Browsing Working Papers (SMG) 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) -
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) -
Bjørnskov, Christian; Foss, Nicolai J. (Frederiksberg, 2010)[More information][Less information]
Abstract: The economics of growth has shown that countries not only grow by deploying higher levels of inputs to production, but also by better allocating whatever resources are at their disposal and by introducing productivity-enhancing innovations. We proffer arguments as to why and how entrepreneurship as well institutions of liberty (i.e., economic freedom, including the rule of law, easy regulations, low taxes and limited government interference in the economy) positively impact total factor productivity (TFP): These institutions allow entrepreneurial experimentation with the combination of factors to take place at low transaction costs. We test these ideas on a unique panel data set derived from Compendia, World Bank data and the Fraser Institute’s economic freedom data. We find that while entrepreneurship positively impacts TFP, the marginal contribution of entrepreneurship to TFP is strongest in economies with substantial government activity. URI: http://hdl.handle.net/10398/8174 Files in this item: 1
CBS Forskningsindberetning SMG 263.pdf (373.1Kb) -
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) -
Foss, Nicolai J.; Klein, Peter G. (København, 2006)[More information][Less information]
Abstract: We discuss the emergence of the theory of the firm (in the Coasian sense); survey and discuss the main currents of the theo~y of the firm, and discuss what has determined the emergence of the theory of the firm. We argue that advances in the theory of the firm have been strongly influenced by conceptual innovations in (mainstream) economics in general and by the ongoing division of labour in economics in tandem with a recognition of the importance of a number of empirical anomalies The substantive borrowing from neighbouring disciplines, such as business history, law, psychology, organizational sociology and business administration has been relatively limited and ad hoc (although some scholars, notably Williamson, have made more substantive use of these disciplines than othe~s) The fact that the theory of the firm has stayed relatively close in to the (changing) economic mainstream and that its substantive borrowing from neighbouring disciplines has been relatively limited unde~lie and explain much of the "external" critique of the theory (i.e., the critiques of sociologists, heterodox economists and management scholars). URI: http://hdl.handle.net/10398/7444 Files in this item: 1
cbs forskningsindberetning smg 38.pdf (6.112Mb) -
Origins, Key Tenets and Research GapsFoss, Nicolai J.; Lyngsie, Jacob (Frederiksberg, 2011)[More information][Less information]
Abstract: The field of strategic entrepreneurship is a fairly recent one. Its central idea is that opportunity-seeking and advantage-seeking—the former the central subject of the entrepreneurship field, the latter the central subject of the strategic management field— are processes that need to be considered jointly. The purpose of this brief chapter is to explain the emergence of SE theory field in terms of a response to research gaps in the neighboring fields of entrepreneurship and strategic management; describe the main tenets of SE theory; discuss its relations to neighboring fields; and finally describe some research gaps in extant theory, mainly focusing on the need to provide clear microfoundations for SE theory and link it to organizational design theory. URI: http://hdl.handle.net/10398/8249 Files in this item: 1
SMG WP 7_2011.pdf (278.0Kb) -
Origins, Attributes, CritiqueFoss, Nicolai J.; Klein, Peter G. (, 2009)[More information][Less information]
Abstract: Israel Kirzner’s concept of entrepreneurship as alertness to profit opportunities is one of the most influential modern interpretations of the entrepreneurial function. Shane and Venkataraman’s (2000: 218) influential assessment defines entrepreneurship research as “the scholarly examination of how, by whom, and with what effects opportunities to create future goods and services are discovered, evaluated, and exploited.” As such, “the field involves the study of sources of opportunities; the processes of discovery, evaluation, and exploitation of opportunities; and the set of individuals who discover, evaluate, and exploit them.” Shane’s General Theory of Entrepreneurship (2003) cites Kirzner and “Kirznerian opportunities” more than any writer other than Joseph Schumpeter. More generally, the entrepreneurial opportunity, rather than the individual entrepreneur, the startup company, or the new product, has become the centerpiece of the academic study of entrepreneurship. URI: http://hdl.handle.net/10398/7755 Files in this item: 1
