bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
An empirical study of the uptake of performance measurement by Internet retailers
Authors: Gunawan G. , Ellis‐Chadwick F. , King M. 
Published: August 2008

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is twofold: to identify levels of uptake of performance measurement by small and medium‐sized retail companies selling goods online, and to determine key factors, which could explain any variation in use of performance indicators. The study is designed to explore these issues by this type of retailer as currently understanding is fairly limited.Design/methodology/approachA quantitative mail questionnaire was used to survey UK retailers selling goods online. The questionnaire examined the uptake of performance measurement in conjunction with the business profile of each of the 252 responding companies.FindingsThe results show great variation in levels and extent of uptake of performance measurement by online retailers in the UK. Company profile variables: size and operating format help to account for the variation in the number of indicators measured.Research limitations/implicationsThe sample frame has some limitations insofar as the study only focused on small and medium‐sized retailers in the UK selling tangible goods. Future research could be extended to include larger and pan‐European retailers selling both tangible and intangible goods. Furthermore, the data collection was cross‐sectional and, whilst this approach was important at this stage in order to provide a picture of how performance measurement is being applied at a given point in time, a longitudinal study would enable greater analysis of strategic impact of performance measurement.Practical implicationsCurrently, retailers' performance measurement activities mainly focus on gathering data using financial and Website functionality indicators. From a strategic planning perspective, this could suggest that retailers are adopting a short‐term pragmatic approach towards retailing online. The implications are that performance measurement is being used as a means to ensure that Internet retailing is not having a detrimental effect on business performance rather than driving longer‐term strategy development.Originality/valueThe principal contributions of this paper are that it has provided insight into the current status of performance measurement amongst UK Internet retailers and has identified a useful checklist of performance indicators which retailers can apply to gain a comprehensive view of business performance online.
Use and gratification in e‐consumers
Authors: Huang Echo 
Published: August 2008

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to present a conceptual model based on technology acceptance with extended antecedent variables (entertainment and irritation) to examine the impact of use and gratification on e‐consumers' acceptance of B2C Websites.Design/methodology/approachData were collected from a total of 238 EMBA and undergraduate students from three different Taiwan universities. Structural equation modeling (SEM) was used to evaluate the conceptual model in terms of overall fit, explanatory powers and causal links.FindingsThe analytical results showed that entertainment gratification, irritation surfing experience (mass medium), perceived usefulness and ease of Web use (information systems) are important predictors of e‐consumers' use intention. The integrated model was then assessed for variance in explanatory power regarding consumer attitude and intention toward B2C Websites.Practical implicationsIntention to use the Web is the predictor of actual use, purchase and information‐seeking behaviors in e‐consumers. Creating entertaining content and reducing distracting processes can enhance acceptance of B2C Websites.Originality/valueA theoretical model incorporating U&G constructs into a technology acceptance model was used to investigate e‐consumer behavior in Taiwan. Although ease of use and usefulness are perceived as important issues in traditional IS environments, U&G provides managers with a different perspective.
Effects of self‐service technology on customer value and customer readiness
Authors: Ho Shu‐Hsun , Ko Ying‐Yin 
Published: August 2008

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to investigate whether self‐service technology (SST) can enhance customer value (CV) and customer readiness (CR). In addition, it is proposed to inspect the effects of CV and CR in customers' continued use of Internet banking.Design/methodology/approachAn online survey was used with a sample of 771 respondents. Structural equation models (SEM) were used to examine 11 hypotheses in the theoretical framework.FindingsSST characteristics (i.e. ease of use, usefulness, costs saved, and self‐control) demonstrated positive effects on CV and CR. CR is positively related to CV. Furthermore, customers are willing to use Internet banking when CV and CR are high.Research limitations/implicationsThe study examines the factors contributing to positive effects on customers' continued use of Internet banking. Further research is recommended to investigate the effects of negative factors, such as risk and complexity. In addition, the same methods should be used to reproduce the survey in other industries to support generalizability.Practical implicationsManagers should reinforce SST in order to increase CV and CR, which would influence customers' willingness to continue using Internet banking.Originality/valueUnlike previous research, the study focuses on consumers' continued use of Internet banking as opposed to initial use. It concentrates on customer retention rather than customer acquisition. It is the first study to conclude that CV and CR significantly affect continued use of SST.
Power and passion: remoulded teamwork in a plastics factory
Authors: Shawn Creed Andrew , Zutshi Ambika , Swanson Donald James 
Published: August 2008

