Through the lenses of organizational culture: A comparison of state-owned enterprises and joint ventures in China

This study compared state-owned enterprises (SOEs) and joint ventures (JVs) in light of organizational culture practices. Data were obtained via a survey participated by 781 respondents from five enterprises. Factoring identified four cultural dimensions: Participation, Teamwork, Supervision, and Meetings. All four dimensions, except Participation, were rated significantly higher by respondents from SOEs as compared to the ratings in JVs. Based on the findings, this study concluded that culture practices valued in one type of enterprise might be liability in another. The implication for management is to gear culture practices to the characteristics of the organization to make it successful.

Performance of small and medium enterprises and the impact of environmental variables: evidence from Vietnam

thesis is developed from a real life application of performance evaluation of small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) in Vietnam. The thesis presents two main methodological developments on evaluation of dichotomous environment variable impacts on technical efficiency. Taking into account the selection bias the thesis proposes a revised frontier separation approach for the seminal Data Envelopment Analysis (DEA) model which was developed by Charnes, Cooper, and Rhodes (1981). The revised frontier separation approach is based on a nearest neighbour propensity score matching pairing treated SMEs with their counterfactuals on the propensity score. The thesis develops order-m frontier conditioning on propensity score from the conditional order-m approach proposed by Cazals, Florens, and Simar (2002), advocated by Daraio and Simar (2005). By this development, the thesis allows the application of the conditional order-m approach with a dichotomous environment variable taking into account the existence of the self-selection problem of impact evaluation. Monte Carlo style simulations have been built to examine the effectiveness of the aforementioned developments. Methodological developments of the thesis are applied in empirical studies to evaluate the impact of training programmes on the performance of food processing SMEs and the impact of exporting on technical efficiency of textile and garment SMEs of Vietnam. The analysis shows that training programmes have no significant impact on the technical efficiency of food processing SMEs. Moreover, the analysis confirms the conclusion of the export literature that exporters are self selected into the sector. The thesis finds no significant impact from exporting activities on technical efficiency of textile and garment SMEs. However, large bias has been eliminated by the proposed approach. Results of empirical studies contribute to the understanding of the impact of different environmental variables on the performance of SMEs. It helps policy makers to design proper policy supporting the development of Vietnamese SMEs.

Multinational enterprises and technological effort by local firms:a case study of the Malaysian electronics and electrical industry

It is often assumed that foreign MNEs are the driving force behind technological development in developing economies but it has become evident in recent years that the actions of MNEs in isolation from the domestic economy. The study, therefore, examines the determinants of local firms' decisions to undertake technological effort, not only in isolation, but also in the context of linkages between domestic firms and MNEs. There is evidence that linkages between MNEs and local firms are important in explaining technological effort by local firms but direct technological assistance from MNEs does not seem to play a major role in fostering increased technological effort by local firms.

Employment effects of privatisation and foreign acquisition of Chinese state-owned enterprises

This paper investigates the effects of domestic privatisation or foreign acquisition of Chinese State Owned Enterprises (SOEs) on employment growth, using firm level data for China and a combination of propensity score matching and difference-in-differences in order to identify the causal effect. Our results suggest that, controlling for output growth there is some evidence that domestic privatisation leads to contemporaneous reductions in employment growth compared to firms that did not undergo an ownership change. By contrast, there is some evidence that foreign acquisitions show higher employment growth in the post acquisition period than non-acquired SOEs.

FDI, linkages and the efficiency of state-owned enterprises in China

As China seeks to consolidate its position as an emerging global economic power, reforming the largely inefficient state-owned enterprises (SOEs) presents a major challenge. Using a comprehensive micro data set, we investigate whether SOEs in China have benefited from the managerial, technical and organisational skills possessed by multinational firms operating in the economy, and conclude that the evidence in favour of positive spillovers is not overwhelming. Limited regional linkages and low level of absorptive capacity are found to be the main reasons for this disappointing performance. Policy makers involved in the reform of SOEs should ensure that managers have the right incentives to make long-term investment in absorptive capacity development.