bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Risk management practices of contractors: A case study of power station projects in Egypt
Authors: Hassanein AMR A G , Afify Halaa M F
Published: June 2010

This research aimed at identifying the most significant risks relevant to construction contracts of two power station projects in Egypt. These were large scale, fast‐track projects where a multi‐package contracting plan was utilized. Further, the study investigated how risks were perceived and managed by a large sample of Egyptian and international contractors who participated in the execution of these two major projects. A checklist of risk categories was developed to aid contractors in their risk identification effort. The compilation of this checklist identified the following risk categories: 1) owner’s obligations; 2) interface with other contractors; 3) liability risks; 4) financial risks; 5) risks related to changes; 6) technical risks and 7) consortium risks. Research results identified a marked lack of consistency in the contractors’ risk identification effort. Contractors possessing past experience in Egypt were far better able to identify the relevant risks. On the other hand, local Egyptian contractors with vast experience in Egypt but limited project management experience were shown to lack the necessary expertise to properly identify risks and to take the appropriate exceptions. Furthermore, the results revealed that bidders do not include in their proposals their “true” lists of exceptions which represent genuine risks to them.
Enabling role of governance in strategizing and implementing KM
Authors: Kannabiran Ganesan , Pandyan Chandrasekar
Published: June 2010

Purpose

KM governance plays a vital role in KM strategy planning and its implementation. Despite the importance of KM governance, empirical research in this area so far has been limited. This research seeks to show how a federated and self‐governance framework enabled effective KM strategy planning and implementation in a captive offshoring unit in India.

Design/methodology/approach

The approach takes the form of an in‐depth study of KM strategy planning and implementation process in a captive offshore unit of a leading financial services company, using the case research method.

Findings

The research shows that a KM program, driven by a federated governance for strategizing and a self‐governance for implementation, results in successful adoption, practice and sustenance of organization‐wide KM. In addition, self‐governance has also helped the organization to achieve an efficient single‐person‐driven KM function to manage the entire KM program. KM function should be reporting to a governance committee (chosen from across the business units of the organization) rather than a single leadership position.

Research limitations/implications

The findings are based on a study of a single organization and therefore it may have limitations in its applicability in other settings. However, it brings out the importance of federated and self‐governance in effective and efficient KM strategy planning and implementation. A KM council, comprising the CEO, BU heads, and the CKO to spearhead the entire strategy planning helps in successful KM strategy implementation. It suggests that the commitment of senior management and functional managers can be achieved by suitably linking their contribution to KM with their goals and KRAs.

Practical implications

To make the KM program successful, organization‐wide KM governance has to precede strategy. The research shows how the Balanced Score Card may be used to align KM initiatives with the business strategy. Ownership among the senior managers and heads of business units can be achieved by making their contribution to KM part of their KRAs. The KM head (CKO) should be reporting to the governance committee rather than a single leadership position.

Originality/value

The research paper provides both theoretical and practical insights into how federated and self‐governance as an approach for KM governance enables effective and efficient KM strategy planning and implementation.
Knowledge‐based inter‐organizational collaborations
Authors: Cricelli Livio , Grimaldi Michele
Published: June 2010

Purpose

The evolution of organization, management and production processes is moving towards complexity. The ever growing competition presses firms to give intangible internal and external exclusive resources the utmost attention. The improvement of the performance, through the retrieval of resources, neither available internally nor achievable autonomously, can be reached by going beyond traditional firm boundaries and by enforcing an external relationship system: proliferation of networks, partnerships, and inter‐organizational collaborations should be, consequently, triggered. The purpose of this paper concerns the evaluation of knowledge impact on relationships among the members of an inter‐organizational collaboration. It also aims to suggest conditions for the improvement of knowledge management in different types of knowledge‐based inter‐organizational collaborations.

Design/methodology/approach

Critical success factors of the networked organizations have been defined. Distinctive characteristics, that cannot be disregarded, whatever the environment, have been singled out from literature analysis; successively, they have been arranged into a classification schema to design knowledge‐based collaboration types. Properties of knowledge and peculiarities of knowledge management processes (identification, creation, storage, sharing/distribution, application, and capitalization/refinement) have been assessed according to the types of the collaborations.

Findings

The theoretical framework can be applied by network managers to adopt the most favourable knowledge management strategy and process, independent of the distinctive characteristics of the collaborations.

Originality/value

The paper provides a theoretical framework to arrange the knowledge‐based inter‐organizational collaborations into an innovative classification schema on the basis of their cognitive, strategic and structural aspects.
Technological knowledge breadth and depth: performance impacts
Authors: Moorthy Subba , Polley Douglas E.
Published: June 2010

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to explore how the depth and breadth of firms' technological knowledge affect their performance.

