scholarly journals Does Psychic Distance Still Matter? Empirical Evidence from Poland

2021 ◽  
Vol 29 (4) ◽  
Author(s):  
Krzysztof Fonfara ◽  
Aleksandra Hauke-Lopes ◽  
Marcin Soniewicki

Objective: The objective of the article is to fill a research gap regarding the impact of psychic distance on the initiation of relationships by managers from Poland-based firms and to analyze the psychic distance’s influence on firm performance. Research methodology: The article is based on quantitative research conducted among managers from 201 Poland-based companies operating in foreign markets. The study used a structured questionnaire consisting mainly of closed questions. The dataset contained companies representing all sizes, industries, and ownership status from all over Poland. Findings: Two types of companies were identified following managers’ (un)willingness to initiate relationships with actors located in psychically distant markets. The study conclusions reveal that psychic distance matters for Polish managers and that business activities conducted in psychically distant markets are often perceived as more complex than in close markets. These activities involve additional risk, but they bring companies better performance. Limitations: The limitation of the study is that the measurements are based on the subjective perceptions of psychic distance. The research was conducted in Poland only. Originality: The article is a pioneer work on the psychic distance paradox among Polish managers from a diversified group of companies (from small to multinational). The article seeks to identify to what extent Polish managers perceive psychic distance as an important factor in the decision-making process concerning the initiation of relationships with foreign partners.

Author(s):  
Babita Devi ◽  

This study explores the possibility of foregrounding narratives and discourses from marginalized communities such as that of Native Indians. It attempts to assess the efficacy of articulating subaltern subjectivities as in Leslie Marmon Silko’s works. The article investigates the narrative and informing discourse that propels writing of Native Indian authors who engage with issues like displacement, deviance and behavioural changes in context of the colonial experience. The impact that severed relationships can have on people, the psychological trauma resulting from cultural losses and the intangible changes happening in the recesses of the mind are difficult to quantify, therefore these are conveniently dismissed in mainstream discourses. Yet, the important insights that the subjective perceptions of unquantifiable and intangible losses give is unparalleled and cannot be matched by any scientific claims that may be based on surveys and statistics interpreted within the paradigm of White Man’s discourse. Silko’s narrative offers a bridge to the other side, the possibility to transcend knowledge and information validated by the Whites and glimpse the world so far relegated and marginalized. At the same time, the present study while valuing the quasi- real or semi-fictional qualities of the narrative, the subjective experiences shared and admitting the significance of deep experiences in which the reader is invited to partake of or witness, also undertakes a lexical analysis of Silko’s Ceremony using Voyant Tool to intercept psychological and cultural concerns evoked in the text by studying the frequency of words as they appear in the narrative. The author has often referred to words that have association with land and terrain inhabited by the Natives. This triangulation in research is supposed to be enriching and supportive to the concerns of the authors who many a times use the tools, approach and instruments of West to register their protests emphatically- they use the language of the colonizer, the critical approach of the colonizer and the whole jargon of the colonizer to dismantle the edifice of colonialism. Similarly, this study operates in a way analogous to the text under study by both questioning as well using quantitative research tools to unravel dimensions that may be dear in the given context.


Author(s):  
Ron Berger

Purpose: Successfully entering foreign markets is a major issue in the field of international business. Cultural ignorance increases uncertainty that hinders a firm's international performance. Research has shown that the impact of cultural differences is one of the biggest obstacles to entering the Chinese and Indian markets, which are seen as one of the more important and growing markets in the last decade. This paper builds a framework for analyzing and choosing effective business strategies across the divide between very different business systems and cultures. It assists western firms in how to enter these complex markets and increase the probability of success. Design/methodology/approach: the proposed conceptual model hinges on social networking theory. Three different strategies are presented based on the different cultural, political and historical settings of China and India. Findings: the paper builds a framework for India and China structured around three core attributes to building social networks. It shows what international firms need to do in-order to build social networks that allow access to the local markets and decrease business risks. Practical implications: the proposed conceptual models enable marketers to cope even with the most complex markets and improve their probability for success. Originality/value: the literature review demonstrates that researchers have not dealt in-depth with the social constructs of social networks, especially in India. The paper depicts the commonality and differences between the two countries and serves as a basic business model when penetrating these markets.


