bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Promotional channels of FMCG firms and tourism
Authors: Poulis Konstantinos , Poulis Efthimios 
Published: May 2011

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to shed more light on the influence of a tourism‐oriented environment on the promotional channel strategies of fast‐moving consumer goods (FMCG) firms.Design/methodology/approachThe study utilises an exploratory, qualitative research design among 14 case studies of FMCG firms operating in the tourism‐oriented environment of Greece.FindingsFindings show that most firms utilise adapted promotional channels due to the influence of structural characteristics of the tourism industry and tourists' modes of behavior.Research limitations/implicationsThe outcomes of this qualitative study are limited to the context that is investigated and thus, future researchers are encouraged to investigate similar contexts with the goal of generalising findings.Practical implicationsFindings suggest that firms ought to appreciate the contextual idiosyncrasies of Euro‐Mediterranean countries (as a result of international tourism) and thus, tailor their programs to these idiosyncrasies, which are distinct from other non‐tourism‐oriented environments.Originality/valueTo the best of the authors' knowledge, this is the first paper that investigates the effect of tourism‐induced idiosyncrasies of Euro‐Mediterranean countries on FMCG firms' promotional strategies. In light of the increasing importance of global consumer mobility, such studies are expected to increase.
Connecting the Mediterranean system of innovation: a functional perspective
Authors: Lopez‐Vega Henry , Ramis‐Pujol Juan 
Published: May 2011

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to provide a first exploratory overview of the Mediterranean system of innovation and present the results of interactive work with 25 innovation delegates from northern and southern Mediterranean countries. The study comes at a watershed for the Union for the Mediterranean, which is drawing up innovation policies for the future and debating ways of boosting core activities.Design/methodology/approachThis research benefits from the established literature on innovation systems (IS) to study how Mediterranean countries are enhancing their innovation capabilities. In collaboration with the European Institute of the Mediterranean, this research invited delegates from northern and southern Mediterranean countries, programme directors and representatives from the European Commission to discuss national and regional innovation activities in their own countries.FindingsThe data shed light on how activities conducted by public and private organisations influence the IS functions, revealing shifting services and business models. Finally, the data highlighted the need to draw up an innovation strategy to boost R&D capabilities.Originality/valueThe value of this research lies in the application of the well‐established IS approach to the Mediterranean case and a description of existing enabling and blocking mechanisms.
Is there new evidence to show that product and international diversification influence SMEs' performance?
Authors: Muñoz‐Bullón Fernando , Sanchez‐Bueno Maria J. 
Published: May 2011

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to examine the joint effect of product and international diversification strategies on the performance of small and medium enterprises (SMEs) in Spain.Design/methodology/approachThe authors rely on a panel data of small and medium Spanish manufacturing enterprises over the period 1993‐2006, collected from the Spanish Survey of Business Strategies.FindingsThe evidence reveals the existence of a negative relationship between geographic expansion and profitability. Likewise, the adoption of both product and international diversification is not associated with higher performance.Research limitations/implicationsA promising avenue for future research is the analysis of firms located in different countries (for example, emerging economies), or the study of this issue considering factors such as the ownership structure (family firms, the role of the state and banks, etc.).Practical implicationsThe authors' analysis underlines the fact that the distinctive particularities of SMEs – for example, limited resources, lack of previous experience in the adoption of new products and accessing new markets – might constrain diversification as an alternative for firm growth. As a practical implication, Spanish SMEs should overcome their shortcomings before adopting diversification in order to improve the profitability associated with these strategies.Originality/valueAlthough Spain's economic structure is highly segmented and made up of mainly SMEs, research on these companies in this country is rather scarce. In particular, the distinctive characteristics of SMEs mean that diversification might have different performance implications than for larger companies. Moreover, the authors' analysis offers new insights compared to previous research, which has traditionally relied on cross‐section data.
Assessing the consumer's choice of purchase channel in the tourism sector
Authors: Izquierdo‐Yusta Alicia , Pilar Martínez‐Ruiz María 
Published: May 2011

