Alliance termination research: a bibliometric review and research agenda

Integrating knowledge management and dynamic capabilities through TISM modeling and meta-analysis

Purpose

This paper aims to explore the interaction between knowledge management (KM) and dynamic capabilities (DCs) to identify the factors that attribute to their integration. The amalgamation of the DC and KM will result in a firm’s superior performance. This study will, therefore, use meta-analysis to identify the factors and use the “total interpretive structural modelling (TISM)” to establish the hierarchy and inter-relationships concerning the identified factors.

Design/methodology/approach

The research in this paper uses an exploratory design. This entails reviewing the literature on KM and DCs by adopting a scientific methodology, i.e. meta-analysis. A structural interpretive framework has been developed based upon the identified factors. Further, TISM modelling has been used to develop a classified arrangement of these factors to validate the framework.

Findings

Overall, 15 factors related to KM and DCs, based upon 220 empirical studies have been identified. The validated framework, based upon heterogeneous factors, describes how the interactions between KM and DCs can facilitate a competitive advantage.

Research limitations/implications

This study contributes towards the discussion of how efficient management of knowledge is defining the DCs of firms for improved innovation and performance. It provides practitioners with an insight into the directional linkages towards the competitive performance based on the interactions of KM and DCs. For researchers, the study could serve as an initial outline for interpretation of the linkages and theory building concerning KM and DCs, as the proposed framework draws upon scientific review and expert interpretations.

Originality/value

The framework is the result of the qualitative modelling technique based upon the heterogeneous factors derived out of the meta-analysis. It will provide meaningful insight into the field of KM and DCs. The derived framework shall help corroborate the opinion of experts with the literature in the field of strategy and management.

Dyadic, network and ecosystem alliances: systematic literature review and research agenda

Purpose

Literature on strategic alliances (SAs) is large, diverse and growing. It needs synthesis and analysis for application and further research. Authors have also underlined the need for studies covering differences in structuring, situational application and management of alliances. This systematic literature review aims to cover dyadic, network and ecosystem (DNE) alliances with theory, context, characteristics and methodology (TCCM) methodology covering the life cycle stages of an alliance (pre-formation, formation and management) to uncover insights which inform practice and guide further research on this important subject.

Design/methodology/approach

This paper follows systematic literature review (SLR) methodology for research design and article selection and TCCM methodology for analysis. It also analyses the literature on DNE alliances using a nine-box matrix with DNE alliance forming one axis and three alliance lifecycle stages of pre-formation (alliance objectives), formation (alliance design and operationalisation) and post formation (alliance management) stages along the other axis.

Findings

Analysis indicates focus on individual firms and their own customer value proposition (CVP) in the dyadic and network alliances. Industries with fast-paced technological change benefit from loosely coupled alliances. Social context and social exchanges leading to collaboration and collective strengths mark network alliances, with a focus on knowledge creation and dissemination. Ecosystems focus on a collective CVP, which guides alliance behaviour. Ecosystem leadership guides this purpose through governance for sustained competitiveness. Negative consequences (dark side) of alliances can be mitigated by careful design, formation and management of DNE alliances.

Research limitations/implications

While literature has focussed on static view of alliances in their industry or social context, this literature review analyses alliances along the dyadic, network and ecosystem typology, thus providing a new lens to study alliances. The review also recognises that alliances evolve over their life-cycle stages and observes their progression through their lifecycle stages aids for fuller comprehension of their behaviour. Areas for future research in structuring, leadership, value co-creation and technological change set an agenda for future research.

Practical implications

Dynamic managerial capabilities are drivers of alliance performance. The analysis using the nine-box matrix allows managers to better appreciate the options that exist and the consequences of their actions. Situating their alliance in the appropriate box can allow managers better plan, operationalise and manage their own alliances.

Originality/value

This systematic review compares and contrasts DNE alliances in extant literature and through their lifecycle stages. Insights from TCCM analysis and the nine-box matrix provide unique contribution to both theory and practice in this large and growing domain.