Design/methodology/approach

An empirical investigation of a sample of US manufacturing firms was conducted. The main independent variables were measured using firms' patent data. Three hypotheses based on theory were developed and tested using multivariate regressions. To increase reliability, alternative industry and firm explanators of performance are controlled.

Findings

The depth and breadth of technological knowledge, rather than total stock, are significantly better at predicting three measures of firm performance that was used in the study – return on invested capital, sales growth, and Tobin's q. The two knowledge dimensions exhibited either independent non‐linear effects or mutually reinforcing effects on each of the three performance measures.

Research limitations/implications

The study is limited to a fine‐grained analysis of effects of technological knowledge. It does not take into account the facilitating role of marketing and administrative knowledge.

Practical implications

Corporate managers need to measure the depth and breadth of their technological knowledge stocks and include them in their planning models. Extreme combinations of depth and breadth need to be corrected and brought into balance.

Originality/value

The paper represents one of the few studies to disaggregate a firm's total stock of technological knowledge into its depth and breadth components.
Relevant factors for tacit knowledge transfer within organisations
Authors: Joia Luiz Antonio , Lemos Bernardo
Published: June 2010

Purpose

This paper aims to identify the pertinent factors for tacit knowledge transfer within a major state‐owned Brazilian oil company – Petrobras.

Design/methodology/approach

The research analyses the literature concerning tacit knowledge transfer within organisations and, using a quantitative approach based on exploratory factorial analysis, seeks to collect facts in order to identify relevant factors for tacit knowledge transfer within the organisation in question.

Findings

It is seen that idiosyncratic factors, the knowledge management strategy adopted by the company, and its organisational structure are relevant elements for the success of tacit knowledge transfer within the organisation.

Research limitations/implications

The study was conducted just in the Sales and Marketing division of Petrobras. Therefore, its external validity cannot be tested and any attempt to make a statistical generalisation would be flawed. Another limitation is related to the acuity of perception of the employees involved in relation to tacit knowledge transfer. These limitations are related to the possibility of many varied interpretations of reality given by the respondents, in their attempt – not necessarily conscious – to paint a good picture of the company, to limitations of information available while they answer the questionnaire, to the epistemological model of the respondent, and to the very fact that they work in a state‐owned, rather than in a public oil company.

Originality/value

Three propositions arising from the results obtained are consolidated and presented in order that they may be tested in a future explanatory study.
Knowledge transfer to partners: a firm level perspective
Authors: Hutzschenreuter Thomas , Horstkotte Julian
Published: June 2010

Purpose

Firms at the center of an organizational network may benefit from educating and building up competencies of their partners. For that reason, centers often seek to transfer knowledge from the center to partner firms. They even set up systems of inter‐organizational knowledge transfer to plan, to coordinate, and to control such transfers on a firm level instead of managing single knowledge transfer projects individually. However, little systematic attention has yet been paid to such systems on a firm level. This paper seeks to analyze the managerial mechanism to decide what knowledge to transfer to what partners.

Design/methodology/approach

To address this gap, data were gathered on nine leading multinational center firms. An explorative approach was adopted using case study research to look at the characteristics of network centers, network partners, knowledge, transfer channels, and programmes.

Findings

It was found that center firms offered knowledge transfer products to partners and set up portfolios of knowledge transfer programmes targeted at specific partner groups. There is further elaboration on fundamental decisions on the programmes' design, communication, access, and pricing.

Originality/value

The research contributes to shed light on how center firms manage knowledge transfer activities from the center to partners on the firm level and how they structure it in the form of programmes. Therefore, the paper does not focus on the management of knowledge transfer in particular partnerships or networks, but also considers interdependencies between individual knowledge transfer initiatives.
Robert Rosen's anticipatory systems
Authors: Louie A.H.
Published: June 2010

Purpose

This article aims to be an expository introduction to Robert Rosen's anticipatory systems, the theory of which provides the conceptual basis for foresight studies.

Design/methodology/approach

The ubiquity of anticipatory systems in nature is explained.

Findings

Causality is not violated by anticipatory systems, and teleology is an integral aspect of science.

Practical implications

A terse exposition for a general readership, such as the present article, by definition cannot get into too many details. For further exploration the reader is referred to the recent book More than Life Itself by the author.

Originality/value

The topic of anticipatory systems in particular, and methods of relational biology in general, provide important tools for foresight studies. It is the author's hope that this brief glimpse into the world of relational biology piques the interest of some readers to pursue the subject further.
Anticipatory systems in physics
Authors: Ferret J.
Published: June 2010

Purpose

The study of anticipatory systems assumes the existence of two distinct types of systems in nature. Some systems anticipate the future and such anticipation forms part of the system itself, while other systems, however, do not anticipate and solely rely on past states. This article aims to argue that this distinction is inadequate given the current understanding of fundamental physics and it seeks to propose instead that all systems need to be considered fundamentally anticipatory.

