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Literature suggests that business groups help affiliated firms overcome market failure, which is common in emerging economies, thus serving as a source of competitive advantage. This paper discusses how and when affiliated firms pay for these advantages. Specifically, we propose that affiliated firms, compared with stand-alone firms, bear unique institutional isomorphic pressures from business groups. Using information technology industry samples from the World Bank’s Enterprise Surveys, we find that affiliated firms underperform on organizational innovation more than stand-alone firms. In addition, we find that the main effect is strengthened when the business group size is large and the affiliated firm CEO’s industrial experience level is low. Moreover, the main effect is the strongest when an affiliated firm is embedded into a large business group the CEO of which has a low industrial experience level. Our findings contribute to a comprehensive understanding of the impact of business group membership.

Given the increasing attention to building customer–brand relationships within online brand communities (OBC) in social media, this study examines the link between customer engagement (CE) and customer sharing behaviours across the USA and China. This study draws upon the perspective of CE to investigate how the customer–brand relationship within the OBC affects sharing behavioural intentions under different levels of perceived OBC interactivity and innovativeness intensity.

This study develops a contingency framework to investigate how and when innovation intensity and creativity enhancement affect a firm's eco‐innovation strategy by drawing upon the perspectives of the resource‐based view and stakeholder theory. This investigation aims to explore whether firms with high innovation intensity and creativity enhancement really pursue eco‐innovation strategy. Our examination is based on a sample of 2,126 manufacturing firms. By using a hierarchical regression, the results reveal that the effects of innovation intensity and creativity enhancement on eco‐innovation strategy depend on customer demand and environmental regulation. Specifically, customer demand positively moderates the effects of innovation intensity and creativity enhancement on eco‐innovation strategy, whereas existing regulation has a weaker effect on the relationship between innovation activities and eco‐innovation strategy than that of anticipated regulation.

This study develops a framework by drawing on the perspectives of contingency theory to investigate how innovation capacity affects eco-innovation. The examination covers four moderators, including customer requirement, export destination, environmental regulation and government subsidy, and focuses on the types of eco-innovation concerning pollution and waste. A sample of 2964 manufacturing firms from the Taiwanese Technological Innovation Survey is utilized to test the hypotheses. A moderated hierarchical logit method is adopted to analyze the data. The results overall suggest that the effect of innovation capacity on eco-innovation depends on the levels of the four moderators. Specifically, the results show that innovation capacity has different effects on eco-innovation when customers have a demand for eco-innovation, export markets have high environmental awareness, future environmental regulations are expected, and the government provides a subsidy for environmental innovation. Copyright © 2017 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd and ERP Environment

This study develops a moderation model to examine the role of a proactive environmental strategy on eco-innovation. Drawing upon the perspectives of contingency theory, this study argues that the impacts of sustainability strategy on eco-innovation depend on market demand, innovation intensity and government subsidy. The sample used to test the hypotheses is obtained from the Community Innovation Survey in Taiwan. A total of 2955 manufacturing firms are included in the final sample. A logit moderating regression is adopted to analyze the models. The results reveal that market demand and government subsidy positively moderate the relationship between environmental strategy and eco-innovation. Specifically, firms are more likely to adopt a proactive environmental strategy to improve eco-innovation under high levels of market demand and government subsidy. Furthermore, the results indicate that innovation intensity affects the effect of environmental strategy on eco-innovation, but the direction of the influence varies with different categories of eco-innovation. Copyright © 2016 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd and ERP Environment

A bismuth oxide (Bi2O3)-dispersed carboxylated nitrile butadiene rubber (XNBR) flexible film was prepared as a flexible lead-free material for gamma ray (γ-ray) attenuation. However, obtaining a uniform and stable dispersion of Bi2O3 in carboxylated nitrile butadiene rubber latex (XNBRL) is a challenge due to sedimentation induced by the remarkable density differences. Here, this challenge was approached by reducing the Bi2O3 particle radius, increasing the viscosity of the latex, and adding a dispersant. The experimental results confirmed that Bi2O3 was well dispersed in the XNBRL in the concentration range of 30–70 wt%. The mechanical properties demonstrated that the Bi2O3/XNBR flexible films had a good resistance to oil, acid, alkali, and hot air. The linear attenuation coefficients of the Bi2O3/XNBR flexible films obtained from the experiments were in good agreement with the calculated values. The attenuation efficiencies of the Bi2O3/XNBR flexible films with different thicknesses and Bi2O3 contents were investigated for a few different γ-ray energies. These results showed that the Bi2O3/XNBR flexible films have wide application prospects for low-energy γ-ray attenuation.