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to document the progress made in a specified period and the experience of managers and staff in sustaining the high performance team approach in a plastics factory.Design/methodology/approachSingle‐case analysis was conducted on data collected through semi‐structured interviews and site observations made with two managers and one team of six in a multinational plastics manufacturer (Visy) headquartered in Australia.FindingsBased on the authors' experiences and literature review a successful high performance team requires clear targets and efficiency standards, communication, rules of behaviour, continual input of facts and feedback, and last but not least – recognition of successes.Research limitations/implicationsThe findings are based on observations and interviews conducted in one part of a multinational organization in Australia. No follow‐up interviews could be undertaken to track the progress.Originality/valueNo other similar study had been undertaken in this organisation documenting the experiences of a quality improvement team and its interactions with managers. The findings have practical implications for industrial and other kinds of organisations engaged in implementing quality improvements through enhanced teamwork.
Do teams grow up one stage at a time?
Authors: Ito Jack K. , Brotheridge Céleste M. 
Published: August 2008

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to determine whether the stages of group development are path‐dependent or whether a stage can have a direct influence beyond an adjacent stage; to test a model that distinguishes between task and process characteristics; and to examine the validity of the Group Development Assessment.Design/methodology/approachA total of 204 public servants responded to questionnaires pertaining to their respective teams. Their responses to the Group Development Assessment were analyzed through the use of confirmatory factor analyses and structural equation modeling.FindingsThis study found that, in general, teams follow a predictable pattern of growth (i.e. they grow up one stage at a time), but their ability to grow is influenced by how well they addressed previous challenges. Path dependency was partly supported since the prior stage was generally the strongest predictor of the subsequent stage. The findings on path dependency are consistent with pendular models since changes in an earlier stage can have significant effects on later stages. Support was found for the separation of tasks and process behaviors. The Group Development Assessment was reasonably reliable, and its items generally classified into their corresponding stages.Research limitations/implicationsThe finding that, at a given moment, a variable such as dependency has a strong independent relationship with interdependence is consistent with a short time lag. However, a longitudinal study is needed to assess such lags.Practical implicationsAs a group meets the challenges of a stage and moves forward, the assumptions or the foundations laid before need to be supported; otherwise the group may regress.Originality/valueThe study tests a group development model and offers recommendations for group interventions.
Can team effectiveness be predicted?
Authors: Meredith Ross T. , Jones Erick C. , Adams Stephanie G. 
Published: August 2008

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to propose and support a model to predict the effectiveness of teams.Design/methodology/approachThe literature provides a wide variety of variables or constructs to measure the effectiveness of a team. The article proposes a mathematical model to predict the effectiveness of a team. A priori comparisons are used to develop a mathematical model of the optimum team.FindingsThe study expands on the theory of team effectiveness and demonstrates that a theoretically developed empirical model can predict team effectiveness quantitatively. A mathematical model was developed as an empirical function of performance, behavior, attitude, team member style and corporate culture.Research limitations/implicationsThere has been little effort to standardize the measurable variables of team effectiveness. Additionally, the means to evaluate the individual's influence on team effectiveness has not been documented in relation to the effectiveness of the team. This paper uses a specific set of constructs, which might be the optimum set of variables to measure performance, behavior, and attitude.Practical implicationsBy considering the model suggested here, managers will be able to select individual team members to enhance team performance.Originality/valueFew models have been proposed to predict the effectiveness of a team based on team member selection. This model provides anyone selecting team members with a model to use when choosing among technically qualified candidates.
Strategic importance of team integration issues in product development processes to improve manufacturability
Authors: Smith Alan D. , Felix Offodile O. 
Published: August 2008