Design/methodology/approach

The analysis centers on showing how classical and quantum mechanics implies the concept of anticipatory system by showing how systems are relational and inherently anticipatory because of the potential interaction from a given reference frame of another system.

Findings

This article shows the fundamental relationship between the physical state of the system and its energy, first in classical mechanics and then in quantum mechanics. This serves, first, to remind that energy is arbitrary and so is the system, and second, that the role of potential energy is precisely one of anticipation of interaction with another system at the boundaries.

Research limitations/implications

This article shows there is a fundamental concept of anticipation built in the concept of a closed system, but open systems can get around the analysis presented.

Practical implications

Systems engineering and decision theory fields may benefit from a renewed understanding of the role of anticipation in systems.

Originality/value

This analysis contributes to the fundamental understanding of the concept of anticipation, systems, and their fundamental role in physics.
Anticipation and future vision in Nicolai Hartmann's ontology
Authors: Scognamiglio Carlo
Published: June 2010

Purpose

This article aims to explore anticipation from an ontological point of view and to analyze in particular some of Nicolai Hartmann's ideas.

Design/methodology/approach

The paper presents a conceptual analysis of an ontological theory of anticipation.

Findings

Analyzing philosophical problems related to “futures” and “anticipation”, to the framework of modal categories, and connecting Hartmann with Ludwig von Bertalanffy and comparing the outcome with some Artistotelian theses, offers a philosophical perspective on futures studies.

Research limitations/implications

The “human” phenomenon of anticipation will be defined as possibly the only form of authentic anticipation, interpreted as a teleological act.

Originality/value

The result is obtained through the distinction, articulated for each level of reality, among different kinds of determination.
Making anticipatory systems more robust
Authors: Rossel Pierre
Published: June 2010

Purpose

When coping with complex, but also possibly disruptive and open‐ended social dynamics, the anticipatory system idea, which was developed by Rosen in the realm of physical and biological system observation, remains a reference framework, but one that may need to be reinforced by other theoretical considerations. This paper aims at using a debate that took place in a specific foresight discussion arena on early detection and weak signal analysis, as a constructive epistemic detour to eventually contribute to such a reinforcement of Rosen's anticipatory system proposal.

Design/methodology/approach

The author aims at revisiting Rosen's framework with stimulating inputs drawing upon the early detection debates, by first assessing the original concepts brought up by Ansoff in the 1970s and 1980s and its further enhancements by contemporary scholars. A rather constructivist approach is then developed to weak signal analysis, aiming at emphasising the need, in analytical situations involving social system features, for reflexive stages and capacities. Bearing this requirement in mind, the productive value of the “framing” and “meta‐framing” notions is explored, in order to apply them to Rosen's anticipatory systems and possibly contribute to enriching his original concept.

Findings

How effective the framing and meta‐framing couple can be for a series of anticipatory issues is described in a detailed manner and, then more specifically, Rosen's anticipatory system concept is revisited in the light of those inputs, aiming at putting into perspective new options for research and anticipation activities in general.

Research limitations/implications

The paper is essentially conceptual and based on a rich but disputable detour by early detection and weak analysis issues so as to emphasise key reflexive references and method. However, most of this material is taken from domains rather untypical of Rosennean debates and in addition would need to be completed by a series of supportive cases, but that is beyond the scope and scale of this paper.

Practical implications

The paper sets clear distinctions and boundaries for when and when not to apply reflexive steps in a foresight exercise, including in the context of rolling out a Rosen type of approach. Research decision making both in the corporate and policy‐making contexts can benefit from such clues and supportive framework conditions.

Social implications

Social systems are typically complex and involve multiple perspectives and viewpoints; they concern a series of major challenges to be coped with locally or more globally, at environmental, political, cultural or technological level, and in that category of anticipatory endeavor, the framing/meta‐framing epistemic couple may be of great usefulness.

Originality/value

Although rather conceptual, the detour proposed by the paper aims at creating a reflexive distance and enriched capability to evaluate one's potential biases and blind spots in anticipatory modelling activities.
Process gatekeepers and compliance with enterprise processes
Authors: Berente Nicholas , Ivanov Danail , Vandenbosch Betty
Published: June 2010

Purpose

Process gatekeepers, individuals responsible for strictly enforcing data completeness at critical points within a process, are often used to encourage compliance with processes associated with enterprise systems. The purpose of this paper is to explore the relationship between process gatekeepers and process compliance.

