bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Supply chain best practices – identification and categorisation of measures and benefits
Authors: Cuthbertson Richard , Piotrowicz Wojciech
Published: August 2008

Purpose

This research aims to identify, categorise and compare supply chain measures and benefits listed in literature‐based case studies that were named as “best practices”.

Design/methodology/approach

The research applies iterative triangulation which is a method used to build theories from existing case studies. Selected case studies collected by project partners are used as a source of secondary data. The paper applies various approaches to classifying supply chains as well as identifying the difference between measures proposed in the literature and those used by case companies.

Findings

The analysis of the selected sample of cases indicated that the most common measures were related to economic aspects and to operational level activities. There is a lack of shared supply chain measures at the inter‐organizational level, while social and environmental aspects are largely ignored.

Originality/value

The majority of the measures identified in the collected cases were economic (relating to cost, time, quality and customer). Metrics at an operational level dominate, while supply chain metrics are hardly used. Findings indicate that current performance measurement approaches do not generally include social and environmental issues, which are becoming increasingly important in business.
Can Six Sigma be effectively implemented in SMEs?
Authors: Antony Jiju
Published: August 2008

Purpose

This paper aims to present the viewpoints from a number of leading practitioners and academics on the subject “Can Six Sigma be effectively deployed in small and medium‐sized enterprises (SMEs)?”.

Design/methodology/approach

A number of academics and practitioners were interviewed by the author to collate their opinions and views on the above subject.

Findings

The results of the study clearly indicate that Six Sigma is equally applicable to both large corporations and small companies. In fact, the results are quicker and much more visible in smaller companies than in larger corporations.

Originality/value

This paper provides an excellent resource for those people who believe that Six Sigma is primarily meant for large companies. It also makes an attempt to remove one of the common myths of Six Sigma.
Innovation and enterprise: the foundations of developing productivity
Authors: Heap John
Published: August 2008

Purpose

This paper aims to examine issues of government policy in creating an infrastructure that supports innovation and expertise.

Design/methodology/approach

The approach is to reflect on trends in global trade and the role played by governments in supporting such trade.

Findings

It is shown that Governments do indeed have a crucial role to play but they must tread a balanced line between support and over‐regulation.

Practical implications

The paper suggests approaches that governments might adopt to improve the support they offer to organisations which wish to be innovative and enterprising.

Originality/value

The paper is a useful summary of the role of government in promoting innovation and enterprise.
MPM's productivity improvement project approach in provinces
Authors: Peşkircioğlu Nurettin
Published: August 2008

Purpose

The aim of this paper is to summarise the characteristics of, and results from, a large‐scale project to promote productivity improvement throughout Turkey's provinces.

Design/methodology/approach

The paper describes the aims and approach of the project leading to a quantitative summary of outputs.

Findings

The Turkish Productivity Center (MPM), through the information gained by these projects, has been able to implement a range of productivity improvement projects at the regional and sector level in subsequent periods.

Practical implications

The paper acts as a useful model for other productivity support agencies which wish to create wide‐ranging intervention programmes at regional and national level.

Originality/value

The paper gives important details about the foreground and background activities involved in running a major national project.
High‐involvement innovation practices at Finnish workplaces
Authors: Alasoini Tuomo , Heikkilä Asko , Ramstad Elise , Ylöstalo Pekka
Published: August 2008

Purpose

This paper seeks to examine the dissemination of high‐involvement innovation practices at Finnish workplaces and to consider how their adoption can be promoted by means of a publicly‐funded R&D programme.

Design/methodology/approach

The empirical material is based on a survey by the Finnish Workplace Development Programme TYKES. (TYKES is a governmental R&D programme for promoting simultaneous improvements in productivity and the quality of working life by granting funding to development projects at Finnish workplaces.)

Findings

The interim results of the survey provide a strong evidence‐based argument in favour of the supportive role of the programme.

Practical implications

The paper suggests areas where governments might introduce support programmes to foster the spread of innovative activity.

Originality/value

The paper provides insights into support policy issues in Finland and will be of interest to those involved in that field.
Process performance measurement in manufacturing organizations
Authors: Nenadál Jaroslav
Published: August 2008

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to examine the weaknesses which result in the concept of process performance measurement being ineffectively translated into effective measurement and action regimes.

Design/methodology/approach

In spite of the fact that process performance measurement is an obligatory requirement included in chapter 8 of the ISO 9001 standard, there are still a number of problems and weaknesses related to such measurement. The paper discusses these and some lessons learned from the author's personal experience (gained from auditing and self‐assessment projects).

