The impact of relational governance on performance improvement in export manufacturing firms

Abstract

Purpose: This paper seeks to identify the factors affecting social performance improvemens in the Pakistan export manufacturing firms and investigae inter-relationships existing among them.Design/methodology/approach: This study used a cross-sectional survey; data were collected using self-administered survey questionnaire. Using data collected from 239 small- and medium-sized direct exporters manufacturing firms in Pakistan. We used structural equation modelling (SEM) approach to test structural model, and mediation analysis was conducted with regression analysis.Findings: The results support that meta-cognitive dimensions of cultural intelligence effect on social performance improvements, while the social performance improvement significant associated with innovation performance improvements. We suggest that cultural intelligence is a key to maintaining a relationship through development better cultural understanding and creating harmony among suppliers and buyers through minimizing the differences and disputes, requires developing social cohesion. Our results reveal that exporting firms need to adapt, reconfigure cultural knowledge and integrate resources into the operations to build learning capability, in turn, they can improve social performance and achieve superior innovation performance.Practical implications: Through the application of cultural intelligence capabilty, a firm could increase its ability to sense cultural differences, seize and adapt globally scattered cultural practices on social issues and allows for the development of unique knowledge resources and capabilities, impact on firm social performance and innovation performance improvements.Originality/value: The study conducted in Pakistan cultural context, which can be extended to other Asian countries. We argue that in a globalising world it is pertinent for exporting firms to have a better understanding of the various facets of cultural when dealing with inter-organisational relationships.

Governing Interfirm Relationships for Social Sustainability: The Relationship between Governance Mechanisms, Sustainable Collaboration, and Cultural Intelligence

“…Cultural intelligence research has shown that each dimension of CQ is sharply different and each of these dimensions affects intercultural interaction [51]. Some studies endorse that CQ is an important strategy in safeguarding cooperation to apply one's own cultural knowledge in cross-culture interaction for minimizing differences [4]. Previous research has not shown clearly which dimensions of CQ are critical for collaboration [28].…”

“…Chua et al (2012) [28] found that high metacognitive CQ had a direct effect on collaboration in cross-cultural interactions. Cognition and meta-cognition enable managers to monitor one's knowledge process deliberately and to regulate these states to achieve greater adaptation to some objectives [4,56]. As an illustration, Crotty and Brett (2012) [57] highlighted the significance of self-awareness and consciousness of other reactions in handling foreign collaborative culture.…”

“…Social performance improvement is the biggest challenge humanity faces today and is the main obstacle to sustainable development [3]. The researchers have considered that buyer-supplier cooperation accelerates social performance [4]. Recent studies on governing interfirm relationships on sustainability have suggested that better relationship management is useful for developing a socially sustainable performance [5].…”

Buyer-Driven Knowledge Transfer Activities to Enhance Organizational Sustainability of Suppliers

“…Previous research has provided evidence that supplier development initiatives have been fruitful in upgrading supplier performance [4,5]. Despite considerable research on environmental sustainability in the supply chain relationship, the supplier-side of knowledge acquisition for social sustainability has mostly been ignored [6]. The study on how the buyer enables knowledge enrichment activities affects the firm peripheries, and the development of new activities is still in inception [7].…”

The Role of Collaborative Healthcare in Improving Social Sustainability: A Conceptual Framework

“…The specialties of professionals may also expand because of their sharing different views, which results in increased job satisfaction. For example, it has been found that the involvement of suppliers of products and services in a collaborative model can result in higher social sustainability performance as they share knowledge, and work jointly to create value and improve social performance [83][84][85]. Therefore, the next proposition can be advanced: Proposition 6.…”