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This study investigates the valuation and performance effects of corporate social responsibility (CSR) and irresponsibility (CSiR) activities adopted by 72 CSR-awarded and 87 nonawarded listed firms in Taiwan. Focusing on 1368 CSR/CSiR events during 2008–2011, this study provides an overview and a comparison of CSR/CSiR activities in an emerging Asian economy and focuses on the reputation and buffering effects of CSiR events. The results show that CSR activities are accompanied by improved performance. Compared with nonawarded firms, when CSR-awarded firms experience CSiR events, their investors impose stricter punishments. Consequently, the performance of CSR-awarded firms is inferior to that of nonawarded firms. This empirical work shows that firms with high CSR reputations are not buffered from the consequences of scandal and clarifies the incongruent and mixed findings regarding the CSR–performance relationship in the existing literature.

Purpose This paper aims to build and empirically test a multilevel framework integrating transaction cost economics and a resource-based view into a value co-creation ecosystem perspective to explain the chain- and firm-level effects of transaction-specific investments (TSIs) on supplier performance. Design/methodology/approach This paper investigates cross-level network effects using survey data from the List of Taiwanese Central Satellite Production Systems. A total of 34 buyers (hub firms) and 106 suppliers (satellite firms) from 34 supply chains responded to the survey. Findings Findings confirm that individual firms’ TSIs can foster co-specificity at the supply chain level, thereby improving supply chain integration (SCI). SCI can have a positive cross-level moderating effect on the TSI–performance relationship. Research limitations/implications These two key concepts, value co-creation and co-specificity, extend the theoretical application of transaction cost theory and the resource-based view to cross-level study by contributing to the research on the TSI–performance relationship. Practical implications This study’s framework is a counter to the buyer–supplier–supplier relationships in which each actor who may have different goals can create value jointly and share benefits from their TSIs. Social implications Owing to high co-specificity, being embedded in a well-integrated supply chain can be a threat when the environment is turbulent; for losing strategic flexibility, co-specificity and embeddedness may result in a collective adaptation concern. High degrees of SCI may slow the reaction to environmental turbulence for both buyers and suppliers. Originality/value Individual firms’ TSIs can foster co-specificity at the supply chain level, subsequently enhancing SCI. An integrated supply chain can be a collective asset that facilitates value co-creation. Individual firms can benefit from the sharing of collective value. SCI can also increase switching costs, thus reducing the likelihood of individual firm engaging in opportunistic behavior and cost safeguarding.

This study extends the idea of subsidiary ambidexterity as a subsidiary’s attempt to obtain a fit between its dual embeddedness (i.e. ambidextrous contexts) and its learning strategy (i.e. ambidextrous behaviors). We design a dyadic survey to collect data from Taiwanese MNEs and their Chinese subsidiaries to test our arguments. First, we redefine subsidiary ambidexterity as a three-step mechanism in which three different types of dual embeddedness will cause different legitimacy effects (resource or conformity effect), which will then result in a subsidiary’s different learning strategies. Second, we propose three different subsidiary ambidexterity patterns: (1) a subsidiary will prefer in maintaining higher external than internal political embeddedness, which leads to their focusing on exploitation (an adaptability case of ambidexterity); (2) a subsidiary will intend to develop both high external and high internal cultural embeddedness and that will cause them to explore and exploit simultaneously (an alignment case of ambidexterity); and (3) in sometimes a subsidiary will prefer to maintain higher external than internal cognitive embeddedness and that will lead the subsidiary to emphasize exploration, whereas in other times a subsidiary will prefer to have higher internal cognitive than external cognitive embeddedness and that will lead the subsidiary to emphasize exploitation (a balancing case of ambidexterity). Our view can largely contribute to the subsidiary learning literature.

Theoretical models and empirical works on the relationship between transaction-specific investments (TSIs) and firm performance have produced inconsistent results. Such results highlight a need for further investigation of long-debated questions concerning how TSIs enhance firm performance. In synthesizing transaction cost theory, a resource-based model, and relational exchange theory, this study presents a collective switching cost perspective and proposes the mediating role of supply chain integration (SCI) for reexamining TSI-performance relationships. A survey of 84 firms listed in the List of Taiwan Central Satellite Production Systems shows that TSIs positively affect firm performance and supply chain integration. Supply chain integration negatively affects firm performance relationships. This investigation confirms the mediating effect of SCI on the relationship between TSIs and firm performance.

