联合战略的动因及其对竞争优势的影响——基于“合”理论的视角

Motivations of Cooperation Strategy and Their Impacts on Firms' Competitive Advantages:Based on the “Amalgamation” Theory

本文在"合"理论的框架下,结合开放资源、开放竞争的新商业特征,进一步阐述了联合战略的内涵,并提出了联合战略的三种类型:垂直联合、水平联合和侧向联合。为了探索企业实施联合战略的动因和影响,本文基于中国21个城市的796家中小企业的问卷调查数据进行实证检验,结果表明:(1)企业管理外部关系的能力对3种联合战略都有正向影响;(2)企业所面临的政府规制只对侧向联合战略具有正向影响;(3)企业家的业界联系对3种联合战略都有正向影响;(4)企业家的政府联系对垂直联合和侧向联合具有正向影响;(5)联合战略有利于中小企业提高速度优势、成本优势和客户满意度。本文的研究结论不仅夯实了"合"理论的研究支柱,丰富了中国管理理论的构建,也为新兴经济中资源不足的中小企业通过联合战略实现快速发展提供了有益的借鉴和启示。

Based on unique context in China, Luo Yadong and other scholars put forward Chinese management ＂amalgamation＂ theory. The ＂amalgamation＂ theory includes four parts： ＂composition＂ explains the usage logic of internal and external resources; ＂cooperation＂ reflects the development logic of external relations; ＂combination＂ embodies the dual logic of organization evolution; ＂conformity＂ expresses the management logic of organization strategy and growth. The ＂amalgamation＂ theory needs more in-depth theoretical expansion and empirical analysis. Cooperation strategy is an important part of the ＂amalgamation＂ theory. In order to deepen the understanding of the cooperation strategy, the followings are carried out in this paper. First, cooperation strategy is defined and classified. Cooperation strategy refers to the actions that the enterprise in order to achieve the compatible goal of takes together with external organizations or enterprises mutual benefits. According to the objects and their characteristics, cooperation strategy could be divided into three forms： vertical cooperation refers to the cooperation in the same industry chain; horizontal cooperation means the cooperation with new or existing competitors in the same industry; lateral cooperation takes place with enterprises, institutions and individuals with outside of the industry or the industry chain. Second, the motivations to adopt cooperation strategy are explored. The choice of enterprise strategy is constrained by the institutional environment and the social environment. At present, China has two notable context characteristics： strong relationship and strong institution. Therefore, this paper analyzes the institutional motivation and relational motivation of SMEs＇ cooperation strategy from enterprise and entrepreneur levels. Finally, the impact of cooperation strategy on the competitive advantages, such as the speed advantage, the cost advantage and the customer satisfaction, is tested. This paper conducts an empirical test based on the questionnaire data of 796 SMEs in 2l cities in China. The empirical results show that： （1） enterprises＇ abilities to manage external relationship have positive effects on all three kinds of cooperation strategy; （2） enterprises＇ governmental regulations only have a positive impact on the lateral cooperation; （3） entrepreneurs＇ industry ties have positive effects on all three kinds of cooperation strategy; （4） entrepreneurs＇ political ties have a positive impact on the vertical and lateral cooperation; （5） cooperation strategy is benefit for SMEs to improve their speed advantage, cost advantage and customer satisfaction. The conclusions not only lay a solid foundation for the ＂amalgamation＂ theory, enriching the construction of China＇s management theories, but also provide useful references and inspiration for SMEs in emerging economies to achieve rapid development through cooperation strategy.