Author(s):  
Basharat Hossain ◽  
Syed Naimul Wadood

This paper examines the impact of microfinance on some selected women borrower respondents of Bangladesh, who have been selected through a systematic random survey process. This is a quantitative research based on primary and secondary data. The primary data was collected through a structured questionnaire on sixty women borrowers of the Dhaka City, Bangladesh. This paper finds that microfinance has a highly significant positive impact on the income of these women borrower respondents. Moreover, though microfinance encourages for savings and buying new asset but it has no significant impact on their asset building and savings.Overall, there has been a mixed outcome from this cross-sections data: microfinance has been found as a matter for women borrowers’ income increasing aspects, whereas not much effective in increasing savings or building up of assets. Finally the paper recommends some steps to increase effectiveness of microfinance on the women borrowers, including expanding training facilities and lower interest rates particularly for women borrowers.


Green marketing refers to the process of selling goods or services based on environmental benefits. Green selling is very much significant for a number of reasons from eliminating extravagance and to educate all the consumers about maintaining the product or services eco-friendly. Objective of the studyis to identify the awareness of green marketing among retailers and to analyses the impact of green marketing on environment. This study is a quantitative type of research and it involves a descriptive research design. Quantitative research is obtained based on the structured questionnaire framed. Researcher has taken Primary Data through Questionnaire and Secondary Data through Journals, Magazines and Internet. Researcher Used Bar Diagram, Pie Diagram and Chi-Square Analysis for Interpretation.


2018 ◽  
Vol 11 (8) ◽  
pp. 122
Author(s):  
J.C. Blewitt

This conceptual paper reviews the literature from three distinct areas in consumer behavior: branding, warranty, and choice. In using a mixture of these three areas, propositions are developed which will be tested in future research. The impact of this study is geared towards understanding the behavior of consumers purchasing high cost items and the relative importance and trust that is placed in the warranty that comes with such a purchase. While the study will consider domestic (United States) consumers, international factors such as country of origin and psychic distance will be posed as viable factors in the decision making process. We propose that six factors will impact the role of branding in the decision making process and that a warranty will serve as a moderator to the ultimate choice decision.


2020 ◽  
Vol 3 (3) ◽  
pp. 12-22
Author(s):  
Mehreen Fatima ◽  
Zeeshan Izhar ◽  
Zaheer Abbas Kazmi

Purpose- The primary purpose of the study is to determine the impact of organizational justice (OJ) on employee sustainability. Along with that, it also describes how organizational commitment mediates this direct relationship. This study includes all dimensions of OJ which are distributive, procedural and interactional (interpersonal & informational) within the context of a developing country (Pakistan). Design/Methodology- This study has considered employees working in the banking sector of Pakistan. Two hundred ten questionnaires were received back from employees. Regression analysis was used to analyze direct relationships between variables, while smart partial least squares (PLS) were used for mediation analysis. Findings- Results demonstrated that all hypothesis were accepted and it was also confirmed that organizational commitment (OC) mediates the direct relationship between OJ and employee sustainability (ES). Originality/value- Multidimensional construct of organizational justice was tested in this study, in the context of a developing country (Pakistan), to address the research gap.


