bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
The executive growth factor: how Siemens invigorated its customer relationships
Authors: Senn Christoph 
Published: January 2007

PurposeMany companies claim to have established senior executive relationship programs, but few have linked their account plans to senior executive actions, and consequently, only a few can report successful growth results. This article provides a systematic approach to create a replicable executive engagement process.Design/methodology/approachDuring 1997‐2005, five research consortiums on global account management (GAM), involving more than 30 companies around the world, were conducted. The objectives were to explore current successful practices and future competencies in GAM. In addition to the empirical investigation of the effects of successful GAM implementation, several case studies were developed.FindingsThe case of Siemens Information & Communication illustrates the benefits on both the supplier and the customer sides when companies make a systematic effort to link their account plans to senior executive actions. In the case of Siemens, the growth rate of the systematically “managed” accounts outperformed that of “non‐managed” accounts by a factor of two.Practical implicationsThe results from the research in general and the case in particular suggest that executive engagement in customer affairs represents a strategic choice rather than an agenda filler. By following the described process, companies can create their own growth agendas.Originality/valueThis paper offers middle and senior managers a proven and inexpensive process for translating account plans into real growth. Companies that commit to creating such an executive engagement process can expect to benefit from hard‐to‐copy intimacy with their customers, which in turn results in new, sustainable sources of competitive advantage.
Shininess vs usefulness
Authors: Marren Patrick 
Published: January 2007

PurposeTo provide the author's opinions about key issues in strategy and the future to the readership.Design/methodology/approachOpinion column.FindingsThe degree of generic vs specialized strategy is a key determinant of strategic success or failure.Research limitations/implicationsBased not on rigorous research but on the author's experience of planning engagements across a wide variety of private and public enterprises.Practical implicationsIllustrates a previously perhaps neglected dichotomy in business styles.Originality/valueExpresses opinions that the author believes have not been expressed in quite this way before.
Over 50 and ready to shop: serving the aging consumer
Authors: Pak Cabrini , Kambil Ajit 
Published: January 2007

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to provide a framework to better understand the emerging aging consumer markets. It identifies new principles to better serve the ranks of the 50+ consumer market as those segments grow in number and economic influence.Design/methodology/approachThe framework was developed following industry and literature reviews and analysis of secondary data from the Social Security Administration, Census Bureau, US Department of Labor, UN Population Division, and AARP.FindingsDemographics point to a significant rise in the importance and complexity of consumer markets in the age 50+ segments. There are psychological, social, economic and biological changes that affect the spending habits and priorities of these consumers and, while there are excellent examples of companies taking these factors into account in designing products and services, it is clear that we have only begun to consider how best to serve aging and generally affluent consumers.Practical implicationsThe aging consumer is rapidly moving from being something of a cursory footnote on corporate product/service plans to being a dominant market force. Companies with a deep understanding of the unique needs and priorities of the age 50+ segments, and which design products and services informed by this understanding, will gain a significant competitive advantage over those that overlook these characteristics and preferences.Originality/valueThis article provides both a framework for companies to assess the needs of the emerging 50+ consumer market, as well as examples of companies that have begun to innovate with an eye toward serving this increasingly complex and well‐heeled population.
A letter from the president: seduction, charm and obfuscation in French CEO letters
Authors: Bournois Frank , Point Sébastien 
Published: January 2007

PurposeShareholders, investors and potential employees, all attach special importance to understanding a company through its annual report, the status of which has evolved over the years: from providing information for the adepts of competitive intelligence, it now provides information available to all stakeholders in the company. But one aspect has not changed: the keynote message of the president that prefaces the annual report. The present article indicates current practice in the matter in the case of 28 leading French companies.Design/methodology/approachWe have made these companies the subject of a systematic and detailed computer‐assisted analysis.FindingsAmong the main conclusions to be noted are: a varied range of rhetorical cosmetics by way of embellishment, and attitudes either of prudence or optimism on the part of company heads; a type of discourse open to several levels of interpretation: from a literal level to a level allowing the reader to interpret the wider spirit and intention of the document.Originality/valueIn view of the time devoted to the preparation and fine‐tuning of a presidential letter, we feel justified in writing a modest letter of recommendations for the attention of the president at the end of this contribution.
Want to improve strategic execution? Simons says levers
Authors: Sheehan Norman T. 
Published: January 2007