PurposeThis paper highlights cooperation as an important moderating condition of competitive action and response. Drawing on a new perspective of collective identity on competitive dynamics, the purpose of this paper is to stress the impacts of market commonalities and resource similarities on competitive actions and responses and focus on the moderating effect of cooperation on the relationships mentioned above.Design/methodology/approachThis study employs logistic regression analysis to test the hypotheses in the Taiwanese flour industry at the period 2002–2005.FindingsThe results indicate market commonalities and resource similarities have a negative effect on the likelihood of a price-competitive action and a price-competitive response. Moreover, the level of cooperation among firms moderates the relationships among market commonalities, resource similarities, price-competitive actions, and price-competitive responses.Practical implicationsTo understand and predict competitive behavior help firms to control and avoid unnecessary rivalry and therefore maintain mutual forbearance with competitors.Originality/valueThis study provides a new angle on cooperation-level analysis, contributing the use of collective identity theory to analyze the moderating effects of cooperation on competitive actions and responses.

This study uses an organizational change perspective to analyze firms' export market selection (EMS) to adapt to home country market pressures. We argue that firms' strategic objectives influence whether they will enter institutionally proximal or distal markets. A model with two curvilinear (U-shaped and inverted U-shaped) relationships is found by testing 1940 Taiwanese export firms based on two official datasets. The model shows that firms are more likely to increase their exports to institutionally proximal markets and to decrease their exports to institutionally distal markets if they have an increasing but still controllable degree of competitive and marketing pressures in the home country. This response represents an incremental change by exporting firms. However, firms increase their exports to institutionally distal markets while decreasing their exports to institutionally proximal markets if they have an excessively increasing degree of competitive and marketing pressures in the home country. This response represents a radical change by exporting firms. We find that export firms' strategic objectives in choosing different organizational change styles (incremental or radical) are highly related to this trade-off in their EMS decision making.

Governance mechanisms protect the investments involved in transactions and thereby facilitate and promote sustainable and cooperative relationships; however, the empirical results of prior research concerning the relationship between governance mechanisms and collaborative performance are inconsistent. Based on transaction cost economy (TCE) and social exchange theory (SET), a relational life-cycle framework that considers the dynamic evolution of collaborative relationships and re-examines the relationship between governance mechanisms and collaborative performance was developed in this study. Evidence from 124 manufacturers in Taiwan indicates that the effects of governance mechanisms on collaborative performance differ according to the current life-cycle phase. In the exploration phase, contractual control exerts a positive impact on cooperative performance. In the buildup and maturity phases, relational control remains positively associated with collaborative performance, whereas the impact of contractual control is insignificant. In the decline phase, both contractual control and relational control have an insignificant impact on collaborative performance. Herein, we discuss the implications of our empirical findings and their relevance to managers.

Lack of incentives makes most P2P users unwilling to cooperate and lead to free-riding behavior. One way to encourage cooperation is through service differentiation based on each peer’s contributions. This paper presents FuzRep, a reputation system for P2P networks. FuzRep uses fuzzy logic method which uses requester’s reputation and provider’s inbound bandwidth as input information to create incentives for sharing and to avoid overloading problems for primary file providers. Reputation sharing in FuzRep is implemented by interest-based selective polling, which can significantly decrease overheads for reputation communication.

Knowledge tension results from knowledge sharing, protection, and learning simultaneously in an IJV. This study highlights the moderating role of knowledge tension on the relationship between management control and MNE's satisfaction with IJV's performance. Evidence from 162 IJVs shows that (1) split management control can result in higher IJV satisfaction than other types of management control when MNEs or local partners encounter sharing-protection tension, and (2) split management control and MNE dominant management control can result in higher IJV satisfaction than shared management control when both MNEs and local partners simultaneously encountered sharing-protection tension. We suggest that split management control performs better than all other control structures. However, MNE-dominant control is another choice when MNEs and local partners simultaneously encounter sharing-protection tension.

The characteristics of Langevin equations for the intrinsic fluctuations of chemical reactions are investigated via the analyses on the Brusselator model in the parameter domain of spirally stable focus. Two forms of Langevin equations are shown to be equivalent for the results of two statistical measures. The comparisons in the results of two measures between Langevin equations and chemical master equation are given: The difference in stationary probability densities is significant for systems close to the bifurcation point, even the system size is large; the power spectra of Langevin equations with white noise are qualitatively the same as that of chemical master equation, but the discrepancy is found between Langevin equations with colored noises and chemical master equation, if the length of correlation-time is comparable with the correlation-time of a system. As the linearized Langevin equations possess singularity at the supercritical Hopf bifurcation point for the statistical measures, the Langevin equations displace the bifurcation points, and the amount of displacement is a decreasing function of the system size and the length of correlation-time of noises.

