an effective strategy for the competitiveness of Iranian firms and products in international markets; the explanation of foundations and requirements of governance system has a very important role on improvement of operational potency of Iranian alliances with foreign partners. Current research using grounded theory with explorative approach is aimed to present a model for corporate governance in international strategic alliances. The required data were collected from 11 strategic alliances between Iranian and non-Iranian partners. The research model includes interactions between international requirements, conditions of strategic alliance formation, partnership design and expectations of stakeholders which affect corporate governance of international strategic alliances, and optimum decisions in this matters, improved durability and endurance of strategic alliances.
Journal of Business Administration Research , 2022
Introduction: A knowledge-based economy develops when knowledge-based companies have innovation, ... more Introduction: A knowledge-based economy develops when knowledge-based companies have innovation, and whatever has a positive impact on the innovation is valuable for technology owners and policymakers. Due to the business development in Iran in recent years, discourse for the knowledge-based economy has increased, and much knowledge-based companies have been established. Iranian knowledge-based companies should usually compete with other companies, especially reputable old companies and organizations in the traditional sector (Arman and Shafiei, 2017). Innovation is essential for the survival, profitability and development of companies, and knowledge-based companies will certainly fail to survive without innovation. Therefore, one of the most important tasks of managers in knowledge-based companies is to create innovation and encourage the man force to innovate. Many studies on business management have considered the lack of strategic thinking of top managers as a reason for not achieving the desired level of performance in all aspects, including innovation. Strategic thinking is essential for managers at different levels of an organization (Goldman and Casey, 2010; Moon, 2013). It improves the quality of decision-making (Goldman, 2012). In addition to strategic thinking, organizational learning has a great impact on improving organizational performance in all aspects, including innovation (Karimi and Abbasi, 2017). Although many believe that strategic thinking is an inherent capability, new studies indicate that strategic thinking can be improved using some principles and tools (Lashkarblooki and Jalali, 2018). The present research aims to study the innovativeness of knowledge-based companies from the lens of strategic thinking. It also investigates the impact of strategic learning as a mediating variable to provide more accurate explanation. Methodology: This empirical study is descriptive research rooted in the positivist philosophy of research. The statistical population compromised of the knowledge-based companies that, in 2018, used the services of Iran National Innovation Fund to implement their innovative plans. Since 168 knowledge-based companies were qualified to use the services, a random sampling method was used for sampling, and Cochran's formula was used to determine the required number of the cases in the samples. The data were randomly collected from 117 knowledge-based companies. A 5-point Likert scale questionnaire was used to collect the data. The reliability of the questionnaire was evaluated by measuring Cronbach's alpha and estimating composite reliability. Experts' opinions and standard questionnaires were also used to ensure the content validity. Confirmatory factor analysis, convergent validation and diagnostic validation were done to ensure the construct validity. In this research, the SPSS and Smart PLS software programs were used to analyze the data, and the results were presented as statistical models. Results and Discussion: The findings confirm the fit of the research model and reveal that the tendency of the knowledge-based companies to innovate is directly influenced by the level of strategic thinking and strategic learning. In addition, strategic learning can increase the impact of strategic thinking on the tendency to innovate. Therefore, the managers of knowledge-based companies can use the concepts and tools of strategic thinking and strategic learning to promote innovation. Conclusion: Knowledge-based companies are formed based on innovation and create a new market by innovative changes. Given the dependence of these companies on innovation, the lack of innovation reduces their profitability and endangers their survival. Studying the innovation of such companies should be in the different aspects, and it should not include only the barriers to innovation such as insufficient human resources, inappropriate business environment conditions, limited access to required resources and technologies. Another aspect that should be discussed is the tendency for innovation. Assuming that there are no obstacles in the way of innovation, the tendency for it is necessary to continuously innovate products, processes, and business models. Emphasizing this key point, the present study investigates the relationship between strategic thinking and strategic learning for innovativeness in knowledge-based companies. The data analysis shows that strategic thinking directly affects the tendency of knowledge-based companies to innovate. Strategic thinking improves the tendency to innovate by increasing the company's ability to recognize good opportunities, be creative, promote systemic thinking (a holistic approach to analysis that focuses on the system as a whole, not a series of parts, and how systems work overtime within the context of larger systems), and establish vision (or aspiration) and strategic communication. In addition to the direct impact of strategic thinking on innovation, the data show that strategic thinking would increase the tendency of knowledge-based companies to innovate indirectly through strategic learning. Promoting strategic thinking capabilities in knowledge-based companies would make companies increase their strategic knowledge at the organizational level and apply their experiences to innovate.
Objective: Most of the failed strategic alliances have suffered from inefficient structures. Deve... more Objective: Most of the failed strategic alliances have suffered from inefficient structures. Developing and choosing a structure for an alliance cannot be effective, unless the alliance's managers consider the contextual parameters. Among different contextual parameters, the industrial context is very important because each industry has its own level of process manageability and outcome interpretability; and these attributes are varied within the range of industries. Thus, this paper aimed to investigate the effect of industrial context on structure of alliances, and also, to identify the first priority for developing and choosing a structure for strategic alliances.
