scholarly journals Problematic search, slack search and institutional logic in corporate R&D strategy: An empirical analysis of Taiwanese electronics firms

2013 ◽  
Vol 19 (6) ◽  
pp. 659-678 ◽  
Author(s):  
Lin-Hua Lu ◽  
Shih-Chieh Fang
Keyword(s):  
Performance Feedback ◽  
Stock Exchange ◽  
Theory Of The Firm ◽  
Business Group ◽  
Behavioral Theory ◽  
Institutional Logic ◽  
Taiwan Stock Exchange ◽  
Positive Performance ◽  
Theoretical Predictions ◽  
D Investment

AbstractThis study focuses on firms’ search behavior with regard to corporate R&D investment. Building on Cyert and March's (1963) behavioral theory of the firm, we develop specific hypotheses about how firms adjust their R&D investment in response to performance discrepancies, and how this adjustment varies for two types of slack resources. Moreover, by utilizing institutional logic, we also hypothesized that the firms’ search behaviors in response to performance feedback may differ between business-group affiliated and unaffiliated firms. Empirical evidence from panel data coving 274 Taiwanese electronics firms listed on the Taiwan Stock Exchange over the period 1999–2008 is consistent with our theoretical predictions. In particular, we find that firms will increase R&D investment when they faced discrepancies in performance, but will decrease R&D spending when close to bankruptcy. Moreover, our results show that unabsorbed and absorbed slack have different impacts, positively and negatively affecting R&D investment, respectively. In addition, we find that both business group-affiliated and unaffiliated firms will increase R&D investment in response to negative performance feedback, but only business group-affiliated firms will increase R&D activity when facing positive performance feedback. Furthermore, we also find that only business group-affiliated firms have a greater inclination to invest in R&D when there is unabsorbed slack. Our findings extend the claims of behavioral theory in newly industrialized economies, and identify the important factors that need to be considered in future studies.

scholarly journals Performance Shortfalls and R&D Investment Change: Aspirations, Actions, and Expectations

2021 ◽  
Vol 13 (6) ◽  
pp. 3006
Author(s):  
Liying Huang ◽  
Lerong He ◽  
Guangqing Yang
Keyword(s):  
Performance Feedback ◽  
Theory Of The Firm ◽  
Firm Resources ◽  
Market Conditions ◽  
Firm Level ◽  
Internal Resources ◽  
Moderating Factors ◽  
Firm Response ◽  
Underperforming Firms ◽  
D Investment

Built on the Behavioral Theory of the Firm, the paper examines how firm response to performance feedback is influenced by firm expectation on the likelihood of an action to close the performance gap. Using firm level change in R&D intensity as a problemistic search behavior, we explore how performance shortfalls relative to social and historical aspirations may prompt underperforming firms to adjust its R&D investment intensity, and how the magnitude of this adjustment is moderated by firm resources, past experience, industry and market conditions. We conduct our analysis using a longitudinal sample of Chinese firms listed on the ChiNext Board between 2009 and 2017. Our results indicate that underperforming firms increase their R&D intensity to a larger degree than their over-performing peers and periods when these firms have substantial cumulated R&D spending, abundant organizational slack, and are competing in more dynamic industries. We also document that these moderating factors influence relationships between social and historical aspirations and R&D investment decisions in a distinct way. We conclude that firm internal resources, capabilities and external industry and market conditions all affect firm expectations, and consequently shape the direction and magnitude of organizational actions in response to performance aspirations.

scholarly journals Performance Feedback Theory

2021 ◽  
Keyword(s):  
Decision Maker ◽  
Performance Feedback ◽  
Theory Of The Firm ◽  
Performance Measure ◽  
Behavioral Theory ◽  
Theory Approach ◽  
Aspiration Level ◽  
Actual Performance ◽  
Aspiration Levels ◽  
Wide Range

