bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Integrated customer relationship management for service activities
Authors: Dimitriadis Sergios , Stevens Eric 
Published: September 2008

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to suggest an integrated framework for designing, implementing and evaluating a customer relationship marketing (CRM) system in service companies, based on a gap analysis.Design/methodology/approachThe paper summarizes key findings of previous research on CRM internal (organizational) success/failure factors, adds a customer perspective on CRM expectations and perceptions, and links these internal and external factors using a systemic gap approach.FindingsThe paper finds that viewing a relationship as a value and as a quality driver should lead managers to consider expectations as a mean to design appropriate interaction flows with customers. Also, relationship expectations from customers' point of view could be used as a segmentation variable to identify customer relationship profiles and address them with specific means. Finally, the integrated perspective underlines the importance of coordination and coherence among all organizational, technological and human components of the CRM system for the effective relationship quality management. Thus, the suggested DIE CRM gap model can be used by managers as a relationship quality diagnosis and problem‐recovery tool leading to recommendations at each stage of their action plan.Research limitations/implicationsThe integration of customer‐related CRM success factors as well as the suggested gap measurement approach opens several research opportunities in both methodological and conceptual issues on assessing a CRM strategy.Practical implicationsIn the process of designing, implementing and evaluating a CRM strategy and system, managers should integrate customers' expectations and reactions to such strategy. The gap model provides a tool to identify critical points of successful CRM operations and suggests actions to deal with them.Originality/valueCustomers' reactions to CRM strategies and actions have not been given appropriate attention, nor have they been linked to internal company's operations. Similarly, although the gap analysis approach was proved to be very useful in other settings, such as measuring service quality, no application of it to CRM has been suggested. The paper offers new insights in both of these fields.
Asset specificity, experience, capability, host government intervention, and ownership‐based entry mode strategy for SMEs in international markets
Authors: Cheng Yung‐Ming 
Published: September 2008

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to propose an integrated theoretical framework to examine the determinants of the choice of ownership‐based entry mode strategy for small to medium‐sized enterprises (SMEs) in international markets.Design/methodology/approachThe statistical data sources were mail survey and secondary data collection. Logistic regression was used in the testing of the hypotheses.FindingsAll four theoretical views (including transaction cost theory, the views of Uppsala process model, organizational capability perspective, and bargaining power theory) have relevance for the choice of SMEs' ownership‐based entry mode strategy in international markets.Research limitations/implicationsThis study was limited to the manufacturing sector only. Given the limited scope, caution must be exercised in generalizing from this study's sample to firms in the service sector. Furthermore, this study is a cross‐sectional analysis and may not draw a complete picture of the course of SMEs' ownership‐based entry mode choice over time. Future research should use longitudinal analysis to explore the evolution of SMEs' international expansion over time.Practical implicationsThis study proposes a decision path diagram that can give the SMEs some suggestions about how they should consider their choice of ownership‐based entry mode strategy in international markets. The executives of SMEs that invest in international markets can draw useful lessons from this study.Originality/valueThis study proposes a well‐rounded theoretical framework based on four theoretical views (including transaction cost theory, the views of Uppsala process model, organizational capability perspective, and bargaining power theory) to examine SMEs' choice of ownership‐based entry mode strategy in international markets. The limitations for past research that are inherent in focusing on a single theoretical view can be overcome.
Organizational factors affecting supply chains in developing countries
Authors: Babbar Sunil , Addae Helena , Gosen Jerry , Prasad Sameer 
Published: September 2008

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to provide managers of multinational companies and researchers with a framework for investigating and effectively managing organizational factors and supply‐chain networks in lieu of conditions prevalent in developing countries.Design/methodology/approachThis paper draws from the international management, supply‐chain management, and organizational behavior literature to construct a framework and formulate propositions linking important organizational factors to supply‐chain effectiveness in developing countries.FindingsThe paper reviews the literature, develops a useful framework, formulates propositions, and provides important managerial insights for supply‐chain management in developing countries.Research limitations/implicationsSupply‐chain effectiveness is a broad construct in this paper. Future research might want to isolate and examine the potential effects of organizational variables on more narrow supply‐chain outcomes.Practical implicationsThe modeled framework can help managers of Multinational Corporations (MNCs) better understand and manage important organizational variables in ways that render their supply chains in developing countries more effective.Originality/valueCurrently, the literature does not provide managers of MNCs and researchers a framework for investigating and effectively managing key organizational factors affecting supply‐chain networks in lieu of conditions prevalent in developing countries. This paper attempts to fill this gap. Propositions developed in this paper can serve as a foundation for future empirical research needed to support the development of theory in this area.
Benchmarking telecommunication service in India
Authors: Mitra Debnath Roma , Shankar Ravi 
Published: September 2008