Methodology: The present research is conducted through multiple case study strategies, based on an interpretive paradigm. Applying the interpretive paradigm is necessary for such research to reach a comprehensive understanding of the phenomenon. So, the researchers conducted 6 independent case studies on strategic alliances between Iranian companies and the international partners in different sectors such as oil and gas, telecommunication, online-services, food and beverage, auto parts, as well as pharmaceuticals.
Findings: Due to the research framework, industries can be classified into four groups by theirs process manageability and outcome interpretability. Alliances were not formed in isolation, and their industrial context would affect their structure and organization. The data from within-case analysis as well as cross-case analysis showed that each type of industrial context may result in a different set of variables which affect the organizational design of an alliance. The findings of the present research suggested that legal safeguards are the first priority for alliances which are formed in high manageability/high interpretability industrial context and trust would have the same role in alliances with low manageability/low interpretability context. Moreover, the formal control mechanisms in low manageability/high interpretability, and the social norms in high manageability/low interpretability are the dominant factors to develop and choose a structure for alliances.
Conclusion: The context is missing parameters in research on the structure of strategic alliances. It is impossible to design a prosperous alliance without considering the context in which the alliances are formed. This research aims to clarify this issue by focusing on industrial context and to provide a better understanding of how to design a better alliance. Furthermore, it can be inferred that the structure of strategic alliances is decided by simply choosing between binary options of contractual-based and equity-based forms. The specific industrial context of each alliance force specific prerequisites and structure of alliances should provide an appropriate response to these requirements.
The strategic collaboration is an effective way to promote companies' competitiveness, especially... more The strategic collaboration is an effective way to promote companies' competitiveness, especially technology-oriented SMEs. However, it is not possible to collaborate in this way without considering the institutional environment. This study aimed to investigate the role of political approach in performing strategic collaboration among technology-oriented companies from the viewpoint of institutional theory. To do so, the present study has evaluated the role of political approach in strategic collaboration in regard to four aspects of legal, financial, trust, and value system. The strategic collaboration is considered as a response to the company's environment. This type of collaboration is a formal/informal agreement among different firms in the form of alliances, joint ventures, or business networks. In each form of these collaborations, partners may come across institutional factors that affect the common performance. In the relationship between the parties, institutional factors establish some guidelines and external constraints affecting the exploitation of collaborative opportunities Particularly, the institutional theory is useful in explaining how organizations respond to external pressures and develop appropriate strategies to cope with the environment and its institutional requirements. Scholars have used different constructs to explain institutional requirements. However, they identified four categories of institutional factors as the basis for companies' economic behaviors and strategic collaborations: legal system, financial system, value system, and trust and authority relationships. Legitimacy is a key issue in the institutional perspective. Searching for legitimacy is a means by which companies moderate the effect of environmental restrictions and make it an advantage in their favor. From this point of view, adopting institutionalized measures and incorporating the external demands of powerful actors such as governance or culture, a strategic collaboration provides different parties with legitimacy.
Different theories are presented by strategic management scholars and thinkers to explain how to ... more Different theories are presented by strategic management scholars and thinkers to explain how to achieve a competitive advantage, and dynamic capability theory which believed that gaining a competitive advantage is closely linked with organizational capabilities; is one of the clearest theories about competitive advantage in today's business world. In this regard, current research, based on dynamic capability view, employs a qualitative and explorative approach to identify and analyze of capabilities which influence the competitiveness and gaining competitive advantage in the midstream sector of oil and gas industry. In order to achieve this goal, data were gathered through 21 semi-structured interviews with top level managers of 6 refineries, integrated with comments of some experts, and analyzed by theme analysis method. Findings showed that gaining competitive advantage in the midstream of oil and gas industry rooted in both of inward capability of productivity and value-addition (products qualification, operational efficiency and technological capability) and outward capability of business strategic sustainability (business development, market orientation and sustainability of supply chain). This result reveals the importance of balanced approach in gaining competitive advantage in the oil and gas industry.
Journal of Iranian Academy of Management science, 2018
The rate of failure of strategic alliances is high in spite of spending too much money and resour... more The rate of failure of strategic alliances is high in spite of spending too much money and resources for their formation. Theoretical background for this failure has focused on the structure of alliances, but this view does not have the required comprehensiveness for explaining the effect of structural frameworks on the performance of strategic alliances. In addition, there are scattered viewpoints in literature on the structure-performance relationship. We used a meta- synthesis approach in this paper to synthesize these viewpoints, in order to present a framework on structure-performance relationship. By reviewing and screening 129 published papers in accredited international journals, 15 papers were studied. Using content analysis and Shannon method, 9 constructs including 31 codes were used in the final framework. Findings show that contract complexity, quality of relationship and freedom of action have the most effects on structure-performance relationship alliances. Furthermore, the optimization of alliance governance could not be reached without considering contractual and relational governance.
Strategic alliances have gained considerable attention, both among strategic management research ... more Strategic alliances have gained considerable attention, both among strategic management research and across managerial decisions in business companies. Despite of this popularity, the failure rate of strategic alliances is high and theoretical literature has been sought the reason in governance mechanism and organizational design of alliances. With considering the importance of this issue and theoretical gap about it, current research devoted to the requirements and specifications of the structure of technology-based international strategic alliances. Findings from this multiple case study research are distinguished three designs and their requirements for effective application: parliamentary, technocratic and committee. In high vertical centralization-low horizontal centralization situation, the parliamentary form has most effectiveness; and in low vertical centralization-high horizontal centralization, the technocratic form is best suited. These forms are on a spectrum in which, any points between extremes, is a favorable place for applying of committee-based structure.