The Trajectory of Two Decades of Global Journal of Flexible Systems Management and Flexibility Research: A Bibliometric Analysis

In the year 2020, the Global Journal of Flexible Systems Management (GJFSM) has celebrated its two decades of publication. This study is an attempt to commemorate the two decades of publication by presenting the overview of the GJFSM along with the trajectory of flexibility research in various journals. By using multiple bibliometric tools and indicators, the study finds that the GJFSM has grown over the years in terms of total publications and citations. The contributors are from across the globe, i.e., South America, North America, Asia, Europe, Africa, and the Pacific. The Journal publishes several flexibility areas, including information systems flexibility, financial flexibility, supply chain flexibility, technology management flexibility, marketing flexibility, organizational flexibility, strategic flexibility, and manufacturing flexibility. The GJFSM is cited by authors from various countries across the globe. It has been cited across different Scopus categorizations, including "Strategy and Management," "Business and International Management," "General Business, Management and Accounting," "Industrial and Manufacturing Engineering," and "Management Science and Operations Research." Keyword co-occurrences analysis helps to analyze the various groups of keywords cited together in the GJFSM. Co-citation analysis of references helps to identify crucial clusters of GJFSM, i.e., strategic flexibility, manufacturing flexibility, the conceptual framework of flexibility, supply chain flexibility, modeling flexibility, and application of TISM. Overall, GJFSM has seen an increase in both publications and citations, reflecting its increasing presence among the journals publishing flexibility research. The diversity of flexibility research and its contributions to research under-one-roof make this Journal unique. The paper concludes with the gap areas of flexibility research and the way forward.

Determinants of alliance productivity and performance: evidence from the automobile industry

Purpose

This study aims to identify critical factors and examine their impact on alliance performance from an organizational learning point of view.

Design/methodology/approach

A modified total interpretive structural modeling (M-TISM) methodology was used in this study. The different paths/links in the developed M-TISM model were further validated by using the Mahindra-Ford alliance case study.

Findings

In this study, a total of seven critical factors were identified using an extensive literature review, and a hierarchical model was developed. Results show that prior alliance experience, inter-partner learning, knowledge transfer, absorptive capacity and knowledge internalization have a positive on the alliance productivity and performance. Furthermore, the findings indicate that prior alliance experience remains essential for alliance productivity and performance, while knowledge transfer and absorptive capacity can contribute to inter-partner learning and knowledge internalization in strategic alliances.

Research limitations/implications

This study can help managers and policymakers to understand the identified critical factors from an organizational learning perspective and understand their impact on the alliance performance in a competitive environment. The managers should know that previous alliance experience, learning from partner firms, building an absorptive capacity, etc., are necessary to achieve superior alliance productivity and performance. For academicians, the M-TISM methodology used in this study can provide a mechanism to perform exploratory research and build a hierarchical model in different management research fields.

Originality/value

The study fills research gaps by identifying key factors, developing a hierarchical model, and examining their impact on the performance of strategic alliances in the Indian automotive industry.

Employee-Related Disclosure: A Bibliometric Review

Academic research specifically focused on employee-related disclosure practices is needed to enhance understanding on CSR reporting. This paper aims to provide an overview of the state-of-the-art in research on employee-related disclosure, analyzing the characteristics of the scientific production on this topic. A bibliometric analysis is conducted on the papers specifically focused on employee-related disclosure published from 2000 to 2019 in journals indexed on the Web of Science database. The findings show that relatively few studies specifically focused on employee-related disclosure have been published over the last two decades (63 papers). Most articles were published during the last 8 years (93.6%), although the highest interest in the study of employee-related disclosure among scholars concentrates on a short period around 2017. Six journals concentrate 31.75% of the publications on the subject. Most papers are empirical studies, using the content analysis technique to analyze corporate reports. Papers are spread over three research subtopics: (1) extent, quality and drivers of human resource disclosures, (2) occupational health and safety disclosures, human rights disclosures and employee-related disclosures as a legitimization tool, and (3) diversity reporting. In all research subtopics, most of the papers have been published during the last four years, confirming that employee-related disclosure is a topic of current interest to researchers. The studies found that the overall level of employee-related disclosure is low, with an increasing or irregular tendency over time. Furthermore, not all items/categories got the same attention by firms. It can be concluded that this research subject is still far from reaching the level of research on environmental reporting and important issues remain to be resolved, both theoretically and empirically.

Strategic innovation and entrepreneurial ownership: an analysis using GEM data and fuzzy simulation

Purpose

This paper aims to study entrepreneurial ownership and technological input on product innovation globally and in the Indian context. The data used in this study is collected from the Global Entrepreneurship Monitor (GEM).

Design/methodology/approach

The study evaluates strategic innovation and entrepreneurial ownership in global and country-level data. The study was extracted from global and country-level data by the GEM. One of the methods used is ordinal regression analysis to examine the importance of entrepreneurial ownership and technology usage on product innovation. Another technique used is the fuzzy-based simulation to simulate the scenario of entrepreneurial ownership and usage of technology in business processes impacting product innovation.

