Digital Commons Network^™

Leadership Behaviors, Practices, And Sytles In Mergers And Acquisitions In The U.S. Technology-Based Organizations: A Qualitative Study, Susan E. Glover

Human Resource Development Theses and Dissertations

Leaders guide and shape the success of mergers and acquisitions (M&A) to meet an organization’s goals and objectives. In this study, I explored the role of leadership during M&A and the effect of different leadership behaviors, practices, and styles (BPS) on different organizational cultures during M&A. This study explored the contribution of leadership BPS on M&A outcomes within an organization with a robust and innovative culture. I focused on the human capital investment strategies of M&A integration concerning different leadership BPS utilized to improve the success rate of M&A goals and objectives. I concentrated on technology-based organizations because they are …

Deploying Business Ecosystems To Cope With Ecological Transformation, Arnoud Cyriel Leo De Meyer

Research Collection Lee Kong Chian School Of Business

At a time when businesses must innovate quickly and in support of sustainability, "going it alone" is no longer the most effective or efficient model. Business ecosystems – networks of companies, researchers and other stakeholders each involved in a given value chain – offer an effective route to companies seeking not only to find new advantages, but to drive wider systemic change. When innovation takes place through ecosystems, often, the results are faster to diffuse through an industry or value chain. To address needs of the ecological transformation like the transition to clean fuels, this is exactly what is needed; …

Slack, Location, Diversification, Or R&D Intensity? How The Most (And Least) Innovative Firms Deploy Resources, Jamil Kreugel, Matthew Farrell, Chris H. Willis

College of Business (Strome) Posters

Firms frequently innovate by recombining knowledge components. Through bringing together diverse scientific or technological concepts, firms can reassemble these extant knowledge components into novel and useful innovations. At the same time, many of the mechanisms firms use to recombine knowledge components carry substantial agency costs. When firms conduct research and development, diversify, hold slack resources, or locate near close competitors, they become vulnerable to misappropriation of investor resources due to opportunistic actions by agents. Using patent citation data from semiconductor firms, we study how firms, which consistently produce high-quality innovations, balance the need for knowledge recombination with the need to …

What Makes A Great Strategy? Gea Farm Technologies Road To Smart Farming, Jan-Philipp BüChler Prof. Dr.

Case Studies

GEA Farm Technologies is a mid-sized world market leader of mechanical equipment and service solutions for milk production and livestock farming. Senior management of the hidden champion gets approval for an accelerated acquisition strategy to boost growth and innovate the business model vis-á-vis strong competitors in order to lead and develop the market. However, the existing strategic management of internal technology development would be altered and a significant part of management attention would be shifted towards M&A as well as post-merger integration efforts. The case study invites students to explore the benefits and limits of this business model innovation and …

Tesla Transformation And Hidden Champions: The Pace Of Innovation It The Only Thing That Matters In The Long Run., Jan-Philipp BüChler Prof. Dr.

Case Studies

After having internally invested significant amounts of time and resources into customer-specific development, the CEO of CoMaTec - family-owned and mid-sized world-market leader in the automotive industry - receives the contract for batch production from emerging electric automotive giant TESLA. However, the timing for the final development stage and start of production (SOP) deviates distinctly from all prior agreements. The tightened timing would put his company at tremendous risk. Should he accept the contract? Which mitigation strategies present an option for managing the emerging risks?

