Browsing Research documents by Author "Foss, Nicolai J."
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How To Realize Its Potential in the Organization FieldVolberda, Henk W.; Foss, Nicolai J.; Lyles, Marjorie A. (Frederiksberg, 2009)[More information][Less information]
Abstract: The purpose of this Perspective Paper is to advance understanding of absorptive capacity, its underlying dimensions, its multi-level antecedents, its impact on firm performance and the contextual factors that affect absorptive capacity. Nineteen years after the Cohen and Levinthal 1990 paper, the field is characterized by a wide array of theoretical perspectives and a wealth of empirical evidence. In this paper, we first review these underlying theories and empirical studies of absorptive capacity. Given the size and diversity of the absorptive capacity literature, we subsequently map the existing terrain of research through a bibliometric analysis. The resulting bibliometric cartography shows the major discrepancies in the organization field, namely that (1) most attention so far has been focused on the tangible outcomes of absorptive capacity; (2) organizational design and individual level antecedents have been relatively neglected in the absorptive capacity literature; and (3) the emergence of absorptive capacity from the actions and interactions of individual, organizational and inter-organizational antecedents remains unclear. Building on the bibliometric analysis, we develop an integrative model that identifies the multi-level antecedents, process dimensions, and outcomes of absorptive capacity as well as the contextual factors that affect absorptive capacity. We argue that realizing the potential of the absorptive capacity concept requires more research that shows how “micro antecedents” and “macroantecedents” influence future outcomes such as competitive advantage, innovation, and firm performance. In particular, we identify conceptual gaps that may guide future research to fully exploit the absorptive capacity concept in the organization field and to explore future fruitful extensions of the concept. URI: http://hdl.handle.net/10398/7955 Files in this item: 1
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Linder, Stefan; Foss, Nicolai J. (Frederiksberg, 2013)[More information][Less information]
Abstract: Agency theory studies the problems and solutions linked to delegation of tasks from principals to agents in the context of conflicting interests between the parties. Beginning from clear assumptions about rationality, contracting and informational conditions, the theory addresses problems of ex ante (“hidden characteristics”) as well as ex post information asymmetry (“hidden action”), and examines conditions under which various kinds of incentive instruments and monitoring arrangements can be deployed to minimize the welfare loss. Its clear predictions and broad applicability have allowed agency theory to enjoy considerable scientific impact on social science; however, it has also attracted considerable criticism. [99 words] URI: http://hdl.handle.net/10398/8693 Files in this item: 1
Linder_Foss_SMGWP2013_7.pdf (759.4Kb) -
Foss, Nicolai J.; Klein, Peter G. (Frederiksberg, 2010)[More information][Less information]
Abstract: This paper offers a critical perspective on Israel Kirzner’s basic analytical framework. Specifically, we characterize Kirzner’s emphasis on processes of equilibration as a departure from the causal-realist price theory developed by Menger and his nineteenth- and twentieth-century followers. In this context, we contrast Kirzner’s interpretation of entrepreneurship as discovery with a more realistic, and operationally meaningful, idea of entrepreneurship as action. Finally, we discuss an inconsistency in Kirzner’s treatment of the antecedents of entrepreneurial behavior. URI: http://hdl.handle.net/10398/8029 Files in this item: 1
CBS_Forskningsindberetning_SMG_247.pdf (249.8Kb) -
Foss, Nicolai J. (København, 2009)[More information][Less information]
Abstract: The emergence over the last two decades or so of "knowledge” as an important part of the explanatory structure of management research is an intellectual breakthrough that is comparable in terms of its transforming impact to the behavioral revolution of the 1960s. A veritable "knowledge movement” has emerged that spans several fields in management. I take stock on alternative research strategies with that movement, distinguishing between "capabilities first”, "networks first” and "individuals first” strategies. Reasons are given why more research attention need to be allocated to the latter strategy if the knowledge movement is to continue making progress, but that the aim should ultimately be to reach towards multi-level research that combines aggregate constructs with top-down processes and bottom-up processes. URI: http://hdl.handle.net/10398/7449 Files in this item: 1