Findings

The paper highlights common weaknesses in implementing measurement regimes to monitor and control core processes.

Practical implications

The paper suggests areas and issues that organisations might consider to improve the way in which they adopt and exploit process performance measurement.

Originality/value

The paper summarises the current state of practical process performance measurement with its attendant weaknesses.
Social innovation, the new challenge for Europe
Authors: Pot Frank , Vaas Fietje
Published: August 2008

Purpose

This study sets out to describe activities within The Netherlands Centre for Social Innovation, one of the earliest national bodies to promote and develop the concept of social innovation.

Design/methodology/approach

The paper describes the concept of social innovation and then illustrates how the activities of The Netherlands Centre relate to this concept, within the context of Dutch social and political systems.

Findings

It is found that individual and group performance is not directly the result of employee satisfaction or motivation, but of involvement and commitment through workers' representation and work organisation. These measures appear to be much more effective than courses in individual stress management, although there are circumstances in which such courses can help.

Practical implications

The paper describes how one country is attempting to take forward the concept of social innovation. It should be useful to other national development agencies.

Originality/value

The paper helps one to understand how national governments act in relation to emerging work‐related welfare and development concepts.
The future of manufacturing industry in Europe
Authors: Kuivanen Risto
Published: August 2008

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to examine the challenges facing European manufacturing industry in an age of increasing global competitiveness and to explore models for survival.

Design/methodology/approach

The paper reflects on trends in global manufacturing and examines the issues faced by European manufacturers.

Findings

Manufacturing still has an important role to play in ensuring community welfare; and there are ways in which European manufacturing industry can establish a secure future.

Practical implications

The paper suggests ways in which industry, supported by government, might change to become more competitive in an era of global competition.

Originality/value

The paper presents a useful exploration of the issues and challenges facing modern manufacturing organisations in Europe.
A fuzzy service adaptation engine for context‐aware mobile computing middleware
Authors: Cheung Ronnie , Yao Gang , Cao Jiannong , Chan Alvin
Published: August 2008

Purpose

Context‐aware mobile computing extends the horizons of the conventional computing model to a ubiquitous computing environment that serves users at anytime, anywhere. To achieve this, mobile applications need to adapt their behaviors to the changing context. The purpose of this paper is to present a generalized adaptive middleware infrastructure for context‐aware computing.

Design/methodology/approach

Owing to the vague nature of context and uncertainty in context aggregation for making adaptation decisions, the paper proposes a fuzzy‐based service adaptation model (FSAM) to improve the generality and effectiveness of service adaptation using fuzzy theory.

Findings

By the means of fuzzification of the context and measuring the fitness degree between the current context and the predefined optimal context, FSAM selects the most suitable policy to adopt for the most appropriate service. The paper evaluates the middleware together with the FSAM inference engine by using a Campus Assistant application.

Originality/value

The paper is of value in presenting a generalized adaptive middleware infrastructure for context‐aware computing and also comparing the performance of the fuzzy‐based solution with a conventional threshold‐based approach for context‐aware adaptation.
Scalable and adaptive context delivery mechanism for context‐aware computing
Authors: Mehedy Lenin , Lee Sungyoung , Muhammad Salim Zabir Salahuddin , Lee Young‐Koo
Published: August 2008

Purpose

Presence of innumerable sensors, complex deduction of contexts from sensor data, and reusability of contextual information impose the requirement of middleware for context aware computing. Smart applications, hosted in myriad devices (e.g. PDA, mobile, PCs), acquire different contexts from the middleware and act intelligently based on the available contexts in a context‐aware computing environment. As the system grows larger, scalable delivery of contexts from the middleware to numerous context‐aware applications will be inevitable. However, pure unicast based or pure broadcast‐based dissemination cannot provide high scalability as well as low‐average latency. The purpose of this paper is to present a scalable context delivery mechanism for the middlewares to facilitate the development of larger context‐aware computing systems.

Design/methodology/approach

The proposed scheme is based on hybrid data dissemination technique where the most frequently requested data (e.g. HOT contexts) are delivered through multicast and the rest (e.g. COLD contexts) are delivered through unicast to reduce network traffic. The paper dynamically prioritizes and classifies the HOT and COLD context data depending on the number of requests and longest waiting time. Moreover, the division of bandwidth between the delivery of HOT and COLD contexts reduces average latency. Polling traffic is decreased by incorporating leasing mechanism. Extensive simulation is conducted to evaluate the proposed scheme.