Design/methodology/approach

Through a mixed‐method approach of both qualitative and quantitative analyses of one firm's sales processes, the paper identifies and measures four key drivers of compliance with the work process: ease of use, perceived value, urgency, and gatekeeper flexibility.

Findings

The paper finds that process context‐specific, gatekeeper‐related factors directly affect an individual's willingness to work within the bounds of prescribed processes. In particular, the paper finds evidence that gatekeeper flexibility appears to encourage process compliance.

Research limitations/implications

These findings are limited in generalizability to a single organization, by potential instrument‐related biases, and by typical caveats associated with models derived from exploratory research.

Practical implications

Implications include the motivation of the need for overall process compliance in realizing the benefits of an enterprise information system, as well as the counterintuitive notion that gatekeeper flexibility may be positively related to process compliance.

Originality/value

This paper introduces the notion of process gatekeeper, devises a context‐specific measure of gatekeeper flexibility, and relates this notion to an overall model associated with process compliance in an enterprise system context.
Uptake and success factors of Six Sigma in the financial services industry
Authors: Heckl Diana , Moormann Jürgen , Rosemann Michael
Published: June 2010

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to present and discuss results from the first empirical study on the status and the success factors of Six Sigma in the financial services sector.

Design/methodology/approach

An empirical study using a comprehensive and tested survey instrument has been conducted in banks, insurance companies, and related service providers in Germany, Switzerland, Austria, and Great Britain.

Findings

One quarter of financial services providers has identified the Six Sigma methodology as being suited for their continuous process improvement efforts. Pressures to reduce costs, the desire to exploit market opportunities, and dissatisfied customers are the main drivers. However, the uptake of Six Sigma is still in the early stages. Most companies apply the methodology in pilot projects only. Nevertheless, respondents estimate a cost‐benefit ratio of 1‐4.3. Dissatisfaction with Six Sigma projects is often caused by insufficient data quality and data quantity, lack of resources, and missing support from top management.

Originality/value

Although Six Sigma has been successfully implemented in many industries, its application in the service sector is still in question. This paper presents for the first time results of a survey within the financial services industry with the aim to analyze the acceptance level of the Six Sigma methodology, the achieved results, and the factors that determine its successful implementation.
ICT‐enabled and process‐based change: an integrative roadmap
Authors: Margherita Alessandro , Petti Claudio
Published: June 2010

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to identify the main factors affecting information and communication technology (ICT) adoption and process redesign within organizations, with the objective of defining a systematization framework and a set of methods and tools useful for students and practitioners.

Design/methodology/approach

The review of literature focused on organizational change and ICT‐enabled process innovation allows to extract the key issues for building the model and approaches presented.

Findings

The effective introduction of change requires addressing aspects placed at strategy, people, process and enablers level. A system view of these components and their relationships is a key to streamline ICT adoption and process redesign.

Research limitations/implications

The roadmap is addressed to support only the design or pre‐implementation phase of change, with a major intra‐organizational perspective.

Originality/value

The main asset of this paper is to combine several frameworks into a unique roadmap to support the investigation of human, process, and technology dimensions of organizational change. Besides, a set of methods and tools are proposed to streamline the design of ICT‐enabled and process‐based change within an organization.
South Asian Entrepreneurship: A View from the North
Authors: Barn Sukhbinder S.
Published: June 2010

The paper, while having a cursory examination of ethnic minority business development in Newcastle‐u‐Tyne, examines issues that businesses further south have long since experienced and overcome as a result of a heavy concentration of support networks and institutions (Srinivasan, 1992). The main issues of the paper centre around the reluctance of ethnic minority business owners, particularly those from South Asia, to utilise Government agency support in the development and expansion of their businesses.
Organisational competence: does networking confer advantage for high growth entrepreneurial firms?
Authors: Chaston Ian
Published: June 2010

Adopting an entrepreneurial orientation is accepted as strategy through which to improve the performance of small firms. The management of innovation literature indicates that firms seeking to survive in rapidly changing and/or highly competitive markets are being advised to consider participating in business networks. By combining these two concepts it is hypothesised that four different marketing styles may exist; namely conservative/transactional, conservative/network orientated, entrepreneurial/transactional and entrepreneurial/network orientated firms. A survey of small manufacturing firms was undertaken in an attempt to determine whether these four marketing styles exist. The survey revealed that high growth entrepreneurial firms tend to participate in business networks. Membership of a network confers the benefit of increasing the level of organisational learning. Additionally it was concluded that higher levels of competence were found for entrepreneurial/network orientated organisations. The implications of these findings are discussed in relation to Government small firms support policies.
Seaking: A Case Study
Authors: Mumby‐Croft Roger
Published: June 2010

