scholarly journals The good, the bad and the variable

2014 ◽  
Vol 48 (7/8) ◽  
pp. 1466-1486 ◽  
Author(s):  
Frederik B.I. Situmeang ◽  
Mark A.A.M. Leenders ◽  
Nachoem M. Wijnberg

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to contribute to the marketing literature and practice by examining the relationship between evaluations of past editions in a series and the success of a sequel. Design/methodology/approach – A set of hypotheses was developed, guided by the theory of reasoned action, that state under what conditions past edition evaluations are more strongly related to sequel success. Data obtained from video game aggregator Web sites are used to test the hypotheses by means of a two-stage model estimation. Findings – Past evaluations of previous editions are related to sequel success. High variability among evaluations of past editions seems to be a negative weighting factor regarding the impact that past evaluations have on sequel buying. The relationship between consumer evaluations of past editions and sales of the sequel is more positive if there is a large community of users and if the product is consumed socially. Research limitations/implications – This study pertains to the strategic marketing of sequentially released products and provides new insight into whether and how past evaluations carry over from past editions in the series to the latest sequel. Practical implications – This study helps marketing managers to better manage sequels and use evaluations of earlier editions to assess the potential of a sequel. Originality/value – The paper explores the carry-over mechanism between earlier editions of a product and later sequels by studying evaluations of earlier editions in the series. It highlights the impact of variability of evaluations in the series as well as other factors, including whether the product is consumed individually or socially.

2020 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Naqeeb Ullah Atal ◽  
Mohammad Iranmanesh ◽  
Fathyah Hashim ◽  
Behzad Foroughi

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to investigate the determinants of Muslims’ attitude and intention towards Murabaha financing by considering religiosity as a moderator. Design/methodology/approach The data were collected through a survey of 373 Muslims in Afghanistan and were analysed using the partial least squares technique. Findings The results showed that social influence and religious obligation have a positive effect on attitude towards Murabaha financing. Furthermore, social influence and attitude have a positive effect on the intention to use Murabaha financing. Religiosity moderates negatively the impact of social influence on attitude towards Murabaha financing. Practical implications Managers and marketers of Islamic banks may benefit from the findings of this study, which provide insight into the factors that should be considered to promote Murabaha financing. Originality/value The findings contribute to the literature on Islamic financing products by demonstrating the drivers of attitude towards and intention to use Murabaha financing. The study also extends the literature by testing the moderating role of religiosity. Furthermore, the study extends the theory of reasoned action in the context of Islamic financing by introducing religious obligation as a potential driver of attitude and religiosity as a moderator.


2019 ◽  
Vol 36 (7) ◽  
pp. 1053-1077 ◽  
Author(s):  
Binh An Thi Duong ◽  
Huy Quang Truong ◽  
Maria Sameiro ◽  
Paulo Sampaio ◽  
Ana Cristina Fernandes ◽  
...  

Purpose A single supply chain management (SCM) practice will have a certain impact on organizational performance (OP). However, since it is placed in a system that many other practices are conducted simultaneously, the practice itself will interact with other ones (i.e. affect/be affected). As a consequence, the efficiency of the affected practice is increased and it is expected to maximize the impact of SCM practices on OP. This mechanism is named the “resonant” influence that is a new approach in the SCM literature. The purpose of this paper is to test the above mechanism toward an insight into the relationship between SCM and OP. Design/methodology/approach Two models were compared: the competitive models only exist in direct effects; and the other contains relationships between practices that are able to show the mechanism of the resonant influence, i.e. the hypothetical model. A data set gained from Vietnamese garment enterprises was used to validate the mechanism of the resonant influence. Findings Empirical evidence from Vietnamese garment sector showed that the competitive models could explain 42.8, 26.3 and 34 percent variance of operational performance, customer satisfaction and financial performance, respectively. In the meantime, the hypothetical model containing the resonant influence is capable to explain 69.5, 33.1 and 57.3 percent. For the impact of each SCM practice on OP, all relationships in the hypothetical model are also greater than those in competitive ones. These results supported the mechanism of the resonant influence. Research limitations/implications This research provides an insight into the relationship between SCM practices and OP. By the resonant influence, the effectiveness of each affected SCM practice itself is magnified and OP is also increased remarkably. Practical implications Understanding the resonant influence, companies can apply this mechanism to enhance effectiveness of SCM practices at the lowest cost. To this end, the SCM practices should be implemented simultaneously as an integrated system rather than independent ones and the structural model proposed in this study is able to be used as “a guide map” for applying this mechanism. Originality/value This is one of pioneer empirical studies in the SCM literature that proposed and validated the concept of “resonant influence.”