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to provide practitioners of management with a sense of how collaborative team integration processes were required in order to be reasonably successful in attaining the required manufacturability goals. It aims to accomplish this by investigating: the role of team collaborative efforts in high‐technology projects associated with comparing aggressiveness towards and actual achievement on meeting time targets and manufacturing costs; the moderating effects of project‐team autonomy and control issues; and management involvement and top management support activities.Design/methodology/approachA review of the applied literature on collaborative team integration processes of manufacturers and direct suppliers of the smart card and automatic identification and data capture (AIDC)‐related industry in the USA was conducted. Only project managers and/or their designees were asked to complete the survey. The results of two mailings netted a total of 180 usable questionnaires out of an original sampling frame of 311 (response rate of appropriately 58 percent, with some missing data on a number of variables).FindingsThe paper finds that especially the variables of product acceleration, technological uncertainty, complexity, and product newness are traditionally outside the immediate control of the firm's project managers. The team integration variables, as measured by the factor scores of top management. manufacturing involvement, collaborative working environment, and supplier influence, offered the most explained variance in the present study.Practical implicationsBy understanding the variety of team performance and integration constructs in high technology‐intensive and manufacturing environments, management may be able to take the steps to become more sensitive to the roles of not isolating team members and being able to relinquish control at the appropriate times in order to enhance manufacturability.Originality/valueThe rapid pace of internet products and web‐enabled services, especially in the high‐technology manufacturing industries, presents new strategic management issues to be addressed in project management. Understanding the many issues associated with project team management and integration within new‐product development/new‐product manufacturability processes may ultimately decrease the cost and promote timely introduction of beneficial commercial developments, if properly managed.
International opportunity exploitation behaviour reported by “types” of firms relating to exporting experience
Authors: Westhead Paul 
Published: August 2008

PurposeThis paper aims to identify four “types” of private small and medium‐sized enterprises (SMEs) with regard to their “state” along the exporting experience spectrum.Design/methodology/approachThis exploratory study explores survey information from a historic comparative static longitudinal database. Survey information was gathered in 1990/1991 from a stratified random sample of 621 manufacturing, construction and services businesses located in 12 contrasting environments in Great Britain. Surviving firms were re‐interviewed in 1997. The propensity to export was monitored at two points in real time. Information relating to actual behaviour rather than solely attitudes was gathered.FindingsStrategic obstacles to exporting were not more likely to be cited by respondents in “disinterested exporter” rather than “disappointed exporter” firms. Also, a reactive exporting strategy was not more likely to be cited by respondents in “export capable” rather then “committed exporter” firms. Several statistically significant differences were detected with regard to the profiles of non‐exporting “disinterested exporter” and “disappointed exporter” firms, and exporting “export capable” and “committed exporter” firms.Practical implicationsAssuming an interventionist stance, this study suggests that practitioners need to consider the exporting experience profiles of SMEs. Practitioners seeking to increase the pool of exporting SMEs in local communities need to address an array of barriers, and not solely strategic barriers.Originality/valueGuided by insights from traditional internationalization theory and international entrepreneurship theory, two hypotheses were derived relating to obstacles impeding export activity, and reasons cited for exporting. Evidence from a comparative statistic longitudinal base relating to firms scattered throughout Great Britain was explored. Multivariate logistic regression analysis detected differences with reference to firm export “type”.
Family firms' risk perception: empirical evidence on the internationalization process
Authors: Claver Enrique , Rienda Laura , Quer Diego 
Published: August 2008

PurposeThis paper has as its aim to research the factors affecting the risk perceived by family firm executives in relation to international activity.Design/methodology/approachThe paper examines the factors which can modify risk perception, placing special emphasis on those arising from the coincidence of ownership and management in family businesses.FindingsFocus on the international commitment assumed by family firms and using a sample of 92 Spanish family companies, this paper shows that risk perception decreases with the presence of the first generation and the size of these organisations. Additionally, it has been found that the risk perceived is higher when the firm advances in its international commitment level.Practical implicationsIf family firms know the factors which can affect the risk perceived about international activity, they will stand a better chance to handle them properly with a view to move forward in their internationalisation process.Originality/valueAn effort is made in this paper to deal with the risk perception associated with international activity in family firms, an issue treated in a small number of research works so far.
Does prior start‐up experience matter for entrepreneurs' learning?
Authors: Politis Diamanto 
Published: August 2008