International Journal of Management and Decision Making, 2020
While extant literature has shown that formal contracts and relational governance are at play in ... more While extant literature has shown that formal contracts and relational governance are at play in strategic alliances design, surprisingly little is known about the prerequisites of administration within these organisational structures to reach to their potential benefits. Alliances' administration needs not only functional but also cognitive capabilities. To deeper understand of relationship between managerial cognition and alliance design, current study was employed the concept of cognitive capability and relationships between psychological underpinnings of cognitive capability and performance of alliances with contractual or relational design were studied. Using OLS regression analysis, the empirical models comprised of perception, attention, problem-solving, communication and social cognition are designed to explain the role of cognitive capability in performance of strategic alliances with contractual and relational designs. Results provide a clear understanding of the importance of cognitive capability in alliances' design and show how these psychological underpinnings fuel alliances' performance in contractual and relational governance's. Reference to this paper should be made as follows: Jalali, S.H. (2020) 'Interplay between cognition and design: how performance of strategic alliance with different design affected by cognitive capabilities?', Int.
International Journal of Management and Network Economics, 2019
Pursuing underpinnings of managerial cognition, researchers have been exploring cognitive capabil... more Pursuing underpinnings of managerial cognition, researchers have been exploring cognitive capability in organisations. Although such investigations have largely focused on managerial decision making, few studies have explored the cognitive capability as a needed capability for strategic alliances' partners. In this article, the cognitive capability is considered as a key capability in alliances' partner selection, and relationships between psychological underpinnings of cognitive capability and alliance performance are studied in different time frames of alliances' endurance. Using OLS regression analysis on data from 115 international alliances, the empirical models comprised of perception, attention, problem-solving, communication and social cognition are designed to explain the role of cognitive capability in performance of strategic alliances. Results provide a clear understanding of the importance of cognitive capability in alliances' partner selection and show how these psychological underpinnings fuel alliances' performance in short/medium-term and long-term.
The growth of alliances in developing countries has generated significant interest among scholars... more The growth of alliances in developing countries has generated significant interest among scholars. Forming alliance is a reliable solution for companies based in developing countries to gain an advantage in international markets. Most of the previous studies present generic models or sets of characteristics for partner selection. In contrast, the current study suggests the partner characteristics which alliances' leaders should care about to be financially prosperous in international markets. Grounded in the resource-based view and review of recent studies, the theoretical framework of partner characteristics consisted of 13 variables. The data was gathered from Iranian alliances and analyses were done through the principal component and multiple regression analyses. The findings stress the importance of cognitive capability and knowledge stock as the most effective partner characteristics in export performance of alliances. Specifically, results introduce a framework that addresses why managers select partners with certain, specific characteristics to improve the export performance of alliances.
Firms increasingly adopt cooperative strategies and form strategic alliances with foreign partner... more Firms increasingly adopt cooperative strategies and form strategic alliances with foreign partners to be prosperous in entering to international market. Most of scholars have typically focused on generic, conceptual models for alliances partner selection, addressing only limited dimensions of the partner characteristics. This paper presents a new empirical framework that considering the effect of partner characteristics on export performance of alliances, in the case of short/medium-term alliances and long-term ones. The study explores the effective partner characteristics for each type of alliances based on a sample of 540 alliances which rooted in East European region and also, have at least one Iranian partner. The findings stress the differences between varied partner characteristics in short/medium-term and long-term alliances. More specifically, results introduce a framework that addresses certain and specific partner characteristics to improve the export performance of alliances, due to the time frame of strategic alliances.
Partner selection is one of the most discussed issues in strategic alliances literature. However,... more Partner selection is one of the most discussed issues in strategic alliances literature. However, the majority of research has typically focused on generic partner characteristics and presented conceptual models for alliance partner selection, addressing clan image but only limited pieces of the partner selection puzzle. Rooted in the resource-based view, this paper suggests that partner selection is contingent upon the intended time frame of strategic alliances and presents a new and intensive conceptual framework that examines the appropriate partner capability for strategic alliances, in the case of short/medium-term alliances and long-term ones. Based on empirical evidences from 736 alliances in the CEE region, the findings stress the differences between varied partner capabilities in short/medium-term and long-term alliances. Accordingly, the significance of technological capability increases with the number of year's alliances endured. Moreover, the importance of market capability decreases significantly when alliances last for a longer time frame.
Most of international strategic alliances are failed due to weak choices and decisions about corp... more Most of international strategic alliances are failed due to weak choices and decisions about corporate governance. Todays, as alliance formation is an effective strategy for the competitiveness of Iranian firms and products in international markets; the explanation of foundations and requirements of governance system has a very important role on improvement of operational potency of Iranian alliances with foreign partners. Current research using grounded theory with explorative approach is aimed to present a model for corporate governance in international strategic alliances. The required data were collected from 11 strategic alliances between Iranian and non-Iranian partners. The research model includes interactions between international requirements, conditions of strategic alliance formation, partnership design and expectations of stakeholders which affect corporate governance of international strategic alliances, and optimum decisions in this matters, improved durability and endurance of strategic alliances.