Findings

The mechanism dynamically prioritizes and classifies the hot and cold context data depending on the request rate and longest waiting time. The solution addresses the push popularity problem that occurs in the passive as the passive clients access data without sending explicit requests. The leasing mechanism is incorporated to reduce the periodical requests (polling) for better performance.

Originality/value

The paper is of value in presenting a scalable context delivery mechanism for the middlewares to facilitate the development of larger context‐aware computing systems and also in presenting implementation details of a prototype that is developed using Jini framework and Java reliable multicast service (JRMS) library.
Traffic adaptive IEEE 802.15.4 medium access control
Authors: Chae Yohan , Kwon Younggoo
Published: August 2008

Purpose

IEEE 802.15.4 is a new standard uniquely designed for low‐rate wireless sensor networks (WSNs). It targets low data rate, low power consumption and low‐cost wireless networking, and offers device level wireless connectivity. The purpose of this paper is to propose a traffic adaptive power control algorithm for beacon relayed distributed WSNs.

Design/methodology/approach

A general coordinated sleeping algorithm and the traffic adaptive algorithm are combined in an IEEE 802.15.4 MAC protocol to achieve high‐energy efficiency and high performance at the same time.

Findings

By observing the sporadic traffic and beacon relaying characteristics of WSNs, the paper proposes a traffic‐adaptive IEEE 802.15.4 MAC with a coordinated sleeping algorithm. Based on various performance studies, it was found that the proposed algorithm can significantly improve power consumptions in wireless sensor networks.

Originality/value

The paper is of value in proposing a traffic adaptive power control algorithm showing highly efficient power consumptions in low‐traffic conditions as well as with an acceptable degree of adaptation to high‐traffic conditions. In delay performance, it shows longer delay performance compared with other schemes because of the beacon relay procedure while the proposed algorithm reduces the power consumptions dramatically.
Broadcasting four types of reports to read only transactions in mobile computing environments
Authors: Kim Daein , Hwang Buhyun
Published: August 2008

Purpose

Recently the advances in wireless communication technology and the popularity of portable computers have rendered mobile computing environments from which mobile users with battery‐operated palmtops can access the information via wireless channels, without space and time restriction. In mobile computing environments, mobile users cache the data items to use the bandwidth efficiently and improve the response time of mobile transactions. If the data items cached in mobile users are updated at the server, the server broadcasts an invalidation report for maintaining the cache consistency of mobile users. However, this method has an obstacle that does not guarantee the serializable execution of mobile transactions. The purpose of this paper is to propose the four types of reports for mobile transaction (FTR‐MT) method for ensuring the serializable execution of mobile transactions.

Design/methodology/approach

The paper describes the FTR‐MT method, which is composed of four types of algorithms, e.g. group report composition algorithm, immediate commit decision algorithm, cache consistency algorithm, and disconnection cache consistency algorithm. FTR‐MT method for improving the response time of mobile transactions makes a commit decision by using the four types of reports.

Findings

With the FTR‐MT method, mobile users can make a commit decision by using the four types of reports. The response time of mobile transactions can be reduced. Furthermore, the FTR‐MT method can improve the cache efficiency in the case that the disconnection of mobile users is longer than the broadcast interval of the window report.

Originality/value

This paper proposes a new method for guaranteeing the serializable execution of mobile transactions, called FTR‐MT, using four types of reports. Also, it can prevent the entire cache dropping, even though the disconnection of a mobile host is longer than the broadcast interval of a window report. Through the analytical model, this method is felt to be superior to other methods, in terms of the average response time and the commit rate of mobile transactions, and bandwidth usage.
A speech and character combined recognition engine for mobile devices
Authors: Suk Soo‐Young , Chung Hyun‐Yeol
Published: August 2008

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to describe a speech and character combined recognition engine (SCCRE) developed for working on personal digital assistants (PDAs) or on mobile devices. Also, the architecture of a distributed recognition system for providing a more convenient user interface is discussed.

Design/methodology/approach

In SCCRE, feature extraction for speech and for character is carried out separately, but the recognition is performed in an engine. The client recognition engine essentially employs a continuous hidden Markov model (CHMM) structure and this CHMM structure consists of variable parameter topology in order to minimize the number of model parameters and to reduce recognition time. This model also adopts the proposed successive state and mixture splitting (SSMS) method for generating context independent model. SSMS optimizes the number of mixtures through splitting in mixture domain and the number of states through splitting in time domain.