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to describe four levers that managers can use to effectively implement strategy.Design/methodology/approachDraws on the performance management literature, in particular Simons' levers of control framework, to describe and illustrate practical examples of diagnostic, belief, boundary, and interactive controls.FindingsTo fully realize the potential of their firm's strategy, managers need to get the levers to work in concert. Failure to accomplish this may result in underperformance, a loss of reputation, or even extinction.Practical implicationsTo successfully implement their firm's strategy, managers must: get employees to buy into the firm's belief system; delineate those activities that may place their firm in jeopardy and declare these off limits to employees; communicate strategy to employees by developing metrics, setting targets, and aligning incentive; and become personally involved in those decisions which relate to strategic threats and opportunities in order to shape the firm's future direction.Originality/valueProvides current examples of each of the four levers and articulates how they need to inter‐relate with one another.
The strategic farmer: a cheese producer with cold feet?
Authors: McElwee Gerard , Anderson Alistair , Vesala Kari 
Published: January 2007

PurposeThe purpose of this article is to explore the strategy of an enterprising farmer. The background problematic is that in Europe, agriculture has faced dramatic pressures for restructuring, and facilitation of the strategic skills of farmers and a stronger entrepreneurial orientation have been suggested as a possible solution for the emerging problems. We use an illustrative case to show how strategy formation and implementation may require different skills, competencies and attitudes.Design, methodology and approachA case study is used to examine the issues of strategy formation and implementation. Whilst the findings from the case may not be generalisable, our analysis provides an opportunity to conceptually reflect on the issues. These issues may have wider implications beyond the research site.FindingsThe theoretical and case study analyses reveal that the concept of entrepreneurial strategy is ambiguous. Yet, if proper care is taken to distinguish the concept from, and relate it to, the elements in which it is embedded, the notion is a useful tool for both theory and empirical investigation. By applying such a procedure, we show that the contexts of conventional farming and business diversification call for an understanding about the clearly different entrepreneurial skills and appropriate strategies and strategic implementation.Practical implicationsThis research suggests that a major challenge for the agricultural sector is to enable farmers to develop their strategic, marketing and entrepreneurial skills. This requires economic support and greater emphasis on education and training. It is hoped that this research will assist in this challenge.
CEO succession: the times they are a‐changin'
Authors: Dalton Dan R. , Dalton Catherine M. 
Published: January 2007

PurposeThe paper aims to at CEO succession in light of regulations and post‐SOX dynamics.Design/methodology/approachThe paper examines CEO succession in light of regulations and post‐SOX dynamics.FindingsIt has been increasingly argued that the formal CEO succession process is in disrepair. The post‐SOX dynamics described in previous sections promise to even further confound boards of directors' responsibilities for succession planning and execution.Practical implicationsThe paper provides executives with information on issues boards must consider in succession planning.Originality/valueThe paper is of particular value to CEOs and other board members.
The strategy payoff for smaller enterprises
Authors: Beaver Graham 
Published: January 2007

PurposeThis paper seeks to examine business strategy from the small firm and enterprise development perspective. It aims to advocate the value of a well‐considered strategy for the venture for superior business performance and consider the ways in which entrepreneurs can devise, control and communicate strategy.Design/methodology/approachStrategic thinking and planning are strongly related to small business financial performance. This is confirmed by the research reported here, that showed quite conclusively that strategic thinking is an essential ingredient in enterprise survival, performance and growth. The original research on which this paper is based, had as its central objective to investigate the nature, style, value and development of strategic management in a sample of 87 small businesses in six industry sectors based in the UK Midlands.FindingsA central finding was that the principal value of strategic planning to those firms that practiced and valued it, was that they had a framework for their assessments of overall performance.Research limitations/implicationsSemi‐structured interviews were undertaken which included questions about the current fortunes, management attitudes and market position of the business. Specifically, the interviews aimed to find out: How the firm had dealt with any economic downturn: Problems arising from market changes: What major decisions were taken as a result of the problems and opportunities that surfaced: The level of satisfaction and confidence with the decisions taken and their outcomes and the value and contribution of strategic management.Practical implicationsThose small firms that have survived, prospered and grown, exhibited most or all of the following characteristics: They had a firm grip on their finances. They examined business forecasts carefully and returned to the original business plan to check principal assumptions made about sales volume and cash flow. They reduced the money that debtors owed by implementing an effective credit management system and/or used factoring. Many had a pricing plan and took a strategic view when setting price.Originality/valueStrategy in the small firms that are referred to here is enacted in a highly personalised manner and is strongly influenced by the actions, abilities, personality and success criteria of the key role players. The successful firms examined here are adopting a more imaginative and strategic approach to risk.
Learning faster than the competition: war games give the advantage
Authors: Chussil Mark 
Published: January 2007

