Cross-cultural influences on e-value creation in supply chains

2014 ◽  
Vol 19 (2) ◽  
pp. 187-199 ◽  
Author(s):  
Joshua M. Davis ◽  
Carlo Mora-Monge ◽  
Gioconda Quesada ◽  
Marvin Gonzalez

Purpose – This paper seeks to report the results of an empirical study examining the influence of cross-cultural differences on the value creation process from e-business systems in the supply chain. Design/methodology/approach – A questionnaire was sent out to senior managers in companies operating in two culturally distinct national cultures. The effects of cross-cultural differences were examined by testing for between-group differences in the structural model using the multi-group partial least squares (PLS) statistical approach. Findings – Consistent with the resource-based view (RBV), contingency “fit” theory, and prior research, this study demonstrates that the value creation process from e-business systems is significantly enhanced in companies operating in national cultures that emphasize cooperation and interdependence, and promote group-level interests over individual interests. Originality/value – The mechanisms through which performance improvement is achieved from e-business systems are still not fully understood. Little is still known about how digital capabilities and environmental factors work together to influence e-business value creation along the supply chain. In addition, while contextual factors have been highlighted within the stream, the knowledge base is especially limited regarding the role of global factors in shaping the attainment of value from e-business systems in this context. Filling these gaps, this study simultaneously investigates the roles of intermediate capabilities and the macro-environment in creating value from e-business in the supply chain.

2020 ◽  
Vol 120 (4) ◽  
pp. 714-729
Author(s):  
Frank Wiengarten ◽  
Hugo K.S. Lam ◽  
Di Fan

PurposeCurrent literature provides limited insights into the supply chain contexts within which e-commerce can create higher value for firms. To address this literature gap, this research explores the value potential, and thus value creation process, of e-commerce initiatives for supply chain distribution channel expansions.Design/methodology/approachUsing secondary data collected from multiple sources, this research conducted an event study to examine the stock market reactions to the announcements of e-commerce initiatives of Chinese firms.FindingsThe results indicate that the e-commerce initiatives increase average firm value by CNY 295.29 million in a three-day window around the initiative's announcement date. Moreover, we find that such stock market reactions are more positive for firms with poor operating performance, and more negative when firms deploy initiatives on their own (rather than third-party) platforms. Further, companies that integrate or complement their online sales with an offline sales channel experience more positive stock market reactions.Originality/valueThis study provides new insights into the value creation process of e-commerce from an operation and supply chain process perspective.


2019 ◽  
Vol 37 (2) ◽  
pp. 262-274 ◽  
Author(s):  
Dustin C. Read ◽  
Andrew Carswell

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to examine the perspectives of real estate executives to assess the extent to which property management is viewed as a commodity or as a value-added professional service contributing positively to investment performance and property value maximization.Design/methodology/approachThe qualitative analysis draws on the result of 93 semi-structured interviews conducted with executives employed by some of the largest real estate investment management and service firms across the USA.FindingsThe findings suggest that significant perceptual cleavages exist in the real estate industry, with some executives believing property managers are incredibly important to the value creation process and others believing they play a much more modest role.Practical implicationsThe results highlight the need for the property management industry as whole to continue its efforts to gain recognition as a value-added professional service and for individual property management companies to actively take steps to differentiate themselves from competitors if they hope to avoid commodification and fee compression.Originality/valueThe study is the first to the authors’ knowledge to examine real estate executives’ perspectives about the roles property managers play in the value creation process, as well as their views about whether property managers have the skills and autonomy required to make value accretive decisions.


