British Journal of Management最新文献

This study examines whether managers employ annual report textual disclosures as a conduit to communicate the probability of future corporate bankruptcy or to intentionally mislead stakeholders owing to impression management incentives. We conduct various examinations around the information content of the tone conveyed by textual disclosures in unstructured UK annual reports and the probability of corporate bankruptcy. We document that firms that communicate a more net positive tone are associated with lower bankruptcy risk. Importantly, this association is found to be stronger for firms whose managers have a lower incentive to mislead investors owing to better board monitoring, stringent stock market regulation, and Big 4 audits. We also offer complementary evidence that firms conveying a more net positive tone exhibit higher future performance and earnings persistence, and lower future performance volatility. These firms are also less likely to exhibit extreme corporate policies and to receive a qualified auditor's opinion. Overall, this study sheds light on whether managers tend to inform or misinform (bury their heads in the sand) about corporate bankruptcy.

As a departure from previous research that takes social ventures as a distinct organizational type, this study investigates the relationship between the pro-market institutions in a country and the degree of hybridity in social ventures, focusing on the dimension of organizational goals. Additionally, it examines the contingent effects of organizational activities, such as the novelty of market offering and the implementation of social performance measurement. Combining Global Entrepreneurship Monitor data in 2009 and 2015 with other cross-national databases, we test our theoretical predictions using 3648 startup social ventures across 42 countries. We find that pro-market institutions have an inverted U-shaped effect on the degree of hybridity in social ventures. Furthermore, the novelty of market offering and social performance measurement attenuate the impact of pro-market institutions on organizational hybridity by shifting the inverted U-shape to relatively negative and linear. Through this cross-level empirical exploration, we develop a richer explanation of organizational hybridity and contribute to the growing literature on social ventures and hybrid organizations.

Using the lenses of internationalization process theory and of effectuation theory, this study investigates how small and medium enterprises (SMEs) implement backshoring initiatives. A qualitative multiple case study is developed involving six SMEs that have relocated from China back to their respective home countries. The analysis illuminates SMEs’ perspectives on the uncertainty perceived when returning to the home country and on how SMEs dynamically manage their domestic commitment and network of relations. The study also sheds light on the different alternative approaches they employ during different phases of the backshoring process and on the outcomes of these initiatives. Notably, the study demonstrates that the conceptual frameworks commonly employed in the literature to explain internationalization can effectively be extended to the domain of backshoring. Successful backshoring for SMEs hinges on their accurate perception of domestic uncertainty and their dynamic utilization of both planning and effectuation implementation strategies. Conversely, the failure of backshoring initiatives can be traced back to SMEs’ misperception of their position within the domestic business network, a cognitive bias that can lead to suboptimal decisions and outcomes.

Resource mobilization is a significant challenge for firms seeking survival and competitive advantage, especially in the context of digital transformation. Data has emerged as a vital resource, but its intangible nature adds complexity to the interactions between resource holders and seekers. This paper aims to address the gaps in understanding data resource mobilization by integrating perspectives on information, dependence, and orientation asymmetry using a social exchange perspective. The study focuses on the regulated animal healthcare industry, where a large established organization acts as the resource holder, universities act as intermediaries, and startups act as resource seekers. Through three years of data collection, the study finds that the context is rich in all three types of asymmetries and characterized by high uncertainty surrounding data as a resource. Actors engage in direct social exchanges to address information asymmetries and in generalized exchanges through intermediaries to deal with dependence and orientation asymmetries. The study contributes to theory by providing insights into the complex dynamics of resource mobilization in the context of digital transformation and proposes practical implications for managing multiple asymmetries and mobilizing data effectively for firm performance in regulated environments.

Management Learning Education (MLE) research and curriculum and pedagogy innovation are urgently needed to lead our world out of crisis. If we are to take responsibility for educating future leaders of business, third- and public-sector organizations with the skills, competences and knowledge to deliver sustainable futures for the planet and people, then pedagogy cannot be a dirty word. In this essay, we consider the state we're in by looking at the juncture of [climate] crisis, with the lack of investment in MLE research and innovation, and management education market misfires – which together, constitute MLE as undervalued, underfunded and underdeveloped. We discuss advances in MLE theory to reveal a missing middle of understanding, namely between meta theories of pedagogic philosophies and values and infra theories of programme, course and project insights, as we work toward developing ‘responsible’ and ‘civic’ management schools. Drawing on our own experience as researchers, educators and pedagogy developers, and as past and present vice-chairs of the Management Knowledge and Education initiative at the British Academy of Management, we call for investments in supporting infrastructures to accelerate MLE and curriculum and pedagogy innovation, implicating learned societies, governments and higher education institutions.