Performance Feedback Theory (PFT) is a scholarly field that examines how organizations respond to feedback on their performance. Other keywords used by researchers in this area include “adaptive aspirations,” “attainment discrepancy,” “organizational learning from performance feedback,” “performance aspiration,” or a more generic label like a “behavioral theory/approach/perspective.” The origin of PFT can be found in the Carnegie School approach. PFT explicitly and predominantly positions itself as part of the “Behavioral Theory of the Firm” (BTOF). PFT shares many of the same foundational ideas and continues to be influenced by other strands of BTOF scholarship. The main concepts in this theory are performance feedback, aspiration levels, and responses or responsiveness. Aspiration level refers to the minimum level of performance deemed satisfactory by a decision maker, and, thus, it serves as the benchmark against which to evaluate performance. Two types of aspiration levels are common: historical ones, which are based on the organization’s own prior performance, and social ones, which are based on the performance of comparable peer organizations, usually all other firms active in a focal firm’s industry. The comparison of actual performance with aspiration levels constitutes performance feedback. Depending on whether performance feedback is favorable, i.e., exceeds a particular aspiration level being examined, PFT predicts different responses and levels of responsiveness. Commonly, predictions and findings indicate responses that diverge from previous firm actions and greater responsiveness in any area of firm activity where performance is below the aspiration level. Such responses includes a wide range of strategic and operational choices, such as new market entry, investment in fixed assets, research and development (R&D) spending, innovation adoption, and so on. In fact, as PFT continues to develop and gain in popularity, the range of firm and decision maker behaviors linked to performance feedback has greatly increased. While consensus is widespread on the core of the theory, PFT scholarship is still developing. Discussions are ongoing on the extent to which its main predictions apply universally, irrespective of the type of organization examined, the performance measure used, and the type of aspiration level considered. Specifically, research efforts are examining what boundary conditions limit the applicability of PFT’s predictions and which contingencies modify them and, thus, should be included as moderators in PFT models.

scholarly journals Attainment Discrepancy Level, Firm Resources Slack, and Sticky Cost

2020 ◽  
Vol 11 (2) ◽  
pp. 97
Author(s):  
Riha Dedi Priantana ◽  
Abdul Rohman ◽  
Fuad .
Keyword(s):  
Business Processes ◽  
Stock Exchange ◽  
Theory Of The Firm ◽  
Behavioral Theory ◽  
Firm Resources ◽  
Cost Behavior ◽  
Resource Slack ◽  
Asymmetric Cost ◽  
Social Attainment ◽  
Unabsorbed Slack

The aim of this study is to further develop the behavioral theory of the firm into the context of sticky cost research. The company’s actions in managing resources can be explained through the concept of attainment discrepancy level and resource slack in the behavioral theory of the firm explaining the company’s sticky costs. This study also examines the effect of attainment discrepancy levels, both historical and social, on cost behavior between slack dimensions and overall slack. To examine it, this study used 2,416 observations data from 302 companies listed on the Indonesian Stock Exchange during 2009-2017. Using Eviews 10, the estimation results of the regression model based on HAC find that the attainment of discrepancy level and resource slack affects sticky costs. Specifically, this study found that historical attainment discrepancy level causes sticky cost behavior to decrease, whereas social attainment discrepancy level increases cost behavior to become more sticky cost. The effect of resource slack on sticky cost behavior is reduced, both for each slack dimension and for the overall slack. Furthermore, the results show that the existence of certain types of slack, namely unabsorbed slack, increases the company’s sticky cost behavior when it is associated with historical attainment discrepancy levels. To sum up, these results indicate that the firm makes internal business processes as the focus of attention in managing the company’s resources. As a consequence, this situation can be used as an alternative explanation for the company’s asymmetric cost behavior.