According to transaction cost theory, the risk of opportunism is a major obstacle to cooperative relationships, such that multinational corporations need to exert control over their international joint ventures (IJVs). However, inconsistent findings indicate that the control-performance linkage is complex and poorly understood. This study develops a mediating framework and suggests that perceived value gap and information asymmetry have a direct effect on IJV performance. Perceived value gap and information asymmetry can also mediate the relationship between control mechanisms (e.g., centralization, formalization, and socialization) and IJV performance. A sample of 152 Taiwanese IJVs in China showed that the direct effects of formalization and socialization on IJV performance satisfaction were significant. The empirical results showed that information asymmetry and perceived value gap mediated the formalization-performance and socialization-performance relationships. However, neither the direct effect of centralization nor the indirect effect through information asymmetry mediation on IJV performance was significant.

In this paper, a new system design for load services in computer networks with a new reputation system is constructed. The use of the reputation system is to address the free-rider problem. Database systems are used by directory agents to save information provided by load-server agents. Protocols are built for how a host finds available servers for load service or load transfer, especially when a host moves to a new region. Detailed procedures include how a directory agent builds its database, how a load-server agent provides services, and how a load-client agent receives its desired services. The system uses the fuzzy logic control method to transfer loads for load balancing, instead of the method of a fixed threshold level. For an ad-hoc (wireless) computer network framework, this new system structure is aimed to provide efficient ways for hosts to communicate with one another and to access resources in the system. This will also help the users of networks locate resources in a most effective and secure manner.

This study aims to explore the effect of governance mechanisms (including both formal and social controls) upon the buyer–supplier cooperative performance in supply chains. Empirical evidence obtained via a mail survey from 106 firms participating in the Taiwanese “Center Satellite Production System” indicates that (1) there is an inverted U-shaped relationship between formal control and cooperative performance; (2) social control has a consistent positive effect on cooperative performance; and (3) the joint use of formal control and social control could enhance cooperative performance in supply chains but only in cases with moderate usage of formal control. Otherwise, social control becomes a supportive factor that repairs cooperative performance damage from overwhelmingly applied formal control.

Purpose – Effective and efficient supply chain coordination requires the integration of all product flow processes. However, inconsistent empirical results have been obtained with respect to the relationships between supply chain integration (SCI) and performance. Drawing on efficiency-flexibility arguments, this paper seeks to develop a SCI model that includes buyer-supplier-supplier relationships, and proposes a contingency framework for reexamining the SCI-supplier performance relationship under demand and technological uncertainties. Design/methodology/approach – A two-stage data collection process was conducted, and a total of 878 suppliers that listed in the Taiwanese “Center-Satellite Production System” with supply contract were contacted for this study. Finally 164 suppliers were gathered and screened as valid responses. Hierarchical regression analysis was used to test the hypotheses in this study. Findings – Evidence indicates that SCI has a significant positive effect on the suppliers' performance. The positive SCI-performance relationship can be moderately weakened by demand uncertainty; however, this positive SCI-performance relationship will be strengthened by technological uncertainty. Originality/value – While supply chain management is needed to manage the vertical and horizontal relationships simultaneously, this study offers a framework to solve efficiency-flexibility dilemma arguments when dealing with “exploitation” and “exploration” alternatives to help to reexamine the inconsistent SCI-performance relationship. Furthermore, based on transaction cost theory, this paper takes the nature of uncertainty into account for improving the theoretical background of the SCI-performance relationship arguments. Empirical results indicate the existence of an ambidextrous supply chain integration strategy which justifies the choice of which one is preferable in efficiency-flexibility dilemma arguments.

This study employs a resource-based view (RBV) to analyze how the existing resources available to small manufacturers affect their export branding and channel control decisions. Two types of intang...

Does a supplier be able to benefit from its transaction-specific investments (TSIs) and those made by other suppliers? Theoretical arguments and empirical findings remain mix regarding the TSI-perf...

