Integrated market and nonmarket strategies: Empirical evidence from the S&P 500 firms’ climate strategies

Firms with well-formulated competitive market strategies could still fail due to their lack of effective nonmarket strategy. Climate change poses significant threats to firms and presents firms’ need to develop nonmarket strategy integrated with market strategy. Relying on the unique dataset of US S&P 500 firms’ responses to climate change, this study seeks to ask why some firms attempt to engage in climate policy making, while others do not do so. The results found that firms with organizational resources and capabilities underlying their carbon market strategy are more likely to support mandatory climate policy. It sheds light on the significance of integrated market and nonmarket strategies, particularly when business opportunities are controlled more by governments than by markets.

Bailey and Peak and Sorensen on Management and Planning

This chapter examines two approaches to the concept of management and the planning process: firstly the approach proposed by Bailey and Peak and secondly by Sorensen. Bailey and Peak present a review of all business functions to determine the competency of each function and then suggest a number of research and analysis techniques for reviewing the finances and the various external interactions with the organisation from competitors. Sorensen proposes using the resource-based view to analyse the competitive situation, followed by creating the business model and then developing the planning documents for business development. Sorensen asserts that ‘what the customer values' is a focal point of the approach to business development. The internal strength and weakness analysis investigates the value chain, processes, resources, and capabilities, and the external opportunities and threat analysis review customers, market, and competitors.

Intra- and Interorganizational Barriers to Blockchain Adoption: A General Assessment and Coping Strategies in the Agrifood Industry

Background: Companies partaking in modern supply chains face numerous intra- and interorganizational barriers when it comes to the adoption of blockchain technology. Empirical research is missing that explores how exactly these barriers can be overcome. In this paper we first explore barriers that organizations need to overcome to successfully deploy blockchain technology. In a second step, we investigate the agrifood industry and highlight differences in coping strategies between incumbents and start-ups. Methods: We conducted a quantitative survey with 190 supply chain experts to identify barriers and an in-depth qualitative study that included 10 expert interviews to better understand the current situation in agrifood organizations. Results: The findings from the quantitative study show that the most relevant organizational barrier to blockchain adoption is the widespread lack of understanding of the technology and its potential benefits. In the qualitative study we illustrate how various intra- and interorganizational barriers can be overcome and how the resources and capabilities differ between incumbents and start-ups. Conclusions: Our results provide academics with a better understanding of the relevant barriers and bridges of blockchain adoption. Practitioners benefit from learning about the resources and capabilities they need to deploy in order to benefit from blockchain technology.

Strategic Responses to New Zealand-China Free Trade Agreement: A Case Study of New Zealand Natural Health Products Industry

<p>The rise of global consumption, as well as technological innovation in transportation and telecommunications, have increased international exchange of goods, services and factors of production. Economic globalization in terms of production and markets has been accompanied by an unprecedented intensification of economic and financial linkages within geographic regions. The world economy is shifting towards greater regional economic integration. As open and dynamic economies, New Zealand and China heavily rely on international trade and investment to stimulate economic growth. Strengthened international linkages and improved access to markets are major economic strategies for both countries. As they have been committed to building up longstanding and healthy bilateral trade and economic partnerships, these two countries signed a free trade agreement (FTA) that aims to liberalize and facilitate trade in goods, services and investment, and improve the business environment and strengthen cooperation in a wide range of economic areas. From the perspective of New Zealand's businesses, the FTA will not only improve the business environment, and open up market access opportunities, but it will also pose threats. To take advantage of these opportunities, neutralize threats, and consequently achieve a stronger market position in the Chinese marketplace, New Zealand's businesses must strategically respond to the fast-changing environment arising from the FTA. Due to the special meaning of the FTA to New Zealand's economic growth and the significance of the Chinese market to New Zealand's businesses operating in China, it is important to explore how New Zealand's firms perceive the New Zealand-China FTA; and what strategic decisions and adjustments they have made or they are going to make in response to shifts in the business environment arising from the FTA. Besides several studies with limited empirical evidence were conducted at the macro-economic level by some of interested groups such as New Zealand Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade during the FTA negotiations, little research has been conducted to examine the impact of the New Zealand-China FTA on New Zealand individual companies' business strategic performance. Building on case studies of two representative companies in the New Zealand natural health products industry, this study aims to discover the nature of salient companies under the New Zealand-China FTA and to ascertain what particular patterns of strategy and performance these companies will adopt in response to trade liberalization. The findings of this study suggest that: 1) With the New Zealand-China FTA, the Chinese fast-growing market is typical of the mix of the opportunities and challenges facing New Zealand's businesses. The FTA provides them with a strong incentive to undertake strategic adjustments for further development in the Chinese market. 2) Strategic adjustments made by a firm depend upon the nature of its firm-specific advantages and country-specific advantages, as well as its existing competitive advantages. Firms that are able to secure their resources and capabilities necessary to exploit opportunities and counter threats are more likely to gain international competitive advantages; 3) Small firms with limited resources and capabilities are more likely to engage in the formation of strategic alliances in order to strengthen their competitive positions both domestically and internationally.</p>

