IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/bla/stratm/v38y2017i6p1327-1342.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Demystifying variance in performance: A longitudinal multilevel perspective

Author

Listed:
  • Guangrui Guo

Abstract

Research summary: This study employs longitudinal multilevel modeling to re‐examine the relative importance of business unit, corporation, industry, and year effects on business unit performance. Total variance in performance is partitioned into stable variance and dynamic variance. Sources of these two parts of variance are explored. Empirical results indicate that (1) stable effects of corporation‐industry interaction are substantially important, but were unequally confounded with stable effects of business unit, corporation, and industry in results of previous studies; (2) stable effects of corporation, industry, and corporation‐industry interaction, taken together, are of similar relative magnitude to stable effects of business unit; and (3) random and nonlinear year effects are very important in explaining dynamic variance. These findings extend our theoretical and empirical understanding of performance variability. Managerial summary: Whether stable or changing, business units themselves, corporate‐parents, and industries influence business unit operations. This article investigates the relative effects of these factors on business unit performance. Although the traditional wisdom is that business unit is critical, this research finds that corporate‐parent, industry, and interactions between these, taken together, are as influential as business unit. Specifically, interactions between corporate‐parent and industry are important for over‐time average business unit performance, indicating that a given corporate‐parent unevenly influences its business units in different industries and that a particular industry unevenly influences business units within itself from different corporate‐parents. This study also demonstrates that changes in business unit, corporate‐parent, and industry are important drivers of over‐time volatility of business unit performance and that effects of these changes differ. Copyright © 2016 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

Suggested Citation

  • Guangrui Guo, 2017. "Demystifying variance in performance: A longitudinal multilevel perspective," Strategic Management Journal, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 38(6), pages 1327-1342, June.
    • Handle: RePEc:bla:stratm:v:38:y:2017:i:6:p:1327-1342
    DOI: 10.1002/smj.2555
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://doi.org/10.1002/smj.2555
    Download Restriction: no
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1002/smj.2555?utm_source=ideas
    LibKey link: if access is restricted and if your library uses this service, LibKey will redirect you to where you can use your library subscription to access this item
    ---><---

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Tony W Tong & Todd M Alessandri & Jeffrey J Reuer & Asda Chintakananda, 2008. "How much does country matter? An analysis of firms’ growth options," Journal of International Business Studies, Palgrave Macmillan;Academy of International Business, vol. 39(3), pages 387-405, April.
    2. Tarun Khanna & Jan W. Rivkin, 2001. "Estimating the performance effects of business groups in emerging markets," Strategic Management Journal, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 22(1), pages 45-74, January.
    3. Anita M. McGahan & Michael E. Porter, 1999. "The Persistence of Shocks to Profitability," The Review of Economics and Statistics, MIT Press, vol. 81(1), pages 143-153, February.
    4. Verbeke, Geert & Lesaffre, Emmanuel, 1997. "The effect of misspecifying the random-effects distribution in linear mixed models for longitudinal data," Computational Statistics & Data Analysis, Elsevier, vol. 23(4), pages 541-556, February.
    5. Ron Adner & Constance E. Helfat, 2003. "Corporate effects and dynamic managerial capabilities," Strategic Management Journal, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 24(10), pages 1011-1025, October.
    6. Sumit K. Majumdar & Arnab Bhattacharjee, 2014. "Firms, Markets, and the State: Institutional Change and Manufacturing Sector Profitability Variances in India," Organization Science, INFORMS, vol. 25(2), pages 509-528, April.
    7. Anita M McGahan & Rogerio Victer, 2010. "How much does home country matter to corporate profitability?," Journal of International Business Studies, Palgrave Macmillan;Academy of International Business, vol. 41(1), pages 142-165, January.
    8. Ming-Jer Chen & Danny Miller, 2015. "Reconceptualizing competitive dynamics: A multidimensional framework," Strategic Management Journal, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 36(5), pages 758-775, May.
    9. Maas, Cora J. M. & Hox, J.J.Joop J., 2004. "The influence of violations of assumptions on multilevel parameter estimates and their standard errors," Computational Statistics & Data Analysis, Elsevier, vol. 46(3), pages 427-440, June.
    10. David J. Teece, 2007. "Explicating dynamic capabilities: the nature and microfoundations of (sustainable) enterprise performance," Strategic Management Journal, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 28(13), pages 1319-1350, December.
    11. David J. Spiegelhalter & Nicola G. Best & Bradley P. Carlin & Angelika Van Der Linde, 2002. "Bayesian measures of model complexity and fit," Journal of the Royal Statistical Society Series B, Royal Statistical Society, vol. 64(4), pages 583-639, October.
    12. Thomas H. Brush & Philip Bromiley, 1997. "What does a small corporate effect mean? A variance components simulation of corporate and business effects," Strategic Management Journal, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 18(10), pages 825-835, November.
    13. Schmalensee, Richard, 1985. "Do Markets Differ Much?," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 75(3), pages 341-351, June.
    14. Adelina Gschwandtner, 2012. "Evolution Of Profit Persistence In The Usa: Evidence From Three Periods," Manchester School, University of Manchester, vol. 80(2), pages 172-209, March.
    15. Anita M. McGahan & Michael E. Porter, 2002. "What Do We Know About Variance in Accounting Profitability?," Management Science, INFORMS, vol. 48(7), pages 834-851, July.
    16. Shige Makino & Takehiko Isobe & Christine M. Chan, 2004. "Does country matter?," Strategic Management Journal, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 25(10), pages 1027-1043, October.
    17. Juan Carlos Bou & Albert Satorra, 2007. "The persistence of abnormal returns at industry and firm levels: Evidence from Spain," Strategic Management Journal, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 28(7), pages 707-722, July.
    18. ANITA M. McGAHAN & MICHAEL E. PORTER, 1997. "How Much Does Industry Matter, Really?," Strategic Management Journal, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 18(S1), pages 15-30, July.
    19. Wernerfelt, Birger & Montgomery, Cynthia A, 1988. "Tobin's q and the Importance of Focus in Firm Performance," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 78(1), pages 246-250, March.
    20. Edward H. Bowman & Constance E. Helfat, 2001. "Does corporate strategy matter?," Strategic Management Journal, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 22(1), pages 1-23, January.
    21. Sea‐Jin Chang & Harbir Singh, 2000. "Corporate and industry effects on business unit competitive position," Strategic Management Journal, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 21(7), pages 739-752, July.
    22. Sophia Rabe-Hesketh & Anders Skrondal, 2012. "Multilevel and Longitudinal Modeling Using Stata, 3rd Edition," Stata Press books, StataCorp LP, edition 3, number mimus2, March.
    23. Tarun Khanna & Jan W. Rivkin, 2006. "Interorganizational Ties and Business Group Boundaries: Evidence from an Emerging Economy," Organization Science, INFORMS, vol. 17(3), pages 333-352, June.
    24. Jacqmin-Gadda, Helene & Sibillot, Solenne & Proust, Cecile & Molina, Jean-Michel & Thiebaut, Rodolphe, 2007. "Robustness of the linear mixed model to misspecified error distribution," Computational Statistics & Data Analysis, Elsevier, vol. 51(10), pages 5142-5154, June.
    25. Richard P. Rumelt, 1991. "How much does industry matter?," Strategic Management Journal, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 12(3), pages 167-185, March.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Citations

