Knowledge that Transforms

ABSTRACTThis review and introduction to the Special Issue on ‘Strategy Research in Emerging Economies’ considers the nature of theoretical contributions thus far on strategy in emerging economies. We classify the research through four strategic options: (1) firms from developed economies entering emerging economies; (2) domestic firms competing within emerging economies; (3) firms from emerging economies entering other emerging economies; and (4) firms from emerging economies entering developed economies. Among the four perspectives examined (institutional theory, transaction cost theory, resource‐based theory, and agency theory), the most dominant seems to be institutional theory. Most existing studies that make a contribution blend institutional theory with one of the other three perspectives, including seven out of the eight papers included in this Special Issue. We suggest a future research agenda based around the four strategies and four theoretical perspectives. Given the relative emphasis of research so far on the first and second strategic options, we believe that there is growing scope for research that addresses the third and fourth.

abstract An action pattern model was developed and applied to the examination of inter‐firm cooperative processes. The model considered cooperation as a continuous cycle of actions and reactions between cooperating partners. The building blocks of the model include cooperative equilibrium, disruptive events, action types and action patterns. Three action pattern variables were proposed to describe the interactions. It was hypothesized that action patterns are contingent on partner relationships and the transaction cost characteristics of a partnership. The hypotheses were tested on a sample of 263 partnerships in the construction industry in Hong Kong. The quantitative study was supplemented by four in‐depth case studies. The results show that: (1) trust was an important antecedent of action patterns; and (2) transaction cost variables moderate the relationships between partner relationships and action patterns. These findings suggest that future research should give more attention to the interaction of partners during cooperation.

abstract A characteristic of studies seeking to explain the structure and operation of networks is the use of Granovetter's strong and weak tie hypothesis. Whilst this hypothesis has become an established paradigm, questions and disagreements arise over its applicability at demonstrating the real use and value of each tie. This study extends the work of Granovetter. Using a qualitative ethnographic approach to explore in‐depth the networking activities of fourteen respondents, it aims to enhance understanding about the role of ties, how they are used and activated for business activity. Findings demonstrate that it is strong ties that are instrumental for business activity and used extensively to provide knowledge and information but also to maintain, extend and enhance business and personal reputations. Unless activities require their reactivation and manifestation, strong ties remain latent and dormant within the network. Strong ties also provide the mechanism to invoke ‘weak’ ties, represented by nodes operating in a wider social context.

abstract This paper looks at the workings of ongoing primary sensemaking and sensegiving micro‐practices by which middle managers interpret and sell strategic change at the organizational interface. Through middle managers’ routines and conversations related to the implementation of a strategic change in a top‐of‐the‐line clothing company, the article shows how they contribute to renewing links with stakeholders, in particular clientele, by drawing on their tacit knowledge. Interpretative analysis of these routines and conversations highlights four micro‐practices of strategic sensemaking and sensegiving: translating the orientation, overcoding the strategy, disciplining the client, and justifying the change. The paper outlines a practice perspective of sensemaking and sensegiving. It ends by suggesting the necessity of looking at middle managers’ role as interpreters and sellers of strategic change at the micro level for a better understanding of their contribution in sustaining competitive advantage through their everyday activities.

abstract We argue in this paper that corporate language policies have significant power implications that are easily overlooked. By drawing on previous work on power in organizations (Clegg, 1989), we examine the complex power implications of language policy decisions by looking at three levels of analysis: episodic social interaction, identity/subjectivity construction, and reconstruction of structures of domination. In our empirical analysis, we focus on the power implications of the choice of Swedish as the corporate language in the case of the recent banking sector merger between the Finnish Merita and the Swedish Nordbanken. Our findings show how language skills become empowering or disempowering resources in organizational communication, how these skills are associated with professional competence, and how this leads to the creation of new social networks. The case also illustrates how language skills are an essential element in the construction of international confrontation, lead to a construction of superiority and inferiority, and also reproduce post‐colonial identities in the merging bank. Finally, we also point out how such policies ultimately lead to the reification of post‐colonial and neo‐colonial structures of domination in multinational corporations.

abstract Organizational research has long focused on the instrumental sphere with its questions of efficiency and effectiveness and in recent decades there has been interest in the moral sphere with its questions of ethics. Within the last decade there has also emerged a field that draws on the aesthetic sphere of our existence in organizations. In this review we look at the field of organizational aesthetics in terms of content and method, suggesting four broad categories of organizational aesthetics research: intellectual analysis of instrumental issues, artistic form used to look at instrumental issues, intellectual analysis of aesthetic issues, and artistic form used to look at aesthetic issues. We then suggest how organizational scholars might pursue artistic aesthetic organizational research.

abstractDrawing on an analysis of critics’ reviews of Atlanta Symphony Orchestra (ASO) performances, we investigate how broader shifts in institutional logics shape the discourse of critics and their judgment of performances. We highlight how the aesthetic logic that traditionally informs the practices of the symphony yielded, in the face of declining orchestral resources, to a more commercially oriented market logic. As institutionalists have argued, shifts in logics are often catalysed by exogenous shocks. In the ASO, this blending of aesthetic and market logics became salient in the wake of a pivotal organizational event, the 1996 musicians’ strike. Qualitatively comparing pre‐ and post‐strike reviews of ASO performances, we find that the discourse of critics shifted to capture the changing logic of the symphony: post‐strike reviews were more attuned to market than aesthetic aspects of the symphony. Nonetheless, their reviews suggested that judgments based on notions of cultural authenticity were virtually unaffected. Although our results echo existing claims that art world critics often act in a ritualistic fashion, serving as gatekeepers for the authenticity of cultural genres, we extend scholarship by highlighting how critics’ stories are embedded in broader discursive fields that reveal how they patrol the boundaries of genres.

abstract Organizational legitimacy and organizational reputation have similar antecedents, social construction processes and consequences. Nonetheless, an improved understanding of relationships between legitimacy and reputation requires that differences between the two be specified and clarified. Our examination of past research indicates that legitimacy emphasizes the social acceptance resulting from adherence to social norms and expectations whereas reputation emphasizes comparisons among organizations. We empirically examine two antecedents of the financial, regulatory, and public dimensions of legitimacy and reputation in a population of US commercial banks. We find that isomorphism improves legitimacy, but its effects on reputation depend on the bank's reputation. Moreover, higher financial performance increases reputation, but does not increase the legitimacy of high performing banks.

abstract Authenticity is one of the cornerstones of contemporary marketing practice yet confusion surrounds the nature and use of authenticity in the brand arena. Examining the strategies of 26 luxury wine firms informs the authenticity of specific brands. Creating an impression of authenticity required creating a sincere story consisting of a creative blend of industrial and rhetorical attributes. Sincerity was achieved through the public avowal of hand crafted techniques, uniqueness, relationship to place, passion for wine production, and the simultaneous disavowal of commercial motives, rational production methods, and the use of modern marketing techniques. For the wineries, appearing authentic was critical in order to reinforce their status, command price premiums and ward off competitors. Images of authenticity were accomplished by developing a sincere story that enabled the firms to maintain quality and relevance while appearing above commercial considerations. This was achieved through the deliberate decoupling of their technical core from their espoused communications.