Journal of Business Administration Research , 2022
Introduction: A knowledge-based economy develops when knowledge-based companies have innovation, ... more Introduction: A knowledge-based economy develops when knowledge-based companies have innovation, and whatever has a positive impact on the innovation is valuable for technology owners and policymakers. Due to the business development in Iran in recent years, discourse for the knowledge-based economy has increased, and much knowledge-based companies have been established. Iranian knowledge-based companies should usually compete with other companies, especially reputable old companies and organizations in the traditional sector (Arman and Shafiei, 2017). Innovation is essential for the survival, profitability and development of companies, and knowledge-based companies will certainly fail to survive without innovation. Therefore, one of the most important tasks of managers in knowledge-based companies is to create innovation and encourage the man force to innovate. Many studies on business management have considered the lack of strategic thinking of top managers as a reason for not achieving the desired level of performance in all aspects, including innovation. Strategic thinking is essential for managers at different levels of an organization (Goldman and Casey, 2010; Moon, 2013). It improves the quality of decision-making (Goldman, 2012). In addition to strategic thinking, organizational learning has a great impact on improving organizational performance in all aspects, including innovation (Karimi and Abbasi, 2017). Although many believe that strategic thinking is an inherent capability, new studies indicate that strategic thinking can be improved using some principles and tools (Lashkarblooki and Jalali, 2018). The present research aims to study the innovativeness of knowledge-based companies from the lens of strategic thinking. It also investigates the impact of strategic learning as a mediating variable to provide more accurate explanation. Methodology: This empirical study is descriptive research rooted in the positivist philosophy of research. The statistical population compromised of the knowledge-based companies that, in 2018, used the services of Iran National Innovation Fund to implement their innovative plans. Since 168 knowledge-based companies were qualified to use the services, a random sampling method was used for sampling, and Cochran's formula was used to determine the required number of the cases in the samples. The data were randomly collected from 117 knowledge-based companies. A 5-point Likert scale questionnaire was used to collect the data. The reliability of the questionnaire was evaluated by measuring Cronbach's alpha and estimating composite reliability. Experts' opinions and standard questionnaires were also used to ensure the content validity. Confirmatory factor analysis, convergent validation and diagnostic validation were done to ensure the construct validity. In this research, the SPSS and Smart PLS software programs were used to analyze the data, and the results were presented as statistical models. Results and Discussion: The findings confirm the fit of the research model and reveal that the tendency of the knowledge-based companies to innovate is directly influenced by the level of strategic thinking and strategic learning. In addition, strategic learning can increase the impact of strategic thinking on the tendency to innovate. Therefore, the managers of knowledge-based companies can use the concepts and tools of strategic thinking and strategic learning to promote innovation. Conclusion: Knowledge-based companies are formed based on innovation and create a new market by innovative changes. Given the dependence of these companies on innovation, the lack of innovation reduces their profitability and endangers their survival. Studying the innovation of such companies should be in the different aspects, and it should not include only the barriers to innovation such as insufficient human resources, inappropriate business environment conditions, limited access to required resources and technologies. Another aspect that should be discussed is the tendency for innovation. Assuming that there are no obstacles in the way of innovation, the tendency for it is necessary to continuously innovate products, processes, and business models. Emphasizing this key point, the present study investigates the relationship between strategic thinking and strategic learning for innovativeness in knowledge-based companies. The data analysis shows that strategic thinking directly affects the tendency of knowledge-based companies to innovate. Strategic thinking improves the tendency to innovate by increasing the company's ability to recognize good opportunities, be creative, promote systemic thinking (a holistic approach to analysis that focuses on the system as a whole, not a series of parts, and how systems work overtime within the context of larger systems), and establish vision (or aspiration) and strategic communication. In addition to the direct impact of strategic thinking on innovation, the data show that strategic thinking would increase the tendency of knowledge-based companies to innovate indirectly through strategic learning. Promoting strategic thinking capabilities in knowledge-based companies would make companies increase their strategic knowledge at the organizational level and apply their experiences to innovate.
Objective: Most of the failed strategic alliances have suffered from inefficient structures. Deve... more Objective: Most of the failed strategic alliances have suffered from inefficient structures. Developing and choosing a structure for an alliance cannot be effective, unless the alliance's managers consider the contextual parameters. Among different contextual parameters, the industrial context is very important because each industry has its own level of process manageability and outcome interpretability; and these attributes are varied within the range of industries. Thus, this paper aimed to investigate the effect of industrial context on structure of alliances, and also, to identify the first priority for developing and choosing a structure for strategic alliances.
Methodology: The present research is conducted through multiple case study strategies, based on an interpretive paradigm. Applying the interpretive paradigm is necessary for such research to reach a comprehensive understanding of the phenomenon. So, the researchers conducted 6 independent case studies on strategic alliances between Iranian companies and the international partners in different sectors such as oil and gas, telecommunication, online-services, food and beverage, auto parts, as well as pharmaceuticals.