    Citations are extracted by the CitEc Project, subscribe to its RSS feed for this item.
    as


    Cited by:

    1. Guan, Jian & Gao, Zhimin & Tan, Justin & Sun, Weizheng & Shi, Fan, 2021. "Does the mixed ownership reform work? Influence of board chair on performance of state-owned enterprises," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 122(C), pages 51-59.
    2. Nan Zhou & Seung H. Park, 2020. "Growth or profit? Strategic orientations and long‐term performance in China," Strategic Management Journal, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 41(11), pages 2050-2071, November.
    3. Dmitry Sharapov & Paul Kattuman & Diego Rodriguez & F. Javier Velazquez, 2021. "Using the SHAPLEY value approach to variance decomposition in strategy research: Diversification, internationalization, and corporate group effects on affiliate profitability," Strategic Management Journal, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 42(3), pages 608-623, March.
    4. Herman Aguinis & Kelly P. Gabriel, 2022. "International business studies: Are we really so uniquely complex?," Journal of International Business Studies, Palgrave Macmillan;Academy of International Business, vol. 53(9), pages 2023-2036, December.
    5. Godlewski, Christophe J. & Nhung Le, Hong, 2024. "Family ties and firm performance empirical evidence from East Asia," The Quarterly Review of Economics and Finance, Elsevier, vol. 94(C), pages 150-166.
    6. Pankaj Kumar & Xiaojin Liu & Akbar Zaheer, 2022. "How much does the firm's alliance network matter?," Strategic Management Journal, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 43(8), pages 1433-1468, August.
    7. Andrews, Daniel S. & Meyer, Klaus E., 2023. "How much does host country matter, really?," Journal of World Business, Elsevier, vol. 58(2).
    8. Tobias Keller & Martin Glaum & Andreas Bausch & Thorsten Bunz, 2023. "The “CEO in context” technique revisited: A replication and extension of Hambrick and Quigley (2014)," Strategic Management Journal, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 44(4), pages 1111-1138, April.
    9. Belnap, Andrew & Hoopes, Jeffrey L. & Wilde, Jaron H., 2024. "Who really matters in corporate tax?," Journal of Accounting and Economics, Elsevier, vol. 77(1).
    10. Chi‐Hyon Lee & Manuela N. Hoehn‐Weiss & Samina Karim, 2021. "Competing both ways: How combining Porter's low‐cost and focus strategies hurts firm performance," Strategic Management Journal, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 42(12), pages 2218-2244, December.
    11. De Beule, Filip & Klein, Martin & Verwaal, Ernst, 2020. "Institutional quality and inclusive strategies at the base of the pyramid," Journal of World Business, Elsevier, vol. 55(5).
    12. Ming zhu Wang, 2023. "Changes in industry and corporate effects in the United States, 1978–2019," Strategic Management Journal, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 44(2), pages 477-490, February.