smg wp 2009-01.pdf (238.2Kb) -
The Bridging Work of George RichardsonFoss, Nicolai J. (Frederiksberg, 1996)[More information][Less information]
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Foss, Kirsten; Foss, Nicolai J.; Klein, Peter G.; Klein, Sandra K. (København, 2005)[More information][Less information]
Abstract: Several writers link entrepreneurship to asset ownership, trying to incorporate the theory of entrepreneurship into the theory of the firm. The critical link, we argue, is capital heterogeneity. Transaction cost, property rights, and resourcebased approaches to the firm assume that assets, both tangible and intangible, are heterogeneous; arranging these assets to minimize contractual hazards, to provide efficient investment incentives, or to exploit competitive advantage is conceived as the prime task of economic organization. None of these approaches, however, is based on a systematic theory of capital heterogeneity. In this paper we outline the approach to capital developed by the Austrian school of economics and integrate it into an entrepreneurial theory of the firm. We refine Austrian capital theory by defining capital heterogeneity in terms of subjectively perceived attributes, that is, the functions, characteristics, and uses of capital assets. Such attributes are not given, but have to be discovered by means of entrepreneurial action. Thinking of entrepreneurship as the organization of heterogeneous capital provides new insights into the emergence, boundaries, and internal organization of the firm, and it suggests testable implications about how and where entrepreneurship is manifested. Keywords: Entrepreneurship, heterogeneous assets, judgment, ownership, firm boundaries, internal organization. JEL Codes: B53, D23, L2 URI: http://hdl.handle.net/10398/7292 Files in this item: 1
ckg-wp 2005-5.pdf (277.6Kb) -
A Prelimenary Methodological StocktakingFoss, Nicolai J. (Frederiksberg, 1998)[More information][Less information]
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Foss, Kirsten; Foss, Nicolai J. (København, 2003)[More information][Less information]
Abstract: The notion of distributed knowledge is increasingly often invoked in discussions of economic organization. In particular, the claim that authority is inefficient as a means of coordination in the context of distributed knowledge has become widespread. However, very little analysis has been dedicated to the relation between economic organization and distributed knowledge. In this paper, we concentrate on the role of authority as a coordination mechanism under conditions of distributed knowledge, and also briefly discuss other issues of economic organization. We clarify the meanings of authority and distributed knowledge, and criticize the above claim by arguing that authority may be a superior mechanism of coordination under distributed knowledge. We also discuss how distributed knowledge influences the boundaries of firms. Our arguments rely on insights in problem-solving and on ideas from organizational economics. URI: http://hdl.handle.net/10398/6894 Files in this item: 1
03-08.pdf (330.4Kb) -
Present Use and (Some)Future PossibilitiesFoss, Nicolai J. (Frederiksberg, 2001)[More information][Less information]
Abstract: The way in which bounded rationality enters contemporary organizational economics theorizing is examined. It is argued that, as it is being used, bounded rationality is neither necessary nor sufficient for producing the results of organizational economics. It is at best a rhetorical device, used for the purpose of loosely explaining incomplete contracts. However, it is possible to incorporate much richer notions of bounded rationality, founded on research in cognitive psychology, and to illuminate the study of economic organization by means of such notions. A number of examples are provided. URI: http://hdl.handle.net/10398/7896 Files in this item: 1
DRUID_01_13.pdf (127.4Kb) -
The Roles of Knowledge Sources, Complementarities, and Organizational ContextFoss, Nicolai J.; Pedersen, Torben (København, 2001)[More information][Less information]