Findings: Due to the research framework, industries can be classified into four groups by theirs process manageability and outcome interpretability. Alliances were not formed in isolation, and their industrial context would affect their structure and organization. The data from within-case analysis as well as cross-case analysis showed that each type of industrial context may result in a different set of variables which affect the organizational design of an alliance. The findings of the present research suggested that legal safeguards are the first priority for alliances which are formed in high manageability/high interpretability industrial context and trust would have the same role in alliances with low manageability/low interpretability context. Moreover, the formal control mechanisms in low manageability/high interpretability, and the social norms in high manageability/low interpretability are the dominant factors to develop and choose a structure for alliances.
Conclusion: The context is missing parameters in research on the structure of strategic alliances. It is impossible to design a prosperous alliance without considering the context in which the alliances are formed. This research aims to clarify this issue by focusing on industrial context and to provide a better understanding of how to design a better alliance. Furthermore, it can be inferred that the structure of strategic alliances is decided by simply choosing between binary options of contractual-based and equity-based forms. The specific industrial context of each alliance force specific prerequisites and structure of alliances should provide an appropriate response to these requirements.
The strategic collaboration is an effective way to promote companies' competitiveness, especially... more The strategic collaboration is an effective way to promote companies' competitiveness, especially technology-oriented SMEs. However, it is not possible to collaborate in this way without considering the institutional environment. This study aimed to investigate the role of political approach in performing strategic collaboration among technology-oriented companies from the viewpoint of institutional theory. To do so, the present study has evaluated the role of political approach in strategic collaboration in regard to four aspects of legal, financial, trust, and value system. The strategic collaboration is considered as a response to the company's environment. This type of collaboration is a formal/informal agreement among different firms in the form of alliances, joint ventures, or business networks. In each form of these collaborations, partners may come across institutional factors that affect the common performance. In the relationship between the parties, institutional factors establish some guidelines and external constraints affecting the exploitation of collaborative opportunities Particularly, the institutional theory is useful in explaining how organizations respond to external pressures and develop appropriate strategies to cope with the environment and its institutional requirements. Scholars have used different constructs to explain institutional requirements. However, they identified four categories of institutional factors as the basis for companies' economic behaviors and strategic collaborations: legal system, financial system, value system, and trust and authority relationships. Legitimacy is a key issue in the institutional perspective. Searching for legitimacy is a means by which companies moderate the effect of environmental restrictions and make it an advantage in their favor. From this point of view, adopting institutionalized measures and incorporating the external demands of powerful actors such as governance or culture, a strategic collaboration provides different parties with legitimacy.
Different theories are presented by strategic management scholars and thinkers to explain how to ... more Different theories are presented by strategic management scholars and thinkers to explain how to achieve a competitive advantage, and dynamic capability theory which believed that gaining a competitive advantage is closely linked with organizational capabilities; is one of the clearest theories about competitive advantage in today's business world. In this regard, current research, based on dynamic capability view, employs a qualitative and explorative approach to identify and analyze of capabilities which influence the competitiveness and gaining competitive advantage in the midstream sector of oil and gas industry. In order to achieve this goal, data were gathered through 21 semi-structured interviews with top level managers of 6 refineries, integrated with comments of some experts, and analyzed by theme analysis method. Findings showed that gaining competitive advantage in the midstream of oil and gas industry rooted in both of inward capability of productivity and value-addition (products qualification, operational efficiency and technological capability) and outward capability of business strategic sustainability (business development, market orientation and sustainability of supply chain). This result reveals the importance of balanced approach in gaining competitive advantage in the oil and gas industry.
Journal of Iranian Academy of Management science, 2018
The rate of failure of strategic alliances is high in spite of spending too much money and resour... more The rate of failure of strategic alliances is high in spite of spending too much money and resources for their formation. Theoretical background for this failure has focused on the structure of alliances, but this view does not have the required comprehensiveness for explaining the effect of structural frameworks on the performance of strategic alliances. In addition, there are scattered viewpoints in literature on the structure-performance relationship. We used a meta- synthesis approach in this paper to synthesize these viewpoints, in order to present a framework on structure-performance relationship. By reviewing and screening 129 published papers in accredited international journals, 15 papers were studied. Using content analysis and Shannon method, 9 constructs including 31 codes were used in the final framework. Findings show that contract complexity, quality of relationship and freedom of action have the most effects on structure-performance relationship alliances. Furthermore, the optimization of alliance governance could not be reached without considering contractual and relational governance.
Strategic alliances have gained considerable attention, both among strategic management research ... more Strategic alliances have gained considerable attention, both among strategic management research and across managerial decisions in business companies. Despite of this popularity, the failure rate of strategic alliances is high and theoretical literature has been sought the reason in governance mechanism and organizational design of alliances. With considering the importance of this issue and theoretical gap about it, current research devoted to the requirements and specifications of the structure of technology-based international strategic alliances. Findings from this multiple case study research are distinguished three designs and their requirements for effective application: parliamentary, technocratic and committee. In high vertical centralization-low horizontal centralization situation, the parliamentary form has most effectiveness; and in low vertical centralization-high horizontal centralization, the technocratic form is best suited. These forms are on a spectrum in which, any points between extremes, is a favorable place for applying of committee-based structure.