2021 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Marko Juhani Matalamäki ◽  
Sanna Joensuu-Salo

PurposeThis paper examines how digitalization can affect three aspects of firm growth. The specific objectives are as follows: (1) to increase understanding of how digitalization affects pre-factors for growth, (2) to examine how digitalization transforms the growth process, especially growth strategies and (3) to examine how digitalization is apparent in the outcome of growth.Design/methodology/approachWe explore six Finnish growth companies in order to understand the relationship between digitalization and growth. We used qualitative data collection and the Digimat measurement test for analyzing patterns, themes and best practices to generate a deeper understanding of the impact of digital technologies on business growth and growth strategies in these companies.FindingsWe propose that business growth includes three aspects of growth: pre-factors of growth, growth as a process and growth as an outcome. Digitalization may affect all of these aspects and strategic flexibility can affect business growth. Digitalization and strategic flexibility are intertwined; strategic flexibility enables the application of new technology, and digitalization enables flexibility.Practical implicationsBuilding on the results of the case studies, this research identifies relationships between digitalization, business growth and strategic flexibility.Originality/valueThis paper contributes to the growing literature on digitalization, providing new insight into its relation to business growth.


2019 ◽  
Vol 41 (3) ◽  
pp. 520-537 ◽  
Author(s):  
Maeve Clancy ◽  
Carol Linehan

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to explain some divergent findings on experiences of fun at work. It explains conflicting findings by moving from a focus on classifying the activity (as, e.g. task/managed/organic) to foregrounding the dynamics of the experience, adding to the growing conceptualisation of fun at work as a multi-dimensional construct.Design/methodology/approachThis research draws on empirical data obtained through case study and interviews with 13 participants from two organisations. These interviews were subjected to intense thematic analysis.FindingsIt was found that an individual’s underlying beliefs about the organisation; the perceived drivers of the fun practice; and the level of control exerted over a fun practice significantly shape the experience. The paper draws on the concept of the psychological contract to frame the relationship between these three key interacting elements.Practical implicationsThis paper provides a greater understanding of the dynamics of fun experiences, enabling management to better recognise and contextualise the impact of fun practices.Originality/valueGiven conflicting findings on both the experience and outcomes of fun at work, this study elucidates the dynamics underpinning the experience of fun at work. It is novel to consider experiences of fun through the lens of psychological contracts, which offers fresh insight into the understanding of individual experiences of fun.


2017 ◽  
Vol 26 (4) ◽  
pp. 342-350 ◽  
Author(s):  
Eric Kennedy ◽  
Francisco Guzmán

