Feng Zhang

• PhD
• Professor (Associate) at South China University of Technology

Combining the dynamic capability perspective and institutional theory, this study examines how firms in emerging economies respond to green management pressures and measures what they gain by adopting green management practices. Drawing on data from 272 Chinese firms based on responses from two key informants in each firm, this study finds that str...

While industry conventions underscore the imperative for firms to accelerate their new product development (NPD) speed in order to maintain competitive advantage, especially when they face intense competition, extant literature has afforded relatively scant attention to the phenomenon of competitive intensity as a driver of NPD speed. Equally under...

In the rapidly evolving digital economy, digital transformation has emerged as a crucial strategy for firms to navigate market crises and improve operational efficiency. However, small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) face significant resource and capability constraints in their digital transformation efforts, presenting unique challenges compar...

Corporate social responsibility (CSR) is an important strategic decision for firms. Firms must decide on the configuration of CSR scope or the resource allocation in different CSR domains in addition to the extent of resource investment in CSR. However, question about the performance implications of different CSR scope configurations remain unresol...

Existing research widely assumes that geographic distance between partners exerts a negative influence on cooperative outcomes. However, empirical evidence yields contradictory results. To reconcile the current inconsistencies, this study builds on the relational view to develop a conceptual model proposing that geographic distance has a curvilinea...

Purpose – Empirical results remain unclear as to whether organizational unlearning can improve radical innovation performance. The purpose of this study is to investigate how, and under which conditions, organizational unlearning influences firms’ radical innovation performance. Design/methodology/approach – Drawing on the knowledge-based view, thi...

This paper investigates whether and how interfirm coopetition—the combination of cooperation and competition—affects collaborative innovation performance in competitive environments. We address this issue by introducing interfirm knowledge creation as a mediating mechanism based on knowledge creation theory and by examining the moderating effects o...

New product development (NPD) is essential for the growth and success of firms facing intense competition. The pathways through which competitive intensity affects NPD have not been adequately examined. This study addresses the gaps by developing a research model investigating the relationships between competitive intensity, knowledge integration,...

This paper provides an investigation into how social media can be used to promote disruptive innovation in small and medium enterprises (SMEs) from a capability perspective. Based on the strategic capability literature, this study examines the influence of social media strategic capability (SMSC) on disruptive innovation, the mediation role of orga...

Increasing concern about green growth is rapidly transforming the competitive landscape and forcing firms to invest in environmental management (EM) to become greener. Although resource slack has been viewed as a critical factor that influences EM investment, research has produced inconsistent findings on its role in EM investment. This article dev...

Environmental dynamism, as exemplified by the rate of change and the degree of instability of the environment, plays a considerable role in determining whether firms will adopt green process innovation (GPI). Although environmental dynamism may offer new development opportunities, it also increases the risks and uncertainties associated with market...

The rapid development of social media has significantly affected organizational innovation activities. However, scant research has investigated how social media, as an important innovative tool within the corporate landscape, influences firm business model innovation (BMI). This paper provides an initial investigation into whether, and how, social...

Drawing on organizational learning theory, this study aims to investigate the effects of task conflict on the success of cooperative innovation projects (CIPs) and to identify the mediating mechanisms through which such effects are achieved. Our conceptual model was validated by a cross-sectional sample of 291 Chinese manufacturing firms, in each o...

Purpose A firm's geographic boundaries represent an important demarcation line when searching for new knowledge. Prior research on geographic search has generated conflicting results concerning its influence on firm innovation outcomes. The purpose of this study is to fill the gap by examining how and under which conditions geographic search affect...

Family firms often face trade-offs between economic and non-economic objectives when making decisions on the pollution prevention strategy, one type of proactive environmental strategy. Existing evidence from developed economies has largely shown a positive relationship between family firms and pollution prevention strategy, but little research has...

Purpose Prior studies have demonstrated the important role of coopetition in firms’ innovation. Based on the paradox perspective, this study aims to focus on technology transfer, the pre-innovation stage, to provide a supplementary understanding of the complementarity and contradictoriness of paradoxical coopetition, with the formal and informal go...

Purpose From the dynamic capability perspective, the aim of this paper is to develop a conceptual framework for collaborative capability, including scanning, relational skills and adaptation and to test the impact of each dimension on the acquisition of technological and marketing knowledge from partners. The conceptual framework also suggests that...

Purpose Whether shareholders’ involvement in management benefits the organization’s performance remains inconclusive. The purpose of this study is to reconcile the conflicting results by exploring whether and under which contexts shareholder involvement may impact firm innovation performance. Design/methodology/approach This study attempts to comb...

Prior corporate governance research focuses much attention on formal factors yet ignores such informal factors as social capital in the relationships between large shareholders and managers. Based on social capital theory, this study examines whether and in which circumstances social capital in the large shareholder–manager relationship affects fir...

This study aims to explore the influence mechanism of cultural intelligence on work–family conflict for Chinese expatriates in cross-cultural non-profit organizations. Drawing on conservation of resources theory, this longitudinal study (six-month time lag) is the first to examine cultural intelligence as an antecedent of work–family conflict. The...

Radical innovation has significant impact on organizations. To develop radical innovation, firms need to change or discard their obsolete routines, beliefs, and knowledge, since radical innovation represents a clear departure from existing practices. Based on the organizational unlearning literature and contingency theory, the authors explore three...

Green innovation has become the main path toward achieving corporate sustainable development. Despite the centrality of organizational learning in firms pursuing green activities, little research has considered its role in the relationship between stakeholder pressures and green innovation. By combining stakeholder theory and organizational learnin...

This study aims to explore the effects of corporate environmental responsibility on firms that partner with NGOs. On the basis of the contrasting mechanisms of needs and opportunities for legitimacy seeking, we propose an inverted U-shaped relationship between a firm's environmental responsibility and its propensity to form partnerships with NGOs,...

Purpose Although entrepreneurial learning is widely believed as an important factor in shaping one’s entrepreneurial intention, research finds little consistent results on the direct effect of entrepreneurial learning on one’s entrepreneurial intention. To solve the conflicted effects of entrepreneurial learning, the purpose of this paper is to exp...

Some critical limitations of prior research on organizational controls stem from the scant theory identifying the coexistence of contradictions and interrelations between differing organizational controls and exploring how the contradictory but interrelated controls affect innovation modes. To address this gap, this research links Hitt’s internal c...

Purpose Focusing on internal corporate governance, this paper applies the shareholder activism perspective to consider how large shareholder participation behaviors might influence firm innovation performance. Specifically, “confrontationally strategic intervention” and “cooperatively strategic consensus” participation behaviors are examined and h...

Radical innovation is critical for firms to enhance their competitiveness. Whether they can achieve it, however, depends on organizational factors, including the corporate governance of the firm. In emerging economies in which shareholder protection is weak, large shareholders are widely used as an efficient governance mechanism to reduce agency pr...