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The role of social factors in purchase journey in the social commerce era
No full textThis research examines the influence of information sharing amongst consumers on e-commerce platforms. On this basis, we develop a model for predicting consumers' purchase decisions on social commerce platforms. We use PLS-SEM to analyse online and paper surveys from 310 consumers. The findings suggest that social commerce information sharing increases consumer perceptions of familiarity, perceived ease of use, and perceived usefulness of social commerce platforms. Consumer learning and training of social commerce systems also increased their stated intention to purchase using the platform. We theorise the rise of the hyper-informed consumer that conducts pre-purchase product and shopping platform research to improve purchasing outcomes and as a form of socialising. The authors explain the theoretical contributions and practical implications at the end of the paper
HR Barometer 2022. HRM trends and challenges in Belgian organisations
No full textThe war for talent in the labour market is making it difficult for Belgian HR departments to find sufficient suitable talent. Selection & recruitment was therefore their absolute top priority in 2021, and employer branding, engagement and retention also gained significantly in importance. Belgian HR managers are fairly optimistic and full of confidence in their own skills when it comes to the new way of working and the future. Although the physical workplace remains important, far-reaching investments have already been made in the areas of teleworking and hybrid working methods. However, there is still work to be done when it comes to preparing the workforce for new and future skills. These are the main findings of the 8th edition of the HR Barometer. This annual survey by Vlerick Business School and Hudson surveys the HR managers of the 200 largest Belgian employers and examines their HR challenges and HR trends. This year, special attention was paid to the ‘Future of Work’ theme. 115 companies from different sectors participated in the survey. Selection & recruitment is the absolute top priority
The top 3 priorities for Belgian HR departments over the past year are selection & recruitment, engagement and well-being. Selection & recruitment in particular has seen a significant increase compared to the previous year. This is all because of the very tight labour market, as a result of which HR is increasingly struggling to ensure a smooth influx of new talent
Project portfolio management practices - a theoretical base and practitioner guidelines
No full textThe collective practices associated with project portfolio management (PPM) are described with different levels of detail in the academic literature. This study provided a consolidated set of PPM practices synthesised from existing PPM literature. A systematic review was followed by a thematic analysis to extract practice domains. The nine practice domains identified are presented together with the management roles associated with portfolio management that can be studied as antecedents of PPM effectiveness. The findings propose a comprehensive list of PPM practice domains, supported by tasks that define the domains as a guideline for practitioners and for future research
When the going gets tough: Private equity firms’ role as agents and the resolution of financial distress in buyouts
No full textPrevious research has focused on a private equity (PE) firm’s role as principal in its relationship with an investee, but few studies have looked into their role as agents for their investors. We examine how a PE firm’s relationship as agent for limited partners (LPs) and banks influences its incentives to resolve financial distress in the investee. We examine the effect of PE fundraising reputation, PE fundraising activity, and PE bank affiliation on the likelihood of a financially distressed buyout ending in bankruptcy. We build a unique data set of 338 distressed buyouts in the United Kingdom to test our hypotheses.The paper has benefited from feedback received at the Academy of Management meetings, at Babson College Entrepreneurship Research Conference, and at a research seminar at St. Gallen University. We would like to acknowledge Bart Van Hoe who contributed to the data collection
The importance of citizens support in the organizations of a mega sport event: A framework for sustainability social strategy
No full textThe Effect of Ownership Structure on the Value of a Private Company
No full textAbstract
The value of an unlisted company is a contentious issue. This is because investors value marketability and liquidity, but vacillate on the appropriate percentage discount that needs to be applied for the valuation of a private company. As more companies find it easier to remain private, a better understanding of this discount is increasingly important. The extant discount studies are mainly derived from financial and transactional data. They provide reliable averages using large sample sizes, but present few determinants to explain the wide ranges in the observations. Our research is based on a unique, alternative data source that complements existing studies by tapping into rich contextual information. Specifically, we examine court decisions that determine the appropriate discount and relate this percentage to an important characteristic of a private company: its “open” character, i.e. its willingness to accept outside shareholders or partners in the venture. We find that open and closed companies differ in value 6.5%. Our conclusions hold after controlling for known determinants of the discount. Our results impact valuation approaches and present real-world application for the owners and managers of private companies who may consider opening ownership to third parties