Entering The Next Level Of Value Generation: Servitization And Digitization For Industry 4.0 By Ifm Electronic, Robert Ciszewski, Jan-Philipp Büchler Prof Dr

Case Studies

Ifm electronic is a mid-sized wold market leader in sensor electronics for industry and automotive applications. The hidden champion shows an impressive growth trajectory in the last 20 years from around 200 mio. € to 1 bn. € in 2019. In this case study, the ambitious leaders of this company start to elaborate the strategy for achieving the next billion. Students are required to identify the drivers of growth in the past decades and evaluate the steadiness of this recipe for success in the context of major shifts and technological advances in key customer industries such as industry 4.0 and …

Gea Farm Technologies: Building Core Competencies Through Internal And External Growth, Jan-Philipp Büchler Prof Dr, Axel Faix Prof Dr, Gregor Brüggelambert Dr, Anna Weiland

Case Studies

GEA Farm Technologies is a mid-sized world market leader of mechanical equipment and service solutions for milk production and livestock farming. The so-called hidden champion developed a set of capabilities and core competencies to innovate the industry’s established business model through a two-fold strategy balancing internal and external growth. The case study invites students to explore the benefits and limits of this business model innovation and requires them to investigate further strategic options for growth.

Proceedings Of The Project Management Innovation Annual Conference, Tom Wise

Beyond the Project Horizon: Journal of the Center for Project Management Innovation

The Project Management Innovation Conference brings together professionals, leaders, visionaries, researchers, and students to engage in the topics related to the future of project management. Attendees represent all fields and industries, including government, corporate, and private. Attendee demographics include practitioners, front-line staff, and executive management.

Making Sustainability A Core Competency: Consumer Response To Sustainable Innovative Products, Clyde Eiríkur Hull, Jennifer D. Russell, Monika Kukar-Kinney

Articles

Research suggests that sustainability may not be sufficient to yield a competitive advantage. Building on the resource-based view, this research evaluates three questions: (1) Can using sustainability as a differentiator lead to consumers choosing sustainable products? (2) Does product sustainability appeal more to environmentally concerned consumers? (3) Does product sustainability appeal more when paired with innovation? To test the hypotheses, an online survey of 344 US respondents was conducted. Consumers were given a hypothetical budget for an office chair and asked to choose between two products at a time. Hypotheses were tested with frequency and Chisquare tests and logistic regression. …

Nelnet Consulting Project, Ellie Hellman, Kennedy Johnston, Abe Stutzman, Emily Kist, Sam Stott, Tom Hermanek

Honors Theses

The purpose of this capstone engagement was to do a market analysis of two potential investment opportunities for Nelnet. Our group went through an extensive research process of current players in the market, regulations that exist, financial considerations, and risk analysis. Through the capstone course we were introduced to design thinking and the 10 types of innovation to use as methods of evaluation for the Nelnet consultation. Our team went through processes such as stakeholder analysis, PESTEL analysis, Porter’s Five Forces, and internal resources and capabilities. Our final project consisted of a formal presentation to Nelnet executives and final report …

Dual Agenda Innovation: How Firms Pursue Economic And Environmental Goals Simultaneously, Tianni Xie

Dissertations and Theses Collection (Open Access)

With the increasing prevalence of UN SDG (Sustainable Development Goals) and ESG movement, more and more companies have started to include environmental performance as part of their strategic goals. From both risk management and value creation perspectives, not only is the positive environmental performance socially desirable, but it also can affect the economic performance. Companies strive to achieve superior environmental and economic performance (i.e.E2 performance), but few have succeeded.

In this dissertation research, the author proposed that firms are more likely to achieve superior E2 performance by engaging in dual agenda innovation that integrates environmental goal and economic goal in …

Managing Information For Innovation Using Knowledge Integration Capability: The Role Of Boundary Spanning Objects, Chandan Acharya, Divesh Ojha, Rahul Gokhale, Pankaj Patel

Publications and Research

Knowledge Integration (KI) or the capability to collate and process distinctive stocks of organizational information is central to innovation. Although an essential capability, KI is also challenging to accomplish in practice due to relational obstacles. The relational obstacles arise because of knowledge boundaries: (a) syntactic boundary where the challenge is to transfer the knowledge; (b) semantic boundary where the challenge is to translate the knowledge; and (c) pragmatic boundary, where the challenge is to transform the knowledge to realize relational rents. In this paper, we propose that these relational obstacles could be resolved through a common lexicon, common meaning, and …