SMG WP 2009-02.pdf (317.2Kb) -
From opportunity discovery to judgmentFoss, Nicolai J.; Klein, Peter G. (København, 2008)[More information][Less information]
Abstract: Entrepreneurship has become a fast-growing subfield in management research, and is increasingly appearing in economics, finance, and even law. We survey a number of approaches to entrepreneurship in the economics and management literatures, and argue that modern research in this area need to be focused around ideas from Austrian economics and Frank Knight on entrepreneurial judgment. We critically discuss the recent opportunity discovery literature in management, and argue that it has partially misunderstood the Austrian origins of the theory, and fails to ade-quately distinguish between opportunity identification and opportunity exploitation. URI: http://hdl.handle.net/10398/7485 Files in this item: 1
smg wp 2008-05.pdf (347.1Kb) -
Foss, Nicolai J.; Klein, Peter G. (København, 2008)[More information][Less information]
Abstract: Entrepreneurship is ultimately about the arrangement of resources into productive activi-ties. Much of the entrepreneurship literature, however, has focused on the demand side of the market. While resource heterogeneity is a feature of many theories of the firm, such theories are not built on a systematic theory of capital. We show how the approach to capital developed by the Austrian school of economics provides a natural bridge between theory of entrepreneurship and the theory of the firm. We refine Austrian capital theory by defining capital heterogeneity in terms of subjectively perceived attributes, the func-tions, characteristics, and uses of capital assets. Such attributes are not given, but have to be created or discovered by means of entrepreneurial action. URI: http://hdl.handle.net/10398/7443 Files in this item: 1
smg wp 2008-03.pdf (348.5Kb) -
Foss, Nicolai J.; Klein, Peter G.; Bylund, Per L. (Frederiksberg, 2011)[More information][Less information]
Abstract: The study of entrepreneurship and the study of economic organizing lack contact. In fact, the modern theory of the firm virtually ignores entrepreneurship, while the literature on entrepreneurship often sees little value in the economic theory of the firm. In contrast, we argue in this chapter that entrepreneurship theory and the theory of the firm can be usefully integrated, and that doing so would improve both bodies of theory. Adding the entrepreneur to the theory of the firm provides a dynamic view that the overly static analysis of firm organizing cannot support. Moreover, adding the firm to the study of the entrepreneur provides important clues to how we can understand entrepreneurship. URI: http://hdl.handle.net/10398/8250 Files in this item: 1
SMG WP 6_2011.pdf (160.0Kb) -
Foss, Nicolai J. (Frederiksberg, 2011)[More information][Less information]
Abstract: This chapter discusses entrepreneurship in the context of the RBV. What does the RBV have to say that the study of entrepreneurship may usefully draw on? And, conversely, how can entrepreneurship research further the RBV? I begin by sketching the RBV. I then discuss the relation between the RBV and entrepreneurship research, before I characterize a new research stream that has emerged over the last decade or so in the intersection of the RBV and entrepreneurship research, namely “strategic entrepreneurship.” URI: http://hdl.handle.net/10398/8251 Files in this item: 1
SMG WP 8_2011.pdf (234.9Kb) -
Towards a new SynthesisFoss, Nicolai J.; Klein, Peter G.; Kor, Yasemin Y.; Mahoney, Joseph T. (København, 2006)[More information][Less information]
Abstract: This paper maintains that the consistent application of subjectivism helps to reconcile contemporary entrepreneurship theory with strategic management research in general, and the resource−based view in particular. The paper synthesizes theoretical insights from Austrian economics and Penrose’s (1959) resources approach, arguing that entrepreneurship is inherently subjective and firm specific. This new synthesis describes how entrepreneurship is manifested in teams, and is driven by both heterogeneity of managerial mental models and shared team experiences. URI: http://hdl.handle.net/10398/7463 Files in this item: 1
cbs forskningsindberetning smg 67.pdf (455.7Kb) -
Foss, Nicolai J.; Mahoney, Joseph T. (Frederiksberg, 2010)[More information][Less information]
