bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Communication effectiveness on IT service relationship quality
Authors: Park Jun-Gi , Lee Seyoon , Lee Jungwoo 
Published: January 2014

Purpose
– This study aims to investigate the effect of communication effectiveness (CE) on service quality (SQ) leading to relationship quality (RQ) in IT service relationships.

Design/methodology/approach
– CE was decomposed into frequency, bi-directionality and quality of communication while SQ was decomposed into functional and technical qualities, and RQ into trust and relationship commitment. An empirical study is conducted testing the nomological research model consists of these dimensions, using survey method collecting data from 144 subjects.

Findings
– The findings indicate that good SQ can impact relationship commitment only via the clients' trust, but not directly. Influence of functional quality is stronger on trust but technical quality also maintains significant impact. Detailed findings imply that, while communication is important element influencing perceptions of SQ, quality of bi-directional communication is more critical than simple but frequent communication.

Originality/value
– This study explores the direct impact of CE on SQ leading to RQ in IT service context. Previous studies rarely tested the impacts of functional and technical SQ, simultaneously. Findings of this study add values to research on service relations as well as IT services research in terms of differentiating functional and technical service qualities.
Market-oriented sustainability: moderating impact of stakeholder involvement
Authors: W. Clark James , C. Toms Lisa , W. Green Kenneth 
Published: January 2014

Purpose
– The theoretical framework for market-oriented sustainability developed by Crittenden, Crittenden, Ferrell, Ferrell, and Pinney, in which the relationship between organizational culture and performance management is theorized as moderated by stakeholder involvement, is empirically assessed. The paper aims to discuss these issues.

Design/methodology/approach
– Crittenden et al. model is operationalized using market orientation to represent organizational culture and climate, logistics performance to represent performance management, and green purchasing to represent the moderator stakeholder involvement in sustainability. The model is assessed using data collected from a sample of 257 manufacturing managers working for US manufacturing plants. A partial least squares structural equation modeling approach is used to statistically assess for measurement scale validity and reliability and the moderated model.

Findings
– The results support the conceptual framework for market-oriented sustainability theorized by Crittenden et al. Organization culture in the form of market orientation interacts with stakeholder involvement in sustainability in the form of green purchasing to enhance performance monitoring in the form of logistics performance.

Research limitations/implications
– This study is one of the first to empirically assess the market-oriented sustainability model. Only one set of potential constructs (market orientation, green purchasing, and logistics performance) is used to test the overall model thus limiting the generalization of the results.

Practical implications
– The results indicate that manufacturing managers should work to establish and improve market orientation as a direct way of making their plants and organizations environmentally sustainable and that manufacturing managers interact with supply chain partners, specifically suppliers, to satisfy customer demands for eco-friendly products and services.

Originality/value
– This is one of the first studies to empirically assess the general form of the market-oriented sustainability model.
Empirical verification of the balanced scorecard
Authors: Janeš Aleksander 
Published: January 2014

Purpose
– The development and empirical verification of the balanced scorecard (BSC) model are key parts of the research of a case study on the performance measurement system (PMS) of the Ydria Motors LL Company (YM). The paper aims to discuss these issues.

Design/methodology/approach
– The research was performed as a single case study of modelling the BSC for the manufacturing company and founded on complementary use of qualitative and quantitative methods. The central part of the case study is an empirically evaluated layout of the BSC with the Engle-Granger two-step method.

Findings
– The results and findings from empirical analysis showed that the methods used are appropriate for inclusion in the methodological approach as they are complementary. Therefore, it can be asserted that the introduction of quantitative methods of continuous data analysis for the implementation of the BSC improved the established approach. In this research, an approach that represents the basis for further work in the field of research in PMSs of companies, with the use of econometric tools, was empirically tested and developed.

Research limitations/implications
– The generalization of research findings is limited to only one manufacturing company. With the continuation of the research on other case studies, the preliminary lessons learned can be expanded to other organizations.

Originality/value
– Following the research findings, it can be established that the methodology used provides support to organization's decision-making process in real-time and can be used with different strategies scenarios and forecast simulations and thus supports the prioritization of strategic initiatives. In addition, the developed model allows the integration and testing of various performance indicators and the identification and selection of the most appropriate KPIs.
Motion planning for a new-model obstacle-crossing mobile welding robot
Authors: Zhang Tao , Wu Minghui , Zhao Yanzheng , Chen Shanben 
Published: January 2014

Purpose
– The purpose of this paper is to discuss motion planning about crossing obstacles and welding trajectory for a new-model mobile obstacle-crossing welding robot system. The robot can cross the obstacle in this way that one of the three adhesion mobile parts is pulled off the ground in turn. An optimal obstacle-crossing approach needs to be studied to improve the welding efficiency.