Boron carbide/natural rubber latex (B4C/NRL) flexible films were prepared via dip-molding with B4C content in the range of 5–55 wt% for thermal neutron (0.0253 eV) shielding. B4C was well dispersed in NRL according to microscopic observation. Both the inside and outside surfaces of the film were smooth. For B4C/NRL flexible films, the minimum elongation at break was greater than 600%, the minimum tensile strength was greater than 12 MPa, and the hardness was in the range of 35–55 HA, which were suitable for preparing flexible wearable products. The attenuation efficiencies of the B4C/NRL flexible films for thermal neutrons were also calculated. The B4C/NRL flexible films exhibit good attenuation effect for thermal neutrons.

This study draws upon the perspectives of organizational learning and environmental contingency to investigate how the use of knowledge integration mechanisms affects product innovativeness under different levels of technological turbulence, market turbulence, and competitive intensity. Based on a sample of 102 high-tech product projects, hierarchical moderated regression analyses reveal that product innovativeness is related to knowledge integration mechanisms in a curvilinear manner under different levels of competitive intensity, market turbulence, and technological turbulence. Specifically, under a low level of competitive intensity, market turbulence and technological turbulence, the relationship between knowledge integration mechanisms and product innovativeness is an inverted U-shape. By contrast, under a high level of competitive intensity, market turbulence, and technological turbulence, product innovativeness is related to knowledge integration mechanisms in a U-shaped manner.

In the context of the exponential increase of information in society, this study examines the relationship between perceived information accessibility and microblog stickiness. The results indicate an inverted U-shaped relationship between perceived information accessibility and stickiness. To determine how to avoid the information overload that can compromise the stickiness of the microblog site, this study examines the moderating effects of sense of community. The inverted U-shaped relationship becomes linear as levels of sense of community increase. The results suggest microblog service providers can increase the sense of community in order to reduce the negative impact of information overload on stickiness.

This study develops a contingency framework by drawing upon on the perspectives of resource-based view, stakeholder, and open innovation to investigate how and when market demand, environmental proactivity, and technology competence affect a firmi¯s decision on the scope of eco-innovation. A sample composed of 1,717 service firms is utilized to test the hypotheses. A zero-truncated negative binomial approach is adopted to analyze the data. The results reveal that innovation openness plays a significant moderating role in the influence of proactivity and technology competence on the scope of eco-innovation. Specifically, environmental proactivity has a stronger effect on the scope of eco-innovation under high levels of search breadth and depth strategy. Moreover, technology competence has more influence on the scope of eco-innovation under a high level of search breadth. In addition, the results reveal that market demand positively affects the scope of eco-innovation.

The endogenous growth issues for business-group affiliations draw growing attentions. This paper compares innovation outcomes in group-affiliated firms and that in standalones, and further tests th...

Proactive corporate social responsibility has been increasingly considered a critical predictor of eco-innovation, and yet central issues related to such activities remain ambiguous. This study focuses on proactive environmental strategies and draws on perspectives from transaction cost and contingency theories to argue the relationship between proactive environmental strategies and reverse logistics management. We adopt three moderating factors—market demand pull, regulation, and technology push—that strengthen the positive effect of proactive environmental strategies on reverse logistics management. We use practical evidence from Taiwan and present a holistic framework that encompasses sustainable strategies, external factors, and eco-innovation (reverse logistics).

This study develops and tests hypotheses regarding the role of proactive environmental strategy on eco-innovation. Drawing upon contingency theory, this study further proposes such relationship var...

Knowledge integration mechanisms have increasingly been considered a key predictor of product innovation, yet some central issues related to them remain ambiguous. This study draws upon the perspectives from familiarity trap to argue a curvilinear relationship between knowledge integration mechanisms and product innovativeness. A sample of 140 product development projects from manufacturing firms is analyzed by a hierarchical moderated regression method. Findings reveal that the curvilinear relationship between knowledge integration mechanisms and product innovativeness varies with the levels of market turbulence and competition. Specifically, under a high level of market turbulence and competitive intensity, the relationship between knowledge integration mechanisms and product innovativeness is a U-shaped relationship. Conversely, under a low level of market turbulence and competitive intensity, the relationship between knowledge integration mechanisms and product innovativeness is an inverted U-shaped relationship.

An increasing number of studies have suggested a relationship between organizations' strategy for managing their business and the natural environment; however, no clear empirical evidence existed t...