Purpose – Several studies have explored the relationships among the multiple dimensions of knowledge governance mechanisms (KGMs) and knowledge sharing. However, knowledge governance issues and knowledge transfer processes remain under-researched. The empirical results of the relationships among KGMs, motivations to share knowledge and knowledge sharing behavior remain inconsistent. This paper aims at re-examining the mediating effects of knowledge sharing motivations and knowledge sharing opportunities on the relationship between KGMs and knowledge sharing behavior of repatriates at multinational corporations. Design/methodology/approach – Survey data were collected from 140 repatriates from 66 multinational companies that operated in five different geographic locations. Structural equation modelling was used to assess the research model. Findings – The empirical results indicate the mediating roles of knowledge sharing motivation and opportunity in the relationship between KGMs and the knowledge sharing behavior of repatriates. Two sets of KGMs – formal and informal mechanisms – have significant influence on knowledge sharing motivation and opportunity. Research limitations/implications – This investigation focuses on the functions of KGMs that facilitate the knowledge sharing behavior of repatriates. The contextual effects of task-level, firm-level, and external environmental characteristics on knowledge sharing may need further studies to substantiate. Originality/value – This study argues that even when employees are encouraged and rewarded by extrinsic and intrinsic motivations to share knowledge, effective knowledge sharing would not necessarily be guaranteed. This paper offers a conceptual framework where knowledge sharing motivations and opportunities simultaneously play the mediating roles in a successful knowledge sharing. The framework associates KGMs with knowledge sharing behavior and echoes the growing acknowledgement of the need for additional research on micro-foundations of knowledge sharing to complement the macro research.

Plenty of researchers have explored the relationship between parent firm control and international joint venture (IJV) performance. However, the conclusions of these researchers are inconsistent. Some studies suggest that total control from foreign parent firms produces better outcomes, while other studies consider that shared control or split control structures result in higher IJV performance. All of these studies argue that a parent firm’s control over an IJV would influence the performance of the IJV. This paper contributes to these debates by exploring the control gap, that is, the difference between desired control and exercised control of a parent firm. Evidence from 80 IJVs in Taiwan indicates that control gaps in the areas of manufacturing, financial, and human resource management have negative impacts on IJV performance. Empirical results also show that the level of a parent firm’s resource contribution to an IJV positively influences the parent firm’s desired control. The extent of a parent firm’s learning intent in marketing and R&D management is also positively linked with the degree of control desired by the parent firm. These findings provide important implications for the study of control structure in IJV management.

This study investigates the valuation effects and the performance of the corporate social responsibility (CSR) activities adopted by the 72 CSR-awarded and the 87 non-awarded listed firms in Taiwan...

The steady-state work fluctuations for an overdamped Brownian particle driven by an external stochastic force are analyzed by using the Langevin approach. The first two moments of the work distribution are given analytically, both are proportional to the time duration of the work injection. The first two moments determine a unique Gaussian function, and the deviations of the probability density functions (PDFs) of work from the Gaussian functions are measured. The tails of the PDFs are shown to approximate the Gaussian functions. In the limit of weak external force and large time interval, the PDF can be approximated by the Gaussian form and the steady-state fluctuation theorem is held.

This study examines the statistical properties of volatility among New York, Tokyo, Taiwan, South Korea, Singapore and Hong Kong stock markets. Fractal dimensions, probability distribution and two-point volatility correlation are used to measure and compare volatility among the six over the 12-year period from 1 January 1990 to 31 December 2001. New York market is found to be the strongest among all in terms of market efficiency. Moreover, the Tokyo and Singapore markets are found to be very similar in fractal dimension and probability distribution, but different in their resistance to volatility: Tokyo has a higher ability to dissipate volatility. This phenomenon implies that the Tokyo market is more efficient than the Singapore market. Hong Kong market is similar to the Singapore market in its ability to dissipate volatility. Meanwhile, Taiwanese and Korean markets are the most two volatile markets among the six, but Taiwanese market is weaker than the Korean market in dissipating volatility.

Based on the knowledge of the partition function zeros for the cell-decorated triangular Ising model, we analyze the similar structures contained in the distribution pattern and density function of the zeros. The two own the same symmetries, and the arising of the similar structure in the road toward the infinite decoration-level is exhibited explicitly. The distinct features of the formation of the self-similar structure revealed from this model may be quite general.

This study uses an institutional-change lens to analyze the rapid resource-exploiting internationalization of established small firms, which is an interacting result of their CEOs' perception of ho...

Based on the transaction cost theory, organizational learning and knowledge-based view, this study investigates how different types of management control affect multinational enterprises' (MNEs) satisfaction with international joint venture (IJV) performance. The study also examines the moderating effects of learning intent and the risks of knowledge spillover on the relationship between management control and IJV performance. Through an analysis of 162 Taiwanese JVs, we find that (1) when sharing-protecting tension is faced by MNEs or local partners, split management control can result in higher IJV satisfaction than other control types; and (2) when MNEs and local partners face learning-sharing-protecting tension simultaneously, split management control and MNE dominant management control can result in higher IJV satisfaction than sharing management control.

