Topic: Discussion on how firms manage their dependence on external environment

Date & Time: 13:30-15:30pm, Dec.26, 2018

Venue: Room 201, Tongji Building A

Language: English

Speaker Biography

Dr. GONG Tianyu, Assistant Professor, Advanced Institute of Business, Tongji University

EDUCATION

Ph.D., Strategic Management and Organization theory, The Hong Kong University of Science and Technology

RESEARCH INTERESTS

Government policy and firm innovation; Institutional transition; Corporate governance

ABSTRACT

In this session, I will briefly introduce my research interest about how firms manage their dependence on external environment firstly and then present two relevant paper in detail.

Paper I: Unintended Consequences? Differentiated Impact of Government Innovation Policies on Technological Innovation and Commercialization

We examine the effect of government innovation policies on a firm’s technological innovation and new product commercialization in the context of China’s transitional economy from a resource dependence perspective. Using the resource dependence theory, we propose that the incentives embedded in the government innovation policies compel firms to match their own resource with the resources acquired from the government for technological innovations favored by government, but the constraints of the government innovation policies could negatively influence a firm’s commercialization of new products. State owned enterprises (SOEs) and firms with more financial slack, however, could better manage the constraints of the government innovation policies so it suffers less from the constraining effect of government innovation policies on commercialization. Using two different datasets from China, we demonstrate that Chinese government innovation policies have a positive effect on low-quality technological innovations but a negative effect on a firm’s new product commercialization. The negative effect on commercialization is weaker for SOEs and firms with more financial slack. Our findings provide fresh insights into effect of government policy on a firm’s technological innovation and new product commercialization.

Paper II: Committed Straddling: Organizational Responses to Competing Institutional Logics under Institutional Uncertainty

Extant literature on multiple institutional logics literature in general assumes a hierarchy among these logics, where one logic takes a dominant position to other minority logics, and argues that such a hierarchy informs how firms make strategic choices to respond to competing logics in the society. Incorporating the resource dependence theory with theories of competing institutional logics, we propose that in a situation where the dominance among competing logics is uncertain, firms are propelled to straddle with a strong commitment between competing logics. And, such a “committed straddling” response many vary with the factors influencing the dominance of institutional logics. An analysis of CEO succession events in China during a period when market and state logic were contending for dominance reveals that firms that demonstrated their commitment to market logic tend to straddle their commitment by selecting a CEO with a government background. This is even more prevalent when the state had greater resource allocation power and when state ownership increases in a firm.

All the faculties and students are welcome to attend this lecture!