Strategic Responses to New Zealand-China Free Trade Agreement: A Case Study of New Zealand Natural Health Products Industry

<p>The rise of global consumption, as well as technological innovation in transportation and telecommunications, have increased international exchange of goods, services and factors of production. Economic globalization in terms of production and markets has been accompanied by an unprecedented intensification of economic and financial linkages within geographic regions. The world economy is shifting towards greater regional economic integration. As open and dynamic economies, New Zealand and China heavily rely on international trade and investment to stimulate economic growth. Strengthened international linkages and improved access to markets are major economic strategies for both countries. As they have been committed to building up longstanding and healthy bilateral trade and economic partnerships, these two countries signed a free trade agreement (FTA) that aims to liberalize and facilitate trade in goods, services and investment, and improve the business environment and strengthen cooperation in a wide range of economic areas. From the perspective of New Zealand's businesses, the FTA will not only improve the business environment, and open up market access opportunities, but it will also pose threats. To take advantage of these opportunities, neutralize threats, and consequently achieve a stronger market position in the Chinese marketplace, New Zealand's businesses must strategically respond to the fast-changing environment arising from the FTA. Due to the special meaning of the FTA to New Zealand's economic growth and the significance of the Chinese market to New Zealand's businesses operating in China, it is important to explore how New Zealand's firms perceive the New Zealand-China FTA; and what strategic decisions and adjustments they have made or they are going to make in response to shifts in the business environment arising from the FTA. Besides several studies with limited empirical evidence were conducted at the macro-economic level by some of interested groups such as New Zealand Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade during the FTA negotiations, little research has been conducted to examine the impact of the New Zealand-China FTA on New Zealand individual companies' business strategic performance. Building on case studies of two representative companies in the New Zealand natural health products industry, this study aims to discover the nature of salient companies under the New Zealand-China FTA and to ascertain what particular patterns of strategy and performance these companies will adopt in response to trade liberalization. The findings of this study suggest that: 1) With the New Zealand-China FTA, the Chinese fast-growing market is typical of the mix of the opportunities and challenges facing New Zealand's businesses. The FTA provides them with a strong incentive to undertake strategic adjustments for further development in the Chinese market. 2) Strategic adjustments made by a firm depend upon the nature of its firm-specific advantages and country-specific advantages, as well as its existing competitive advantages. Firms that are able to secure their resources and capabilities necessary to exploit opportunities and counter threats are more likely to gain international competitive advantages; 3) Small firms with limited resources and capabilities are more likely to engage in the formation of strategic alliances in order to strengthen their competitive positions both domestically and internationally.</p>

Influence of Cultural Intelligence and Psychological Capital on Service Quality: A Study of the Hotel Industry in Sabah, Malaysia

Cultural intelligence (CQ) and psychological capital (PsyCap) are two critical characteristics that can be leveraged to develop dynamic hotel frontline employees capable of sustaining service excellence. While both the hotel industry and researchers have followed this trend, there are few studies in the research setting that delve into this relationship. This study examines the effects of cultural intelligence on service quality with psychological capital serving as a mediating variable. To confirm the proposed hypotheses, this study collects 300 questionnaires from four- and five-star hotels. For quantitative analysis, partial least squares structural equation modelling was used. The findings revealed that PsyCap is favorably associated with three components of CQ (metacognitive, motivational, and behavioral elements). Simultaneously, the CQ cognitive and behavioral elements were found to be positively related with service quality (SQ). These findings offer hotel managers practical guidance on how to evaluate critical internal resources and capabilities as a source to implementing and sustaining human resource practices.