2020 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Jeoung Yul Lee ◽  
Joong In Kim ◽  
Alfredo Jiménez ◽  
Alessandro Biraglia

PurposeThis study examines the impact of situational and stable animosities on quality evaluation and purchase intention while also testing the moderating effects of within- and cross-country cultural distance. It focuses on the case of the US THAAD missile defense system deployment in South Korea (hereafter, Korea) and investigates how the resulting Chinese consumers' animosity affects their quality evaluation of, and purchase intention toward, Korean cosmetics.Design/methodology/approachThis study utilizes a quantitative approach based on a survey and structural equation modeling. The sample comprises 376 Chinese consumers from 19 Chinese regions.FindingsThe results indicate that both stable and situational animosities are negatively associated with purchase intention toward Korean cosmetics. However, their effects on quality evaluation are different. While stable animosity is negatively related to product quality evaluation, situational animosity has no such negative association. Finally, the cultural distance between Chinese regions and Korea strengthens the negative relationship between stable and situational animosities and purchase intention.Research limitations/implicationsThe study contributes by better unraveling the effects of stable and situational animosities on perceived product quality. The empirical context is unique because it allows the authors to investigate the relationship between Chinese antagonism toward the THAAD deployment in Korea and Chinese consumers' stable and situational animosities in terms of their quality evaluation of, and purchase intention toward, imported Korean cosmetics. Hence, this study contributes to the literature on consumer animosity by empirically testing the moderating effect of within- and cross-country cultural distance on the relationship between stable and situational animosities and purchase intention.Practical implicationsThe study has relevant practical implications, notably for Korean exporters' marketing management and within- and cross-cultural management. The results suggest that countermeasures are needed because Chinese consumers' stable and situational animosities are negatively related to their purchase intention toward Korean cosmetics. Moreover, the findings provide the insight that when foreign firms export culture-sensitive products to a large, multicultural country, their managers should pay attention to within- and cross-cultural differences simultaneously.Originality/valuePrevious studies have shown that the effects of animosity on product evaluation and purchase intention differ depending on the animosity dimension, product type, country and the situation causing animosity, among others. However, the existing literature on animosity has neglected the reality that within-cultural differences in a single large emerging market are relevant to explaining the concept of animosity and its effect on the purchase intention toward culture-sensitive products. Furthermore, none of the animosity studies have touched on the important moderating role of within- and cross-cultural differences between a large and multicultural importing country and a brand's home country in this manner. Therefore, the study fills this gap by empirically examining whether different moderating effects of stable and situational animosities exist for a specific conflict situation caused by a military issue and investigates the causes of these different effects.


2011 ◽  
Vol 16 (4) ◽  
pp. 207-219 ◽  
Author(s):  
Frank Wiengarten ◽  
Brian Fynes ◽  
Paul Humphreys ◽  
Roberto C. Chavez ◽  
Alan McKittrick

2019 ◽  
Vol 33 (2) ◽  
pp. 233-244 ◽  
Author(s):  
Achilleas Boukis

PurposeThis paper aims to re-examine the nature, aim and scope of internal market orientation (IMO) and introduce it as a value creation mechanism for the firm’s internal market. A service-dominant logic (SDL)-based perspective of the IMO notion is advanced, and the key steps and phases for value creation in the internal market are outlined.Design/methodology/approachThis conceptual paper bridges the IM discourse with the SDL literature, and the latter’s implications for internal marketing theory and practice are discussed.FindingsDrawing on the premises of the SDL, IMO re-surfaces as an interconnected operant resource that can be enacted through performing three sets of activities central in the value creation process for internal stakeholders (i.e. value-identifying, value-generating and value-enhancing activities). These groups of relevant value-enabling activities required for IMO enactment are extensively discussed and their role in the value creation process is scrutinized.Originality/valueThis conceptual paper aspires to provide a managerially relevant understanding of value creation in the firm’s internal market. An SDL-driven understanding of IMO is advanced setting it as a value creation mechanism appealing to a wider range of organizations.