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to analyse the most important economic factors that determine choice of distribution channel when booking a tourism service. The theoretical framework applied to meet this objective is agency theory, as it provides insight into the effects arising from problems such as information asymmetries and opportunism.Design/methodology/approachThe analysis of a sample composed of 805 tourists who made their reservation through either the internet or traditional channels has provided interesting conclusions, allowing different hypotheses to be contrasted using a structural equation analysis.FindingsThis study has shown how the main source of uncertainty in the stages leading up to the choice of purchase channel is due to a lack of trust towards the internet. In this regard, the signals emitted by firms in order to mitigate information asymmetries contribute to generating trust towards the selected firm; however, they neither reduce the risk differential existing between channels nor the associated transaction costs. In addition, trust in the chosen firm shows that the buyer makes the reservation through the channel with the least perceived risk.Research limitations/implicationsThe research has underlined that the greater the differential in transaction costs between the internet and the traditional channels, the greater the propensity of buyers to make their purchases through alternative distribution channels. In addition, clients perceive greater internet transaction costs with respect to the traditional channels, a fact that may be contrasted with the purpose behind its creation.Practical implicationsThe differences between the information provided by economic agents and the information that is requested by the client reveal a need for greater awareness among those offering the services, in order for them to improve the way in which they target the consumer, especially in relation to the management of information flows. Furthermore, steps should be taken to improve internet security systems and undertake joint actions that are formalised and coordinated by all of the agents involved so that clients perceive internet as a secure channel. Finally, internet‐related skills should be developed to allow the consumer to search for information in a more efficient way.Originality/valueThe study deals with a recent line of new research. It is also performed in the context of Mediterranean countries, which represents a further important contribution, given that very few empirical studies focus on this geographical region.
Cultural factors affecting consumer behaviour: a new perception model
Authors: Pantano Eleonora 
Published: May 2011

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to study consumers' perception regarding Calabrian local products and the role of Magna Græcia culture in their buying behaviour, in order to identify a new model which can deliver concrete results for the area as regards marketing strategies and territorial communication, thereby influencing in a positive way the regional development. In fact, many products and artefacts reflect the finds in the region from the ancient Greek era which ran from the eighth century BC to the first century AD (called “Magna Græcia”). Despite this considerable patrimony, Calabria has still not fully exploited its potential.Design/methodology/approachThe research conducted has been developed by using two different approaches: the first qualitative, the second quantitative. In particular, the qualitative method (in depth interviews with marketing experts) has been used initially to find important considerations which constituted the base for the subsequent quantitative research (focused on the questionnaires with consumers) can then build upon.FindingsThis research carried out a new consumers' perception model of local products coming from Magna Græcia. In particular, the model shows the most important factors influencing the perception, which are related to cultural value of the products.Practical implicationsCalabrian marketers could improve their strategies by focusing on the cultural value of their products, as well as on the link products/territory and on the role of Magna Græcia culture on the creation of the products.Originality/valueAn important aspect which has emerged is the key role of culture‐related factors (regional image and authenticity) on consumers' perception, which affect consumers' buying behaviour and the total expenditure on local products. Furthermore, the research undertaken is of an inter‐disciplinary nature being comprised of elements linked to both marketing and psychology, which combine to produce revealing insights.
An experience‐based view of co‐opetition in R&D networks
Authors: Schiavone Francesco , Simoni Michele 
Published: May 2011

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to explore the relationship between prior experience of organisations and their “co‐opetitive” behaviours in forming research networks when a R&D programme is launched in order to fund future research projects.Design/methodology/approachDrawing on both resource‐based writings and social embeddedness studies, the paper posits that two types of co‐opetition – namely the intra‐network and inter‐network co‐opetition – should be clearly distinguished in order to understand co‐opetitive behaviours of organisations. These two types of co‐opetition arise as a consequence of the different levels of firms' prior experience in forming successful co‐opetitive networks with their competitors.FindingsA reverse U‐shape trade‐off between the two types of co‐opetition is hypothesised: the maximum level of intra‐network co‐opetition and the lowest of inter‐network co‐opetition are expected for low and highlevels of prior experience; the minimum level of intra‐network co‐opetition and the highest of inter‐network co‐opetition are expected for moderate levels of prior experience.Originality/valueThis paper sheds light on how co‐opetitive relationships emerge in R&D networks and under which circumstances competition prevails on cooperation.
Antecedents and performance impacts of product versus process innovation
Authors: Murat Ar Ilker , Baki Birdogan 
Published: May 2011