This paper is authored by Roger Mumby‐Croft who was the founding proprietor of Seaking, and this case is written from his perspective. The Journal Editors are pleased to be publishing this case study which they believe will provide an excellent classroom vehicle for drawing out academic lessons about SMEs, growth and entrepreneurship.
A Model of Opportunity Recognition and Exploitation: An Empirical Study of Incubator Firms
Authors: Schwartz Robert G. , Teach Richard D.
Published: June 2010

To most, opportunity recognition and exploitation are the key activities of entrepreneurship. In their 1989 paper on the subject the authors identified a factor structure useful in explaining the process. The present work compares the 1998 results with the 1989 results. Evidence is provided that there is a stable temporal model of opportunity recognition and exploitation.
Meeting the competition with a market‐oriented organisation: A case of China’s state‐owned enterprises
Authors: Liu Sandra S. , Shi Yi‐Zheng
Published: June 2010

The past two decades have witnessed significant changes in China as it has moved from a centrally planned economy to a more market‐oriented one. As a socialist nation, state owned enterprises (SOEs) continue to comprise a dominant part of economic activity in China. While many SOEs are inefficient and incur losses, economic reforms since the late 1970s have brought about irrevocable changes in the manner in which Chinese SOEs conduct their business. The important agenda for the Chinese government now is how to “vitalize” state sectors and ensure that SOEs are able to strive for their own survival. SOEs therefore are exploring ways to improve the productivity of their current operation and to enhance innovativeness in their business development, including seeking financial and technological resources overseas. The varying levels of market‐orientation in SOEs present diverse outcomes for the SOEs. This study attempts to evaluate the extent to which the SOEs have adopted market‐based organizational learning (Sinkula, Baker, and Noordewier 1997), market orientation (Deshpande and Farley 1998), entrepreneurial orientation (Smart and Conant 1994), and learning and innovativeness (Hurley and Hult 1998).
Blinded by Science: An Entrepreneurial Marketing Perspective of Understanding
Authors: Peterson Robert M.
Published: June 2010

Science has become a powerful tool for examining our bodies, our environment, and our universe. In fact, we have adopted science as the technique of choice for examining most phenomena. The intent of this manuscript is to critique the role of science as it pertains to investigating social phenomena, i.e. entrepreneurship, and offer a highly unique twist on the discourse. An overview of historical scientific results leads into the introduction of a Social Periodic Table. The conclusion is that science is quite often the improper tool to use in order to capture the essence of entrepreneurial phenomena. Some suggestions are offered for future research perspectives. The paper does not rehash the science debate from the 1980s marketing literature.
An Empirical Investigation into the Transition of Change within three formerly Nationalised Companies
Authors: Lancaster Geoff , Brierley Gerry
Published: June 2010

The article in the previous issue provided a background to privatisation and highlighted how previously nationalised companies were managing the transition of change. This article continues this theme at a more detailed level and presents details of applied research into three formerly nationalised companies, namely: The National Remote Sensing Centre, Royal Ordnance Environmental and The Stationery Office. It concluded that pre privatisation, notions of quality service, lower prices and working for the good of consumers was not achieved, as profits were not seen as a commercial requirement. Of the companies researched, two seemed to be strongly influenced by the culture of their new parent company. The two companies that have adopted a marketing culture seem to have fared better than the one company with a strong financial culture. Despite the moves towards being more marketing orientated it is also concluded that all three companies were having difficulty in breaking free from an inbred philosophy of production orientation.
Micro and Small Firm Marketing A Pre‐Millennium Muse from Paradise
(Already out of date!)
Authors: McAuley Andrew
Published: June 2010

Based on a series of thoughts, heavily influenced by the sun and rum, this paper attempts to synthesise a number of disparate influences including micro‐businesses in Barbados, marketing in rapid growth markets, mainstream texts, and creativity in marketing and in smaller firms. This journey is undertaken in order to seek inspiration for a theory of small firm marketing but questions are raised as to how far one all encompassing theory is either possible or desirable.
Entrepreneurial Success through Marketing in Nineteenth Century Australia: The Case of John Pottie & Sons
Authors: Fisher John , Stanton John
Published: June 2010

The establishment and growth of an early Australian entrepreneurial firm supplying veterinary services and products is examined. John Pottie established a veterinary practice in Sydney in the 1860’s and then proceeded to develop a large and successful family business that is still trading. By exploring the ingredients for its successful entry and growth, this study seeks to show through one longitudinal case, how entrepreneurship, innovation and marketing were inseparable in contributing to the competitive advantage developed by this business. Two inter‐related and timeless features stand out in Pottie’s success. First, is the manner in which he acted as an entrepreneur, responding to the circumstances of the time and seizing the opportunities presented by changes on both the supply and demand sides in the market for veterinary services and products. Second, is the stress he placed on his own name as a brand, guaranteeing the quality of the integrated package of veterinary products.
An Empirical Investigation into Entrepreneurship and Organizational Innovation‐based Competitive Strategy
Authors: Weerawardena Jay , Coote Leonard
Published: June 2010