Sports doping is a practice that continues, despite hostile public opinion and counter-efforts to close it down. In this paper we explore the maintenance of doping in the sport of professional road cycling. While studies of controversial practices find that they often benefit from levels of acceptance and even perceived value, we supplement such research by providing one of the few studies of practices that are subject to powerful social controls. In our case, the continual threat from anti-doping organizations means that the maintenance and disruption of doping represents a kind of dialectical pair. We utilize and extend a model of types of institutional work that has advantages as an analytical tool, exploring the support required in this setting. Sustaining work was highly dynamic, relying on distinct groups within cycling teams to marshal organizational skills and cope with disruption, while repairing internal defences and concealing activities.

Venture capital firms (VCs) provide certification and monitoring services to the initial public offering (IPO) companies they finance, as has been well documented in the academic literature. Yet, there are few studies that explore what role – if any – VCs play when an IPO company is subsequently acquired, particularly if that acquisition is legally contested. Using a sample of 721 merger and acquisition (M&A) offers for US VC-backed IPO companies, announced between 1996 and 2018, we find that a takeover bid that occurs in the presence of the lead VC commands a higher target firm valuation and is less likely to be legally contested than a bid for a company from which the lead VC has already exited. In addition, companies in which the lead VC is present enjoy higher stock-price returns in response to M&A announcements. Our results provide new evidence regarding VC certification and monitoring – including its role as a litigation deterrent – long after the IPO.

This paper contributes to the literature on political corporate social responsibility (PCSR) by considering the forward-looking, political responsibilities of corporations in relation to structural injustice, based on a critical engagement with Iris Marion Young's Social Connection Model (SCM) of responsibility. Although Young's SCM serves as a key reference point in the PCSR literature, engagement with her work tends to be superficial and lacks critical engagement. By offering a more developed engagement with Young's SCM, this paper addresses several themes that have been highlighted as being insufficiently developed in the PCSR literature. In particular, this paper considers (i) the grounds for corporate political responsibility in relation to structural injustice rather than globalization; (ii) the scope of corporate political responsibilities vis-à-vis other actors; and (iii) the role of power in relation to deliberative processes and in relation to scope.

The ability of organizations to remain resilient in the face of supply chain disruptions has been severely tested due to their increased frequency and impact. This study leverages the adaptive cycle framework to investigate the intricate dynamics between supply concentration and organizational resilience. We unveil a paradox where, up to a critical threshold, supply concentration fortifies resilience through tight-knit buyer–supplier relationships and a bolstered resource base. Yet, surpassing this tipping point precipitates a rigidity trap, eroding the resilience fabric of organizations. Additionally, we scrutinize the nuanced roles of three dimensions of entrepreneurial orientation – proactiveness, innovativeness and risk-taking – in shaping this complex interplay. We test our hypotheses using both secondary and primary data collected from Chinese firms, employing ordinary least-squares regression and survival analysis. The results show that an inverted U-shaped relationship emerges between supply concentration and organizational resilience. Furthermore, our research generally confirms the conjectured moderating influences of entrepreneurial orientation dimensions, enriching our understanding of how they calibrate the balance between concentration benefits and vulnerabilities. This study offers a new perspective on the implications of supply concentration for organizational resilience and contributes to the intersection of supply chain management, organizational resilience and entrepreneurship.

Creativity is key for organizations’ ability to remain relevant in today's disruptive world. In this paper, we identify new ways in which organizations can use artificial intelligence (AI) more effectively for creativity. Drawing on the resource-based view as a background mechanism, we developed and empirically tested a new integrative model. We collected the research data via a large survey of managers distributed to 600 organizations in China. Our findings show that coupling AI capability with strategic agility can directly support creativity. It also mediates the effects of ambidexterity, customer orientation and competitor orientation on organizations’ creativity and performance when developing new products and services. In addition, our findings show that coupling AI capability and strategic agility can significantly improve firms’ new product creativity and new service development performance when there is a high level of government institutional support. Our findings provide theoretical and practical implications for academics and practitioners interested in managing AI for organizational creativity.