Findings

The recognition results show that the developed engine can reduce the total number of Gaussian up to 40 per cent compared with the fixed parameter models at the same recognition performance when applied to speech recognition for mobile devices. It shows that SSMS can reduce the size of memory for models to 65 per cent and that for processing to 82 per cent. Moreover, the recognition time decreases 17 per cent with the SMS model while maintaining the recognition rate.

Originality/value

The proposed system will be very useful for many on‐line multimodal interfaces such as PDAs and mobile applications.
Bank stock repurchase extent and measures of corporate governance
Authors: Webb Elizabeth
Published: August 2008

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to examine the relationship between the extent of stock repurchase and measures of corporate governance.

Design/methodology/approach

Using a sample of stock repurchase announcements by banks after the 2002 tax reform, the paper uses an event study methodology to confirm the positive market response to stock repurchase announcements. A regression analysis is then used to study the determinants of the abnormal response to the bank stock repurchases. Regression analysis is also used to analyze whether corporate governance variables are significant determinants of bank extent of stock repurchases and size.

Findings

Corporate governance techniques have little impact on market response to bank stock announcements, but are related to some extent to manager decisions regarding the stock repurchase. Board structure and executive/director stock ownership do not influence the market's response to repurchases. However, in some cases board structure is positively related to management's decision regarding the extent and size of the repurchase offer. Proportion of insider equity holdings has less influence on stock repurchase characteristics.

Practical implications

Board structure may have a more important role to play in the banking industry in regards to managerial decision‐making than equity ownership. Equity ownership in banks tends to be driven by bank size and therefore may have less of an impact on reducing agency problems within the banking industry.

Originality/value

The sample is taken after the 2002 tax reform, which provides an analysis of repurchases without tax effect implications. This is the first paper to study the contribution of board structure and equity ownership to stock repurchases in publicly‐traded banks.
Is there information content in corporate asset writedowns?
Authors: Datta Sudip , Iskandar‐Datta Mai
Published: August 2008

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to extend the current literature on corporate asset writedowns.

Design/methodology/approach

The paper explains the anomalous price responses to asset writedowns by examining both stock and bond price responses. It applies bond and stock event study methodologies using daily prices. Firms are analyzed by partitioning them according to their financial viability. This analysis is based on the logic that it is more difficult to assess the prospects of firms in financial difficulty from publicly available information.

Findings

The study reveals that while asset writedowns have no information content for stockholders of healthy firms, stockholders of financial distressed firms suffer a significant adverse effect. This differential stock price reaction provides an explanation for the anomalous results reported in previous studies. Similar price responses are found for bondholders. The results indicate that the market interprets an asset writedown announcement by a financially distressed firm as a strong negative signal about the firm's prospects. It is also found that the firm's financial health, the subordination status of the bond, the bond's maturity, the bond rating, the amount of the write‐off undertaken by a firm in distress, and the leverage change experienced by the firm are all important determinants to bond price response. Long‐run analysis reveals significant differences in performance and leverage change between healthy and financially distressed firms undertaking asset writedowns.

Practical implications

The paper resolves the anomalous results on information content of corporate asset writedown announcements on stockholders and bondholders. Broadly, the findings have important implications for both finance and accounting literatures in terms of semi‐strong market efficiency and security market signaling issues and the importance of considering financial viability of firms when testing market efficiency in the presence of publicly available information.

Originality/value

This is the first study to address this issue by examining the information content of asset writedown announcements for both stockholders and bondholders. Past studies document a significant negative stock price response to asset writedown announcements, while there is no bond price response to such official acknowledgment of asset impairment.
Relative efficiency measures for the knowledge economies in the Asia Pacific region
Authors: Boon Tan Hui , Wooi Hooy Chee , Islam Sardar M.N. , Manzoni Alex
Published: August 2008

Purpose

The objective of this paper is to assess the relative efficiency of 12 selected Asia Pacific countries in their development of knowledge‐based economies (KEs).

Design/methodology/approach

The performances of the selected countries are evaluated using data envelopment analysis (DEA).

Findings

The DEA scores indicate that four of the emerging countries (India, Indonesia, Thailand and Mainland China) are relatively inefficient in K‐E development compared to the other eight which are equally efficient. The main reason for their backwardness is due to the outflow of their human capital resource to the developed countries. This seriously undermines the level of their K‐E development compared to their counterparts. The results also indicate that knowledge dissemination is generally not a serious problem, except for India.

Research limitations/implications

The results and the discussion should be taken as the first step in an analysis which warrants further research. The knowledge clusters identified earlier could suggest that thek‐economy may be better studied by its components where the more diagnostic versions of the DEA model can be applied.

