No abstract

The rise and decline of foreign entry strategies in transition economies is an important yet largely overlooked issue in the literature. This study is a step toward filling this gap by examining how mimetic entry within reference groups and the emergence of a competing strategy affect the bandwagon phenomenon of a dominant strategy in the context of China, where international equity joint ventures (EJVs) used to be a dominant entry strategy among foreign firms in the 1990s. Findings from a sample of 1,123 EJVs formed in China's non‐restricted industries from 1990 to 2003 show that the impact of home and host‐country industry effects are not symmetric between the EJV rise and decline periods. Cross‐border merger and acquisition (M&A) as a competing strategy has an important impact during the EJV decline period but not the rise period. The interactive effects between EJV and M&A strategies occur only in the host‐country industries. We discuss such results and offer suggestions for future research. Copyright © 2007 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

Prior research demonstrates product market advantages of organizational status but largely neglects factor market advantages. We propose that status is advantageous in labor markets because individuals generally consider employer status a nonpecuniary employment benefit. Dyadic analyses of lateral partner hiring by large U.S. law firms demonstrate two status-based advantages in employee hiring and retention. First, high-status firms are more likely than low-status ones to hire an employee from a more profitable competitor. Second, high-status firms are most likely to lose an employee to a lower-status competitor when the competitor is—atypically—more profitable. We discuss implications of these findings for individual and organizational status attainment and for the stability of industry status hierarchies.

Extant research provides ambiguous views on the network adaptability of existing ventures and new ventures during environmental change. Applying an institutional perspective, this research aims to provide a clearer picture by comparing the adaptation and network configurations of existing vs. new entrepreneurial cohorts during China's institutional change after 1992. The qualitative and quantitative analyses show that the existing cohort of entrepreneurs displays network inertia, in that they largely maintain strong tie‐based political and market networks; the new cohort instead demonstrates better adaptation by establishing fewer political networks but more weak and diverse market networks. This comparative research unpacks the institutional mechanisms underlying such differences, and serves as a ground for future investigations dealing with the strategic actions of different entrepreneurial cohorts that are largely neglected in previous studies. Copyright © 2014 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

Research summary:Because employees can provide a firm with human capital advantages over competitors, firms invest considerably in employee recruiting and retention. Departing from the retention imperative of strategic human capital management, we propose that certain employee departures can enhance a firm's competitiveness in the labor market. Specifically, increased rates of career-advancing departures by a firm's employees can signal to potential future employees that the firm offers a prestigious employment experience that enhances external mobility opportunities. Characterizing advancement based on subsequent employers and positions, we analyze data on U.S. law firm hiring and industry surveys of perceived firm status between 2004 and 2013. We find that increased rates of employee departures lead to increases in a firm's prestige when these departures are for promotions with high-status competitors.Managerial summary: Firms often emphasize employee retention. Employee departures, especially as a result of being hired away by competitors, are often viewed as threats to a firm's competitive advantage. We propose, however, that employee retention need not be an unconditional strategic imperative. We argue that certain employee departures can enhance a firm's competitiveness in the market for human capital by signaling to potential employees that the firm offers a prestigious employment experience, which can help them obtain attractive positions with other employers. Analyzing data on U.S. law firm hiring and industry surveys of firm associates between 2004 and 2013, we find that increased rates of employee departures lead to increases in a firm's prestige when these departures are for promotions with high-status competitors.