bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Forecast for financial services in 2010: no room for laggards
Authors: Gentle Chris 
Published: September 2007

PurposeThe worldwide market for financial services is evolving rapidly, and is likely to look very different by the year 2010. This study identifies major market drivers and operational challenges that financial institutions will likely face over the next four years and pin‐points the strategies and practices recommended to create the “Hallmarks of Success”.Design/methodology/approachThis report is based on industry and literature reviews and builds on research carried out by Deloitte Research on the financial services industry.FindingsNew asset classes such as private equity and hedge funds are attracting a growing number of investors. The payments business, a major source of revenue for financial institutions, is being restructured. In many countries, the impending retirement of baby boomers is changing the focus of financial services from long‐term accumulation to managed consumption. Emerging markets are becoming increasingly important sources of growth for firms in mature economies. Financial institutions around the world will need to forge the hallmarks of operational excellence in areas such as offshoring, taxation and financial reporting, service and process innovation, and in internal control to hold on to their growth and profitability.Practical implicationsThe financial services industry is changing rapidly with the rules of the game being rewritten faster than ever before. Globalization, increased regulation, commoditization of products, and decreased margins are just some challenges that require an overhaul of current business thinking. Companies that aspire to reach, or hold on to, leadership positions need to understand these changes and adapt to them.Originality/valueThis report documents the real‐time changes happening in the financial services industry and draws lessons from them for the medium term. These lessons are valuable for companies looking for strategies to stay on top in the midst of the changes currently sweeping the industry.
Extending innovation boundaries: corporate venture capital gives large firms a strategic option
Authors: Gregory Henley L. 
Published: September 2007

PurposeThe purpose of this article is to describe how investing in entrepreneurial ventures can help large firms pursue corporate entrepreneurship initiates. Ventures can be attractive partners due to their ability to provide a disproportionate share of radical innovations.Design/methodology/approachBased on existing literature and information collected via 45 surveys and 72 interviews, the paper shows that strategic fit is an important variable that determines the type of benefits ventures can provide to investing firms.FindingsThree benefits large firms can reap from investing in ventures are: managing the risks and uncertainties of innovation; learning from the venture; and increasing bargaining power over ventures that supply innovative products.Research limitations/implicationsExisting research does not go far enough to explain the range of benefits corporate venture capital can provide. The majority of investments were found in ventures that sell innovative products to the investing firm and have technological competences different from the investing firm.Practical implicationsOrganizing for innovation is often a challenge for large firms. Because ventures may be more effective when started outside the firm than inside, investing in select entrepreneurial ventures can help firms effectively explore for radical innovation while continuing to exploit their existing resources internally.Originality/valueFor corporate strategists concerned about improving their firm's innovativeness, corporate venture capital can be part of a corporate entrepreneurship toolbox that can help augment a large firm's growth and competitive position. It can be particularly helpful in managing the risks and uncertainties inherent with radical innovation.
Perquisites under the microscope
Authors: Dalton Catherine M. , Dalton Dan R. 
Published: September 2007

PurposeThis paper discusses perquisites for executives.Design/methodology/approachThis as a viewpoint paper in which the authors discuss perquisites for executives.FindingsNot only must the amounts of compensation, perquisites in particular, be listed, the Compensation Committee of the Board (or equivalent group) must also provide the rationale for these pay elements and the total package.Originality/valueProvides a viewpoint on perquisites for executives.
Thinking for breakthroughs
Authors: Kambil Ajit 
Published: September 2007

PurposeHow can executives improve the odds of generating breakthrough ideas and solutions in their organizations? In contrast to methods like brainstorming and widely available ideation methods – this viewpoint proposes more disciplined approaches to thinking can greatly enhance the odds of breakthroughs. Through a series of illustrative examples primarily focused on creating differentiated thought leadership, this article outlines five approaches to critical thinking that can enhance the likelihood of new strategies and discoveries.Design/methodology/approachAs a viewpoint this article is based on personal reflection and analysis of prior professional experiencesFindingsThis viewpoint outlines five strategies that executives can use to sharpen their thinking skills to generate breakthroughs. These include: attending to anomalies; pushing ideas to their limit and beyond; changing coordinate frames; building on and adapting prior models to new contexts; and “black box” abstraction as approaches every strategist and researcher can adopt to generating breakthroughs. The five techniques are illustrated through personal and other examples.Originality/valueThis reflective viewpoint provides pragmatic critical thinking tools that can help strategists and thought leaders improve the options for creating breakthrough ideas and solutions.
The memes of life: a speculative conversation
Authors: Bennet Alex 
Published: September 2007