Abstract: Knowledge governance is characterized as a distinctive research subject, the understanding of which cuts across diverse fields in management. In particular, it represents an intersection of knowledge management, strategic management, and theories of the firm. Knowledge governance considers how deployment of governance mechanisms influences knowledge processes: sharing, retaining, and creating knowledge. We survey the papers in this volume of the special issue, and discuss the remaining research challenges. URI: http://hdl.handle.net/10398/8030 Files in this item: 1
CBS_Forskningsindberetning_SMG_250.pdf (138.6Kb) -
The Strategic Human Resource Management DimensionFoss, Nicolai J.; Minbaeva, Dana B. (, 2009)[More information][Less information]
Abstract: SHRM increasingly emphasizes HRM practices as means to build strategic knowledge resources such as superior capabilities. While the knowledge-based view increasingly pays attention to micro-foundations, the SHRM field neglects these and emphasizes collective constructs such as “human capital pools,” “HRM architectures”, etc. As a result, causal links between HRM practices, knowledge and organizational performance are black-boxed. We propose a program for research and identify some of the key issues that future research must deal with. URI: http://hdl.handle.net/10398/7756 Files in this item: 1
SMG WP 2009-03.pdf (348.1Kb) -
How Organizational Design Can Make Delegation CredibleFoss, Kirsten; Foss, Nicolai J. (København, 2005)[More information][Less information]
Abstract: Credible delegation of discretion obtains when it is a rational strategy for managers not to overrule employee decisions that are based on delegated decision rights or renege on the level of delegated discretion (and this is common knowledge). Making delegation of discretion credible becomes a crucial issue when organizations want to sustain the advantages that may flow from delegation: Such advantages are dependent on motivated employees, and managerial overruling or reneging is harmful to motivation. However, little work has been done on how organizations can make delegation credible. We argue that key elements of organizations (i.e., organizational structure, coordination mechanisms, reward structures, and interdependencies between activities) and how these fit influence the credibility of delegation. Fit configurations of organizational elements reduce the probability of managerial intervention that may harm employee motivation. This introduces a neglected incentive dimension to the organizational design literature. Moreover, it is argued that harmful intervention may be reduced by increasing managers’ costs of intervening. Refutable propositions are derived. URI: http://hdl.handle.net/10398/7427 Files in this item: 1
cbs forskningsindberetning smg 25.pdf (688.5Kb) -
Foss, Nicolai J.; Klein, Peter G. (Frederiksberg, 2013)[More information][Less information]
Abstract: We briefly survey Hayek’s work and argue for its increasing relevance for organizational scholars. Hayek’s work inspired aspects of the transaction cost approach to the firm as well as knowledge management and knowledge-based view of the firm. But Hayek is usually seen within organizational scholarship as a narrow, technical economist. We hope to change that perception here by pointing to his work on rules, evolution, entrepreneurship and other aspects of his wide-ranging oeuvre with substantive implications for organizational theory. URI: http://hdl.handle.net/10398/8655 Files in this item: 1
Foss_Klein_SMGWP2013_3.pdf (737.3Kb) -
Foss, Kirsten; Foss, Nicolai J. (København, 2008)[More information][Less information]
Abstract: In his seminal 1945 essay Hayek argued that the dispersed nature of much commercially relevant knowledge places strong constraints on the feasibility of centralized allocation and coordination mechanisms, but that there remains a problem of making efficient use of such knowledge (the first Hayekian knowledge problem). He realized that firms, because they make use of authority, are also challenged by dispersed knowledge, and his emphasis on delegation as a response to dispersed knowledge may lead to the prediction that (large) firms shouldn’t exist. Yet (large) firms obviously do exist (the second Hayekian knowledge problem). Recently, many management and organizational scholars have echoed Hayek’s argument that centralized coordination mechanisms, such as authority, may fail in the presence of dispersed knowledge. We examine these modern arguments and argue that they rest on shaky foundations: dispersed knowledge is a less strong constraint on authority than is often thought. We examine the wider implications of this for knowledge-based arguments in management and organizational theory, and call for more research into the micro-foundations of such arguments. URI: http://hdl.handle.net/10398/7462 Files in this item: 1
smg wp 2008-14.pdf (393.3Kb)
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