Research Objective The purpose of this study is to profile market factors and organizational characteristics associated with community hospitals¡¦ vertical integration into a nursing facility through the lens of resource dependence. Data Sources Data for this study were drawn from three sources: the 2002 secondary data collected by Taiwan Community Hospital Association (TCHA) on a regular yearly basis; the 2001 secondary data compiled by Taiwan Association of Long-Term Care Professionals (TALTCP); and the 2002 area-based population data gathered by Department of Budget, Accounting, and Statistics (DOBAS) in local governments respectively. Study Design This study is a one-year cross-sectional design with community hospitals as the unit of analysis. A sample of 248 community hospitals was the focus of this study. Since the dependent variable is dichotomous, the logistic procedure was used to fit the regression. The analysis was performed using the statistics software, SPSS 10.0. Findings A higher ratio of the elderly, a high degree of competition, and the provision of dialysis and home care services spur community hospitals on to vertical integration into a nursing facility. Occupancy rate, the rehabilitative service, respiratory care service, high technology, the ratio of MDs to staffed beds, as well as the ratio of RNs and LPNs to staffed beds bear no reference to community hospitals¡¦ vertically integrating a nursing facility. Conclusion Not all community hospitals are equally good candidates for stepping into the avenue to nursing facility. Given the environmental factors, community hospitals situated in highly competitive district areas with a higher ratio of the elderly are more likely to vertically integrate a nursing facility. In terms of organizational factors, the provisions of dialysis service and home care service have a significant relationship with the likelihood of vertical integration.

Research suggests that the position of subsidiaries within the multinational corporation (MNC) network has been strengthened over time and as a result, the subsidiary’s ability to exert influence over decisions taken by headquarters and other MNC entities has improved. One of the drivers behind this changed corporate structure is the need of the MNC for innovation, which has lead MNC headquarters to recognize entrepreneurial activities at subsidiary level. In this paper, the connection between subsidiary entrepreneurship and subsidiary influence is examined and it is argued that internal traits held by subsidiaries, which promote entrepreneurial performance, can function as a resource that other entities within the MNC network become dependent upon. From this dependence, influence is received by the subsidiary holding this resource, in accordance to resource dependence theory. Hypotheses are formed and tested using data collected through 60 questionnaires completed by subsidiary managers. The analysis suggests that a quite large portion of the influence subsidiaries obtain can be explained by their internal entrepreneurial capabilities. Recommendations for future research are suggested.

What constitutes effective corporate governance? Which director characteristics render boards effective at positively influencing firm-level performance outcomes? This dissertation examines these questions by taking a multilevel, multidisciplinary approach to corporate governance. I explore the individual-, team-, and firm- level factors that enable directors to serve effectively as strategic resources during international expansion. I argue that directors’ international experience improves their ability to serve as effective strategic consultants and resource providers to firms during the complex internationalization process. However, unlike prior research, which tends to assume that directors with the potential to provide important resources uniformly do so, I acknowledge contextual factors (i.e. board cohesiveness, strategic relevance of directors’ experience) that affect their propensity to actually influence outcomes. I explore these issues in three essays: one review essay and two empirical essays. In the first empirical essay, I integrate resource dependence theory with insights from social-psychological research to explore the influence of board capital on firms’ cross-border M&A performance. Using a sample of cross-border M&As completed by S&P 500 firms from 2004-2009, I find evidence that directors’ depth of international experience is associated with superior pre-deal outcomes. This suggests that boards’ deep, market-specific knowledge is valuable during the target selection phase. I further find that directors’ breadth of international experience is associated with superior post-deal performance, suggesting that these directors’ global mindset helps firms in the post-M&A integration phase. I also find that these relationships are positively moderated by board cohesiveness, measured by boards’ internal social ties. In the second empirical essay, I explore the boundary conditions of international board capital by examining how the characteristics of firms’ internationalization strategy moderate the relationship between board capital and firm performance. Using a panel of 377 S&P 500 firms observed from 2004-2011, I find that boards’ depth of international experience and social capital are more important during early stages of internationalization, when firms tend to lack market knowledge and legitimacy in the host markets. On the other hand, I find that breadth of international experience has a stronger relationship with performance when firms’ have higher scope of internationalization, when information-processing demands are higher.

This study sought to examine power, resources and environmental negotiation through an examination of the operations and governance of two Community Sport Organizations (CSOs) located in a mid-sized city in the Midwest region of the United States. This was undertaken by answering three research questions: (1) How does power shape the allocation of resources within CSOs? (2) How do CSOs secure access to resources from their organizational environments? and (3) How do CSOs attempt to manipulate their organizational environment? The dissertation took a case study approach, combining documentary review with in-depth semi-structured interviews to develop a greater understanding of the CSOs under study and of the dynamics of power that animate the organizations’ activities, decisions, and outlook. By using two theories of power, Lukes’ Three Dimensional (3D) approach and Resource Dependence Theory (RDT), the dissertation examined both an institutional and episodic view of power, providing a richer view of power within the organizations under study. In RQ1, the study finds that CSOs are willing to allocate resources to the social construction of their sport; that they are sensitive to threshold effects in resource allocation, meaning they provide resources up to the point that a need is met, and not beyond; and that gender played a role in internal resource allocation. In RQ2, the results indicated that the CSOs under study were able to secure resources from their environments through not valuing their institutional existence, and through working with their multi-level governance structures. RQ3 finds that CSOs used anticipatory compliance with environmental actors and borrowing capacity of means to change their organizational environments. The overall conclusion of the study notes that low organizational capacity in CSOs has considerable benefits to go with the drawbacks previously noted in the CSO and not-for-profit literatures. The study outlines that CSOs are able to use their low capacity status to help ensure their organizational environment remains passive, allowing them to maintain a focus on their members and mission while securing sufficient resources to survive. Further discussion of volunteer leadership being a type of participation in sport and of the challenges of studying CSOs, as well as participant recruitment, are also included.