PurposeThis paper aims to demonstrate how people's memes of life help them make sense out of what might initially be considered new or “foreign” concepts.Design/methodology/approachThis short paper uses a conversational approach to introduce the concept of memes of life, work through a thought experiment engaging a random headline from The Times in Print, and reflect on the role these memes of life play in one's learning and growth.FindingsThis paper suggests that, by identifying recurring thought patterns that help us make sense of the world and understanding their evolving nature, one can more consciously participate in constructing one's lens to the world.Originality/valueThis paper connects the concepts of memes, associative patterning, learning threshold and sense‐making through a thought experiment.
Gaining competitive advantage in a knowledge‐based economy through the utilization of open source software
Authors: Hedgebeth Darius 
Published: September 2007

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to educate the knowledge worker on the benefits of using open source software, and to demonstrate how open source methodology promotes the collaborative and innovative attributes of knowledge management.Design/methodology/approachThe author lists the open source initiative's definition for open source products, licensing information, the value of open source in a global economy, misconceived barriers to open source adoption, a functional comparison of open source and commercial software products, and web sites where open source products may be obtained.FindingsOpen source usage is prevalent throughout the world for governmental, business, educational, military, and space exploration purposes. Notwithstanding, some commercial enterprises such as the Microsoft Corporation have viewed the open source movement as a threat to profitability, citing alleged intellectual property infringement violations. However, other commercial entities such as IBM, Oracle, Novell, and Apple computer have embraced open source technology to conduct business operations as well as satisfy customer needs. Public appeal for open source products has been strong enough for Microsoft, through a recent public statement, to disclose that the firm wishes to “build a bridge” with the open source community, an apparent realization that open source is here to stay. The knowledge worker should understand that commercial and open source applications may coexist in the same IT environment.Originality/valueA knowledge enterprise's total cost of ownership (TCO) can be significantly reduced through the use of open source software, resulting in an improvement to overall performance attributed to the collaborative and innovative nature of the open source model. Enterprises can benefit by taking a closer look at how open source technology helps to meet organizational goals and objectives in the most efficient and effective manner available.
Trust – current thinking and future research
Authors: Arnott David C. 
Published: September 2007

PurposeThe primary purpose of this article is to introduce the special issue on trust in marketing and the selected papers. However, it has a secondary objective of acting as a brief introduction to the concept of trust, of highlighting the scope and scale of research into the concept in a range of disciplines, and of stimulating more research in areas identified as still being under‐explored.Design/methodology/approachThis is a discursive paper based on analysis and synthesis of trust literature and of submissions to the special issue.FindingsThis paper finds that despite a broad spectrum of disciplines that investigate trust, and despite this special issue in the area of marketing, there are still areas open for research into trust in marketing, for example the role of trust in a B2C context, the impact of indirect (referent) experience versus direct experience of levels of trust, and exploring the concept using more interpretivist or phenomenological approaches.Research limitations/implicationsThe historical synthesis provides researchers new to the field with some foundational literature. For those interested in current thoughts, the discussion provides a synthesis of the areas represented by the paper in this special issue. For those interested in new areas it offers suggestions as to some possibilities.Originality/valueThe value of the paper lies in linking the special issue articles to areas of current interest and the identification of under‐researched areas of trust in a marketing context.
The impact of psychological contracts on trust and commitment in supplier‐distributor relationships
Authors: Kingshott Russel P.J. , Pecotich Anthony 
Published: September 2007

PurposeThe nurturing of trust within firm‐customer relationships highlights the significance of social exchange theory in helping to explain the relational paradigm. By focusing upon this theory it was hypothesized that psychological contracts also play an important role in helping manage customer relationships. The principal purpose of this study is to explore the role of the psychological contract within the firm‐customer relationship, and its effects on trust.Design/methodology/approachA sample of 343 distributor firms within the motorized vehicle industry was used to test a model developed on the basis of social exchange theory.FindingsPsychological contracts are perceptual in nature and encompass reciprocal obligations stemming from the relational marketing efforts between suppliers and distributors. This construct was shown to have a positive impact upon the level of trust and commitment within the relationship; however, perceived violations of the contract terms were found to reduce the distributor's level of trust.Originality/valueGiven that trust was found to increase commitment, these findings have important managerial implications as they show that psychological contracts will erode important customer relationships if not factored into the customer decision‐making processes within the firm.
Trust determinants and outcomes in global B2B services
Authors: Doney Patricia M. , Barry James M. , Abratt Russell 
Published: September 2007