The Impact Of Digitalization On International Expansion: A Study On Market Entry Strategy Based On The Integration-Responsiveness Framework, Thian Kiang Tan

Dissertations and Theses Collection (Open Access)

Digitalization has accelerated the growth and creation of new business models. There are more unicorn companies (a non-public company valued at more than US$1B) in the last 10 years than the decades before it. The use of digital technologies presents new opportunities for digitally active firms to capture growth in a new market. This paper studies how digitalization influences the internationalization process of the firm and its mode of entry into a foreign market. Drawing on existing literature on digitalization, this paper creates a novel approach to study the effect of digitalization by classifying firms based on their market business …

Knowledge Recombination And Inventor Networks: The Asymmetric Effects Of Embeddedness On Knowledge Reuse And Impact, Simon J.D. Schillebeeckx, Yimin Lin, Gerard George, Tufool Alnuaimi

Research Collection Lee Kong Chian School Of Business

Inventors are triply embedded. They are embedded in a network of knowledge components that they can reuse in future inventions. They are embedded in an inventor network, where internal embeddedness (the strength of relationships between focal inventors and their colleagues upon whose knowledge the team builds) and network centrality influence access to information. Finally, they are embedded in the firm, with its specific routines that favor external or internal knowledge search, what we call search orientation. Using a sample of 39,785 semiconductor patents, we study the pattern of knowledge reuse, or the recombination of technologically similar components, on invention impact. …

The Effect Innovation Of Information Technology, Product, Work, And Service Toward Development Performance Academic Business Laboratory In Indonesia, Ilham M, Tanti Handriana, Fendy Suhariadi

Library Philosophy and Practice (e-journal)

This study was conducted to compile a work plan and create an integrated laboratory information system and improve academic services at Uin Sunan Ampel Surabaya based on the implementation of work programs towards a world class university. The purpose of this research activity is to design and implement a system capable of providing work information for each manager of the integration laboratory and maximizing the utilization of the integration laboratory so that the use of the integration laboratory is better and more precise. The results of this research can form an integrated laboratory information system that can optimize the performance …

Ceo Political Ideology: Implications For Firm Innovation, Samira Fallah

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

In this dissertation, I examine the influence of CEO political ideology on firm’s innovation strategy and outcomes. In my theorizing, I draw on upper-echelons theory that underscores the role of executives’ personal orientations on their decisions as well as the scholarship in political psychology that demonstrates the different values and psychological needs of liberals and conservatives. Given liberals’ lower need to manage uncertainty and their openness to new experiences, I propose that a firm with a more liberal CEO is likely to develop more innovations, pursue exploratory innovations and develop innovations with extreme quality (high and low). I also build …

Corporate Venturing In The Media & Entertainment Industry: Contextual Factors That Influence Corporate Venture Decision Making, Graylind R. Wherry

Theses and Dissertations

This research study focuses on Corporate Venturing (CV) within the Media and Entertainment(M&E) industry and investigates factors that influence CV decision-making. CV provides a viable strategy to facilitate innovation and organizational change within companies; however, this area is understudied within the M&E industry. Companies that make up the entertainment industry may not have specific insight into how best to exploit this opportunity. Specifically, this study looks at the influence of firm characteristics, industry characteristics, and other outside factors using the PESTLE strategy model characteristics impacting the parent or venture unit's CV decision-making within the M&E industry. In terms of this …

What Has Changed? The Impact Of Covid Pandemic On The Technology And Innovation Management Research Agenda, Gerard George, Karim R. Lakhani, Phanish Puranam

Research Collection Lee Kong Chian School Of Business

Whereas the pandemic has tested the agility and resilience of organizations, it forces a deeper look at the assumptions underlying theoretical frameworks that guide managerial decisions and organizational practices. In this commentary, we explore the impact of the Covid‐19 pandemic on technology and innovation management research. We identify key assumptions, and then discuss how new areas of investigation emerge based on the changed reality.