2022 M&A monitor. Shedding light on M&A in Belgium
No full textIn line with the international M&A market, Belgian acquisition activity recovered strongly in 2021, especially for large transactions and acquisitions by private equity players. The average price paid for a transaction is once again reaching a record high. ESG measures do not yet play a significant role in Belgium with regard to pricing or deal structure. And the high level of geopolitical uncertainty combined with inflation and disrupted supply chains make predictions for 2022 difficult. These are the main conclusions of the ninth edition of the M&A Monitor, an annual survey of just under 200 Belgian merger and acquisition specialists including corporate finance advisers, private equity investors, strategic advisers, bankers and lawyers. They represent all industries and transaction sizes. The survey asks about their experiences of the deals they were involved in during 2021 on the one hand, and their expectations for 2022 on the other
Cognitive styles, user acceptance and commitment to strategic plans in public organizations: an empirical analysis
No full textGiven the lack of insights into the micro-determinants of strategic planning (SP) in public organizations, this study uses information-processing theory and self-efficacy theory to investigate individual-level predictors of commitment to strategic plans among planning team members (PTMs). Specifically, we investigate whether plan commitment is contingent upon the fit between PTMs’ preferred way of information-processing (i.e. their cognitive style) and the information-processing characteristics underlying SP processes in public organizations. Based on data gathered with 439 PTMs from 203 Flemish municipalities, we find that PTMs with a creating and planning style are committed to strategic plans because they deem SP useful. Given the lack of insights into the micro-determinants of strategic planning (SP) in public organizations, this chapter uses information-processing theory and self-efficacy theory to investigate individual-level predictors of commitment to strategic plans among planning team members (PTMs). It investigates whether plan commitment is contingent upon the fit between PTMs’ preferred way of information-processing and the information-processing characteristics underlying SP processes in public organizations. Cognitive styles have been predominantly conceptualized as a bipolar dimension that makes a distinction between an analytic and an intuitive way of thinking. Typical controls used by studies on cognitive style and user acceptance include age, education, gender and tenure. The chapter concludes that within the micro-perspective, both cognitive styles and user acceptance are relevant individual-level determinants of commitment to strategic plans
Venture Capital, Credit, and FinTech Start-Up Formation: A Cross-Country Study
No full textGrowing FinTech entrepreneurship is a recent global phenomenon. Drawing on the national innovation systems framework, we examine how countries’ venture capital (VC) and credit markets differently affect FinTech entrepreneurship across countries. We argue that with their established and globally diffused norms and practices, VC investors—but not banks—require a critical mass of FinTech entrepreneurship in a country to more positively influence FinTech entrepreneurship. Moreover, we argue that VC and credit markets are substitutes, especially in countries with more FinTech entrepreneurship. Using quantile regressions on data from 53 countries, we find support for our hypotheses
Venture Capital Winners: A Configurational Approach to High Venture Capital‐Backed Firm Growth
No full textAbstract The positive effect of venture capital (VC) on firm growth has been widely documented. However, there exists a large variation in growth of VC‐backed firms, with only a small number reaching a substantial size. Prior studies have linked the variation in growth of VC‐backed firms to differences in resource endowments of the entrepreneurial top management team, the firm or the venture capitalist, without considering their potentially complex interactions. In addition, the literature has taken strong growth aspirations in VC‐backed firms as a given, without examining potential variations thereof and their potential implications. Therefore, this study aims to examine which configurations of resource portfolios and growth aspirations lead to high VC‐backed firm growth. In order to do so, we take an inductive, theory‐building approach and build on fuzzy‐set qualitative comparative analysis (fsQCA). Our results show that strong growth aspirations of the entrepreneurial top management team are a necessary condition for high VC‐backed firm growth. Furthermore, we identify four configurations which, in combination with strong growth aspirations, may lead to high VC‐backed firm growth