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to specify and test factors surrounding trusting relationships between buyers and suppliers in a global, business‐to‐business services context. In so doing, the paper aims to help to extend relationship marketing theories to this under‐researched domain.Design/methodology/approachA literature review and results of qualitative interviews in the paper provide a conceptual framework for the trust formation process and relational outcomes of trust. The research then tests a model of hypothesized relationships using structural equation modeling.FindingsThe paper confirms the influence of trust building behaviors (social interaction, open communications, customer orientation) and service outcomes (technical, functional and economic quality) on trust formation. Trust is shown to have a positive influence on key relational outcomes, loyalty commitment and share of purchases.Research limitations/implicationsThe sample consists of buyers of aviation component repair services who may be susceptible to idiosyncratic industry pressures. Further, the sample of buyers in 42 countries includes a higher share of buyers from individualist countries.Practical implicationsThe study provides managerially relevant (“actionable”) results that may help buyers execute customer retention strategies that lead to higher customer profitability.Originality/valueThis study adds to the limited literature on building trust in B2B services in a global context. The paper seeks to provide a balanced account of the interpersonal and tangible aspects of trust formation.
Personal characteristics, trust, conflict, and effectiveness in marketing/sales working relationships
Authors: Massey Graham R. , Dawes Philip L. 
Published: September 2007

PurposeThe key objective of this research is to test how two trust dimensions (cognition‐based trust and affect‐based trust) mediate the effects of three personal characteristics (psychological distance, the marketing manager's sales experience, and the marketing manager's relative level of formal education) on the following outcome variables: dysfunctional conflict, functional conflict, and perceived relationship effectiveness.Design/methodology/approachDrawing on the interaction approach, the paper develops a conceptual framework to better understand the nature of the working relationship between marketing managers and sales managers. In total, it develops and test 13 hypotheses. Partial least squares was used to assess the validity of the measures, and to estimate the structural model. Using a cross‐sectional design, data were collected from 101 marketing managers in Australia.FindingsThe hypothesized model has high explanatory power and it was found that both trust dimensions strongly affected all three outcome variables. However, though both forms of trust were positively related to perceived relationship effectiveness, affect‐based trust had the strongest impact on this outcome. The results also confirm that both cognition‐ and affect‐based trust have negative effects on dysfunctional conflict, and strong positive effects on functional conflict. In addition to these new findings, the paper shows that while psychological distance has a strong negative impact on cognition‐based trust, it has no impact on affect‐based trust. Moreover, it was found that when marketing managers had greater levels of sales experience, it increased their affect‐based trust but it had no impact on cognition‐based trust. Finally, the marketing manager's relative level of formal education had no impact on either forms of trust.Originality/valueThis is one of a handful of studies to employ a large‐scale empirical approach to examine the neglected cross‐functional relationship between marketing and sales. Also, it is one of the few studies to examine the effects of cognition‐based trust and affect‐based trust on performance outcomes.
Role of electronic trust in online retailing
Authors: Mukherjee Avinandan , Nath Prithwiraj 
Published: September 2007

PurposeTrust and commitment are the central tenets in building successful long‐term relationships in the online retailing context. In the absence of physical interaction between the buyer and the seller, how websites can gain the trust of the buyers and deliver on the promises made have become central issues in online customer relationship management. This paper aims to re‐examine the commitment‐trust theory (CTT) of relationship marketing in the online retailing context. It seeks to theorize the antecedents and consequences of commitment and trust in the online context and identify how CTT can be adapted in a digitized business environment.Design/methodology/approachModified constructs and their measures are developed to understand the antecedents and the outcomes of commitment and trust. Survey data from British online customers (n=651) are used to test CTT hypotheses with structural equation modelling.FindingsThe study suggests a significant modification to the traditional CTT model in the online environment. Privacy and security features of the website along with shared values are the key antecedents of trust, which in turn positively influences relationship commitment. Behavioural intentions of customers are consequences of both trust and commitment. The relationship termination cost has a negative impact on customer commitment.Research limitations/implicationsThe paper identifies interesting differences between the original work by Morgan and Hunt and the findings presented, but basically concludes that the commitment‐trust theory applies to online retailing.Originality/valueContributions of this study in re‐examining the CTT model of relationship marketing in an online context are manifold. This paper proposes a modified model to understand the role of consumer trust and commitment in a digitized environment. The modified constructs and measures truly reflect the dynamism of online business. The extended CTT model can provide better insight into managing customer relationships in online retailing.
Using the internet to improve HRD research
Authors: Hatcher Tim , Colton Sharon 
Published: September 2007