Healthcare Innovation From The Inside Out: Leveraging The Human Capital System At Tan Tock Seng Hospital, Kenneth T. Goh, Richard Raymond Smith, Cher Heng Tan, David Dhevarajulu

Research Collection Lee Kong Chian School Of Business

The global pandemic has strained healthcare systems around the world, yet some providers have been able to adapt better and more swiftly than others. One such example is Singapore’s Tan Tock Seng Hospital (TTSH). When Covid-19 broke out, TTSH had to strike a balance between reducing business-as-usual (BAU) services and increasing outbreak-coping capacity. The latter meant that the hospital needed to build isolation rooms, and effectively ramp up its intensive care unit (ICU) capacity and capabilities to adapt to a rapidly evolving global pandemic. Furthermore, hospital management had to make an active push towards ensuring adequate supplies of personal protective …

Brave New World - Innovation 2.0 And Public Private Partnerhips (P3s), Rhonda S. Binda

Open Educational Resources

The trifecta of globalization, urbanization and digitization have created new opportunities and challenges across our nation, cities, boroughs and urban centers. Cities are in a unique position at the center of commerce and technology becoming hubs for innovation and practical application of emerging technology. In this rapidly changing 24/7 digitized world, city governments worldwide are leveraging innovation and technology to become more effective, efficient, transparent and to be able to better plan for and anticipate the needs of its citizens, businesses and community organizations. This class will provide the framework for how cities and communities can become smarter and more …

Innovative Boards: Exploring The Curvilinear Relationship Of Firm Innovation With Information Diversity, Dynamic Capability Diversity And Governance Diversity Of The Board Of Directors, And Understanding The Critical Moderating Effect Of Board Size On This Relationship, Ajay Makhija

Dissertations and Theses Collection (Open Access)

The role and effectiveness of Board of directors in fostering innovation is an area of keen interest for both academics and professionals. Heterogeneity research suggests that diverse groups consider a broader range of perspectives and hence are able to foster creativity and drive innovation. The focus of most prior research on board diversity has largely been on gender, and the outcomes have been generally inconclusive. In addition, previous research efforts have focused on the RBV (Resource based view) in terms of the board role and also in explaining the diversity relationship with innovation. This study extends the diversity, governance and …

Examining The Relationships Between Innovation, Quality, Productivity And Customer Satisfaction In Pure Service Companies, Dongjun Rew, Joo Jung, Steve Lovett

Faculty Publications - College of Business

Purpose – This study investigates the relationships between innovation, quality, productivity, and customer satisfaction in pure service companies. Previous studies have shown a negative relationship between quality and productivity in services. However, we argue the two can be positively related when innovation is present.

Design/methodology/approach – We develop and test our hypotheses using the secondary data from the COMPUSTAT, KLD STAT, and the American Customer Satisfaction Index (ACSI). We test our hypotheses using ordinary least squares regression and conduct additional testing using path analysis.

Findings – The findings show that quality and productivity are positively related when innovation is present …

Problem-Solving Or Self-Enhancement? A Power Perspective On How Ceos Affect R&D Search In The Face Of Inconsistent Feedback, Radina Blagoeva, Tom J. M. Mom, Justin J. P. Jansen, Gerard George

Research Collection Lee Kong Chian School Of Business

Firms consider multiple reference points simultaneously to assess performance, yet often these referents may be inconsistent in signaling success or failure. Consequently, decision makers use two contrasting decision rules when responding to inconsistent feedback: problem-solving or self-enhancement. So far, disparate theoretical logics and mixed evidence has limited our understanding about when decision makers may shift their attention from positive to negative aspects of inconsistent feedback or vice versa, and may increase or decrease their R&D search. We examine how different types of CEO power explain why some firms may respond to inconsistent feedback, i.e. positive performance feedback and negative prospects, …