Practical implications

The importance of this study however, is not so much the immediate result which highlights comparative efficiencies, but rather that DEA is a workable model which can take the study of KE further in investigating the contributory factors of KE.

Originality/value

This paper makes an original contribution because a comprehensive analysis of this type, of relative performance measures of the knowledge economy in the Asia Pacific countries, has not been done before using the quantitative technique of DEA.
A review of recent approaches for capturing heterogeneity in partial least squares path modelling
Authors: Sarstedt Marko
Published: August 2008

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to critically review the latest approaches for capturing and explaining heterogeneity in partial least squares (PLS) path modelling and to classify these into a methodological taxonomy. Furthermore, several areas for future research effort are introduced in order to stimulate ongoing development in this important research field.

Design/methodology/approach

Different approaches to treat heterogeneity in PLS path models are introduced, critically evaluated and classified into a methodological taxonomy. Future research directions are derived from a comparison of benefits and limitations of the procedures.

Findings

The review reveals that finite mixture‐PLS can be regarded as the most comprehensive and commonly used procedure for capturing heterogeneity within a PLS path modelling framework. However, further research is necessary to explore the capabilities and limitations of the approach.

Research limitations/implications

Directions for additional research, common to most latent class detection procedures include the verification and comparison of available approaches, the handling of large data sets, the allowance of varying structures of path models, the profiling of segments and the problem of model selection.

Originality/value

Whereas modelling heterogeneity in covariance structure analysis has been studied for several years, research interest has only recently been devoted to the question of clustering in PLS path modelling. This is the first contribution which critically consolidates available approaches, discloses problematic aspects and addresses significant areas for future research.
Measuring and managing franchisee satisfaction: a study of academic franchising
Authors: Abdullah Firdaus , Rashidee Alwi Mohd , Lee Nagarajah , Boo Ho Voon
Published: August 2008

Purpose

This paper attempts to explore different approaches of franchisee satisfaction within an academic setting, develop and validate a new measuring instrument, examine the key factors and the intention to remain in the network, and eventually manage the franchise network for long‐term continuity.

Design/methodology/approach

The survey instrument was drawn from a multi‐stage process involving extensive review of literature, focus group interviews, pilot testing and validation by the experts before being administered to a sample population consisting top managers of franchised colleges. The new instrument was empirically tested for unidimensionality, reliability and validity using both exploratory and confirmatory factor analysis.

Findings

The findings suggest five dimensions of franchisee satisfaction namely social interaction, service support, financing, assurance and competence. Results also indicate that the dimension “competence” which relates to possession of required skills, knowledge and the right attitude to perform franchise services has significantly influenced the overall satisfaction.

Research limitations/implications

The five dimensions of franchisee satisfaction may be specific to academic setting.

Practical implications

Academic institutions should be able to ascertain the level of services provided, and to determine which dimensions need improvement. Knowing the strengths and weaknesses of these dimensions and their relative influence may result in better allocation of resources so as to provide a better service to the franchised colleges.

Originality/value

Another contribution to the franchising literature by advancing a new 23‐item measuring instrument, specifically tailored for academic franchising. This is a tool that academic institutions could use to improve their performance in the light of increased competition with the development of global academic franchising.
The impact of Nigeria's external debt on economic development
Authors: Adegbite Esther O. , Ayadi Folorunso S. , Felix Ayadi O.
Published: August 2008

Purpose

This paper aims to investigate the impact of huge external debt with its servicing requirements on economic growth of the Nigerian economy so as to make meaningful inference on the impact of the debt relief which was granted to the country in 2006.

Design/methodology/approach

The neoclassical growth model which incorporates external sector, debt indicators and some macroeconomic variables was employed in this study. The paper investigates the linear and nonlinear effect of debt on growth and investment utilizing the ordinary least squares and the generalized least squares.

Findings

Among other things, the negative impact of debt (and its servicing requirements) on growth is confirmed in Nigeria. In addition, external debt contributes positively to growth up to a point after which its contributions become negative reflecting the presence of nonlinearity in effects.

