How does Outward Foreign Direct Investment Affect Enterprise Green Technology Innovation? — Based on the Moderating effect of Resources

with the increasing strict environmental regulations in the green transition process, outward foreign direct investment is considered to be an effective approach to promote enterprises’ green technology innovation. Thus, this paper establishes a comprehensive research framework that integrates OFDI and green technology innovation from the micro level of the enterprise to analyze it. The findings show that: First, OFDI will positively affect corporate green-tech innovation as expected; Government subsidies have a U-shaped regulation on the relation between OFDI and green-tech innovation; Absorbed slack plays an inverted U-shaped moderating effect on the relation between OFDI and green-tech innovation, and the unabsorbed slack positively affect this process. As for the heterogeneity of property rights, the test results of non-state-owned enterprises and state-owned enterprises are basically consistent with the baseline results, except for the following two points: the unabsorbed slack of state-owned enterprises has no regulatory effect between OFDI and enterprise green technology innovation, and the absorbed slack of non-state-owned enterprises has no regulatory effect between OFDI and enterprise green technology innovation.

The Relationship between Slack Resources, Resource Bricolage, and Entrepreneurial Opportunity Identification—Based on Resource Opportunity Perspective

There are a lot of slack resources in a company. It is vitally important for an enterprise to use slack resources to identify entrepreneurial opportunities to establish company sustainable development. On the basis of the resource orchestration theory and from resource-opportunity perspective, this paper constructs a framework of slack resources and entrepreneurial opportunity identification, exploring the mediating of resource bricolage, the moderating of network ties, and the moderated mediation of network ties. In our analyses, we used data from companies in eastern China, and statistical hypotheses were validated through a structural equation model with data using the statistical software Amos version 20, SPSS version 22. The research results show that: (1) Absorbed slack resources and unabsorbed slack resources have a positive impact on entrepreneurial opportunity identification. (2) Slack resources indirectly affect the opportunity identification through the mediating role of resource bricolage. Among them, resource bricolage has a fully mediating role between absorbed slack resources and entrepreneurial opportunity identification, and it has a partial mediating role between unabsorbed slack resources and entrepreneurial opportunity identification. (3) Business ties positively moderate the relationship between two types of slack resources and entrepreneurial opportunity identification, and business ties moderate the mediation effect of resource bricolage. The resource-opportunity perspective answers how decisions are made, and the entire model process answers how to create sustainable value (entrepreneurship opportunities). The study guides managers on how to integrate and use external and internal resources, coordinate resource elements, and identify profitable business opportunities.

Internationalization, Strategic Slack Resources, and Firm Performance: The Case Study of Vietnamese Enterprises

The study attempted to fill a gap in the research on international business by providing fresh evidence of the effect of the degree of internationalization on firm performance and the influence of organizational slack on this relationship. By applying a fixed-effects model to data from 569,767 Vietnamese enterprises from 2007 to 2015, a significant W-shaped linkage between internationalization and firm performance was revealed. Importantly, the results also emphasized the importance of three types of slack in the first stage of the internationalization process: absorbed slack human resources, other absorbed slack resources, and unabsorbed slack resources.

Why do some SMEs explore more while others exploit further? Evidence from Chinese SMEs

Purpose Why do some small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) explore more while others exploit further? What are the driving forces of their exploratory and exploitative innovation? These are intriguing questions worthy of in-depth research. The purpose of this paper is to crack these problems from both objective (i.e. organizational slack) and subjective (i.e. market orientation) perspectives. Specifically, the paper examines the effects of unabsorbed and absorbed slack on exploratory and exploitative innovation and the mediating roles played by proactive and responsive market orientation. Design/methodology/approach The authors collected data from 214 SMEs in several industries of China. These businesses were located in the city of Shanghai and the provinces of Jiangsu and Zhejiang in the southeastern part of China. The survey method was used to test the hypotheses. Findings Results reveal that unabsorbed and absorbed slack could affect exploratory and exploitative innovation. Proactive and responsive market orientation are related to unabsorbed and absorbed slack, exploratory and exploitative innovation, and they play the roles of mediators in two sets of the relationships. Research limitations/implications This research presents several profound insights for venture capitalists regarding to making investment decisions and for the entrepreneurs of SMEs in terms of how much resource slack they should gain and retain to reach intended level of exploratory and exploitative innovation. Some of the limitations of this study relate to the single respondent in each firm, lack of examination on relevant contextual factors and potential moderators. Originality/value This study addresses the gaps in the literature by exploring the mechanisms underlying the effects of different kinds of organizational slack on the two elements of ambidextrous innovation in non-large-scale businesses in a non-Western cultural setting.

The Formation and Effects of Exploitative Dynamic Capabilities and Explorative Dynamic Capabilities: An Empirical Study

Although previous studies have explored the formation and effects of dynamic capabilities, much remains to be learned on this topic. There has been little research on the formation and effects of exploitative dynamic capabilities and explorative dynamic capabilities. This paper provides an explanation of how entrepreneurial leadership style and slack resources affect the formation of exploitive dynamic capabilities and explorative dynamic capabilities and evaluates the effects of exploitive dynamic capabilities and explorative dynamic capabilities on competitive advantage. Based on a sample of 382 Chinese firms, the empirical results show that a transactional leadership style and absorbed slack resources can encourage the formation of exploitative dynamic capabilities, and that a transformational leadership style and unabsorbed slack resources are conducive to the development of explorative dynamic capabilities. Furthermore, exploitative dynamic capabilities and explorative dynamic capabilities can reinforce and complement each other. Exploitative dynamic capabilities positively impact explorative dynamic capabilities, and explorative dynamic capabilities enhance exploitative dynamic capabilities. In particular, exploitative dynamic capabilities have an important effect on short-term financial performance, and explorative dynamic capabilities lead to a significant long-term competitive advantage. The results show that explorative dynamic capabilities surpass exploitative dynamic capabilities in terms of competitive advantage, even if both have a positive influence on competitive advantage. This study validates and develops the theory of dynamic capabilities.