PurposeThe main purpose of this paper is to investigate the relationships between seven antecedent factors (R&D strategy, top management support (TMS), customer focus (CF), organizational learning capability (OLC), creative capability (CC), organizational collaboration (OC), and supplier relationship (SR)), two innovation types (product and process), and firm performance (FP).Design/methodology/approachThe paper formulates 16 hypotheses from the literature review. These hypotheses are tested using structural equation modeling with data collected from 270 managers of small and medium‐sized enterprises (SMEs) located in Turkish science and technology parks (STPs).FindingsThe findings indicate that both of product and process innovation have a strong and positive association with FP. While antecedents such as R&D strategy, TMS, CF, CC, and SR have significant impact on product innovation, other antecedents such as OLC and OC have a significant and positive impact on process innovation.Practical implicationsThe results of this study could be used by any managers of SMEs located in STPs to improve successful innovation projects. The results also provide companies operating in Turkish STPs with useful information on how their policies and actions might affect firm innovation.Originality/valueThe paper provides a clarification of the reasons that may be behind a positive, a negative, or a non‐significant effect of the many antecedents on the product and process in SMEs located in Turkish STPs.
Linking internal market orientation and new service performance
Authors: Sanchez‐Hernandez M. Isabel , Miranda Francisco J. 
Published: May 2011

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to present the first empirically tested model showing that internal marketing (IM) is a factor of success in new services development. It attempts to bridge internal market orientation (IMO) – the philosophical background of IM programs – with successful service innovations represented by new service performance (NSP).Design/methodology/approachTo explore the link between IMO and NSP a structural equations model was designed considering service quality and time‐to‐market as mediator variables. Data were gathered from business service firms' senior managers in Spain and Portugal (74 service companies based on a questionnaire).FindingsThe results largely support the hypothesized theoretical relationship that organizational effort in the human resources area, supported by the marketing function and implemented through an IMO, is connected with increasing service quality and innovation success.Research limitations/implicationsThe results of this study are context specific. In addition, surveys usually present data collection problems such as composing questions properly, key informant bias and non‐response bias. However, the actions undertaken – such as pre‐testing coupled with personal telephone contact with managers and the good results obtained in verifying the representativeness of the sample – suggested that every effort was made to obviate the limitations.Practical implicationsThe results suggest that managers must ensure that internal aspects of management, such as internal communication and employee commitment, are taken into account in order to implement successful new services. Managers need to be more proactive, trying to include the marketing function in human capital issues. Understanding internal clients' wants and needs and selling company goals internally would make external efforts in developing a new service much more likely to succeed.Originality/valueReflecting the literature which highlights the importance of the internal relationship between service employees and the company in service innovation, the paper pays particular attention to the role of IMO linkages and their effect on service innovation success. To the best of the authors' knowledge, this is the first time this relationship has been empirically tested.
A taxonomy of the early growth of Belgian start‐ups
Authors: Biga Diambeidou Mahamadou , Gailly Benoît 
Published: May 2011

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to explore the heterogeneity of the initial growth trajectories adopted by young firms, using an approach similar to Delmaret al.'s analysis, in order to better understand and describe the underlying development patterns.Design/methodology/approachThe authors analyze the development during their initial years of existence of the population of all firms in Belgium which are more than three years old and have grown above micro‐firm size between 1992 and 2002 (n=2,152). The authors measure the evolution over time of three basic economic data (number of employees, sales and assets) and seven financial data (value added, operating income, current income, net income, cash flow, working capital and shareholders' equity).FindingsA taxonomy was identified defined around four stable typical growth trajectories. These trajectories were adopted by a majority of firms in the sample and were not related to firm size or industry affiliation.Originality/valueThe paper's findings confirm, using an original empirical approach, previous results related to early growth and highlight the oversimplification of the life‐cycle approaches often used by practitioners and policy makers. They also open interesting research avenues regarding the endogenous and exogenous factors explaining the adoption of a given trajectory by a firm as well as why the trajectories identified are relatively stable over time.
Safety performance evaluation of Indian organizations using data envelopment analysis
Authors: Beriha G.S. , Patnaik B. , Mahapatra S.S. 
Published: May 2011

