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Although various studies have emphasized linkages between firm competencies, networks and sustainability at organizational level, the links between top management tangible competencies (TMTCs) (e.g. contemporary relevant quantitative-focused education such as big data analytics and data-driven applications linked with the internet of things, relevant experience and analytical business applications), relationship-based business networks (RBNs) and environmental sustainability have not been well established at microlevel, and there is a literature gap in terms of investigating these relationships. This study examines these links based on the unique data collected from 175 top management representatives (chief executive officers and managing directors) working in food import and export firms headquartered in the UK and New Zealand. Our results from structural equation modelling indicate that TMTCs are the key determinants for building RBNs, mediating the correlation between TMTCs and environmental sustainability. Directly, the competencies also play a vital role towards environmental practices. The findings further depict that relationship-oriented firms perform better compared to those which focus less on such networks. Consequently, our findings provide a deeper understanding of the microfoundations of environmental sustainability based on TMTCs rooted in the resourcebased view and RBNs entrenched in social network theory. We discuss the theoretical and practical implications of our findings, and we provide suggestions for future research.

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Newcastle University ePrints -eprint.ncl.ac.uk Khan Z, Rao-Nicholson R, Tarba S. Global networks as a mode of balance for exploratory innovations in a late liberalizing economy. Journal of World Business 2016. AbstractThis article suggests that under weak institutional arrangements, adverse economic conditions, and institutional voids in a late liberalizing economy, local firms that are part of the global value chains of multinational enterprises develop international networks as a balancing strategy to engage in exploratory innovations. We argue that local firms do so in order to counter the negative influences of local institutions on exploratory innovations.Using exploratory in-depth qualitative analysis, we study the suppliers of motorcycle parts in 2 Pakistan that are working with leading Japanese and Chinese motorcycle assemblers. The results suggest that in adverse economic situations local institutional factors can sustain only the development of exploitative innovations. As a balancing strategy, motorcycle part suppliers develop international networks with global Tier 1 suppliers, international trade fairs, and international institutions. This strategy helps circumvent the negative influence of home institutional factors on developing exploratory innovations. Our study highlights the importance of global networks as a balancing strategy for creating exploratory innovations by firms in a late liberalizing economy.

There has been increasing interest in understanding the factors that contribute to the development of employee resilience. Despite such interest, there is a dearth of research examining the contributory role played by HR practices in enhancing employee resilience. Looking at the context of Pakistan's telecommunications sector and deploying a qualitative methodology, this paper examines the impact of HR practices on employee resilience. The findings indicate that four key areas of HR practices-job design, information sharing and flow within an organisation, employee benefits (monetary as well as non-monetary), and employee development opportunities-enable the development of employee resilience. Consequently, the effective implementation of HR practices in these areas has been the key factor for the development of employee resilience.

The study looks at mergers and acquisitions (M&As) in ASEAN countries and examines the post-M&A performance using data from 2001 to 2012. The industry-adjusted operating performance tends to decline in the 3 years following an M&A. Yet, the results suggest that M&As completed during the financial crisis are more profitable than those implemented before and/or after the crisis. We argue that this is mainly due to the synergies created between the firms' resources during the crisis which augur well for firms' economic performance. We find that, during the crisis, certain characteristics of the firms like the relative size of the target, cross-border nature of deals, acquirer's cash reserves and friendly nature of deals are important determinants of long-term post-M&A operating performance.However, for M&As during the crisis, there appears to be no relationship between performance and firms' characteristics linked to M&A activity such as payment method, industry relatedness and percentage of target's share acquired.

This paper examines the impact of leadership on organizational ambidexterity and employee psychological safety based on a sample of 105 global acquisitions of emerging market multinationals. The findings suggest that, compared to the transactional and laissez faire ones, the charismatic leadership style is more significantly related with organizational ambidexterity and employee psychological safety. The results also suggest that transactional leadership is more positively related to ambidexterity and employee psychological safety than 2 laissez faire leadership. In addition, organizational ambidexterity is directly and positively associated with employee psychological safety. The implications of these results for both research and practice are discussed in the paper.