Decision making about the structure of strategic alliances, beside the decision about goal and sc... more Decision making about the structure of strategic alliances, beside the decision about goal and scope of alliance and decision about partner selection, is one of the three fundamental questions that should be addressed to form successful strategic alliances. It is believed successful alliances must accomplish two goals which both of them are related to alliance structure: coordinate the optimal combination of productive resources across parties and mitigate the risks of opportunistic behavior. Literature review reveals scattered and sometimes contradictory findings about structural framework of strategic alliances. Hence, current research is tried to provide a concluding remark of effecting factors on choosing between contractual-based and trust-based structural frameworks of strategic alliances with meta-analytics method. After reviewing and filtering of 516 scholarly papers which published in reputed scholarly international journal in a 15-year period (2002-2017), thirty-eight papers were put in meta-analytics process and twenty-four factors were identified. Findings from these meta-analytics showed that optimal configuration of formal and relational governance mechanisms in an alliance is contingent, and contractual-based and trust-based frameworks are complementary governance. It also showed that legal safeguard, legal system, trust, formal control and opportunism have the most effect and shared governance mechanisms has the least effect on decision about choosing between the structural frameworks of strategic alliances, among others.
Choosing appropriate partners are usually one of the most critical issues in formation of interna... more Choosing appropriate partners are usually one of the most critical issues in formation of international strategic alliances and theirs performance. Scholars paid less attention to challenges and outcomes of partner nationality origin, while deeply investigated another criteria of partner selection such as complementary resources and capabilities. Current research evaluates the role of nationality origin on international strategic alliances performance, as well as the effect of market focus on the relationship between origins - performance. Data for this empirical study gathered from 93 strategic alliances in contracting sector between Iranian firms with developed, developing or local partners. Then the role of nationality origin and market focus in independent hypothesis were analyzed by regression models. Findings explained that performance of allying with partners from three distinctive groups, and also confirm the effect of nationality origin on strategic alliance performance, as well as the role of market focus on performance of strategic alliances.
Formation of strategic collaboration is process influenced by the political behavior because of t... more Formation of strategic collaboration is process influenced by the political behavior because of the multiplicity of stakeholders and political action among them. This study aims to investigate the political foundation of decision making by focusing on the role of political skill and political environment on political behavior. To achieve this goal, the data is gathered based on random sampling of 68 market-based strategic collaborations between start-ups across the country. The impact of political skill and political environment is analyzed in political behavior related to decision-making with intermediate role of social capital and moderating role of political will. The findings of research indicates how political elements interact to each other in order to influence in social decision-making which is rooted in the origins of decision theory and the social influence theory. Political skills leads to positive political behavior in decision-making associated with the formation of strategic collaboration directly and through the creation of social capital while the political environment provides political bed-destructive behavior. In addition, actual results confirm moderating role of political will on the political skills in direct contact with the political behavior.
The strategic alliance is an effective model to improve the competitive capability of firms and b... more The strategic alliance is an effective model to improve the competitive capability of firms and business, especially in the developing economies. However, the institutional environment of developing economies hinders the formation of such strategic alliances. The current research aims to investigate the institutional parameters in the formation of strategic alliances from the regulatory, normative and cognitive attributes. Data were gathered from a sample of 270 chief executive officers, deputy managers and consultants of industrial equipment and manufacturing contractors through a simple randomized sampling method, and the role of legal procedures, educational system and trust in the formation of strategic alliance in industrial projects were evaluated using regression analysis. The findings provided a macro-image of the effect of the institutional environment on alliance formation and showed that the legal procedures and the educational system have a significant relationship with alliance formation of the contractors. In addition, the more the technological uncertainty of projects, trust will have a more effective role in the alliance formation.
Scholars of strategy refer to the leadership as one of the most important parameters in success o... more Scholars of strategy refer to the leadership as one of the most important parameters in success or failure of strategic plans. However, there are just a few studies that so far have deeply investigated the role of the specific leadership style in the strategy implementation process. To fill this gap, the current empirical surveys the role of , and evaluates four factors namely innovation capability, organizational commitment, organizational learning and employee motivation in this relationship. Data gathered from a sample of 250 senior level managers of the industrial equipment and utilities contractors and analysis were done by regression models. Findings acknowledged the relationship between transformational leadership and strategy implementation and showed that the most important functionality of transformational leadership in strategy implementation is in developing commitment and motivation; and this leadership style could prepare the organization for successful attainment of the strategic goals and facilitation of the strategy implementation with innovation, commitment, learning and motivation.
Uploads
Many studies on business management have considered the lack of strategic thinking of top managers as a reason for not achieving the desired level of performance in all aspects, including innovation. Strategic thinking is essential for managers at different levels of an organization (Goldman and Casey, 2010; Moon, 2013). It improves the quality of decision-making (Goldman, 2012). In addition to strategic thinking, organizational learning has a great impact on improving organizational performance in all aspects, including innovation (Karimi and Abbasi, 2017). Although many believe that strategic thinking is an inherent capability, new studies indicate that strategic thinking can be improved using some principles and tools (Lashkarblooki and Jalali, 2018). The present research aims to study the innovativeness of knowledge-based companies from the lens of strategic thinking. It also investigates the impact of strategic learning as a mediating variable to provide more accurate explanation.