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to examine the effects of Millennials’ perceived ability to influence a brand and how this perception about the brand impacts the consumers’ desire to engage in co-creation. Additionally, the paper examines the effects of perceived influence on attitude toward the ad and purchase intention. Design/methodology/approach Two studies were developed. In the first study, Millennial consumers identify technology brands they feel they are able to influence and not able to influence. Using the results from Study 1, Study 2, a 2 × 2 between subjects factorial design, is used to test the impact that perceived brand influence has on co-creation, attitude toward the ad and purchase intention. Findings The results of this paper offer new insight into consumer co-creation. Instead of co-creation being a constant that a brand can rely on, managers must now consider the attributions that consumers have about the brand. If a brand is perceived as being unable to be influenced, then not only will consumers not engage in co-creation but attitude toward that ad and purchase intention will also decrease. Research limitations/implications This paper focuses exclusively on Millennial consumers. While this segment of the population is large and important, validating the results with a national generalizable sample could shed additional insight into the power of the ability to influence on co-creation. The survey was created to mimic an online social media platform that a consumer interacts with on a regular basis. To further verify the test results, additional platforms for co-creation, including company websites and retail settings, could be tested. Practical implications If a brand wishes to engage Millennial consumers with active co-creation, then the perception of the brand is important for success. Brand managers must create a perception of the brand that is open to engagement with consumers – which allows for consumers to give input and help to shape the brand. Consumers should become comfortable with the idea of the brand asking for, accepting and implementing feedback from customers. Originality/value This paper is the first of its kind to combine attribution theory, theory of reasoned action and co-creation to measure the perceptions that consumers have about a brand. The results of this paper provide valuable insight to the limits and conditions in which co-creation will occur.


2013 ◽  
Vol 20 (4) ◽  
pp. 934-965 ◽  
Author(s):  
Piers Thompson ◽  
Robert Williams ◽  
Brychan Thomas

Purpose – This paper aims to examine the impact of developing more active web sites and increasing e-commerce on the relationship between innovation and growth performance in SMEs. Using the existing literature and empirical analysis the study seeks to consider the potential of engagement with the internet to achieve the often hard to attain ambition of both innovation and growth. Design/methodology/approach – In order to examine the relationship, data are drawn from the Federation of Small Businesses' Lifting the Barriers to Growth Survey. In order to establish whether the use of more sophisticated web sites are associated with being an innovative high performance business, while controlling for other firm and entrepreneurial characteristics, multivariate analysis in the form of multinominal logits and discriminant function analysis are utilised. Findings – The results suggest that although theoretically web sites with tools allowing interaction with customers or suppliers could benefit SMEs through a reduction in transaction costs and wider access to information, enabling them to jointly experience innovation and growth, in practice there is less evidence that this occurs. Those firms with active web sites are more likely to be innovative, but less likely to be both innovative and achieving growth. Research limitations/implications – The paper suggests a framework for analysing the impact of e-business at process level that can be used with other SME case studies. Practical implications – These results suggest that further work must be undertaken to establish whether SMEs should be encouraged to make such investments and if so what additional help is required to ensure that investments in this digital infrastructure achieves an appropriate return on investment. Originality/value – The results are of importance to both SMEs and policy makers providing insight into the nature of potential benefits from web site development using a large dataset. A clear need to investigate further how more innovative SMEs can benefit from company web sites and ecommerce to grow is identified.


2015 ◽  
Vol 33 (4) ◽  
pp. 508-521 ◽  
Author(s):  
Paul W Ballantine ◽  
Cara Au Yeung

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to understand the differences between organic (i.e. naturally occurring) and sponsored (i.e. marketer influenced) consumer-generated blog reviews, by examining how blog source and review valence can impact upon perceived credibility, brand attitude, and behavioural intentions. Design/methodology/approach – This study used an online experiment, where participants were randomly assigned to one of six conditions in a 2 (blog source) × 3 (review valence) between-subjects factorial design. Findings – The findings indicate that balanced reviews are perceived to be the most credible. Negative reviews led to the lowest ratings on brand attitude and purchase intention, while positive reviews led to the highest ratings on these two constructs. However, the effects of review valence were not found to differ based upon whether a blog was organic or sponsored. Originality/value – The findings of this study extend and contribute to the knowledge of the impact of source and valence in electronic word of mouth settings. Moreover, the findings of this study provide practical insight into how consumers react to the sponsorship of blog web sites on the internet.