PurposeThis paper aims to present a study of the role of prior start‐up experience as a source of learning in the entrepreneurial process. Three learning outcomes are examined with respect to a comparison between habitual and novice entrepreneurs: skills for coping with liabilities of newness, preference for effectual reasoning, and attitudes towards failure.Design/methodology/approachThis is an empirical study based on statistical analysis conducted on a sample of 231 Swedish entrepreneurs that have started a new independent firm in 2004.FindingsThe findings suggest that habitual and novice entrepreneurs differ significantly with regard to several interesting aspects of the hypothesized dimensions.Research limitations/implicationsThe findings provide a better understanding of start‐up experience as a source of learning and its effects on the skills, preferences and attitudes of habitual entrepreneurs.Originality/valuePrevious research has suggested that prior start‐up experience is an important source of entrepreneurial learning, but has not put much effort into explaining how this particular type of experience influences various learning outcomes on an individual level. The present study advances these suggestions by showing how prior start‐up experience influences entrepreneurs' skills for coping with liabilities of newness, effectual reasoning and attitudes towards failures. Moreover, the study contributes to existing literature and research on entrepreneurial learning by developing explorative measures of individual learning outcomes that have been highlighted as influenced by prior experience in recent entrepreneurship research.
Firm size and environmental scanning pursuits across organizational life cycle stages
Authors: Lester Donald L. , Parnell John A. 
Published: August 2008

PurposeThis paper aims to present the results of an exploratory study of the organizational life cycle. Rather than approaching the construct from a small‐ or large‐ firm perspective, a model appropriate for all organizations is employed.Design/methodology/approachA survey was administered to 107 practicing managers to determine life cycle stage of their organizations and environmental scanning pursuits.FindingsThe study revealed that small firms are not only found in the first two life cycle stages – existence and survival – but also in the decline stage. In addition, support was not found for environmental scanning patterns previously postulated in the literature.Practical implicationsManagers of SMEs who wish to grow their organizations must understand the Gestalt changes necessary for successful progression to a large organization.Originality/valueOne life cycle model is appropriate for all organizations and can be utilized as a transition guide for strategic managers who recognize that their decisions are the real determinants of life cycle stage.
Small business e‐commerce development in Sweden – an empirical survey
Authors: Torsten Eriksson Lars , Hultman Jens , Naldi Lucia 
Published: August 2008

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to empirically explore small business e‐commerce development and usage of the emerging ICT‐infrastructure for e‐commerce in Sweden. For more than a decade firms in countries with appropriate infrastructures in place have generally been able to exploit internet technologies for business purposes.Design/methodology/approachThe paper presents the results from a telephone survey on Swedish small businesses. The 160 firms surveyed were independent manufacturing firms in Sweden with a number of employees ranging from ten to 50 and a turnover not surpassing €10 million. Data analysis was conducted using SPSS.FindingsThe paper presents empirical data on e‐commerce development among small businesses in Sweden. The study shows that a significant share of the studied firms have adopted internet technologies, but also that more than 70 per cent of the small businesses in the study have more than five years of experience of e‐commerce. The study finds that small businesses in Sweden show remarkably high levels of e‐commerce adoption. The study shows strong penetration of web site and e‐mail use among small businesses in Sweden, but also that advanced applications are still not broadly applied.Originality/valueStatistics presented by the OECD have recurrently shown that the Scandinavian countries are in the lead as regards building an ICT infrastructure. Sweden's leading position in ICT has been confirmed by several studies. Because of scarce resources and lack of knowledge, small businesses are generally known to be lagging in terms of ICT use. This study empirically explores small business e‐commerce development in Sweden and contributes to the stream of research aiming at benchmarking e‐commerce development.
US Federal Government entrepreneurship: new enterprise structures
Authors: Kropp Fredric , Zolin Roxanne 
Published: August 2008

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to guide the formation and to determine the structure of new governmental entrepreneurial ventures based on the nature of the public goods and the need for an entrepreneurial orientation.Design/methodology/researchThis paper is conceptual and is based on reviews of appropriate organizational structure and entrepreneurship, cases studies, and the authors' experiences.FindingsPublic or quasi‐public entities may need to change their organizational structure in order to act more entrepreneurially and to be more effective in accomplishing their missions. Propositions are raised to guide the development of new public or private enterprises and provide the basis for future research.Research limitations/implicationsThis paper is conceptual and needs to be tested empirically. Though other levels of government and countries were included, a major focus is on the US federal government.Originality/valueThis is the first published research on the topic of new enterprise government structures based on the nature of the goods and the requisite entrepreneurial orientation. It will help governmental and quasi‐governmental organizations in developing efficient and effective organizational structures.