2018 ◽  
Vol 19 (2) ◽  
pp. 84
Author(s):  
Eni Susilawati

The research objective is to analyze the impact of the participation of online  ICT teacher training to increase the number of accessibility the learning content of features in Rumah Belajar. This research used the quantitative research approach with descriptive quantitative analysis methods to be able to describe how the increase in accessibility features of Rumah Belajar and utilization in learning in school. Samples were selected in this study are all online training participants at 15 locations online training that has been conducted by Pustekkom in 2015 and 2016 in 2015. The data was collected using a questionnaire and a list of open questions in accordance with the purpose of research. The results showed that 1) online ICT teacher training participants, after completing the Pustekkom  training online  using become more motivated to access other feature in Rumah Belajar; 2) The order of the percentage of the intensity level of accessibility to the other features of Rumah Belajar are: Sumber Belajar 23%, BSE 23%, Bank Soal 21%, Kelas Maya 13%, Lab Maya 6%, Karya Guru 4%, Wahana Jelajah Angkasa 4%, Peta Budaya 4% and Karya Komunitas 2%, and ICT training online using the application PKB Rumah Belajar can be used as a reference for efforts to develop a web-based learning applications, in particular for the development of Rumah belajar portal belongs Pustekkom Kemendikbud. Tujuan penelitian yaitu untuk menganalisis dampak keikutsertaan diklat online  TIK guru Belajar terhadap peningkatan jumlah aksebilitas konten pembelajaran pada fitur-fitur rumah belajar. Penelitian ini menggunakan pendekatan penelitian kuantitatif dengan metode analisis kuantitatif secara deskriptif untuk bisa menggambarkan bagaimana peningkatan aksesbilitas fitur-fitur rumah belajar dan pemanfaatannya dalam pembelajaran di sekolah. Sampel yang dipilih dalam penelitian ini adalah semua peserta diklat online  pada 15 lokasi diklat online yang telah dilaksanakan oleh Pustekkom pada tahun 2015 dan 2016. Pengumpulan data menggunakan kuesioner dan daftar pertanyaan terbuka sesuai dengan tujuan penelitian. Hasil penelitian menunjukkan bahwa 1) peserta diklat online TIK Guru, setelah mengikuti diklat online Pustekkom, menjadi lebih termotivasi untuk mengakses fitur-fitur lainnya dalam Rumah Belajar; 2) Urutan prosentase tingkat intensitas aksesbilitas terhadap fitur-fitur Rumbel selain Pengembangan Keprofesian berkelanjutan (PKB) adalah: Sumber Belajar 23%, Buku Sekolah Elektronik (BSE) 23%, Bank Soal 21%, Kelas Maya 13%, Lab Maya 6%, Karya Guru 4%, Wahana Jelajah Angkasa 4%, Peta Budaya 4% dan Karya Komunitas 2%; dan 3) diklat online TIK menggunakan aplikasi PKB. Rumah belajar bisa dijadikan referensi bagi upaya pengembangan aplikasi pembelajaran berbasis web, khususnya bagi pengembangan portal Rumah Belajar milik Pustekkom Kemendikbud.


2020 ◽  
Vol 8 (2) ◽  
pp. 112
Author(s):  
Sura Altheeb ◽  
Kholoud Sudqi Al-Louzi

The current research investigates the impact of internal corporate social responsibility on job satisfaction in Jordanian pharmaceutical companies. Quantitative research design and regression analysis were applied on a total of 302 valid returns that were obtained in a questionnaire based survey from 14 pharmaceutical companies among employees, supervisors and managers. The results showed that internal corporate social responsibility was significantly related to job satisfaction and three of its dimensions, namely working conditions, work life balance and empowerment contributed significantly to job satisfaction, whereas employment stability and skills development had no contribution. This study implies that Jordanian pharmaceutical companies have to try their best to promote and facilitate internal corporate social responsibility among their employees in an effort to improve their job satisfaction, which will eventually yield positive results for the company as a whole. In light of these results, the research presented many recommendations for future research; the most important ones were the application of this study in other sectors, cultures, and countries, and using of multi method for collecting data.


Author(s):  
Razan Nofal ◽  
Mais Jaradat

The current research aims to investigate the effect of transformational leadership on entrepreneurial orientation in Jordanian commercial banks, and whether organizational learning capability mediates the effect of transformational leadership on entrepreneurial orientation. Adopting a quantitative research design, data were collected by means of a questionnaire-based survey of employees in Jordanian commercial banks. Based on 330 usable responses, the results revealed the significant effect of transformational leadership and two of its dimensions (inspirational motivation and intellectual stimulation) on entrepreneurial orientation. Two other dimensions (idealized influence and individualized consideration) did not contribute to entrepreneurial orientation. Additionally, the results showed that transformational leadership has a significant effect on organizational learning capability, and that organizational learning capability in turn affects entrepreneurial orientation. The findings confirm that organizational learning capability fully mediates the effect of transformational leadership on entrepreneurial orientation. A number of recommendations are advanced, the most important of which is that banks should improve and develop managers’ transformational attributes by training them on how to deal with employees in order to increase their entrepreneurial orientation. Banks should also consider improving their learning capability, as this plays a significant role in enhancing and supporting the effect of transformational leadership attributes on entrepreneurial orientation.


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