Originality/value

Nigeria's external debt is analyzed in a new context utilizing a different but innovative model and econometric techniques. It is of tremendous value to researchers on related topic and an effective policy guide to policymakers in Nigeria and other countries with similar characteristics.
Motivation, influences, and perceived effect of ICT adoption in Botswana organizations
Authors: Iyanda Olukunle , Ojo Sunday O.
Published: August 2008

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to examine the motivation, influences, and perceived effect of information and communication technology (ICT) adoption in Botswana organizations. While a conceptual model of the adoption process in developed countries has been studied, not much empirical studies have been undertaken. This paper is an attempt to bridge this gap. Specifically, the paper addresses five questions: What motivated organizations in Botswana in their decision to adopt ICT in their operations? What factors, internal and external, influenced the adoption decision? Which sources did the organizations contact for information on the adoption of ICT? What is the relative importance of those influencing/motivating factors and information sources? What are the perceived effects of adoption?

Design/methodology/approach

The study was carried out using a survey method. The main instrument is a personally administered questionnaire that was based on items obtained and adapted from literature. Data were collected from a judgment sample of 29 business and public sector establishments, drawn from nine towns and cities of Botswana. The respondent in each organization was either the IT manager or the chief executive. The initial stage of the adoption process is examined by identifying, in the sample Botswana organizations, the internal and external proponents of the ICT adoption process, the sources from which organizations seek technical information, their perceived relative importance in the process, and the effect of adoption on organizations' activities.

Findings

The study found that ICT application in Botswana was still at an elementary stage, mainly communications and recordkeeping. In terms of motivation and influence, the competitive motive and internal sources of information and influence were dominant and that the overall effect of ICT adoption on several organizational activities was moderately positive.

Originality/value

The identification of the key sources of influence and information for the adoption of ICT helps ICT marketing companies to target their marketing efforts more specifically, and services offered limited to basic needs that are relevant to the use to which ICT is currently applied in Botswana. Widespread adoption of ICT has turned it into a kind of “hygiene” factor rather than a “motivator”. In spite of the positive effect adoption has on various activities of adopting organizations, adoption benefits are matched by similar benefits of competing organizations, thus conferring no competitive advantages. It is only in the absence of adoption that those organizations adopting enjoy such competitive advantage.
Trends in the development of technology and engineering education in emerging economies
Authors: Adegbuyi P.A.O. , Uhomoibhi J.O.
Published: August 2008

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to report on the nature of technology and engineering education provision in developing economies, focusing on Nigeria.

Design/methodology/approach

The paper draws on recent developments in the shake up and implementation of new measures to call for quality technology and engineering education in the country, following changes brought about by new education and administrative structures and the new policies being promulgated by both the now democratically elected government working in tandem with universities throughout the country. Issues relating to methods, curriculum, contents, quality and related are examined and reported. The role of planning, input from engineering industries, improved competition and expanded export of engineering services are all investigated and presented.

Findings

The paper finds that the establishment of stability in governance of state and universities is signaling positive and upward trend in the implementation of informed policies for improved technology and engineering education in universities which could herald improved economy and conditions of life in the country.

Originality/value

In the wake of new developments in education in emerging economies such as Nigeria, the need to take stock and review systems for technology and engineering education is highlighted. Using available information, issues affecting present developments and education practice, some suggestions are provided for the future.
Cross cultural marketing teachers' profile
Authors: Vila Natalia , Kuster Boluda Ines
Published: August 2008

Purpose

Marketing has attracted increased interested over the past 15 years in both academic and commercial circles and there has been a market rise in the number of students. At the university level, the characteristics of the teacher play an essential role in student/teacher interaction and influence academic results and future professional success. This influence is revealed in three main areas: the choice of subjects, teaching media and teaching methods. The purpose of this paper is to identify the most commonly found marketing teacher profile and the differences among marketing teachers with respect to the marketing subjects that they impart and the media and methods that they use.

Design/methodology/approach

International research was carried out among 135 marketing teachers from universities in Europe and the USA. The AMS directory was used. Respondents were representative of the research‐active marketing academic community. The Z‐test was used to contrast the hypotheses. To answer the research questions, χ2 method was used to analyse significant differences between the different groups (male/female; old/young; expert/unexperienced; PhD/master degree/bachelor degree).

Findings

With the exception of age, no significant differences have been identified in marketing teacher profiles between North American and European universities. The most common marketing lecturer profile is that of a man, over 35 years old, with more than 15 years of experience, and with a PhD degree.

Originality/value

The paper presents some interesting results with regard to marketing subjects, teaching media and teaching methods that marketing lecturers select according to their gender, age, years of experience, and degree of training.
E‐learning in a university interdisciplinary and bilingual context
Authors: Ruiz‐Molina Maria‐Eugenia , Cuadrado‐Garcia Manuel
Published: August 2008

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to discuss the use of virtual learning environments in multicultural higher education of two different subjects: foreign language and marketing.