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The focus of this study is the accounting of private non-profit organizations. Accounting is understood as a situated practice under specific conditions prevailing in different types of private non-profits. First, a pilot study of the financial reports of 39 Swedish non-profit organizations was undertaken. It identified similarities and differences between their reporting and the norms used in commercial accounting. Three case studies of private non-profits of different kinds and sizes were then undertaken. The purpose was both to describe how non-profits report their activities and their financial position to external interest groups and attempt to explain what lies behind their accounting practices. A combination of an institutional perspective and a resource dependence perspective has been used. The study contributes to our knowledge of practices in non-profit organization accounting and suggests some explanations of their accounting practices. The following research question was explored: When does institutional isoformism and when does resource dependence determine the accounting practices in these private non-profits? The main findings are the following: the purpose of the annual reports of these private non-profits is to show how they have used their resources. Their income statements are more like reports of financial flows. It has been difficult to measure the efficiency of their activities and for that reason they report more about doing the “right” things. A verbal story is needed to give a fair account of their performance. In trying to explain the accounting practices of these organizations four things were highlighted: ·          They imitated conventional accounting norms when the issues had no direct influence on future resources. ·          They diverged from conventional accounting norms and showed their distinctive character in that they created ways of presenting information according to what was needed by their interested parties, when the issues could influence future flow of resources. This is true even after the accounting regulations were established in 2001. However, when they were forced to follow conventional accounting norms, coercive isomorphic pressure meant that they had less freedom. ·          When the organizations used other channels than their annual reports to communicate with their supporters, the accounting practices did not influence future resources. Then they applied conventional accounting norms for business organizations. ·          When the organizations used their annual reports in planning for future obligations and in internal follow up, the accounting practices were also influenced by internal considerations. As they diverged from commercial accounting their differences form commercial organizations were highlighted and their need to communicate in a somewhat different way was seen. Key words: Private non-profit organizations, accounting, accounting theory, accounting norms, accounting practices, institutional theory, isomorfism, resources, resource dependence theory.

As China has become one of the largest economic entities in the world, many studies focus on corporate governance in China. In 2001, the China Securities Regulatory Commission (CSRC) transplanted the outside director mechanism from the United States and the United Kingdom. CSRC hoped that outside directors could play a control role to monitor the behaviours of controlling shareholders, protecting the interests of minority shareholders. However, since it was established, the Chinese outside director mechanism has played an unsatisfactory control role because they are not truly independent of the controlling shareholders. In contrast, many Chinese outside directors use their Guanxi connections (a particular kind of social connections in China) to play a resource acquisition role very well. Based on the theories of the firm, the resource dependence theory, studies of Guanxi and the path dependence theory, this thesis finds that when Chinese outside directors use their Guanxi connections to play their resource acquisition role, their independence and fiduciary duties required by CSRC is compromised.

Relationship building is a fundamental component to develop successful businesses, although corrupt purchasing executives pay bribes in excess of $1.5 trillion dollars annually. The participants for this case study consisted of 10 national sales managers who have successfully implemented strategies to train suppliers in relationship building in a hotel in Greensville, South Carolina. The resource dependence theory grounded the study. The purpose of this single case study was to explore strategies a hotel owner in Greenville, South Carolina used to train managers on relationship building. Collection of data included 8 semi-structured telephone interviews and 2 video interviews that were audio recorded and transcribed verbatim, archived data, and field notes. Using a modified van Kaam method and methodological triangulation, 3 prominent themes were identified that included the appropriateness of relationship building activities to collect data critical to negotiations, the need to clarify unclear expectations, and developing an increased awareness of the gray areas for possible boundary violations between the vendor and the customer. The data from the results indicated the need for increased training to reduce the number of instances of unethical behavior perceived in relationship building activities. The implications for positive social change include the potential to increase the awareness of ethical issues in multicultural business settings on the part of national sales managers, which could decrease the rate of unethical behavior in the hospitality industry.

¡@¡@Corporate foundations initiated by large family enterprises are usually explained from the social responsibility viewpoint. In that, the family initiated the corporate foundations to achieve the social responsibility in the society. However, what is the possible control role of corporate foundations in family businesses is seldom investigated. By utilizing the over-eight-year data in Taiwan¡¦s family business groups, this study tries to investigate the antecedent of corporate foundations in large family business groups from the resource dependence theory and institutional theory viewpoint. The results indicate that the family ownership and family management will influence the control of corporate foundations in large family business groups in Taiwan. Specifically, the more likely that the family members involve in key decision-making roles in the group, and the more likely that the family members will utilize pyramidal ownership structure to control the multiple affiliates in the group, the more likely that the family members will serve as the key decision-making roles in the corporate foundations in the family business groups. The findings provide a power explanation in initiating corporate foundations in family business context. Moreover, the findings indicate that the corporate foundation play a key role in the share-controlled relationships in the large family business groups. The results provide referable values in discussing the non-profit organizations roles in family business group¡¦s control issues.

Zugl.: Bremen, Diss., 2008.