PurposeTechnological modernization is increasingly viewed as a premeditated necessity in today's era of growth and prosperity for any country. Telecommunications has entered a new age of development with advanced technology and increased competition with established players. The technological advances in the telecommunication sector are associated with an uninterrupted growth of the mobile sector. The prime focus of the service providers is to create a loyal customer base by benchmarking their performances and retaining existing customers in order to benefit from their loyalty. The paper aims to address these issues.Design/methodology/approachThis paper employs the method of data envelopment analysis (DEA) to compare the relative efficiency of mobile service providers in India. The identification of the strongest and the weakest service providers could be very useful in improving their efficiency and performance. Mathematically, DEA determines the best weights for each input and output for a particular unit under study so as to maximize its relative efficiency.FindingsThe results are insightful to the telecom policy planner as benchmark them in terms of their efficiency. It also identifies the inefficient service providers who can improve their efficiency by making the efficient providers as their role model. The paper also identifies some generic insights.Practical implicationsThis research paper contributes to the literature in two ways: firstly, this research identifies the different parameters for the mobile service providers in India for the benchmarking of the service providers. It also categorises them into various input and output parameters contributing towards the number of subscribers for different service providers. In the next stage, this research takes a further step and examines whether there are differences between the number of subscribers and the performance of the service providers. Benchmarking of the service providers would depend on the efficiency and quality of service. There is still great diversity in the relative performance of various service providers, which is a matter of concern to the telecom planner in this country.Originality/valueThis paper is one of the few published studies that benchmark the performance of Telecom Services in India.
Strategic value and resources and capabilities of the information systems area and their impact on organizational performance in the hotel sector
Authors: Gil‐Padilla Antonia M. , Espino‐Rodríguez Tomás F. 
Published: September 2008

PurposeAn improvement in the management of information system (IS) based resources and capabilities of hotels must affect competitive advantage. Based on that premise, this work has two aims. The first is to determine how the strategic value of the IS area affects the organizational performance of three‐, four‐ and five‐star hotels. The second is to check how it influences the resources and capabilities used in the IS area of hotel companies in a determined tourist destination, and their relationship with organizational performance.Design/methodology/approachThe study was conducted on a representative sample of hotels in Gran Canaria, Spain. It takes the framework of Bharadwaj as a reference to help companies tackle the management of the IS area and to develop a superior capability in that activity.FindingsThe results of the study indicate that the more valuable, non‐substitutable and inimitable the IS area is, the better the non‐financial performance is. The results also show that the resources and capabilities that most affect hotel performance are the internal and external technical resources and the capabilities of the IS area to influence and strengthen relations with users and with different areas of the hotel. The work also finds that organizational capabilities have a particular influence on non‐financial performance, especially that related to organizational quality.Research limitations/implicationsThis study helps to establish a new framework of analysis in the literature on IS management by introducing a perspective of analysis for the study of the strategic deployment of IS attributes that is based on the resource based view of the firm.Practical implicationsThis paper constitutes a suitable framework to begin the diagnosis of the situation of each hotel regarding its available IS resources and capabilities and to identify and select the IS resources and capabilities that make greater contributions to hotel profitability and quality.Originality/valueThis work serves to help identify which IS resources and capabilities are most important in the development of distinctive hotel competences.
Template based production system design
Authors: Matt D.T. 
Published: September 2008

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to provide a methodological guidance for the practical use of the axiomatic designed production module template presented in a former publication. The objective is to accelerate the design process and increase the quality of results in the design of lean production systems.Design/methodology/approachTwo case studies based on practical cases were presented to different test teams. A first test cycle helped to improve the user friendliness of the axiomatic designed tree of functional requirements and design parameters. The second test cycle served to prove the practicability of the template, comparing the teams' results with the realized solution.FindingsBased on the teams' feedbacks, ten “easy‐to‐use” steps for the systematic design of lean production systems were developed. The guideline obtains the best results if used in combination with the value stream mapping concept.Research limitations/implicationsApart from one case study in injection moulding, practical evaluations were focused on applications in the field of manual, hybrid or automated assembly systems, which perhaps limits the applicability of the presented approach in some machining processes.Practical implicationsSeveral successful implementations demonstrated the validity of the presented method in terms of results, planning time and user friendliness. Even students with nearly no practical experiences in production system design were able to present astonishing results within short timeframes.Originality/valueThis paper fulfils an identified need of a methodological guidance in the design of lean production systems and offers practical help to shorten the design times and improve the quality of the design results.
Insights into public preferences for pharmaceutical funding
Authors: Whitty Jennifer A. , Rundle‐Thiele Sharyn R. , Scuffham Paul A. 
Published: September 2008