Design/methodology/approach

The paper describes the aims, development and results of an interdisciplinary collaboration project was held between two European universities through a webCT system, where students had to work on linguistic aspects and economic and management topics.

Findings

Univariate analysis shows students to have a great interest in the project. Different multivariate techniques determine a strong positive relationship between students' participation, implication and motivation in the project and their individual final grades in the course. Regression also proved that the more exciting and challenging the class activities, and the higher the student's active participation, the better the results obtained by the student.

Research limitations/implications

Even if it is an exploratory research that should be replicated in other contexts, both the qualitative and quantitative results seem to confirm the positive contribution of this interdisciplinary e‐learning activity to the multicultural teaching‐learning process.

Originality/value

Results support the positive influence of interdisciplinary activities in the students' performance and the use of learning methods that facilitate active and cooperative learning through audiovisual pedagogical resources in multicultural contexts.
Evaluation of cost per contact and cost per response in interactive and direct media planning
Authors: Reinares Lara Pedro , Manuel Ponzoa Jose
Published: August 2008

Purpose

The aim of this study is to analyze over time the evolution of associated costs of direct marketing in Spain and offer operational conclusions for the optimization of marketing budgets intended for the establishment of contact and/a relationship with the customer.

Design/methodology/approach

This study analyses and compares the relationship between advertising messages sent through direct mail, electronic mail, telemarketing and short cell‐phone messages (SMS), over five years. In the context of a loyalty program, and by means of a historical analysis, an alternating media marketing test is presented: a total of 10,000 contacts per medium studied per year were made.

Findings

The relationship that exists between the cost per contact and the cost per effective response for each one of the above mentioned direct and interactive media.

Practical implications

A series of operational conclusions can be extracted for direct media planning and its marketing budget optimization with regard to choice of medium according to expected response and choice of medium according to cost per response.

Originality/value

The relevance of this work is based on the relative lack of information in Spain over the cost of communications channelled through direct media. Besides, the inclusion of advertising by SMS in this work is particularly relevant due to the fact that the novelty of this media channel means that it has only been analyzed independently by very few existing studies.
A method for building new marketing channels
Authors: Cônsoli Matheus Alberto , Fava Neves Marcos
Published: August 2008

Purpose

The aim is to describe the analysis conducted by a leading company in the dairy (yogurt and fermented milk) sector in Brazil regarding the decision to implement a door‐to‐door distribution channel, in which one of the authors was involved.

Design/methodology/approach

A brief overview of the marketing channels is presented and the descriptive case study method was used to present the main company information.

Findings

The paper describes the decision‐making process that was used to define how basic services like breaking bulks, product variety, special convenience and wait time should be performed in this case. It also emphasizes the main channel decisions, the channel objectives and the chosen door‐to‐door structure for the company described in the case study.

Research limitations/implications

Even though case analysis has a theoretical background, the decision process used here cannot be generalized, being only a guide for academics and practitioners about how company A addressed the direct marketing issue.

Originality/value

The paper presents specific analysis of the Brazilian yogurt market and use as theoretical background the strategic environmental analysis. As a real case, it can be useful for practitioners as reference for decision making, as well for teaching purposes for case studies with college and MBA students. Finally, the paper presents as main contribution a “method for developing new marketing channels”.
Cognitive strategy from the Romance of the Three Kingdoms
Authors: Teck Foo Check
Published: August 2008

Purpose

The Romance of the Three Kingdoms (RTK) is probably the most popular classical novel in Chinese literature. Of more than 1,000 characters in this extensive, three‐volume novel, Kong Ming in RTK is widely seen by the Chinese as the most remarkable strategist. This paper attempts to develop a cognitive schema of Kong Ming on strategy.

Design/methodology/approach

First, the paper reviews broadly the traditionally, four most popular novels within the Chinese classical literature: The Romance of the Three Kingdoms, Water Margin, Journey to the West and A Dream of the Red Mansions. After emphasizing the role of the RTK in influencing Chinese strategic thinking, the paper utilizes the methods of textual analyses in research. Focusing on a specific episode of global strategy making and taking (Chapter 38), the methodology is explained.

Findings

From textual analysis, the paper presents as its finding a schematically linear, cognitive structure of the strategy process. It also presents the central role of the “Counselor of Strategy” in Chinese strategy making process. From this research, a Kong Ming‐grounded, cognitive model of strategy process is developed. If the RTK (more than say, any MBA program) continues to influence Chinese strategy processes, then fast strategic decision making (as exemplified in our analyses) may be one of the pivotal reasons for the equally fast rise of the Chinese economy in our global economic landscape.

