Research summary: We use a sample of Singapore firms to replicate Barkema and Vermeulen's (1998) study of international expansion through start-ups or acquisitions by Dutch firms. We discover that the authors misinterpreted the regression coefficients for hypothesis testing and only two of their four hypotheses were actually tested. For these two hypotheses, one is not supported in either their study or ours, while the other is supported in their study but not ours. For the remaining two hypotheses we find support for one of them, which is concerned with the curvilinear effect of product diversity on the mode of expansion. In sum, the original study claims that all four hypotheses are supported, whereas only one is supported in the replication. More specifically, the former results, including the effects of the independent and control variables, are largely not generalizable to the latter.
Managerial summary: Barkema and Vermeulen's (1998) study investigates the international expansion by Dutch firms during the period from 1966 to 1994. Their results indicate that whether a firm expands through setting up a greenfield operation or acquiring an existing operation is affected by the diversity of the firm's product lines, the diversity of the countries to which it has expanded, and how far the expansion is related to its existing business. We replicate their study using a sample of Singapore firms for the period from 1980 to 2000. Our results show only an effect of a firm's product diversity on its mode of international expansion. Our study clearly indicates the risk of drawing managerial implications from the results of a single study. More replication studies are needed for establishing a solid theoretical foundation to inform management decisions. Copyright (C) 2016 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

If two competing firms receive influence from the same large shareholders, how do they compete? From the viewpoint of competitive dynamics and agency theory, I investigate the impact of overlapping shareholders of two competing firms on their competitive behavior. The overlapping shareholders of two competing firms will attempt to reduce the intensity of their competitive activity because they can increase economic surpluses from the competing firms by intentionally creating the stability of rivalry. Accordingly, competitive actions between two competing firms will become less intensive as their overlapping shareholders acquire more power over the firms. By using data on pairs of leaders and challengers in 13 Japanese industries in which they have engaged in lasting head-to-head competition, found support for the hypotheses.

To enrich the literature on alliance termination, we recognize that the dynamics of individual alliances are subject to the structural characteristics of the alliance portfolios in which they are embedded. We anchor our study in the context of large industry leaders partnering with multiple small partners, the latter of which can be viewed as competing for access to the formers' resources. We expect that a small partner's relative capability in relation to peer partners within a leader's alliance portfolio is negatively related to the likelihood of alliance termination, since the leader acknowledges that partners with inferior capability do not deserve to be supported. Furthermore, this relationship would be moderated by alliance portfolio size, market overlap with peer partners, and with industry leaders. Using a unique dataset of 145 alliances between leading and small department stores in Japan in the period 1977-93, we found general support for the hypothesized relationships.

This article theorizes the effects of interfirm rivalry on partner selection in horizontal alliance formation from a competitive dynamics perspective. Although horizontal alliances are formed between competing firms, previous studies have paid limited attention to the relationship between interfirm rivalry and partner selection. The article proposes two types of interfirm rivalries in horizontal alliances: inside-alliance rivalry and outside-alliance rivalry. The suggested model predicts that firms select partners that result in lesser inside-alliance rivalry. However, when firms face threatening common rivals, they tend to choose partners that reduce outside-alliance rivalry despite a high inside-alliance rivalry. The diversity of competitive repertoires of common rivals determines the type of interfirm rivalry that firms would consider more important in selecting partners. Additionally, when the level of intensity of outside-alliance rivalry for two firms is equal, they are more likely to form an alliance. This article contributes significantly to the alliance formation and competitive dynamics literature in three ways. First, this study utilizes the competitive dynamics perspective to explain partner selection in horizontal alliances, which is unprecedented. Second, and in continuity to the first contribution, this article clearly distinguishes between the effects of market commonality and resource similarity on partner selection. Finally, in the field of competitive dynamics, this study presents theoretical explanations for inter-firm rivalry related to allied firms.

本稿は，海外の同族企業（ファミリービジネス）の理論・実証研究の知見を紹介する．本稿では，特に同族の「所有」と「経営」の違いを重視し，代表的な3つの理論フレームワーク（エージェンシー理論，資源ベース理論，社会的情緒資産理論）のそれぞれが，「所有」と「経営」の視点にどのように適用できるかを解説する．また，日本は同族による「経営」への関与が他国よりも強い可能性を示し，そこから今後の研究への示唆を探る．

Adaptive networks are a novel class of dynamical networks whose topologies and states coevolve. Many real-world complex systems can be modeled as adaptive networks, including social networks, transportation networks, neural networks and biological networks. In this paper, we introduce fundamental concepts and unique properties of adaptive networks through a brief, non-comprehensive review of recent literature on mathematical/computational modeling and analysis of such networks. We also report our recent work on several applications of computational adaptive network modeling and analysis to real-world problems, including temporal development of search and rescue operational networks, automated rule discovery from empirical network evolution data, and cultural integration in corporate merger. © 2012 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

This study investigates the impact of product modularity on product development performance in the context of team processes. Although previous studies have argued that product development performance increases with product modularity, owing to the enhancement of problem solving in product development, few have empirically demonstrated the relationship. In addition, previous studies remain silent regarding the mechanism by which product modularity moderates the effects of team processes on performance during product development. We examine product modularity's direct effects on product development performance and moderating effects on team members' communication and effort. Using survey data of 48 project leaders in a Japanese system integration company, we found that the modularity of an information system enhanced the effectiveness and efficiency of its development. Furthermore, the positive impact of communication within team members was attenuated by product modularity. This study broadens our understanding of product modularity and team processes.