2019 ◽  
Vol 11 (2) ◽  
pp. 185-193
Author(s):  
Vipula Wanigasekera

Purpose Cross-cultural differences must be taken into consideration for tourism development. The purpose of this study is to shed light on the importance of cross-cultural differences in a location which is emerging from a dark period after a prolonged war caused by ethnic differences. Design/methodology/approach While the existing tourism models deal with the impact of cross-cultural differences, it is difficult to apply them in certain situations, such as postwar Sri Lanka. The study therefore adopted an inductive, qualitative approach where information has been obtained from all stakeholders. Findings The conflict in Sri Lanka in the North and East has been interpreted differently by many individual stakeholder groups. This study reveals how economic development can bring communities together. The project elaborated in this study represents an investment of over US$6m. Given that the location of Jaffna was a focal point of the 26-year long civil war from 1983 to 2009, the risk of failure would have been extremely high. Originality/value The study ascertained qualitative perceptions from a cross-section of perspectives: the investor, local residents and employees. The project is shown to be a viable example of how to address socio cultural differences in the creation of a profitable venture.


2018 ◽  
Vol 25 (3) ◽  
pp. 443-467 ◽  
Author(s):  
Joshua Keller ◽  
Erica Wen Chen ◽  
Angela K.-Y. Leung

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to examine how national culture influences individuals’ subjective experience of tension when confronting paradoxical demands that arise during their day-to-day organizational experience. The paper further explores two types of paradoxical demands (task oriented and relational oriented) and two mediating mechanisms (tolerance for contradictions and harmony enhancement concerns) that exhibit contrary cultural effects. Design/methodology/approach Drawing from a sample of white-collar workers in China and the USA, the authors first inductively generated scenarios with task-oriented and relational-oriented paradoxical demands and then conducted three studies where participants rated the perceived tension from the scenarios. In Study 1, they examined cross-cultural differences in perceived tension and the mediating role of tolerance for contradictions. In Study 2, they primed Americans with proverbs that promoted tolerance for contradictions. In Study 3, they examined the indirect effects of harmony enhancement concerns in China in relational-oriented paradoxical demands. Findings The results found that for task-oriented paradoxical demands, Chinese participants were less likely than American participants to experience tension and the effects were mediated by a higher tolerance for contradictions. Americans exposed to proverbs that promoted tolerance for contradictions also experienced less tension. For relational-oriented paradoxical demands, on the other hand, the authors found no cross-cultural differences, as the indirect effects of a tolerance for contradictions were mitigated by negative indirect effects of greater harmony enhancement concerns. Originality/value This paper demonstrates that culture can influence the tension that individuals subjectively experience when they confront paradoxical conditions, suggesting that individuals learn implicitly how to cope with tensions associated with paradoxes from their broader cultural environment. However, the authors also found different cultural effects within different paradoxical conditions, suggesting that the knowledge that individuals acquire from their broader cultural environment is multifaceted.


2017 ◽  
Vol 9 (3/4) ◽  
pp. 302-316
Author(s):  
Promporn Wangwacharakul ◽  
Bozena Bonnie Poksinska

Purpose The aim of this paper is to suggest and demonstrate how anchoring vignettes, as a survey instrument, can be applied to study quality management (QM) across cultures. Cultural differences may create challenges in QM. Quantitative surveys are commonly used to study QM practices but do not consider the cultural bias in the survey results. An important question is how to study QM so that the results are comparable across cultures. Herein, the use of anchoring vignettes is suggested to reduce the problem of cross-cultural incomparability. Design/methodology/approach This paper focuses on developing and testing vignettes for studying QM. Based on previous survey studies, two vignettes for each QM dimension are developed. The vignettes are then tested with two pilot tests on the web-based survey platform. Findings The paper provides a concrete example of how a survey using anchoring vignettes could be designed and used to deal with cultural bias in QM survey Based on hypothetical examples from Swedish and Indian cultures, the results from pilot studies evaluating vignettes are promising and show the applicability of the proposed method. Anchoring vignettes may help to provide more accurate survey results and thereby contribute to understanding of cross-cultural differences in QM practices. One of the challenges is the design of vignettes, which requires high precision and several tests to make the method work. Originality/value The paper discusses the potential of using anchoring vignettes to study QM practices across cultures. This may contribute to better understanding of QM practices in an international context, and thereby help improve QM practices in multinational organisations.