Design/methodology/approach
– According to the characteristics of this mobile welding robot, two methods for crossing obstacles are compared. A special method is used for obstacle-crossing and welding. The kinematic model is established. By the optimization method, the optimum parameters for crossing obstacles are calculated. The welding speed when the robot is crossing the obstacle is very important, so its value must be in a certain range. Finally, the tracks of the wheels when the robot is crossing the obstacle are analyzed in order to observe the obstacle-crossing process.

Findings
– According to the analysis, the maximum speed of the vehicle in the obstacle-crossing is determined. When crossing the obstacle, the robot can do welding simultaneously. The welding speed cannot exceed a certain value. In the obstacle-crossing process, the tracks of the wheels can reflect the process. According to the obtained conclusion, the obstacle-crossing experiments are successfully completed, and the welding effect is good. The results can prove that the proposed method is feasible.

Research limitations/implications
– The speed of obstacle-crossing is not very large. It has some relationships with the lifting speed of the wheels, which is determined by the quality of drive motor. More efficient robot must be developed to meet the needs of industrial robot.

Practical implications
– Based on the excellent obstacle-crossing and welding capabilities, the robot with the new mechanism has a widely applying prospect in the field of welding and inspecting large equipment.

Originality/value
– The obstacle-crossing approach has certain innovation. The way that the robot can maintain continuous welding when crossing the obstacle is of a great significance.
The Pransky interview: Dr Paolo Pirjanian, CTO of iRobot Corporation
Authors: Pransky Joanne 
Published: January 2014

Purpose
– PhD/inventor builds consumer robot start-up company based on low-cost, groundbreaking visual simultaneous localization and mapping (vSLAM) visual sensors and NorthStar® navigation technologies that sells for nearly $75 million dollars 12 years later. The following article is a “Q&A interview” conducted by Joanne Pransky of Industrial Robot Journal as a method to impart the combined technological, business, and personal experience of a prominent, robotic industry engineer-turned entrepreneur regarding the evolution, commercialization, and challenges of bringing a technological invention to market. The paper aims to discuss these issues.

Design/methodology/approach
– This interview was with Dr Paolo Pirjanian, CTO of iRobot Corporation. Dr Pirjanian previously served as both CTO and CEO of Evolution Robotics. Dr Pirjanian received his PhD degree from Aalborg University, Denmark. He has received several honors and awards including the IEEE Robotics and Automation Society Early Career Award in 2004 and the Technical Leadership Award from JPL/NASA. Dr Pirjanian holds 67 patents.

Findings
– The challenges and solutions of transferring technological innovations into an affordable consumer product are presented. The resulting pioneering technologies and approximate 37 patents around vSLAM and NorthStar® were incorporated into Evolution's flagship consumer product, Mint floor cleaning robot. In October 2012, iRobot Corp acquired Evolution for $74 million in an effort to complement their own products and technologies.

Originality/value
– A robot scientist, in his roles as the CTO and CEO of a robot company, uses a paradigm shift in vision and pattern recognition to build an affordable consumer product and successful company.
Examining emerging ICT's adoption in SMEs from a dynamic process approach
Authors: Chinedu Eze Sunday , Duan Yanqing , Chen Hsin 
Published: January 2014

Purpose– This paper aims to advance information and communication technologies (ICT) adoption research and practice by examining and understanding the emerging ICT adoption in small and medium enterprises (SMEs) from a dynamic process perspective using actor-network theory (ANT).Design/methodology/approach– This study employs a qualitative approach to investigate how services SMEs are constantly engaging in ICT adoption for improving business performance. Two rounds of interviews were conducted with 26 interviewees. Data collected from the unstructured and semi-structured interviews were analysed to understand the dynamic adoption process, actors involved and their interactions.Findings– The findings reveal the recursive and dynamic nature of the emerging ICT adoption process and the constant interactions and negotiations of various actors. Underpinned by the key concepts of ANT and validated by the empirical data, a framework is developed to depict the stages of dynamic process of emerging ICT adoption, the actors involved and the associated key activities.Research limitations/implications– Qualitative research is interpretive in nature and the size of the sample used is limited. These limitations require caution for the generalization of the findings. The framework can be further validated across a wider population using mixed methods combining qualitative and quantitative approaches.Practical implications– Emerging ICT adoption has moved from a simple adopters’ participation process to involving various actors that constantly interact and influence the process. SMEs manager can be influenced by and influence the technology advancement. As a result, SMEs need constantly interact with various human and non-human actors to keep up with the new ICT development and benefit from the emerging opportunities.Originality/value– The research focuses on the emerging ICT adoption in SMEs from the dynamic process perspective using ANT. It advances ICT adoption research and practice by developing a framework to depict the dynamic and interactive nature of ICT adoption process, and the actors involved and their interactions in the adoption process.
Value in professional service relationships
Authors: M.B. Schertzer Susan , B. Schertzer Clinton , Robert Dwyer F. 
Published: January 2014

