Date: April 18, 2014

Time: 1:30pm-3:00pm

Venue: Room 1102, Administration Building, Zijingang Campus

Speaker: Prof. YANG Haibin, Management/Marketing at the College of Business, the City University of Hong Kong

Topic: ill You Get What You Want? Managerial Ties, Knowledge Acquisition,and Firm Performance in China

Abstract: This study draws on the knowledge-based view and resource-dependence theory, and proposes that the utilization of business ties differs significantly from that of political ties in acquiring external knowledge, subsequently affecting firm performance in supplier-distributor alliances. Specifically, the utilization of business ties enables a supplier to access deeper knowledge from its primary distributor, while the utilization of political ties enables the supplier to acquire broader knowledge from its primary distributor. This knowledge acquisition further mediates the influences of managerial ties on firm performance. The power structure between the supplier and its primary distributor additionally moderates the impact of managerial ties on knowledge acquisition. Our analyses of matched supplier-distributor dyads in China largely support our theses.

About the Speaker: Dr. Haibin Yang is Professor of Management/Marketing at the College of Business, the City University of Hong Kong. His research interests include strategic alliances, innovation, entrepreneurship, and transition economy. His research works have appeared in some top-tier management journals such as Academy of Management Journal, Strategic Management Journal, Management Science, Journal of Management, Research Policy, and among others. He serves as the editorial board member of Strategic Management Journal, Journal of World Business, and Long Range Planning, a