PurposeThe main purpose of the present study is to develop appropriate construct to benchmark occupational health and safety performance in industrial setting so that deficiencies can be highlighted and possible strategies can be evolved to improve the performance.Design/methodology/approachData envelopment analysis (DEA), being a robust mathematical tool, has been employed to evaluate the safety performance of industries. DEA, basically, takes into account the input and output components of a decision‐making unit (DMU) to calculate technical efficiency (TE). TE is treated as an indicator for safety performance of DMUs and comparison has been made among them.FindingsA total of 30 Indian organizations under three industrial categories such as construction, refractory and steel are chosen for comparison purpose. It has been observed that safety performance of construction industries is consistently low as compared to other categories of industries. TE has been calculated using two types of models of DEA such as constant return to scale (CRS) and variable return to scale (VRS). A paired two‐samplet‐test indicates that TEs obtained using two models are significantly different. Mean efficiency of 30 samples is found as 0.898 using CRS model whereas same is calculated as 0.942 using VRS.Research limitations/implicationsThe limitations may be number of input and output components considered for each DMU. If different set of inputs and outputs may be considered, the results may be different. Another limitation may be the number of industrial sectors considered in the study.Practical implicationsThe method, being a generic one, can be adopted by the managers to assess present safety performance and find a suitable peer to which, it should follow to improve own TE followed by in what respect it has to improve. Industrial safety and occupational health concerns in industries is not only important from government regulation point of view but also essential for enhancing productivity and profitability to become competitive in the marketplace. The practical limitation may be collection data quantitatively from various DMUs because many a time the DMUs are unwilling to share data.Originality/valueThis work proposes use of simple mathematical tool like DEA for benchmarking based on safety performance in Indian industries. In Indian context, safety performance of industrial settings has hardly been assessed. The study provides a simple but comprehensive methodology for improving safety performance. The study also outlines comparative evaluation of safety practices in different industries.
Performance modeling of Indian business schools: a DEA‐neural network approach
Authors: Sreekumar S. , Mahapatra S.S. 
Published: May 2011

PurposeThe main purpose of the present study is to develop an integrated approach combining data envelopment analysis (DEA) and neural network (NN) for assessment and prediction of performance of Indian B‐schools for effective decision making as error and biasness due to human intervention in decision making is appreciably reduced.Design/methodology/approachDEA, being a robust mathematical tool, has been employed to evaluate the efficiency of B‐schools. DEA, basically, takes into account the input and output components of a decision‐making unit (DMU) to calculate technical efficiency (TE). TE is treated as an indicator for performance of DMUs and comparison has been made among them. A sensitivity analysis has been carried out to study robustness of the ranking of schools obtained through DEA. Finally, NN is used to predict the efficiency when changes in inputs are caused due to market dynamism so that effective strategies can be evolved by the managers with limited available data.FindingsA total of 49 Indian B‐schools are chosen for benchmarking purpose. The average score of efficiency is 0.625 with a standard deviation of 0.175 when Charnes, Cooper and Rhodes (CCR) model is used. Similarly, when the Banker, Charnes and Cooper (BCC) model is used the average score is 0.888 with a standard deviation of 0.063. The rank order correlation coefficient between the efficiency ranking obtained through CCR and BCC model is 0.736 (p=0.000) which is significant. The peer group and peer weights for the inefficient B‐schools have been identified. This is useful for benchmarking for the inefficient DMUs. They can identify the parameters in which they lack and take necessary steps for improvement. The peer group for the inefficient B‐schools indicates the efficient B‐schools to which the inefficient B‐schools are closer in its combination of inputs and outputs. The TE obtained through DEA is used as output variable along with input variables considered in DEA as input and output parameters in a generalized regression NN during training phase. It can be observed that root mean square error is 0.009344 and 0.02323 for CCR‐ and BCC‐efficiency prediction, respectively, during training. Similarly, root mean square error is 0.08585 and 0.03279 for CCR‐ and BCC‐efficiency prediction, respectively, during testing. Now, individual schools can generate scenario with the data within their control and test their own performance through NN model.Originality/valueThis work proposes integration of DEA and NN to assist the managers to predict the performance of an individual DMU based on input consumed and generate various “what‐if” scenarios. The study provides a simple but comprehensive methodology for improving performance of B‐schools in India.