Purpose
– Business to business (B2B) professional services depend on inter-firm cooperation for the co-creation of value. Such cooperation rarely happens overnight; it requires time for the relationship to develop. The purpose of this research is to investigate how different performance attributes of a professional service differ with the tenure of the relationship.

Design/methodology/approach
– This exploratory study utilizes seven years of longitudinal customer data provided by a B2B professional service firm. The firm's customers assess satisfaction, value, loyalty, performance quality and their image of the firm after each project.

Findings
– Data were classified into three tenure related groups – i.e. transactional, emergent and mature relationships. MANOVA and post hoc contrasts of the average attribute scores of the three groups were conducted. The data support the conclusion that high performance in professional services is evident in mature relationships.

Research limitations/implications
– Data come from company archives and reflect the firm's efforts for tactical management of client relationships, not independent informant reports from randomly selected accounts.

Practical implications
– Satisfaction surveys can be employed tactically by professional service providers to develop stronger relationships with their clients en route to co-creating extraordinary value from high levels of service quality and the client's high regard for the provider's professional qualities, such as expertise, customer focus and initiative.

Originality/value
– To the authors' knowledge, no one has shown empirically the dramatic performance advantage stemming from relationships. This is important because theory suggests that customer relationships hold strategic value. Because they are immobile and inimitable, they represent a potential sustainable competitive advantage. However, relationships take time to develop. This begs the question of whether they are worth the time and effort to develop. In the professional service context, where buyer and seller seemingly must collaborate to co-create value, mature relationships indeed yield higher performance, compared to transactional and emerging relationships.
The role of interfirm reciprocity norm and agent's conscientiousness in supply contract adjustment decision
Authors: Li Jin , Tangpong Chanchai , Hung Kuo-Ting , R. Johns Tony 
Published: January 2014

Purpose
– The purpose of this paper is to better understand the main effects of agent conscientiousness and reciprocity norm and the interaction effect of these two factors on contract adjustment decisions in buyer-supplier relationships.

Design/methodology/approach
– Two scenario-based experiments with college students and business professionals were conducted. Three regression models were run to test three hypotheses proposed in the paper.

Research limitations/implications
– The limitations of this study are the use of single-agent decision scenarios and the specific focus on one aspect of agent personality – i.e. conscientiousness and its collective influence on contract adjustment decisions. In a broader picture, the results of this study support the cross-level analytical approach to investigating marketing channel relationships, in which individual-level and organizational-level factors interact and determine decision outcomes in business exchanges.

Practical implications
– Recruiting and promoting managers who exhibit high levels of conscientiousness, coupled with proactively cultivating the norm of reciprocity with suppliers, are critical to a firm's thrust in attaining and sustaining marketing channel management practices with the emphasis on reciprocity-based exchange relationships.

Originality/value
– While the extant literature focuses largely on interfirm governance and contract enforcement, this study examines what actually influences decision-making agents' contract adjustment decisions. This study expands the marketing literature by investigating the impacts of agent conscientiousness and reciprocity norm on contract adjustment decisions.
Emerging market firms: measuring their success with strategic positioning maps
Authors: Kumar Singal Ajay , Kumar Jain Arun 
Published: January 2014

Purpose
– The purpose of this paper is to understand and map the global competitiveness of firms in emerging markets. The authors refine a framework (called the “strategic control map”, or SCM) that looks at market capitalization – using two parameters of book equity (size) and price to book ratio (performance) – as a key driver of the competitiveness of firms. However, the SCM has limited value in the context of smaller and largely domestic firms, as is the case in emerging markets. To develop a more comprehensive understanding, additional vital metrics such as the degree of internationalization need to be considered.

Design/methodology/approach
– The authors compare top 100 Indian firms against global firms on four dimensions – i.e. market price to book ratio, book equity, scope and scale of international operations. The authors consider data for the year 2009-2010 to make comparisons.