Government Subsidies and Enterprise Innovation: Moderation Effect of Absorbed Slack

It is worth studying whether enterprises receiving government subsidies can transform them into innovative achievements under the constraints of enterprise resources. The data from the three industries of electronics, pharmaceuticals, and information technology during 2013-2016 were empirical tested to verify the moderating effect of the absorbed slack on the relationship between government subsidies and enterprise innovation. The results show that government subsidies can promote enterprise innovation; absorbed slack promotes enterprise innovation; the absorbed slack of enterprises plays a positive moderation role in the relationship between government subsidy and enterprise innovation. In other words, the enterprises with high absorbed slack can promote the innovation of enterprises by government subsidies. The conclusions provide theoretical guidance for government departments to select the most suitable enterprises which accept innovative subsidies.

Open innovation search in manufacturing firms: the role of organizational slack and absorptive capacity

Purpose The purpose of this study is to explore organizational factors that act as antecedents of open innovation search. The authors aim to empirically examine whether the extent to which the organizational slack is absorbed determines its influence on firms’ openness in innovation search. In addition, the authors also examine the moderating effect of absorptive capacity on the relationship between slack and open innovation search. Design/methodology/approach This study adopted secondary data from multiple sources (NBER, Compustat and US census) and then constructed a ten-year balanced panel dataset of 298 manufacturers. The generalized least square method was used to explore the determinants of open innovation search among manufacturing firms. Findings The results of this study reveal that the absorption level of organizational slack indeed determines the openness in innovation search. Specifically, absorbed slack negatively affects a firm’s openness in innovation search, whereas unabsorbed slack promotes open innovation search. Additionally, the relationship between absorbed slack and open innovation search will be less negative with the increase of absorptive capacity. Originality/value Different from most previous studies that have examined the performance effect of open search among high-tech and large enterprises, this study focuses on the antecedents of open search strategy in both high- and low-tech, large and small firms. The findings reveal that different forms of organizational slack divergently influence a firm’s open search strategy, contributing to the understanding of the relationship between organizational slack and knowledge search behavior in a broader context, as well as the understanding of the moderating effect of absorptive capacity.

The Effect of Slack Resources on Strategic Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR): Empirical Evidence on Indonesian Listed Companies

Objective - This study examines the effect of companies' slack resources on strategic Corporate Social Responsibility ('CSR') and also non-strategic CSR. By analysing the slack resources as a determinant of CSR, it might indicate the companies' priority regarding their strategic CSR as part of companies' strategy. Methodology/Technique - Instead of using profitability as a measure of slack resources, this study employs slack resources as a variable itself as it was developed by Burgeois (1981), based on financial data in the companies' financial statements. Findings - The empirical result of this study indicates that un-absorbed slack resources positively affect the strategic CSR and also non-strategic CSR of a company, while absorbed slack resources do not significantly affect either. Novelty - Unlike previous studies, this study does not use profitability as a proxy of slack resources, but uses slack resources as a variable itself. Type of Paper - Empirical Keywords: Slack Resources; Corporate Social Responsibility; Strategic CSR; Nonstrategic CSR; Slack Resources; Absorbed Slack Resources; Unabsorbed Slack Resources.

The role of absorbed slack and potential slack in improving small business performance during economic uncertainty

Purpose While previous strategy research has provided significant attention to resource slack and its important roles in firm performance, particularly through strategic agility and flexibility in responding to environmental conditions, the majority of such theory and empirical work was developed for large business contexts. Therefore, the understanding of the relative contributions of absorbed and potential slack, particularly for resource-constrained small businesses, remains largely under theorized and unexamined. As many small businesses often face internal resource limitations, the ability to access external resources, in addition to internal resources, is likely significant, for firm performance, especially when small firms face high economic uncertainty. The paper aims to discuss these issues. Design/methodology/approach In this paper the authors utilize a data set from National Federation of Independent Business on small business economic trends. The sample consists of approximately 13,000 US-based small and medium businesses. Findings The findings highlight the importance of resource slack in firm performance offering general support for the applicability of classic management theories to the small business context. Environmental hostility and competitive intensity appear to positively moderate the observed relationship between both absorbed and potential resource slack and performance, but in different ways. Environmental hostility positively moderates the relationship between potential slack and firm performance, while competitive intensity positively moderates the relationship between absorbed slack and firm performance. Research limitations/implications Because most classic theories in strategic management were only theorized for, and examined through, large organizations, entrepreneurship research should consider these potential limitations and carefully consider factors differing between large and small firms. Practical implications Business owners and managers should be aware that not all types of slack have equal performance implications. Absorbed slack is extremely valuable in highly competitive situation. Therefore, business owners should develop plans to recover absorbed slack during highly competitive situations as a defensive strategy. One the other hand, potential slack forces more accountability, which lowers the possibility of small firms using it to engage in price wars, but it is extremely valuable during worsening economic conditions. Originality/value In this paper the authors separate absorbed slack from potential slack conceptually and then test their individual effects on firm performance. Through this study, the authors establish boundary conditions for the important role of resource slack on performance through the moderating roles of environmental hostility and competitive intensity.