PurposeBusiness war games support competitive‐strategy decisions under uncertainty. They are especially useful in combating confirmation bias, the human tendency to look for reassuring evidence that a desired future will come true. There is no generally accepted definition of what a business war game is, and there are many ways to conduct them. This paper aims to describe why, when, and how to use different types of business war games.Design/methodology/approachThe author has conducted some 100 business war games for major companies around the world, and has 30 years' experience in strategy analysis. The paper draws on the author's observations of thousands of managers in those war games, on his familiarity with simulation technologies, and on research in social psychology, to categorize and recommend war‐gaming techniques for different business needs. The paper includes two illustrative case descriptions.FindingsThe paper finds that business war game objectives include: stimulating excitement around a strategy; building skill on strategic thinking; creating strategy options and anticipating threats and opportunities; and testing strategy options and making decisions. When the war‐game objective calls for quantitative models, traditional financial or trend‐line analysis can be dangerous. The objective will also influence the scope and length of the game, and its “rules of engagement.”Originality/valueFew managers have participated in a business war game, and even fewer are aware of the variety of war games. This paper describes the link between war gaming and competitive advantage, and helps managers (and those who advise them) know why, when, and how to use different types of business war games.
Down with strategy: in defense of short‐term thinking
Authors: Ezer Jonathan , Demetis Dionysios S. 
Published: January 2007

PurposeThe aim of this paper is to argue that the need for strategy is overstated and that organizations should celebrate short‐term thinking.Design/methodology/approachThe paper presents a case study of a medium‐sized software company in Canada, followed by an analysis in terms of the history of strategy and Ciborra's work on organizational change.FindingsThe study finds that strategy and structure are taken‐for‐granted assumptions that are not always appropriate. While strategy is important for contemporary business, it has overstepped its relevance and has been become the dominant organizing myth of modern management. Such a myth has become an obsession that quite often constrains the variety of organizational responses. The notion of strategy has become an “iron cage” which constrains manoeuvrability.Practical implicationsShort‐term thinking has tremendous benefits and should be embraced.Originality/valueThe paper provides a useful insight into the benefits of short‐term thinking.
Interoperability of bioinformatics resources
Authors: Vyas Hiten , Summers Ron 
Published: January 2007

PurposeThis paper aims to supply an introduction to the bioinformatics discipline for information professionals, outlining how current information management issues are hampering the effective integration and interoperability of resources.Design/methodology/approachThe approach taken is to outline some of the more challenging issues to illustrate their consequences, such as syntactic and semantic heterogeneity, data storage formats and media, and the existence of inconsistencies in information content in bioinformatics resources. A discussion of these topics indicates how semantic web concepts and technologies, together with e‐science initiatives, can be used to address these problems.FindingsThe paper reveals that, if one considers the use of semantic web technologies such as XML and ontologies for the development of information standards that allows integration of different information systems, these systems could then be placed into applications such as web services and GRIDS tailored for biological studies. Such applications would provide automated functionality for database integration, workflow management, inclusion of provenance data, and notification of services.Originality/valueThe value of this paper is that it exemplifies how information professionals can make an impact on the discipline of bioinformatics, which historically has not been addressed by experts with information skills.
Learning as associative patterning
Authors: Bennet Alex , Bennet David 
Published: January 2007

PurposeThe purpose of this article is to link the associative learning process of the human brain to the relationship and emergence of really significant ideas on the global horizon.Design/methodology/approachFirst, learning is explored from the viewpoint of the brain/mind, with a focus on the creation of patterns and their relationships to our personal frames of reference. Second, the associations of three really significant ideas are explored, and a pattern of patterns is surfaced.FindingsThe paper finds that in concert with the functioning of the brain, significant ideas emerge in relationship with other ideas that have personal historical significance, i.e. external patterns from the environment are detected, recognized, made sense of and have meaning in relationship with our internal patterns of significance.Originality/valueThe paper creates an appreciation of the role of patterns in thinking and learning.
The sustainable innovation engine
Authors: Correia de Sousa Milton 
Published: January 2007