Exact expressions of the Bloch wall free energy are obtained for the Ising model on a rectangular lattice and infinitely long cylinder. The interfacial tension amplitudes are obtained for different coupling and aspect ratios. Finite-size scaling theory is used to analyse the effects of coupling anisotropy and finite size in the interfacial tension.

We locate the critical probability of bond percolation on two-dimensional random lattices as . Because of the symmetry with respect to permutation of the two axes for random lattices, we expect that for an aspect ratio of unity and sufficiently large lattices, the probability of horizontal spanning equals the probability of vertical spanning. This is confirmed by our Monte Carlo simulations. We show that the ideas of universal scaling functions and non-universal metric factors can be extended to random lattices by studying the existence probability and the percolation probability P on finite square, planar triangular, and random lattices with periodic boundary conditions using a histogram Monte Carlo method. Our results also indicate that the metric factors may be the same between random lattices and planar triangular lattices provided that the aspect ratios are 1 and .

Theoretical models and empirical research on the relationships between transaction-specific investments (TSIs) and firm performance have produced inconsistent results. Such results highlight a need...

We analyze the exact formulae for the resistance between two arbitrary notes in a rectangular network of resistors under free, periodic and cylindrical boundary conditions obtained by Wu [J. Phys. A 37, 6653 (2004)]. Based on such expression, we then apply the algorithm of Ivashkevich, Izmailian and Hu [J. Phys. A 35, 5543 (2002)] to derive the exact asymptotic expansions of the

The study of fluctuations in gene regulatory networks is extended to the case of Gaussian colored noise. Firstly, the solution of the corresponding Langevin equation with colored noise is expressed in terms of an Ito integral. Then, two important lemmas concerning the variance of an Ito integral and the covariance of two Ito integrals are shown. Based on the lemmas, we give the general formulae for the variances and covariance of molecular concentrations for a regulatory network near a stable equilibrium explicitly. Two examples, the gene auto-regulatory network and the toggle switch, are presented in details. In general, it is found that the finite correlation time of noise reduces the fluctuations and enhances the correlation between the fluctuations of the molecular components., 10 pages, 4 figures

The conventional periodic boundary conditions in two dimensions are extended to general boundary conditions, prescribed by primitive vector pairs that may not coincide with the coordinate axes. This extension is shown to be unambiguously specified by the twisting scheme. Equivalent relations between different twist settings are constructed explicitly. The classification of finite-size scaling functions is discussed based on the equivalent relations. A self-similar pattern for distinct classes of finite-size scaling functions is shown to appear on the plane that parametrizes the toroidal geometry.

Governance mechanisms protect investment transactions and thereby facilitate and promote sustainable and cooperative relationships. However, the empirical results from prior studies of the relationship between governance mechanisms and collaborative performance are inconsistent. This quasi-longitudinal empirical study article develops a relational life-cycle framework that considers the dynamic nature of the evolution of collaborative relationships and re-examines the relationship between governance mechanisms and cooperative performance. The 117 domestic manufacturers included in the list by the Common Wealth Magazine's Top 1000 manufacturers in Taiwan of 2012 indicates that the use of governance mechanisms has different effects on collaborative performance during various life-cycle stages. In the exploration stage, both contractual control and relational control positively affect cooperative performance. In the growth and maturity stages, still has a positive association with collaborative performance, ...

Chen (1996) addresses the competitive dynamics theory, which contributes to competitive strategy and enhances our understanding of a firm's competitive actions. However, firms usually are active in...

The exact closed forms of the partition functions of a two-dimensional Ising model on square lattices with twisted boundary conditions are given. The constructions of helical tori are unambiguously related to the twisted boundary conditions by virtue of the SL(2, Z) transforms. The numerical analyses on the deviations of the specific-heat peaks away from the bulk critical temperature reveal that the finite-size effect of herical tori is independent of the chirality.

The scaling, phase distribution, and phase correlation of financial time series are investigated based on the Dow Jones Industry Average and NASDAQ 10-min intraday data for a period from 1 Aug. 1997 to 31 Dec. 2003. The returns of the two indices are shown to have nice scaling behaviors and belong to stable distributions according to the criterion of L\'evy's $\ensuremath{\alpha}$ stable distribution condition. An approach catching characteristic features of financial time series based on the concept of instantaneous phase is further proposed to study the phase distribution and correlation. Analysis of the phase distribution concludes that return time series fall into a class which is different from other nonstationary time series. The correlation between returns of the two indices probed by the distribution of phase difference indicates that there was a remarkable change of trading activities after the event of the 9/11 attack, and this change persisted in later trading activities.