Findings

Results from statistical analysis indicate that entrepreneurial ownership is high in India compared to the globe. The usage of technology and its excellence is still lower than the global level and in other countries. In India, product innovation is achieved because of strong entrepreneurial ownership but, globally product innovation is achieved because of the higher level of technological excellence and technology usage in innovation activities. The fuzzy-based simulation shows that product innovation is at peak only when both technological input and entrepreneurial ownership are high.

Originality/value

This paper's original contribution is that the fuzzy-based simulations are applied to GEM data to study the relationships of entrepreneurial ownership and technological input on product innovation through simulation. The study has shed light on how entrepreneurial ownership and usage of technology are influential in product innovation.

Black swan: bibliometric analysis and development of research agenda

Purpose

There has been an increasing interest amongst the researchers to work and explore, “Black Swan” events which are not well studied. However, the “Black Swan” events hold an eminent relevance amongst academicians and practitioners. The present study offers nuanced understanding of “Black Swan” events.

Design/methodology/approach

We undertook an extensive bibliometric analysis of the extant literature using “Black Swan” as guiding keyword with the help of SCOPUS database.

Findings

The search for articles only yielded 59 articles. Our analyses highlight the prominent works, authors and journals. Further, this study reveal the research gaps that may help guide future scholars interested in “Black Swan” events to examine in different context.

Research limitations/implications

The current study develops a research agenda and offers numerous research directions. Research on “Black Swan” events can be apprehended at three different stages – pre-black swan event, about black swan event and post-black swan event with identified sub-themes.

Originality/value

This paper is the pioneer research work to dedicatedly analyse the existing set of literature with “Black Swan”.

Technology management for innovation in organizations: an argumentation-based modified TISM approach

Purpose

In the rapidly changing business world, innovation plays a vital role for organizations to gain a competitive advantage. Various factors associated with technology management and innovations in organizations are diverse in the existing literature. Therefore, there is a need to bridge these gaps in the fitting proportions toward innovations within organizations. The primary objective of this study is to identify, explain and interpret the relationships between the identified technology-related factors that are important for innovations in organizations.

Design/methodology/approach

In this study, a modified total interpretive structural modeling (M-TISM) methodology was used to examine and analyze the various interactions between identified factors for innovations in organizations. However, the argumentation of the links is relatively weak in M-TISM. In order to compensate for this, M-TISM is additionally altered by an “Argumentation-based Modified TISM”. Hence, this research strengthens the modified TISM methodology by incorporating argumentation and total interpretation of the relationships between the identified factors.

Findings

A total of six major factors were identified using a literature review. Results suggest that workforce technical skills, technological infrastructure, technological alliances, technology transfer and top management support have an impact on innovation in organizations. Results also suggest that top management support and the technological infrastructure of an organization have a greater impact on innovation.

Research limitations/implications

For policymakers and practitioners, this study provides a suggestive list of critical factors, which may help to develop policies or guidelines for improving innovation in organizations. Policymakers should focus on technological infrastructure and collaborations to enhance innovations and productions within the organizations. For academicians, this study provides a modified TISM model that shows the impact of technology-related factors on innovations. Future researchers could expand this study by adding a greater number of technological factors and validate this model in other industries.

Originality/value

This study fills a gap in the literature by interpreting the various relationships among the identified factors and innovations. The model has been validated through a panel of seven experts from the Indian automotive industry of multiple organizations. This study is useful in the automobile industry as it determines what and how technology-related factors affect innovations, process improvement and R&D production for organizations.

A systematic review of responsiveness to develop future research agenda: a TCCM and bibliometric analysis

Purpose

This paper aims to epistemologically extend and explore the present theories from prior research conducted in the area of responsiveness. Furthermore, it determines to benchmark the prominent theories, characteristics, context and methodologies (TCCM) used in the domain since its inception to advance the science and practice of marketing and logistics discipline.

Design/methodology/approach

A seven-step methodology (SSM) has been introduced to create a comprehensive dataset. Based upon the selection criteria of high-ranked journals and language, the research studies have been retrieved from Scopus, Web of Science, Business Source Complete and journal homepage to avoid the error of exclusion. Moreover, the dataset has been compiled using manual and electronic searches without any limitation of time.

Findings

The search for a suitable dataset retrieved 642 documents by identifying “1969” as the beginning year of research in the subject domain. The analysis found that responsiveness has been prominently studied in the manufacturing industry. The results also advocate responsiveness as the vital antecedent to performance and satisfaction. Frameworks have been proposed with significant propositions for future empirical testing and theory inventiveness by researchers.

Originality/value

The study pioneers its utility for retailers to recognize the firms' inherent abilities and strengths, which can be promoted to create responsiveness more than ever. The analysis results can act as the compelling force to understand the driving power of various factors influencing responsiveness.