Redefining Leadership In The Age Of The Sdgs: Accelerating And Scaling Up Delivery Through Innovation And Inclusion, Phumzile Mlambo-Ngcuka, Rangita De Silva De Alwis

All Faculty Scholarship

In 2015 the United Nations adopted seventeen Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) to promote prosperity while protecting the environment. Our research examines how the SDGs, considered the grandest vision for sustainable development for the world, can be accelerated by ambitious leaders in the field of innovation. Through careful selection based on the type of industry, scale, impact, and diversity, we study a cohort of bold leaders who are shaping a brave new world. In turn, the urgent charge of the SDGs provides a platform and an innovation lab to incubate new ideas for inclusion and technologies.

A Strategic Audit Of Tesla, John J. Stobbe Jr.

Honors Theses

This paper examines in depth one of the most innovative companies in recent years: Tesla. Redefining what it means to be an electric car, Tesla has produced impressive cars year after year. However, they’ve run into tremendous production issues and have still yet to make any significant profits. This strategic audit analyzes Tesla’s current place in the market and considers many perspectives to come to a proposed recommendation. This recommendation is to secure its market share and resolve production issues. This could be accomplished through sticking to only a few Tesla car models, then iterating year after year, and then …

Fight, Flight, And Freeze: Human Responses In A Business Strategy Environment, Michael Nixon

Student Works

Fight, flight, and freeze responses are a natural part of how we operate as humans. These responses permeate our lives and affect our decisions in major ways. This thesis first employs a case study to help the reader understand natural reaction processes, then analyzes case studies where businesses applied strategies that closely resembled these reaction processes. I then propose a framework to mimic physiological reaction processes to help companies arrive at the optimal solution.

Public Governance, Corporate Governance, And Firm Innovation: An Examination Of State-Owned Enterprises, Nan Jia, Kenneth G. Huang, Cyndi Man Zhang

Research Collection Lee Kong Chian School Of Business

We examine how corporate and public governance shape an important type moral hazard in innovation which is that agents pursuing the quantity of innovation at the expense of the novelty. We theorize that both better corporate governance tools that regulate agents (including better alignment of agents’ private incentives and stronger monitoring), and higher-quality public governance that regulates the principals of state-owned enterprises (SOEs) reduce this moral hazard. Furthermore, we argue that higher-quality political governance enhances the functioning of better corporate governance tools in further reducing this moral hazard in innovation, thus creating interdependence. We test our theory in the context …

Instead Of Predicting The Future, We Should Get On With Creating The Future, Shweta Midgil, Richard Smith

Research Collection Lee Kong Chian School Of Business

It is important to note that there is a lot of hype about “Digital Disruption” these days. We see too many organizations trying to take on the topic of “Digital” without really focusing their efforts on something that is meaningful to the people in the organization. Leaders going around talking about digital disruption or digital transformation does not serve any purpose – only creates anxiety and uncertainty. In other words, leaders would be better served to break down the topic into meaningful topics that are linked to areas of the business.

Book Review: Zero To One, By Peter Thiel, Ammon Kou

Marriott Student Review

This is a book review of Zero to One by Peter Thiel.

The Role Of Space And Time In Balancing Conflicting Pressures Through Routine Dynamics, Kenneth T. Goh, Claus Rerup

Research Collection Lee Kong Chian School Of Business

To examine how spaces and the temporal context shape routine actions that balance conflicting pressures for efficiency and flexibility, we conducted an ethnography of the product development process, known as the scrum routine, in a video game development studio. We trace the temporal patterning of scrum meetings to reveal the mutual constitution of spaces and the temporal context. Examining how the co-constitution of space and time shapes actions and artifact use in the scrum routine reveals that balancing occurs through coalescing, reconstituting, standardizing, and reorganizing actions. From these findings, we develop a conceptual model of how pressures for efficiency and …