Findings
– The SCM, formulated with a developed market focus, is not suitable in the context of emerging markets as it fails to consider internationalization as essential to compete at the global level. Accordingly, the authors propose a new conceptual framework, referred to as the “strategic positioning map” (SPM).

Originality/value
– In this paper, the authors argue that “international intensity” and “market capitalization” can be two important dimensions to map the relative paths of growth for firms from emerging markets.
“Rise of the middle of the pyramid in Africa”: theoretical and practical realities for understanding middle class consumer purchase decision making
Authors: Chikweche Tendai , Fletcher Richard 
Published: January 2014

Purpose– The main purpose of this paper is to investigate the factors that influence the growing African middle class (middle of pyramid; MOP) consumers' purchase decision making.Design/methodology/approach– A mixed qualitative research method approach comprising in-depth interviews was used to collect data from middle of pyramid consumers in four countries. Secondary data analysis was used to complement the interviews.Findings– Key findings include the identification of three key intertwined influencers of branding, peer and social networks and aesthetics and product performance. Other influencers include technology and new products, distribution channels and family.Research limitations/implications– The focus on four countries has the potential to minimize the generalizability of findings from the study although the four countries used have a significant amount of middle class consumers in Africa. However, this does not detract from the findings of the study but actually provides a basis for further research into other emerging markets.Practical implications– Findings from the study provide practical insights for marketing managers who intend to serve this market, key of which are branding, use of social networks, online distribution and maximising technology.Originality/value– The paper expands the research agenda of the relatively new area of the MOP. By focusing on the MOP in Africa, the research expands existing knowledge beyond previous areas of focus of middle class studies that focus on China and India.
How important are different socially responsible marketing practices? An exploratory study of gender, race, and income differences
Authors: Patino Anthony , D. Kaltcheva Velitchka , Pitta Dennis , Sriram Ven , D. Winsor Robert 
Published: January 2014

Purpose
– The purpose of this paper is to examine the importance consumers place on various types of socially responsible marketing practices, and whether the level of importance varies by gender, race, and consumers' income.

Design/methodology/approach
– A survey was designed that asked subjects their attitudes toward the various social marketing practices that were uncovered through an analysis of recent literature from ABI-Inform, Fordham University's Center for Positive Marketing and focus groups. The survey was administered to 232 subjects and included information regarding race, gender, and income. Survey results were analyzed using latent class analysis (LCA). The results of the LCA were used to develop a correspondence analysis map.

Findings
– The results confirm the importance of key demographic factors (income, gender, and race) in understanding consumers' perceptions of socially responsible marketing.

Research limitations/implications
– One limitation is that the sample was collected in Baltimore, Maryland and not entirely representative of the population of the USA. Another limitation is that consumers’ perceptions of socially responsible marketing are only captured at one point in time rather than showing the evolution of a belief.

Practical implications
– Marketers need to target their messages carefully if they are promoting socially responsible marketing as a differentiating factor. Understanding how each demographic group responds to these socially responsible marketing messages can assist managers in their promotional efforts.

Originality/value
– Limited research has been completed that segments the market with regards to socially responsible marketing options. The research explores these segments by surveying active consumers.
Digital traces for business intelligence
Authors: Milolidakis Giannis , Akoumianakis Demosthenes , Kimble Chris 
Published: January 2014

Purpose
– Data from social media (SM) has grown exponentially and created new opportunities for businesses to supplement their business intelligence (BI). However, there are many different platforms all of which are in a constant state of evolution. The purpose of this paper is to describe a generic methodology for the gathering of data from SM and transforming it into valuable BI.

Design/methodology/approach
– The approach taken is termed virtual excavation and builds on the similarities between the manipulation of technological artefacts virtual communities using various forms of SM and the excavation and analysis of physical artefacts found in archaeological settlements.

Findings
– The paper reports on a case study using this technique that looks at the Facebook fan pages of three mobile telecommunications service providers in Greece. The paper identifies many of the standard BI indicators as well as demonstrating that additional information relating to cross-page use can be collected by looking at how users manipulate artefact such as the “like” button in Facebook.

Research limitations/implications
– Although the methodology is widely applicable, the paper only reports on the analysis of one platform, Facebook, and is heavily reliant on visualization tools. Future work will examine different platforms and different tools for analysis.

Practical implications
– The paper discusses some of the ways in which this approach could be used and suggests some areas in which it might be applied.

Originality/value
– The approach of using virtual excavations to extract BI from virtual communities in online SM offers a systematic approach for dealing with a variety of information from a variety of different media that is not found in techniques based on information systems or management science.