For several decades, marketing researchers have stressed that firms can achieve competitive advantage by creating superior value for customers through innovation. However the literature on entrepreneurship and innovation based competitive strategy is deficient in several important respects. First, entrepreneurship has been poorly measured in the past. Next, research on innovation is biased towards technological innovation and new product development. Finally, robust measures of sustained competitive advantage have yet to emerge in the literature. This paper examines the role of entrepreneurship in organizational innovation‐based competitive strategy. The study finds that entrepreneurial firms pursue both technological and non‐technological innovations, and all such innovations lead to sustained competitive advantage. The study contributes to the emerging marketing and entrepreneurship interface paradigm by examining the role of entrepreneurship in the innovation based competitive strategy and refining and testing measures of entrepreneurship, organizational innovation, and sustained competitive advantage.
Post Millennial Meanderings on the Culture of Creativity
Authors: Fillis Ian
Published: June 2010

This paper offers some thoughts on the current state of play in creative thinking and practice, and how we as entrepreneurial marketers might embrace an alternative methodology in order to promote an improved understanding of business.
Entrepreneurial Ventures and Small Business
Authors: Sakarya Tapan Sema
Published: June 2010

Both small and large businesses are of critical importance to the performance of the economy. It is useful however to draw a distinction between entrepreneurial ventures and individual and corporate entrepreneurship since they serve different economic functions and their potentials for innovation and growth are different. In this paper, drawing upon entrepreneurial strategy formation perspective, entrepreneurial marketing, and value innovation logic for high growth, a model of a transitional entrepreneurial mode for the behaviour and the strategic approach of the entrepreneurial venture is introduced. It is proposed that a shift into the entrepreneurial mode is instrumental in planning and initiating new ventures, and, in achieving a forward leap in the growth trend at any point in the life of ongoing ventures. The study of the franchised business, the business format franchisor and their partnership as examples of individual, corporate and collective entrepreneurship contributes to the domain of entrepreneurship research. The growing appreciation of franchising as an entrepreneurial endeavour presents us with a multiple disciplinary perspective is attracting the attention of marketing, management, entrepreneurship and small business researchers. The roles of the franchisor and the franchisee in business format franchising are discussed in order to demonstrate the limitations of small business in adopting an entrepreneurial mode.
Networking as an Entrepreneurial Aid to Export Marketing
Authors: Gilmore Audrey , Carson David , Cummins Darryl , O’Donnell Aodheen , Gallagher Damian
Published: June 2010

In many peripheral regional economies, the decline in indigenous industries has shifted the focus of attention onto SMEs. With a small firm base and a small local market, an economic priority in a regional economy is to instigate growth. In this context exporting is an essential growth strategy for SMEs. Therefore, the focus of this study was to understand what stimulates SME entrepreneurs to initiate export marketing, examine the difficulties and problems they encounter and ascertain what marketing activities can be used to overcome these and ensure their success in export marketing. In pursuing these issues, the findings illustrate the value of networking as an aid for entrepreneurial exporting activities. The overall conclusion of this study was that SME entrepreneurs were moving rapidly from initial stimulation to their current export positions, encountering a variety of difficulties and problems. In order to overcome these problems SME entrepreneurs used networking extensively and responded to opportunities by benefiting from their inherent flexibility and developing marketing activities to suit specific export markets.
The Internet as a Marketing Interface for Welsh Speciality Small and Medium‐sized Agri‐food Enterprises
Authors: Sparkes Adrian , Thomas Brychan , Clifton Nick , Rosales Marco
Published: June 2010