PurposeTaxes are used to subsidise the public use of pharmaceuticals in some countries. This paper seeks to quantify criteria considered important by the Australian public for allocating resources for pharmaceuticals.Design/methodology/approachA discrete choice experiment (DCE) was administered to two samples of adults in Australia. A forced choice design was used in a pilot study, but an opt‐out option was included in the main study to avoid forcing choice. Data were analysed using multinomial logit.FindingsFor the levels and units presented in the DCE, quality of life (QoL) after treatment was the most important attribute in both the pilot and main studies, followed by survival after treatment and the chance of success for a given pharmaceutical. Cost to the government was of little importance in the pilot study, but was of importance in the main study.Practical implicationsBy understanding public preferences, marketers can tailor pharmaceutical offerings that appeal to the public and to relevant pharmaceutical funding bodies when making submissions, thus increasing the likelihood of receiving public funding support. Understanding public preferences allows public policy‐makers to direct resources towards those medical technologies which are likely to give the greatest overall societal benefit.Originality/valueThis study shows the simultaneous importance of survival, QoL, chance of success and cost to public preferences for pharmaceutical funding. Cost (tax) signals suggest the public are willing to limit the amount they expect the government to pay for effective pharmaceuticals.
The Changing Japanese Multinational: Application, Adaptation and Learning in Car Manufacturing and Financial Services*
Authors: Whitley Richard , Morgan Glenn , Kelly William , Sharpe Diana 
Published: September 2008

ABSTRACTThe combination of increasingly international operations, the continuing domestic recession, and the gradual opening of the Japanese economy to foreign investment might be expected to change many features of Japanese multinational companies. In particular, the level and mode of central control of overseas units, especially their reliance on expatriate managers, could change as firms become more willing to use foreign subsidiaries as sources of innovation and learning rather than as delivery pipelines for domestically designed and developed products. These changes are more likely in sectors dominated by non‐Japanese firms, such as international financial services. Interviews with managers of 14 Japanese manufacturing and financial service firms in the UK and Japan confirmed substantial differences in their internationalization patterns in the 1990s, both between and within sectors. Car manufacturers in particular invested major resources in transferring significant features of their domestic operations to UK units, usually with expatriate managers, and one was investing in developing an international cadre of managers.In the case of banks and other financial service companies, the continuing banking crisis in Japan and limited profitability of their European operations, had stimulated a variety of responses. While some had simply withdrawn from serving non‐Japanese clients, or withdrawn altogether from Europe, others were trying to develop new skills and approaches to compete effectively with established Anglo‐Saxon firms at the same time as refocusing on Japanese customers to improve profitability. However, the sharply contrasting labour market practices in London and Japan made it difficult for many banks to develop firm specific skills that would enable them to become competitive in markets currently dominated by western banks. This raises general questions about how multinational companies coordinate skills and careers across differently organized skill formation and control systems.
Quantitative analysis of hTERT mRNA levels in cells microdissected from cytological specimens
Authors: Fujita Hayato , Ohuchida Kenoki , Mizumoto Kazuhiro , Egami Takuya , Miyasaka Yoshihiro , Yamaguchi Hiroshi , Yu Jun , Cui Lin , Onimaru Manabu , Takahata Shunichi , Tsuneyoshi Masazumi , Tanaka Masao 
Published: September 2008