Originality/value

Kong Ming (or Zhuge Liang) had been hailed by the Chinese with such lofty epithets such as the “Divine Strategist”. His exploits during the declining Han dynasty and emergence of the Three Kingdoms of Wei, Shu and Wu (220‐280 CE) are still cited by the Chinese people in their daily conversations on strategy. In this paper, we draw lessons for CEOs through a Kong Ming‐grounded model for strategy.
Core capability and competitive strategy for construction SMEs in China
Authors: Chew David A.S. , Yan Shigang , Cheah Charles Y.J.
Published: August 2008

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to examine the relationship between a number of variables pertaining to core capability, competitive strategy and performance of construction small to medium size enterprises (SMEs) in China.

Design/methodology/approach

The paper consists of a quantitative survey. It involves mainly the development of instrument and testing of the hypotheses.

Findings

Core capability and competitive strategy are found to influence construction SMEs' performance. Moreover, there are positive relationships between core capability and competitive strategy. This suggests a need to align core capability and competitive strategy as a precondition for superior performance.

Research limitations/implications

The paper has limitations as a result of data collection. A somewhat larger sample would obviously permit firmer conclusions to be drawn from the results of the statistical analysis.

Originality/value

This paper will contribute to the literature on SMEs, strategic management and resource‐based theory. This integration of scope is particularly new to the context of the Chinese construction industry. Similarly, this research will have implications for practice. The research findings help SMEs' managers to understand the impact of the unique resources of their enterprises and competitive strategy.
Analyzing work attitudes of Chinese employees
Authors: Wang Xiaohui
Published: August 2008

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to investigate the work attitudes of native Chinese employees and to identify and resolve current problems challenging human resource management.

Design/methodology/approach

With an empirical design and the data collected from 991 employees of nine companies located in Guangdong, China, this research analyzes the present status of work attitudes through job satisfaction and organizational commitment. The main analytical path bases on comparing differences among demographic groups, and particularly between employees in state‐owned enterprises (SOEs) and privately‐owned enterprises (POEs).

Findings

First, it was found that employees overall show a higher level of job satisfaction and a lower level of organizational commitment; second, employees with older age and lower education tend to have higher levels of job satisfaction and organizational commitment; third, employees in POEs have a higher level of job satisfaction and organizational commitment than employees in SOEs.

Research limitations/implications

In order to yield broader conclusions, further empirical research should expand sampling to other areas and other ownership‐type enterprises in China. Moreover, more work‐related attitudinal variables, such as social value and corporate culture, should be included in the future studies regarding work attitudes.

Practical implications

In general, the management in native Chinese enterprises needs to pay more attention to the impact of employees' demographic variables on work attitudes. Specifically, SOEs have an imperative need of heightening employees' job satisfaction and organizational commitment so as to compete with POEs.

Originality/value

While filling a gap in the existing literature of the subjects being studied, this paper provides constructive suggestions in practice.
E‐government diffusion: a comparison of adoption constructs
Authors: Carter Lemuria
Published: August 2008

Purpose

E‐government adoption is the focus of many research studies. However, few studies have compared the adoption factors to identify the most salient predictors of e‐government use. The purpose of this paper is to compare popular adoption constructs to identify the most influential.

Design/methodology/approach

A survey was administered to elicit citizen perceptions of e‐government services.

Findings

The results of stepwise regression indicate perceived usefulness, trust of the internet, previous use of an e‐government service and perceived ease of use all have a significant impact on one's intention to use an e‐government service. Perceived usefulness emerges as the most important factor in predicting e‐government adoption. This factor alone explains 74.8 percent of the variance in intention to use.

Research limitations/implications

In light of these findings, researchers should still explore the role of adoption factors in e‐government diffusion. The proposed model is a robust, yet parsimonious way to explore the key factors that influence technology acceptance. This study includes the adoption perceptions of citizens from one state in the USA. Future studies should overcome this limitation by incorporating citizens from other regions and nations.

Practical implications

This study illustrates the elements of e‐government use that are most salient to citizens. Government agencies should focus on these factors when designing and promoting e‐services.

Originality/value

This study shows that the integration of a technology acceptance model, trust and previous e‐government experience work together to explain a large percentage of variance in intention to use e‐government. In particular, perceived usefulness (aka relative advantage, aka performance expectancy) is the most salient predictor.