2016 ◽  
Vol 43 (11) ◽  
pp. 1124-1134 ◽  
Author(s):  
Troy Lorde ◽  
Mahalia Jackman ◽  
Simon Naitram ◽  
Shane Lowe

Purpose It is generally understood that during periods of economic hardship, some persons turn to crime to compensate for income deficiencies. The paper investigates the impact of economic misery on crime. The purpose of this paper is to provide insight into the relationship between economic conditions and economic misery. Design/methodology/approach An index of misery is employed that takes into account not only the rate of unemployment, but also the rate of inflation. The non-linearity of the relationship between economic misery and crime is modelled using Markov-switching (MS) models and the synchronization of their cycles is measured via the concordance index. Findings The paper looked at the relationship between economic misery and five types of crime: property crime, theft from motor, theft of motor, fraud and robbery. No evidence of a contemporaneous relationship between economic misery and crime was uncovered. Property and theft of motor crime respond to the state of misery with a lag of one period, supporting the criminal motivation effect. Economic misery is in the same regime as property crime 50 per cent of the time and with theft from motor crime almost 60 per cent of the time. Originality/value Most of the theoretical and empirical work is based on larger economies. The paper provides some insight into the relationship between economic conditions and economic misery in developing microstates, a niche which has been largely ignored in the literature. The use of MS models in the paper deviates from the tradition of examining linear relationships on the basis that the variables under investigation are inherently cyclical and linear analysis is likely to provide a weak fit under these circumstances.


2019 ◽  
Vol 25 (3) ◽  
pp. 271-286 ◽  
Author(s):  
Kristi N. Lavigne ◽  
Victoria L. Whitaker ◽  
Dustin K. Jundt ◽  
Mindy K. Shoss

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to examine the relationship between job insecurity and adaptive performance (AP), contingent on changes to core work tasks, which we position as a situational cue to employees regarding important work behaviors. Design/methodology/approach Employees and their supervisors were invited to participate in the study. Supervisors were asked to provide ratings of employees’ AP and changes to core tasks; employees reported on job insecurity. Findings As predicted, changes to core tasks moderated the relationship between job insecurity and AP. Job insecurity was negatively related to AP for those experiencing low levels of change, but was not related to AP for those experiencing high levels of change. Counter to expectations, no main effect of job insecurity was found. Research limitations/implications This study employed a fairly small sample of workers from two organizations, which could limit generalizability. Practical implications The study identifies changes to core tasks as a boundary condition for the job insecurity–AP relationship. Findings suggest that organizations may not observe deleterious consequences of job insecurity on AP when changes to core tasks are high. Originality/value Few researchers have examined boundary conditions of the impact of job insecurity on AP. Furthermore, inconsistent findings regarding the link between job insecurity and AP have emerged. This study fills the gap and expands upon previous research by examining changes to core tasks as a condition under which job insecurity does not pose an issue for AP.


2016 ◽  
Vol 35 (5/6) ◽  
pp. 314-327 ◽  
Author(s):  
Brooklyn Cole ◽  
Raymond J. Jones ◽  
Lisa M. Russell

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to empirically examine the relationship between psychological diversity climate (PDC) and organizational identification (OID) when influenced by racial dissimilarity between the subordinate and supervisor. Design/methodology/approach Ordinary least squares hierarchical regression analysis was run for hypotheses testing. Findings Three of the four hypothesized relationships were supported. Support was found for the direct relationship between PDC and OID. The moderator race was significant thus also supported. The moderator of dissimilarity was not supported. Finally the three-way interaction with race and dissimilarity was supported. Practical implications OID is an important variable for overall organizational success. OID influences a wealth of organizationally relevant outcomes including turnover intentions. Considering higher turnover exists for minority employees, understanding how diversity climate perceptions vary by employee race and therefore impact OID differently, helps managers when making decisions about various initiatives. Originality/value This study is the first the authors know of to investigate the impact of dissimilarity on the PDC-OID relationship.


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