Institutions, resources, and strategic orientations: A meta-analysis

Firm Characteristics, Business Environment, Strategic Orientation, and Performance

The purpose of this study is to empirically examine the influence of firm characteristics (size, age, industry type, and ownership) on a firm’s strategic orientation. The business environment, namely market uncertainty and competition intensity, is also analysed in association with the firm’s strategic orientation. Furthermore, the implication of strategic orientation for performance is tested. The study used 1024 data sets of 128 manufacturing firms listed on the Indonesia stock exchange from 2014 to 2021. Data panel regression and independent t-tests were employed for statistical analysis. Adopting Miles and Snow’s strategy typology framework, the findings indicated that the firm size, industry type, and competition intensity significantly influence the firm’s strategic orientation. Small firms preferred to adopt a proactive strategic orientation (prospector and analyser). Firms in the fast-moving consumer goods (FMCG) industry tended to adopt a proactive strategic orientation (prospector and analyser). Strategic orientation was found to positively and significantly influence firm performance. Firms that adopt a proactive strategic orientation (analyser and prospector) showed better performance than defensive ones (reactor and defender).

Outsider-driven institutional entrepreneurship: the case of the emerging field of positive psychology education

The phenomenon of outsider-driven institutional entrepreneurship may appear both paradoxical and opaque. We examine outsider-driven institutional entrepreneurship by drawing on an in-depth qualitative case study of the emerging field of positive psychology education. We investigate how institutional entrepreneurs, located outside Kuwait’s Ministry of Education, enabled actors inside the Ministry both to deviate from existing institutional arrangements and to institutionalize new practices. Our findings illustrate that outsider-driven institutional entrepreneurship in emerging fields starts with ‘normalization’, that is, the production of claims, arguments, and evidence, about the effectiveness of the newly proposed practices. Our study contributes to the literature on outsider-driven institutional entrepreneurship in emerging fields by identifying a set of critical activities associated with deviation from prevailing institutional arrangements, and the institutionalization of innovation.

The Origin of Proactive Environmental Corporate Social Responsibility (ECSR) of Large Firms: Institutional Embeddedness—Driven, Family Involvement-Promoted, or Resource-Dependent?

Why are some firms in China highly engaged in proactive environmental corporate social responsibility (ECSR) while others are not? Knowledge of the determinants of proactive ECSR is a key research question among academics and practitioners. This study seeks to advance the ECSR literature by suggesting a configuration way of integrating institutional embeddedness, family involvement, and the resource base factors of firms to predict proactive ECSR investment, a proxy for proactive ECSR. Specifically, this study explores how the combination of institutional embeddedness, family involvement, and the resource base factors of firms jointly shape the proactive ECSR investment of large firms. Using fuzzy-set qualitative comparative analysis (fsQCA) on a sample of 162 large private firms in China, this study finds that no condition alone is sufficient to account for high proactive ECSR investment. Institutional embeddedness, family involvement, and the resource base factors of firms must interact with one another to produce highly proactive ECSR investments. There exist two distinctive configurations that provide a nuanced picture of the drivers of proactive ECSR investment. These findings provide meaningful insights for theory and practice and pave the way for future research in the domain of ECSR.