Abstract: We develop a view of the MNC as a knowledge-creating and and utilizing entity, building on the extant literature on the differentiated MNC as well as on Lyles and Schwenk’s work on corporate knowledge structures. The starting point for this conceptualization is that MNC management through choices regarding organizational control, motivation and context can influence the development, characteristics and transfer of knowledge. This extends existing literature. For example, in most of the literature, the characteristics of knowledge are seen as exogenous rather than endogenous variables. However, to the extent that management chooses a specific way of sourcing knowledge, it also implicitly chooses the characteristics of the sourced knowledge and the ease with which it can be transferred inside the MNC. This is because knowledge from different knowledge sources have different characteristics and are thus transferred at different cost. The six hypotheses that we draw from the main argument are tested on the basis of a unique and very rich dataset on subsidiary knowledge development (including information on the organizational setting, sources of subsidiary knowledge and the extent of knowledge transfer to other MNC-units) that has been constructed in connection with a cross-national project Centres of Excellence (Holm and Pedersen 2000a). The dataset covers more than 2.000 subsidiaries located in seven different European countries. 1 URI: http://hdl.handle.net/10398/6930 Files in this item: 1
linkwp01-30.pdf (285.8Kb) -
Abell, Peter; Felin, Teppo; Foss, Nicolai J. (Frederiksberg, 2007)[More information][Less information]
Abstract: Micro-foundations have become an important emerging theme in strategic management. This paper addresses micro-foundations in two related ways. First, we argue that the kind of macro (or “collectivist”) explanation that is utilized in the capabilities view in strategic management - which implies a neglect of micro-foundations in two related ways. First, we argue that the kind of macro (or "collectivist") explanation that is utilized in the capabilities view in strategic management - which implies a neglect of micro-foundations - is incomplete. There are no mechanisms that work solely on the macro-level, directly connecting routines and capabilities to firm-level outcomes. While routines and capabilities are useful shorthand for complicated patterns of individual action and interaction, ultimately they are best understood at the micro-level. Second, we provide a formal model that shows precisely why macro explanation is incomplete and which exemplifies how explicit micro-foundations may be built for notions of routines and capabilities and for how these impact firm performance. URI: http://hdl.handle.net/10398/7873 Files in this item: 1
DRUID_07_02.pdf (252.6Kb) -
The Rebirth of Production in the Theory of Economic OrganizationFoss, Nicolai J.; Langlois, Richard N. (Frederiksberg, 1997)[More information][Less information]
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Foss, Nicolai J. (Frederiksberg, 1996)[More information][Less information]
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On Some Problems in Recent ResearchOn Inter-firm RelationsFoss, Nicolai J. (Frederiksberg, 1999)[More information][Less information]
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interaction or "never the twain shall meet"?Foss, Nicolai J. (København, 2003)[More information][Less information]
Abstract: Economics in general, and the theory of the firm more specifically, places motivation and cognition in very different analytical boxes, in spite of cognitive science evidence that the boundaries between the two are in reality blurred. While this analytical assumption has often served the theory of the firm well, a number of organizational phenomena are better understood if cognition and motivation are allowed to interact, for example, through framing effects, as organizational scholars have long argued. The paper exemplifies by developing the implications of this for Williamson’s notion of the "impossibility of selective intervention." Keywords: The theory of the firm, cognitive and motivational varialtion, selective intervention. URI: http://hdl.handle.net/10398/7298 Files in this item: 1
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Providing Common KnowledgeFoss, Nicolai J.; Kristensen, Tore; Wilke, Ricky (København, 2003)[More information][Less information]
Abstract: This paper draws on ideas in economics and game theory to develop a new theory of marketing and corporate communication in the emerging network economy. We argue that in a network economy, firms and consumers will confront "coordination problems." With the emerging network economy all this become urgent because the availability and cost of information decreases. Also, timing issues becomes crucial as millions of people get access to the same information simultaneously. That explain why events where masses of viewers simultaneously participate in the same events become so important. We introduce a simple game theoretic model to explain this, and discuss marketing applications and possible strategies. Key words Coordination problems, common knowledge, corporate communication URI: http://hdl.handle.net/10398/6401 Files in this item: 1
foss20kristensen20wilke1.pdf (175.7Kb) -
An econometric study of an Italian bankGritti, Paola; Foss, Nicolai J. (København, 2007)[More information][Less information]