PurposeThe purpose of this article is to present a model for sustainable innovation based on learning and knowledge.Design/methodology/approachDefinitions of knowledge, innovation and learning are provided. Followed by a discussion on the link between knowledge and innovation, the concept of the nominal innovation probability space is introduced, built on the definitions of knowledge depth and knowledge diversity. Different learning styles are presented and how these can increase knowledge depth and knowledge diversity, improving a firm's position in the innovation probability space. A final description is provided of a model for the sustainable innovation engine.FindingsThe article finds that learning is essential to ensure sustainable innovation. Innovation probability is impacted by the organisation's knowledge depth and diversity. Learning styles are correlated to the firm's innovativeness and competitiveness. Experimentation as a learning style is essential for discontinuous innovation. Learning effectiveness is increased if supported by a knowledge management approach. Sustainable innovation requires a positive feedback loop between knowledge creation (learning) and innovation.Originality/valueThe article provides useful information on the introduction of the nominal innovation probability space based on a firm's knowledge depth and diversity; the concept of knowledge empathy; and the distinction between innovation and sustainable innovation and its importance for competitive and collaborative advantage.
Towards the new generation of web knowledge
Authors: Dotsika Fefie , Patrick Keith 
Published: January 2007

PurposeAs the web evolves its purpose and nature of its use are changing. The purpose of the paper is to investigate whether the web can provide for the competing stakeholders, who are similarly evolving and who increasingly see it as a significant part of their business.Design/methodology/approachThe paper adopts an exploratory and reviewing approach to the emerging trends and patterns emanating from the web's changing use and explores the underpinning technologies and tools that facilitate this use and access. It examines the future and potential of web‐based knowledge management (KM) and reviews the emerging web trends, tools, and enabling technologies that will provide the infrastructure of the next generation web.FindingsThe research carried out provides an independent framework for the capturing, accessing and distributing of web knowledge. This framework retains the semantic mark‐up, a feature that we deem indispensable for the future of KM, employing web ontologies to structure organisational knowledge and semantic text processing for the extraction of knowledge from web sites.Practical implicationsAs a result it was possible to identify the implications of integrating the two aspects of web‐based KM, namely the business‐organisational‐users' perspective and that of the enabling web technologies.Originality/valueThe proposed framework accommodates the collaborative tools and services offered by Web 2.0, acknowledging the fact that knowledge‐based systems are shared, dynamic, evolving resources, whose underlying knowledge model requires careful management due to its constant changing.
Agora
Authors: Georgolios Panagiotis‐Petros , Kafentzis Konstantinos , Metaxiotis Kostas 
Published: January 2007

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to propose an approach for describing and discovering knowledge resources in distributed environments.Design/methodology/approachThe paper proposes a solution that includes a framework model and a technological infrastructure to achieve distributed knowledge discovery. It provides the solution based on a combination of research from knowledge management and distributed processing areas.FindingsThe paper finds a faceted ontology and three discrete models that best achieve distributed processing in terms of knowledge items and knowledge objects. By these mechanisms are provided to: represent knowledge in a generic manner that will unchain knowledge from tight links to specific contexts, purposes and audiences; discover and retrieve knowledge stored in distributed sources; interpret different knowledge representations to enable comprehension of knowledge on the recipient side and tackle the heterogeneity problem; and simplify and accelerate knowledge exchange in distributed environments.Research limitations/implicationsThe utilization of knowledge in distributed environments (intra‐ or inter‐organizational) presupposes the existence of a representation of knowledge in a commonly understandable manner. Knowledge resources are distributed in the web and databases in an unstructured manner.Practical implicationsThe paper can be used as the basic consensus and infrastructure for the development of a coherent, manageable semantic web. The three models should be addressed in terms of commercial applications.Originality/valueKnowledge management and distributed processing research fields are combined in order to provide a solution that best addresses the problem of distributed knowledge.
Direct immersion gold (DIG) as a final finish
Authors: Hashimoto Shigeo , Kiso Masayuki , Oda Yukinori , Otake Horoshi , Milad George , Gudaczauskas Don 
Published: January 2007

PurposeTo report on research on the alternative surface finish “direct gold on copper”, including reaction mechanism, methods of deposition and end uses.Design/methodology/approachExamines the deposition reaction of the electroless flash gold plating bath, and the effects of the copper surface roughness and deposition time on the deposit and solderability characteristics.FindingsDirect immersion gold is only partially immersion and mostly electroless in deposition mode. The surface is applicable to soldering for both leaded solder and lead‐free solders. The surface is also wire bondable.Originality/valueThe paper offers details of a new alternative surface finish for use in printed circuit board fabrication as well as in packaging applications. The paper shows the electroless deposition mode of the process. The finish is ideally suited where Rf losses must be minimized. It is suitable for soldering as well as for wire bonding.