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Pankaj Kumar & Xiaojin Liu & Akbar Zaheer, 2022. "How much does the firm's alliance network matter?," Strategic Management Journal, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 43(8), pages 1433-1468, August.
    2. Ketelhöhn, Niels W. & Quintanilla, Carlos, 2012. "Country effects on profitability: A multilevel approach using a sample of Central American firms," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 65(12), pages 1767-1772.
    3. Sarada Devi Gadepalli & Arindam Mondal, 2018. "Sources of Business Unit Performance Heterogeneity in India: The Influence of Ownership," Vikalpa: The Journal for Decision Makers, , vol. 43(4), pages 207-221, December.
    4. Hernan Etiennot & Roberto Vassolo & Francisco Diaz Hermelo & Anita McGahan, 2019. "How do industry and country impact firm performance? A national and supranational analysis," Review of Managerial Science, Springer, vol. 13(4), pages 791-821, August.
    5. Bart S. Vanneste, 2017. "How Much Do Industry, Corporation, and Business Matter, Really? A Meta-Analysis," Strategy Science, INFORMS, vol. 2(2), pages 121-139, June.
    6. Goddard, John & Tavakoli, Manouche & Wilson, John O.S., 2009. "Sources of variation in firm profitability and growth," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 62(4), pages 495-508, April.
    7. Dmitry Sharapov & Paul Kattuman & Diego Rodriguez & F. Javier Velazquez, 2021. "Using the SHAPLEY value approach to variance decomposition in strategy research: Diversification, internationalization, and corporate group effects on affiliate profitability," Strategic Management Journal, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 42(3), pages 608-623, March.
    8. Vassiliki Bamiatzi & Konstantinos Bozos & S. Tamer Cavusgil & G. Tomas M. Hult, 2016. "Revisiting the firm, industry, and country effects on profitability under recessionary and expansion periods: A multilevel analysis," Strategic Management Journal, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 37(7), pages 1448-1471, July.
    9. Spyridon Stavropoulos & Martijn J. Burger & Dimitris Skuras, 2015. "Data Sparseness and Variance in Accounting Profitability," Tinbergen Institute Discussion Papers 15-014/VII, Tinbergen Institute.
    10. Chen, Yi-Min, 2010. "The continuing debate on firm performance: A multilevel approach to the IT sectors of Taiwan and South Korea," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 63(5), pages 471-478, May.
    11. Sumit K. Majumdar & Arnab Bhattacharjee, 2014. "Firms, Markets, and the State: Institutional Change and Manufacturing Sector Profitability Variances in India," Organization Science, INFORMS, vol. 25(2), pages 509-528, April.
    12. Yi-Min Chen, 2008. "How Much Does Country Matter?," International Regional Science Review, , vol. 31(4), pages 404-435, October.
    13. Fabio R. Chaddad & Mario P. Mondelli, 2013. "Sources of Firm Performance Differences in the US Food Economy," Journal of Agricultural Economics, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 64(2), pages 382-404, June.
    14. André Ribeiro Gonçalves & Rogério H Quintella, 2006. "The role of internal and external factors in the performance of brazilian companies and its evolution between 1990 and 2003," RAC - Revista de Administração Contemporânea (Journal of Contemporary Administration), ANPAD - Associação Nacional de Pós-Graduação e Pesquisa em Administração, vol. 10(spe), pages 117-136.
    15. Andonova, Veneta & Ruíz-Pava, Guillermo, 2016. "The role of industry factors and intangible assets in company performance in Colombia," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 69(10), pages 4377-4384.
    16. Kohls, Tobias & Mager, Ferdinand & Regele, Tobias, 2023. "Competitive advantage and firm, industry, and country effects: An asset pricing perspective," Journal of Economics and Business, Elsevier, vol. 127(C).
    17. Anita M. McGahan & Michael E. Porter, 2002. "What Do We Know About Variance in Accounting Profitability?," Management Science, INFORMS, vol. 48(7), pages 834-851, July.
    18. Luiz Claudio Louzada & Márcio Augusto Gonçalves, 2018. "The Moderating Effect of the Sector’s Level of Concentration on the Relationship Between Balance Sheet Composition and the Firm’s Competitive Advantage," Brazilian Business Review, Fucape Business School, vol. 15(6), pages 512-532, November.
    19. Weiß, Christian, 2010. "The Ownership Concentration of Firms: Three Essays on the Determinants and Effects," EconStor Theses, ZBW - Leibniz Information Centre for Economics, number 30247, January.
    20. Vicente López-López & Susana Iglesias-Antelo & Esteban Fernández, 2020. "Is Sustainable Performance Explained by Firm Effect in Small Business?," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 12(23), pages 1-13, December.

    More about this item

    Statistics

    Access and download statistics

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:bla:stratm:v:38:y:2017:i:6:p:1327-1342. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: Wiley Content Delivery (email available below). General contact details of provider: http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/journal/10.1111/0143-2095 .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.