Methodology: This empirical study is descriptive research rooted in the positivist philosophy of research. The statistical population compromised of the knowledge-based companies that, in 2018, used the services of Iran National Innovation Fund to implement their innovative plans. Since 168 knowledge-based companies were qualified to use the services, a random sampling method was used for sampling, and Cochran's formula was used to determine the required number of the cases in the samples. The data were randomly collected from 117 knowledge-based companies. A 5-point Likert scale questionnaire was used to collect the data. The reliability of the questionnaire was evaluated by measuring Cronbach's alpha and estimating composite reliability. Experts' opinions and standard questionnaires were also used to ensure the content validity. Confirmatory factor analysis, convergent validation and diagnostic validation were done to ensure the construct validity. In this research, the SPSS and Smart PLS software programs were used to analyze the data, and the results were presented as statistical models.
Results and Discussion: The findings confirm the fit of the research model and reveal that the tendency of the knowledge-based companies to innovate is directly influenced by the level of strategic thinking and strategic learning. In addition, strategic learning can increase the impact of strategic thinking on the tendency to innovate. Therefore, the managers of knowledge-based companies can use the concepts and tools of strategic thinking and strategic learning to promote innovation.
Conclusion: Knowledge-based companies are formed based on innovation and create a new market by innovative changes. Given the dependence of these companies on innovation, the lack of innovation reduces their profitability and endangers their survival. Studying the innovation of such companies should be in the different aspects, and it should not include only the barriers to innovation such as insufficient human resources, inappropriate business environment conditions, limited access to required resources and technologies. Another aspect that should be discussed is the tendency for innovation. Assuming that there are no obstacles in the way of innovation, the tendency for it is necessary to continuously innovate products, processes, and business models. Emphasizing this key point, the present study investigates the relationship between strategic thinking and strategic learning for innovativeness in knowledge-based companies. The data analysis shows that strategic thinking directly affects the tendency of knowledge-based companies to innovate. Strategic thinking improves the tendency to innovate by increasing the company's ability to recognize good opportunities, be creative, promote systemic thinking (a holistic approach to analysis that focuses on the system as a whole, not a series of parts, and how systems work overtime within the context of larger systems), and establish vision (or aspiration) and strategic communication. In addition to the direct impact of strategic thinking on innovation, the data show that strategic thinking would increase the tendency of knowledge-based companies to innovate indirectly through strategic learning. Promoting strategic thinking capabilities in knowledge-based companies would make companies increase their strategic knowledge at the organizational level and apply their experiences to innovate.
Methodology: The present research is conducted through multiple case study strategies, based on an interpretive paradigm. Applying the interpretive paradigm is necessary for such research to reach a comprehensive understanding of the phenomenon. So, the researchers conducted 6 independent case studies on strategic alliances between Iranian companies and the international partners in different sectors such as oil and gas, telecommunication, online-services, food and beverage, auto parts, as well as pharmaceuticals.
Findings: Due to the research framework, industries can be classified into four groups by theirs process manageability and outcome interpretability. Alliances were not formed in isolation, and their industrial context would affect their structure and organization. The data from within-case analysis as well as cross-case analysis showed that each type of industrial context may result in a different set of variables which affect the organizational design of an alliance. The findings of the present research suggested that legal safeguards are the first priority for alliances which are formed in high manageability/high interpretability industrial context and trust would have the same role in alliances with low manageability/low interpretability context. Moreover, the formal control mechanisms in low manageability/high interpretability, and the social norms in high manageability/low interpretability are the dominant factors to develop and choose a structure for alliances.
Conclusion: The context is missing parameters in research on the structure of strategic alliances. It is impossible to design a prosperous alliance without considering the context in which the alliances are formed. This research aims to clarify this issue by focusing on industrial context and to provide a better understanding of how to design a better alliance. Furthermore, it can be inferred that the structure of strategic alliances is decided by simply choosing between binary options of contractual-based and equity-based forms. The specific industrial context of each alliance force specific prerequisites and structure of alliances should provide an appropriate response to these requirements.
The strategic collaboration is considered as a response to the company's environment. This type of collaboration is a formal/informal agreement among different firms in the form of alliances, joint ventures, or business networks. In each form of these collaborations, partners may come across institutional factors that affect the common performance. In the relationship between the parties, institutional factors establish some guidelines and external constraints affecting the exploitation of collaborative opportunities Particularly, the institutional theory is useful in explaining how organizations respond to external pressures and develop appropriate strategies to cope with the environment and its institutional requirements. Scholars have used different constructs to explain institutional requirements. However, they identified four categories of institutional factors as the basis for companies' economic behaviors and strategic collaborations: legal system, financial system, value system, and trust and authority relationships. Legitimacy is a key issue in the institutional perspective. Searching for legitimacy is a means by which companies moderate the effect of environmental restrictions and make it an advantage in their favor. From this point of view, adopting institutionalized measures and incorporating the external demands of powerful actors such as governance or culture, a strategic collaboration provides different parties with legitimacy.
Many studies on business management have considered the lack of strategic thinking of top managers as a reason for not achieving the desired level of performance in all aspects, including innovation. Strategic thinking is essential for managers at different levels of an organization (Goldman and Casey, 2010; Moon, 2013). It improves the quality of decision-making (Goldman, 2012). In addition to strategic thinking, organizational learning has a great impact on improving organizational performance in all aspects, including innovation (Karimi and Abbasi, 2017). Although many believe that strategic thinking is an inherent capability, new studies indicate that strategic thinking can be improved using some principles and tools (Lashkarblooki and Jalali, 2018). The present research aims to study the innovativeness of knowledge-based companies from the lens of strategic thinking. It also investigates the impact of strategic learning as a mediating variable to provide more accurate explanation.