2016 ◽  
Vol 23 (1) ◽  
pp. 128-157 ◽  
Author(s):  
Pervez Ghauri ◽  
Veronica Rosendo-Rios

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to empirically examine organizational cross-culture differences in public-private research-oriented relationships. More precisely, it focusses on the analysis university-industry collaborations partnering for research agreements with the aim of fostering the transfer of knowledge and innovation. It analyzes the key organizational cross-cultural differences that could hinder the successful performance of these agreements from a relationship marketing (RM) perspective. Design/methodology/approach – Based on a comprehensive literature review of organizational culture and RM, a quantitative study was carried out and a structural equation model was proposed and tested. Findings – Cross-cultural organizational differences in private-public sectors are proved to negatively influence relationship performance. Market orientation difference appears as the most significant barrier to relationship performance, followed by time orientation difference and to a lesser extent flexibility difference. Originality/value – By integrating organizational culture and RM literatures, the main contribution of this paper is the cross-cultural analysis of private-public relationships (in this case university-industry relationships) from the perspective of RM. Hence, this research will inform management seeking to develop successful public-private collaborations by enhancing their understanding of cross-cultural factors underlying relationship success and failure.


2018 ◽  
Vol 36 (5) ◽  
pp. 849-867 ◽  
Author(s):  
Claudio Pousa ◽  
Timothy Hardie ◽  
Xiaodi Zhang

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to test the influence of managerial coaching on frontline employee customer orientation, sales orientation and performance in a Chinese context. Further to this first goal, the authors also aim to compare these results with those obtained with a sample of Canadian bank employees in order to understand to what extent differences between Eastern and Western cultures affect business practices and employee responses in both environments. Design/methodology/approach This paper replicates a study from 2014 that used a sample of Canadian financial advisors to test the impact of managerial coaching on customer orientation, sales orientation and performance. In this new study, 185 frontline employees from a large insurance company in Chongqing (China) answered a paper-and-pencil questionnaire in Mandarin providing information about the coaching received from their managers, their own customer and sales orientation, as well as performance. Data were analyzed using structural equation modeling in AMOS as well as multigroup confirmatory factor analysis to evaluate cross-cultural differences. Findings The authors found that for the Chinese respondents managerial coaching is positively related to employee performance both directly and through the mediation effect of customer orientation. The authors found no support for the mediation of sales orientation between coaching and performance. These results suggest that managerial coaching might be a good strategy to promote relational behaviors in frontline employees, but not to reduce manipulative behaviors. The authors also found that these results are statistically equivalent for Chinese and Canadian respondents, suggesting that cultural differences are less prevalent than expected in this business sector. Research limitations/implications The study makes several contributions to research. First, it suggests that managerial coaching can help employees develop their customer orientation–a central construct for commercial organizations working under a relational marketing approach. Second, it presents one of the first studies that evaluate the efficiency of managerial coaching in an Eastern country. And finally, results underline the equivalence of results for Eastern (China) and Western (Canada) respondents suggesting that in a global environment (like the financial industry) the business logic guiding the development of good customer relationships and employee customer-oriented behaviors prevails over potential cultural differences and makes leader and employee behaviors more similar and comparable across different regions in the world. Practical implications First, the use of managerial coaching seems to increase frontline employee relational behaviors, like customer orientation. Accordingly, managerial coaching seems to be a link that can help financial institutions bridge the formulation of a marketing relational strategy in the boardroom and the implementation of such a strategy at the customer interface between frontline employees and customers. Second, given the equivalence of results between the Canadian and the Chinese sample, it seems that the similarities between business models and business logics within the financial services sector are more important—and supersede—the potential cross-cultural differences between Eastern and Western countries. Originality/value The study makes a contribution to the limited literature on the use of managerial coaching in financial institutions to increase frontline employee relational behaviors. At the same time, it presents one of the few cross-cultural studies comparing results obtained from Chinese and Canadian respondents.


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