A behavioral theory of patent application rhythm

2019 ◽  
Vol 58 (4) ◽  
pp. 743-758 ◽  
Author(s):  
Bin Guo ◽  
Peng Ding
Keyword(s):  
Performance Feedback ◽  
Positive Relationship ◽  
Patent Application ◽  
Theory Of The Firm ◽  
Feedback Mechanism ◽  
Behavioral Theory ◽  
Firm Level ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Application Data ◽  
Performance Discrepancy

Purpose Previous studies employing the behavioral theory of the firm have not explicitly taken the roles of decision makers and corporate governance into consideration. The purpose of this paper is to fill in this gap by integrating CEO overconfidence and discretion into the performance feedback mechanism. Design/methodology/approach Financial data were collected from 1,730 Chinese listed companies in the period 2011–2015. Firm-level patent application data were collected for 1988–2015 to measure firm patent application rhythm. Hypothesis testing relied on the fixed effect panel data model. Findings There is a positive relationship between performance discrepancy and a firm’s patent application rhythm. CEO overconfidence will weaken this positive relationship. The negative moderating effect of CEO overconfidence will be less pronounced when CEO discretion is high. Originality/value To the best of the authors’ knowledge, this work is the first empirical study that investigates the roles of CEO overconfidence and discretion in shaping the performance feedback mechanism.

Does Performance Breed Slack? Ownership as a Contingency to the Performance Feedback and Slack Relationship

2021 ◽  
pp. 014920632110142
Author(s):  
Varkey Titus ◽  
Jonathan P. O’Brien ◽  
Jaya Dixit
Keyword(s):  
Performance Feedback ◽  
Stock Price ◽  
Theory Of The Firm ◽  
Organizational Outcomes ◽  
Organizational Slack ◽  
Length Relationship ◽  
Different Types ◽  
Stakeholder Perspective ◽  
Shareholder Perspective ◽  
The Relationship

Although organizational slack is a prominent construct in strategic management, it is often treated as an antecedent or enabler of other organizational outcomes, and thus our understanding of where slack comes from is underdeveloped. We draw on the behavioral theory of the firm to develop a better understanding about the antecedents of organizational slack. In so doing, we address a gap in the literature on the antecedents of slack by developing base models showing how and why performance feedback influences the three most common types of slack studied in the literature. Moreover, we contend that ownership is an important contingency that influences these relationships because different types of owners are motivated by different norms. Within a “communitarian” culture such as Japan, domestic owners generally have a multifaceted relationship with the firm and hence are motivated by norms of reciprocity and embeddedness, thereby allowing managers to adopt a stakeholder perspective. In contrast, foreign investors typically have only an arm’s-length relationship with the firm and are thus motivated by stock price, thereby putting “contractarian” pressures on managers to adopt a shareholder perspective. This domestic/foreign ownership distinction influences how resources are allocated and therefore the relationship between performance feedback and different types of slack in the firm. We further emphasize that these relationships will vary in accordance to where the slack resides: internal or external to the firm. We find general support for our hypotheses.

How Starting Strategy and Network Structure Shape Problemistic Search: An Examination of Venture Capital Firms

2021 ◽  
pp. 104225872110335
Author(s):  
Jake Duke ◽  
Taha Havakhor ◽  
Rachel Mui ◽  
Owen Parker
Keyword(s):  
Venture Capital ◽  
Network Structure ◽  
Theory Of The Firm ◽  
Behavioral Theory ◽  
Organizational Strategy ◽  
Search Process ◽  
Strategy Research ◽  
Structural Holes ◽  
Starting Point ◽  
Venture Capital Firms

Building on the behavioral theory of the firm, we empirically examine how starting strategies and syndication networks can influence venture capital (VC) firms’ problemistic search. We propose that: (a) depending on a VC’s strategic starting point, that is, the VC’s extent of specialization, the directionality of problemistic search may change to either expanding or contracting search activities; and (b) depending on search direction, structural holes in syndication networks can either impede or facilitate the problemistic search process. In a sample of U.S. VC firms, we find results consistent with our predictions, which have important implications for entrepreneurship and organizational strategy research.

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