PurposeThe purpose of this article is to highlight the results of the online Delphi research project; in particular the procedures used to establish an online and innovative process of content validation and obtaining “rich” and descriptive information using the internet and current e‐learning technologies. The online Delphi was proven to be an excellent tool in establishing content validity for an HRD‐related construct, e.g. adult learning principles. A review of related literature revealed no existing research that used a web‐based Delphi technique to validate measurements used in training and development (T&D) or HRD.Design/methodology/approachResearch methods included: a thorough review of the literature to construct an item pool of adult learning principles and instructional methods, and a Delphi expert panel consensus. The mean, mode, standard deviation, interquartile range, and skewness of the data were calculated from the voting procedures for determination of consensus. Evidence of reliability was indicated by the interrater reliability coefficient from a field test. In addition, the Gunning FOG Index for readability was calculated to improve the readability of the instrument.FindingsTo address the first research question the authors suggest that a valid instrument can be developed by a diverse Delphi expert panel that measures the application of adult learning principles to fully‐mediated world wide web‐based training. The second research question was answered by illustrating that the internet can assist a group of diverse and geographically dispersed subject‐matter experts in establishing a content valid measurement of instructional methods and techniques that demonstrate the application of adult learning principles to fully‐mediated web‐based training. And, finally, the paper concludes that a Delphi process can be established as a web‐based method to validate research measures.Practical implicationsThis research helps to address the critical issue of how research is used in practice. Reasons why this research lends itself more to practice than other HRD research using more common qualitative or quantitative methods include: it is a relatively simple procedure requiring less than expert‐level skills; the Delphi uses expert opinion that is commonly used in training and development practice; and results are easy to interpret and practical.Originality/valueThis research is unique in its approach to developing a content valid instrument using state‐of‐the‐art technology coupled with a updated Delphi method. It is valuable to HRD and other professionals and researchers interested in developing valid measures across cultures and where experts are geographically dispersed.
Phenolated larch‐bark formaldehyde adhesive with multiple additions of sodium hydroxide
Authors: Gao Z.H. , Yuan J.L. , Wang X.M. 
Published: September 2007

PurposeThis paper aims to evaluate the effect of multiple additions of sodium hydroxide (NaOH) on the properties of bark‐phenol‐formaldehyde (BPF) adhesives, and to lay the foundations for further studies on bark utilisation.Design/methodology/approachSynthetic technologies that used multiple additions of NaOH were developed for the production of BPF adhesives. Differential scanning calorimetry (DSC), gel permeation chromatography (GPC) and plywood bond were used to evaluate properties of the PF and BPF adhesives.FindingsThe number of NaOH additions had an important effect on many BPF adhesive properties, such as gel time, free formaldehyde content in adhesive, thermosetting peak temperature, molecular weight distribution, as well as the wet shear strength and free formaldehyde release of the bonded plywood panels. The study determined that a two‐step process for adding NaOH offers a prospective synthetic technology for BPF adhesive production. This technology made it possible to use 28.6 per cent bark by weight and resulted in plywood with properties comparable with those of plywood bonded with a commercial PF adhesive. However, BPF adhesives prepared with more than two NaOH additions were fast‐curing.Research limitations/implicationsBPF adhesives are very complex systems with many unknown variables, such as the chemical structures of bark derivatives from phenolation and adhesive synthesis. To further improve the curing rate and adhesion of BPF, future investigations should be based on a two‐addition process or attempt to increase the amount of NaOH in the second addition.Practical implicationsThe BPF adhesive prepared with two NaOH additions and 28.6 per cent bark was comparable with a commercial PF adhesive in terms of adhesive properties and plywood bond quality. These results indicate that this technology shows potential for commercial applications.Originality/valueSynthetic technologies using multiple additions of NaOH were developed to produce BPF adhesives. The BPF with two additions of NaOH seemed to be comparable with a commercial PF adhesive.