A major challenge facing Welsh speciality Small and Medium‐sized Agri‐food Enterprises (SMAFEs) is how to sustain growth in a global market. This can be enhanced through e‐commerce and the marketing of product through the Internet to an international audience. Recent research carried out by the Welsh Enterprise Institute (WEI) found that there may only be 10 per cent of Welsh SMAFEs using the Internet for this purpose. The challenge, therefore, is how to enable SMAFEs to market effectively their products; to put these small firms not only in contact with local markets but also international markets; to ensure a range of “authentic” food products is available to Welsh communities in other countries and those people with affinity to “all things Welsh”; and to establish channels that facilitate repeat purchase by visitors to Wales. This challenge can be responded to by enabling SMAFEs to gain access to the Internet and to be confidence in its use, to develop “user friendly” Web sites, to link to overseas markets through the Internet, and to establish a long‐term customer base. The WEI has undertaken a two stage survey to measure SMAFE usage of e‐mail and the Internet in Wales. The buying habits of Welsh Affinity Groups (WAGs) on the Internet in the USA, Canada and other countries has also been studied and it is planned to establish network links between the SMAFEs and the WAGs, and communities overseas. This paper describes the survey of SMAFEs in Wales and reports on the analysis of the findings together with recommendations for the establishment of a comprehensive Welsh food portal. This is related to the study of the WAGs in the USA and Canada and a proposal for the development of a virtual “market place” between the SMAFEs and the WAGs is explored. The WEI has joined forces with Web design companies WebAware and MAWR Ltd., to offer high quality consultancy and advice to provide Web site and e‐commerce solutions relevant to SMAFEs to create an anticipated multi‐million pound net gain to Wales and the Welsh Agri‐food sector through world‐wide sales. A Welsh food portal is therefore of immense importance as a marketing entrepreneurship interfacing tool not only to Agri‐food enterprises in Wales but also to customers from across the World. The paper concludes by arguing for the need for appropriate support to be provided for speciality Welsh SMAFEs to make them aware of the importance of the adoption of e‐commerce including the Internet and Web sites. This paper is a version of one that has been published in the International Journal of Applied Marketing, published by International Marketing Journals, ISSN: 1742‐2612.
Contractor Evaluation in the Aerospace Industry: Using the Evidential Reasoning Approach
Authors: Graham Gary , Hardaker Glenn
Published: June 2010

This paper reports the application of an evidential reasoning (ER) approach, to deal with the evaluation of a contractor, from among different fabrication options of aero‐engine equipment. This is followed by a review of current evaluation practices, which begins by highlighting their limitations and then goes on to justify the use of an evidential reasoning approach. The evaluation model is discussed and techniques for articulating the original evaluation data are also explored. A hypothetical selection problem involving the evaluation of different fabrication options for aero‐engine equipment is then examined using this approach. Given the role of small firms as sub‐contractors, and the difficulties that they face in managing the pricing part of the marketing mix, which is heightened when tendering is involved, this paper has lessons that extend outside of the particular industry that forms the case study. The case study itself draws from the real life experience of actual defence contract assessors.
Competition and Co‐operation between Small Firms and Their Competitors
Authors: O’Donnell Aodheen , Carson David , Gilmore Audrey
Published: June 2010

The concept of co‐operation amongst competitors has been considered for some time in the marketing literature generally, and in the small firm marketing literature specifically. However, despite the recognition that small firms do co‐operate, there has been comparatively little attention paid to the ways in which such co‐operation takes place. Co‐operation amongst small firms tends to be only conceptualised as a group of competitors banding together to create a market presence and compete against larger, more established firms. Based on a series of in‐depth interviews with owner‐managers of small firms in a wide array of industry sectors, this paper examines the relationships that small firm owner‐managers maintain with their competitors. Specifically it reports that cooperation between competitors takes place at various levels with so‐called joint venture arrangements such as that described above, representing just one type of co‐operative behaviour. It further highlights the circumstances where co‐operation is likely to occur and how this co‐operation is manifest by examining the motivations for co‐operation and expected and actual outcomes. It also discusses the factors which may preclude cooperation between small firms and their competitors. Such factors include the nature of the industry sector, the level of competition in the market, the size of the competing firms, the age of the small firm, the existence of an association that represents the industry, the perceived level of professionalism within the industry and trust amongst firms.
Shaping up word of mouth marketing strategy: the case of an independent health club
Authors: Stokes David , Syed Sameera Ali , Lomax Wendy
Published: June 2010

Owner‐managers of small businesses invariably cite word of mouth recommendations as the principal way in which they attract new customers. Marketing theory is under‐developed in this field with little empirical evidence about the recommending behaviour of small business customers and referral groups. The case study of an independent health club reported here illustrates how these processes can be researched and the results used to influence word of mouth recommendations. The owner‐manager of the club carried out some basic research on his customer base in order to identify the types of members who were most active in recommending the club, and the stimuli that led to recommendations being made. A key finding was that newer members were more likely to recommend than those who had been members for some time, contradicting the implications of relationship marketing theories that long standing customers generate most recommendations. Membership more than doubled following a number of activities designed to increase recommending behaviour. The most important stimuli to recommendations were believed to be involvement with the club, incentives and experiential factors. The case study indicates that word of mouth strategies benefit from research to find out which customers are recommending the business, what they are recommending about the business and what prompts them to do so.
Small Firm Marketing Theory and Practice: Insights From The Outside
Authors: Fillis Ian
Published: June 2010