Methodology: This empirical study is descriptive research rooted in the positivist philosophy of research. The statistical population compromised of the knowledge-based companies that, in 2018, used the services of Iran National Innovation Fund to implement their innovative plans. Since 168 knowledge-based companies were qualified to use the services, a random sampling method was used for sampling, and Cochran's formula was used to determine the required number of the cases in the samples. The data were randomly collected from 117 knowledge-based companies. A 5-point Likert scale questionnaire was used to collect the data. The reliability of the questionnaire was evaluated by measuring Cronbach's alpha and estimating composite reliability. Experts' opinions and standard questionnaires were also used to ensure the content validity. Confirmatory factor analysis, convergent validation and diagnostic validation were done to ensure the construct validity. In this research, the SPSS and Smart PLS software programs were used to analyze the data, and the results were presented as statistical models.
Results and Discussion: The findings confirm the fit of the research model and reveal that the tendency of the knowledge-based companies to innovate is directly influenced by the level of strategic thinking and strategic learning. In addition, strategic learning can increase the impact of strategic thinking on the tendency to innovate. Therefore, the managers of knowledge-based companies can use the concepts and tools of strategic thinking and strategic learning to promote innovation.
Conclusion: Knowledge-based companies are formed based on innovation and create a new market by innovative changes. Given the dependence of these companies on innovation, the lack of innovation reduces their profitability and endangers their survival. Studying the innovation of such companies should be in the different aspects, and it should not include only the barriers to innovation such as insufficient human resources, inappropriate business environment conditions, limited access to required resources and technologies. Another aspect that should be discussed is the tendency for innovation. Assuming that there are no obstacles in the way of innovation, the tendency for it is necessary to continuously innovate products, processes, and business models. Emphasizing this key point, the present study investigates the relationship between strategic thinking and strategic learning for innovativeness in knowledge-based companies. The data analysis shows that strategic thinking directly affects the tendency of knowledge-based companies to innovate. Strategic thinking improves the tendency to innovate by increasing the company's ability to recognize good opportunities, be creative, promote systemic thinking (a holistic approach to analysis that focuses on the system as a whole, not a series of parts, and how systems work overtime within the context of larger systems), and establish vision (or aspiration) and strategic communication. In addition to the direct impact of strategic thinking on innovation, the data show that strategic thinking would increase the tendency of knowledge-based companies to innovate indirectly through strategic learning. Promoting strategic thinking capabilities in knowledge-based companies would make companies increase their strategic knowledge at the organizational level and apply their experiences to innovate.
Methodology: The present research is conducted through multiple case study strategies, based on an interpretive paradigm. Applying the interpretive paradigm is necessary for such research to reach a comprehensive understanding of the phenomenon. So, the researchers conducted 6 independent case studies on strategic alliances between Iranian companies and the international partners in different sectors such as oil and gas, telecommunication, online-services, food and beverage, auto parts, as well as pharmaceuticals.
Findings: Due to the research framework, industries can be classified into four groups by theirs process manageability and outcome interpretability. Alliances were not formed in isolation, and their industrial context would affect their structure and organization. The data from within-case analysis as well as cross-case analysis showed that each type of industrial context may result in a different set of variables which affect the organizational design of an alliance. The findings of the present research suggested that legal safeguards are the first priority for alliances which are formed in high manageability/high interpretability industrial context and trust would have the same role in alliances with low manageability/low interpretability context. Moreover, the formal control mechanisms in low manageability/high interpretability, and the social norms in high manageability/low interpretability are the dominant factors to develop and choose a structure for alliances.
Conclusion: The context is missing parameters in research on the structure of strategic alliances. It is impossible to design a prosperous alliance without considering the context in which the alliances are formed. This research aims to clarify this issue by focusing on industrial context and to provide a better understanding of how to design a better alliance. Furthermore, it can be inferred that the structure of strategic alliances is decided by simply choosing between binary options of contractual-based and equity-based forms. The specific industrial context of each alliance force specific prerequisites and structure of alliances should provide an appropriate response to these requirements.
The strategic collaboration is considered as a response to the company's environment. This type of collaboration is a formal/informal agreement among different firms in the form of alliances, joint ventures, or business networks. In each form of these collaborations, partners may come across institutional factors that affect the common performance. In the relationship between the parties, institutional factors establish some guidelines and external constraints affecting the exploitation of collaborative opportunities Particularly, the institutional theory is useful in explaining how organizations respond to external pressures and develop appropriate strategies to cope with the environment and its institutional requirements. Scholars have used different constructs to explain institutional requirements. However, they identified four categories of institutional factors as the basis for companies' economic behaviors and strategic collaborations: legal system, financial system, value system, and trust and authority relationships. Legitimacy is a key issue in the institutional perspective. Searching for legitimacy is a means by which companies moderate the effect of environmental restrictions and make it an advantage in their favor. From this point of view, adopting institutionalized measures and incorporating the external demands of powerful actors such as governance or culture, a strategic collaboration provides different parties with legitimacy.