The Drivers of the Sustainability of Spanish Wineries: Resources and Capabilities

This article aims to determine which of a firm’s resources are drivers of its decisions on sustainability policies. For this purpose, it analyses four of the resources that the literature has linked with sustainability: (1) marketing resources, (2) technological resources, (3) innovation resources and (4) financial resources. The study focuses on Spain, which has the largest surface area under vine in the world. The database for the empirical analysis was drawn up from a survey among wineries carried out during 2020 and 2021. A total of 411 observations were valid. From the quantitative analysis, based on Box–Cox models, it can be concluded that adopting sustainability policies requires placing stress on innovation and on the capacity for communicating such innovations so that consumers perceive them as a change for the better; having greater technological or financial resources seems to be insufficient and of little importance. The results indicate that promoting funding and resource availability as basic tools should be reviewed in sustainability policies for wine firms.

The Role of Firm’s Location, Export-Related Resources and Capabilities in Relation to Coffee & Sesame Export Performance in Ethiopia

Exporting has been one of the fastest foreign expansion strategies in the last two decades. The purpose of this study is to investigate the role of an exporter's location in the development of export-related resources and capabilities, which will have an impact on the degree of export performance. The relationship between export-related resources, capabilities, and export performance are examined in this study. A total of 300 questionnaires were sent out to coffee and sesame exporters. However, only 253 surveys were used for analysis. The SmartPLS 3 software was used to analyse the data using the Partial Least Squares (PLS) technique. The study's findings suggest that access to location-specific resources and skills are critical antecedents for a company's ability to build export-related resources and capabilities in order to improve export performance. The geographic location of a company has a considerable and beneficial impact on human resource capability (β =0.67, p=0.001). Information capability was not significantly influenced by human resource capability ((β =0.082, P=0.259). Information capability ((β =0.656, p=0.001) is significantly influenced by organizational planning capability ((β =0.452, p=0.001). Satisfaction Export Performance ((β =0.431, p=0.01) has been significantly and positively influenced by information capability. New Product Development Capability influences strategic export performance significantly and positively ((β =0.330, p=0.001). Strategic export performance ((β =-0.035, P= 0.820) and satisfaction with export performance ((β =0.050, P= 0.625) were not affected by relationship capability. These data suggest that when it comes to exporting, rural businesses face significantly greater obstacles than those in metropolitan areas. The outcomes of this study will assist managers of remote-area businesses in developing equally appealing recruitment and reward practices in order to compete with businesses in urban areas. Furthermore, the outcomes of this study advise that export firm managers think carefully about the resources and capabilities required to improve their export performance.

How to Build a Positive Core to Liberate Learning: The Case of a Rural School in a Pehuenche Area (Chile)

Este artículo narra la historia de cómo una escuela rural al sur de Chile logró descubrir y construir un conjunto de recursos y capacidades (núcleo positivo) para liberar el aprendizaje y potenciar el desarrollo de las competencias de sus niñas y niños para vivir plenamente en el Siglo XXI. This article tells the story of how a rural school in the south of Chile discovered and built a set of resources and capabilities (positive core) to liberate learning and enhance the development of the children’s skills to live to the fullest in the 21st century.

Public services: institutional and functional dimensions

In the main, the demends on public services providors for resources and capabilities will be increasingat a time when their flexibility to maneuver and to respond will be increasingly constrained. Anyway, there are two mains ways to provide public sevices: directly, by the services included into authorities of public administration structures, and a delegated-out way, to the other service providers. While there are many diferences between the countries in the extent and the ways in which public sevices are delegated-out, the main factors that will influence behavior are common to all the countries. The public service sector in Europe is vast and complex, because there is no general consensus on what constitutes a „public service”, and the activities included under the term can vary significantly between contries.