Previous work by the author has focused on examining the limitations of the marketing concept and its associated frameworks, processes and prescriptions focusing on a planned, strategic, linear, lower risk future for the firm. Emerging research has shown that such frameworks are now dated, despite being continually taught at business schools. Recent research at the interface between Marketing and Entrepreneurship has shown that, as a result of the inadequacies identified, there is hope for the entrepreneurial marketer (practitioner and academician alike) through the generation of alternative perspectives, and ultimately the formation of competing paradigms of marketing enquiry. Small firm marketing research shows that theories of networking, creativity, opportunity recognition and word of mouth marketing are much more valid in terms of their explanation and understanding of how such a firm behaves, rather than to endeavour to fit the square pegs of traditional marketing theory into the dynamic holes of the smaller firm operating environment. Drawing on alternative methodologies from outside the realms of marketing, this paper presents some thoughts on the merits of embracing the philosophy of researchers and practitioners in the arts and other creative fields in order to reach a more valid understanding of smaller firm behaviour.
Cluster Theory and Practice: Advantages for the Small Business Locating in a Vibrant Cluster
Authors: Kuah Adrian T.H.
Published: June 2010

This paper seeks to review the state of knowledge to this much talked‐about paradigm, first made famous by Porter (1990). Clusters are a striking and common feature in today’s economy. Nonetheless, this phenomenon is not exactly new and has been the object of attention from a wide variety of social scientists for much of this century. In the last ten years, this phenomenon has attracted renewed interest from academics, practitioners, and the British Government – who have become aware of its central importance in competitive strategy. An understanding of clusters adds an important dimension to the more commonly debated role of personal contact networks in the success of entrepreneurial small business.
Entrepreneurship, Marketing and Leadership in Non‐Profit Performing Arts Organisations
Authors: Rentschler Ruth , Geursen Gus
Published: June 2010

This paper argues that the entrepreneurial leader in non‐profit Performing Arts Organisations (PAOs) has received too little attention in literature pertaining to these organisations. This criticism also applies to museums. The paper explores how leaders in non‐profit performing arts organisations balance the interests of the various funding sources and market opportunities to service their revenue requirements. It reviews a tension in non‐profit performing arts organisations: the relationship between limited funding and the subsequent need to act entrepreneurially and innovatively among the various funding sources. Using longitudinal analysis of annual reports, the paper uncovers interplay essential to entrepreneurship. Hence, strategies and tensions are highlighed that non‐profit leaders have used. Comparisons are made with non‐profit art museums which previous research has shown have the same funding tensions.
Networks Among Irish Information Communications and Technologies (ICT) Firms
Authors: Torres Ann M. , Whyte Martin A.
Published: June 2010

This paper explores how Irish information, communication, and technologies (ICT) firms use networks to achieve objectives and commercialise technology. The research availed of Heracleous and Murray’s (2001) taxonomy of networks, based on the dimensions of interdependence and durability was used to classify and provide insight into the nature of networks. The benefits accruing from network participation are reputational benefits by association, learning and informational advantages, as well as shared resources. The research surveys members of the Information Technology Association of Galway (ITAG), an ICT network in Galway, Ireland. The findings indicate ITAG members participate in various networks simultaneously and there are different motivations and drawbacks associated with each network type. The preference is for short‐term collaborative forms, which provide immediate returns.
Customer‐Value Based Marketing Activities in Fast‐Growth Firms
Authors: Tan Swee Lin Caroline , Smyrnios Kosmas X.
Published: June 2010

This study investigates customer‐value based marketing activities in emerging or new fast‐growth ventures. A contextual analysis of interview data identified seven customer‐value based marketing activities actively pursued synergistically by fast growth firms: employee branding, target marketing, marketing planning marketing/market research, product differentiation via quality, relationship marketing, and guerrilla marketing. These elements form a complex web in which each marketing activity complements the other. There are three main implications: all marketing activities are intertwined, in line with marketing theory and practice associated with large firms; most marketing activities undertaken are low cost; and establishing a winning reputation is an important objective. CEOs associate reputation with brand building via employees.
Nordic Perspectives on Marketing and Research in the Marketing/Entrepreneurship Interface
Authors: Hultman Claes M.
Published: June 2010

In this article the important contributions in marketing made by Nordic researchers and its applicability to studies of the marketing/entrepreneurship interface will be discussed. It is argued that much of the contemporary Nordic research in marketing, for example, networks, relationship marketing and recent phenomena such as strategic alliances and imaginary organisations, is important for the understanding of marketing behaviour in entrepreneurial.