Abstract: We empirically address how customer satisfaction and loyalty in the banking industry may affect profitability. This helps to identify the strategy and competencies necessary to benefit from customer relationships which are important sources for improved performance in the banking. We do this by analyzing data collected on 2,105 customers of 118 branches of one of the biggest banks of an Italian banking group. We find that customer satisfaction impacts loyalty, which in turn has a direct effect on financial and non-financial customer value/total customer value/complex customer value. Moreover, loyalty is a mediator between financial and not-financial customer value and two sources of customer satisfaction, namely relationships with the front office and the branch, on the one hand, and the products offered, on the other. URI: http://hdl.handle.net/10398/7484 Files in this item: 1
cbs forskningsindberetning smg 113.pdf (217.2Kb) -
Procedural Justice Constrains Harmful and Benefical Headquarters InterventionAsmussen, Christian Geisler; Foss, Nicolai J.; Nell, Phillip C. (Frederiksberg, 2013)[More information][Less information]
Abstract: Multi-business firms should design the task portfolio of their headquarters (HQ) and the way HQ tasks are carried out so that net value creation results. While the strategic management literature has emphasized such parenting benefits, less attention has been paid to the costs that may inadvertently be caused by HQ actions. Using a simple game theory model, we analyze the motivational costs that may result from HQ intervention in subunits. Along the lines of the procedural justice literature, we identify the conditions under which these costs may be influenced by the existence of fairness expectations among subunit managers. Our analysis of the dynamic game between HQ and subunits has novel and non-intuitive results. For example, we find that good parenting may involve forgoing opportunities for value-creation, and that procedural justice systems may sometimes be counterproductive. Our findings contribute to both the HQ and the procedural justice literatures. URI: http://hdl.handle.net/10398/8800 Files in this item: 1
Asmussen.pdf (470.1Kb) -
Some Cross-Country EvidenceBjørnskov, Christian; Foss, Nicolai J. (Frederiksberg, 2006)[More information][Less information]
Abstract: While much attention has been devoted to analyzing how the institutional framework and entrepreneurship impact growth, how economic policy and institutional design affect entrepreneurship appears to be much less analyzed. We try to explain cross-country differences in the level of entrepreneurship by differences in economic policy and institutional design. Specifically, we use measures of economic freedom from the Economic Freedom of the World database to examine which elements of economic policy making and the institutional framework are responsible for the supply of entrepreneurship Our data on entrepreneurship are derived from the Global Entrepreneurship Monitor. The combination of these two datasets is unique in the literature. We find that the size of government is negatively correlated with entrepreneurial activity but that sound money is positively correlated with entrepreneurial activity. Other measures of economic freedom are not significantly correlated with entrepreneurship. URI: http://hdl.handle.net/10398/7876 Files in this item: 1
DRUID_06_18.pdf (261.1Kb) -
Some Cross-Country EvidenceBjørnskov, Christian; Foss, Nicolai J. (København, 2006)[More information][Less information]
Abstract: While much attention has been devoted to analyzing how the institutional framework and entrepreneurship impact growth, how economic policy and institutional design affect entrepreneurship appears to be much less analyzed. We try to explain cross-country differences in the level of entrepreneurship by differences in economic policy and institutional design. Specifically, we use the measures of economic freedom to ask which elements of economic policy making and the institutional framework that are responsible for the supply of entrepreneurship (our data on entrepreneurship are derived from the Global Entrepreneurship Monitor). The combination of these two datasets is unique in the literature. We find that the size of government is negatively correlated with entrepreneurial activity but that sound money is positively correlated with entrepreneurial activity. Other measures of economic freedom are not significantly correlated with entrepreneurship. JEL CODE: M13, O31, O50 KEYWORDS: Economic freedom, entrepreneurship, cross-country variation. URI: http://hdl.handle.net/10398/7475 Files in this item: 1
smg wp 2006_15 - registrering.pdf (355.8Kb)
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