Clinicians frequently require cytopathological assessment of tumor samples for preoperative diagnosis, but in some specimens, diagnosis remains inconclusive after cytological examination. To date, several molecular markers, including human telomerase reverse transcriptase (hTERT), have been assessed for the ability to detect malignancy. However, analyses using whole cytological specimens are generally affected by contamination of untargeted cells. The present study investigated the feasibility of more sensitive examination by quantitative mRNA analysis of target cells microdissected from cytological specimens. Laser capture microdissection (LCM) was used to obtain target cells from cytological specimens. hTERT mRNA levels were then measured in target cells by quantitative real‐time RT‐PCR (qRT‐PCR). The effect of RNA fragmentation on qRT‐PCR was also assessed. Total RNA from cytological specimens was sometimes fragmented to a large degree. To avoid the effect of RNA fragmentation, gene specific priming and PCR primers generating short PCR products were used and no difference in delta Ct values between fragmented and non‐fragmented RNA were found. hTERT mRNA levels were measured in cells microdissected from 33 cytological specimens. The levels of hTERT mRNA were significantly higher in malignant cases compared to those in non‐malignant cases (P = 0.0003). The sensitivity was 96.2%, even when the specificities were 100%. High levels of hTERT mRNA were also found in three cases that were not diagnosed as malignant by cytological examination. Quantitative assessment of hTERT mRNA levels in cells microdissected from cytological specimens is a potential diagnostic tool to potentiate cytological examination in diagnosing malignancy. (Cancer Sci 2008; 99: 2244–2251)
STAT6 signalling is important in CD8+ T‐cell activation and defence against Toxoplasma gondii infection in the brain
Authors: Jin Donghao , Takamoto Masaya , Hu Tao , Taki Shinsuke , Sugane Kazuo 
Published: September 2008

SummarySignal transducer and activator of transcription (STAT) 6 is a molecule involved in interleukin (IL)‐4 and ‐13 signalling. We investigated the role of STAT6 signalling in Toxoplasma gondii‐infected mice using STAT6‐deficient (STAT6−/−) and wild‐type (WT) mice. A significantly larger number of cysts were recovered from the brain in STAT6−/− than in WT mice on days 28 and 56 post‐infection. CD8+ T cells in cerebrospinal fluid and spleen stimulated with T. gondii antigen produced higher levels of interferon (IFN)‐γ in WT than in STAT6−/− mice. CD8+ T‐cell function, estimated by expression of CD25 and cytotoxic activity, was lower in STAT6−/− than in WT mice. Transfer of CD8+ but not CD4+ T cells, purified from infected WT mice, into STAT6−/− mice successfully prevented formation of cysts in the brain. However, transfer of naïve CD8+ T cells from WT into STAT6−/− mice did not show either activation of CD8+ T cells or a decrease in the number of cysts in the brain. Transfer of splenic adherent cells from WT into STAT6−/− mice induced activation of CD8+ T cells and decreased the number of cysts in the brain. Expression of CD86 on splenic dendritic cells and IL‐12 p40 production were weaker in STAT6−/− than in WT mice after T. gondii infection. These results indicate that STAT6 signalling is important in CD8+ T‐cell activation, possibly through regulation of antigen‐presenting cells, which could suppress T. gondii infection in the brain.
Topographic controls on the distribution of tree islands in the high Andes of south‐western Ecuador
Authors: Coblentz D. , Keating P. L. 
Published: September 2008

AbstractAim To evaluate the hypothesis that geomorphometric parameters of upper montane Andean environments have an important influence on the regional fire ecology and consequently play a role in the spatial distribution of ‘remnant’ tree islands dominated byPolylepis.Location A glacial landscape located between 3600 and 4400 m elevation in Cajas National Park, south‐western Ecuador.Methods The eigenvalue ratio method was used to evaluate the regional geomorphometric parameters of a 30‐m digital elevation model for Cajas National Park. The landscape character was evaluated by quantifying the topographic roughness, organization, and gradient. This information was used to determine the spatial correlations between terrain characteristics and the distribution of tree islands in the region.Results We demonstrate a strong spatial correlation between areas of high topographic roughness and gradient, and the locations of the major tree islands. We find that there is a distinctive relationship between the topographic roughness and organization in the vicinity of the tree islands (e.g. increased upslope roughness and decreased topographic grain strength) that substantiates the notion that the tree islands are located in relatively inaccessible topography.Main conclusions In the northern and central Andes, the location ofPolylepis‐dominated ‘forest islands’ has been shown to be a function of climate, terrain characteristics, and anthropogenic disturbances. Although the relative importance of various ecological factors has been debated, it remains clear that fires have exerted a strong influence on these ecosystems. Other authors have noted that tree islands are more likely to occur at the base of cliffs, above moist areas, and in other areas where fires do not burn frequently. Our results corroborate these observations, and demonstrate that the occurrence ofPolylepispatches is strongly correlated with specific combinations of terrain features. Although we do not discount the importance of other factors in determining the spatial position and areal extent of these forests, we demonstrate strong support for fire‐related hypotheses.