Global marketing of industrial products: Are interpersonal relationships always critical?

The present paper examines the issue of whether interpersonal relationships are critical for global marketing of industrial products. The fields of relationship marketing, IMP group research, sales research, and network theory have stressed the importance of interpersonal relationships in the business-to-business or industrial marketing context. In contrast to this emphasis on interpersonal relationships, we argue that industrial firms can both conceive and enhance marketing strategies based on developing high quality and consistent processes, products, services or outcomes (consistent processes and outcomes). Such strategies are especially important given the fact that developing interpersonal relationships is expensive due to their reliance on frequent and/or face-to-face communications. In this paper, we examine industry and country contexts that lead to the choice of alternative industrial product marketing strategies and highlight some future research directions and managerial implications.     

Involving suppliers in product development: Insights from R&D directors and project managers

While there is increasing evidence that involving suppliers in new product development (NPD) is important, and for many firms even inevitable, there is also evidence that not all such efforts are successful. Firms aiming at implementing this strategy effectively have to pay close attention to several contingency factors on the organizational level and properly manage supplier involvement on the project level. The exploratory case study research underlying this article explores key issues to be considered when involving suppliers in NPD and the counter measures they can take. Our research shows that companies differentiate between so-called “know-how” and “capacity” projects, and that they manage them differently. Furthermore, this research shows that firms outside the automotive and high-tech manufacturing industries are likely to intensify supplier involvement in the future.     

Changes in sponsorship value: Competencies and capabilities of successful sponsorship relationships

The sponsorship relationship has evolved considerably over the past few years. As a result, the value delivered to both sponsors and the sports entities with which they form relationships needed to be redefined. While some of these partners have made the necessary leap forward, some sponsors have also been confronted with resistance on the part of sport entities to adapt to evolving perceptions of value. Based on a qualitative study aimed at canvassing the views of some of the most prominent experts in the field and spanning 4 years and four continents, we document this evolution of sponsorship value and identify those key competencies that differentiate successful sponsors from less successful ones. Our research provides insights for other inter-firm relationships, particularly those in the service sector.     

The role of e-marketplaces in supply chain management

Electronic marketplaces (e-marketplaces) have a profound influence on the way in which organizations manage their supply chains. Proponents of the e-marketplace concept suggest that web-based trading systems, such as World Wide Retail Exchange (WWRE) and GlobalNetXchange (GNX), would enable companies to more efficiently buy, sell, and manage their supply chain processes on a global scale. This study investigates the extent to which e-business tools of the e-marketplace are used by channel members in the retail sector for business-to-business supply chain management (SCM). The study is based on a survey involving food service companies, retailers, and wholesalers in the UK. It is shown that the e-marketplace supply chain applications enable the majority of companies to automate transaction-based activities and procurement-related processes rather than strategic supply chain activities. The results also indicate that full participation in e-marketplaces requires companies to integrate their internal and external supply chain activities and share strategic information.     

Global sourcing strategy and sustainable competitive advantage

Global sourcing strategy has been one of the most hotly debated management trends in the last 20 years. In its early years, global sourcing was examined mostly from “in-house” development and procurement perspectives; and in the last several years, research focus has shifted to “outsourcing” activities. Along with this shift from internal to external focus on global sourcing, many researchers and business practitioners have applied a core competency argument to justify increased levels of outsourcing activities on a global basis. Although the beneficial aspects of outsourcing are assumed in most cases, no consensus exists in reality as to the effect of outsourcing. Furthermore, the increased instability of the exchange rate environment in the last several years has also led to increased difficulties in managing globally scattered operations that were once fashionable in the 1980s-90s under the rubric of global strategy. In this article, the authors explore potential limitations and negative consequences of outsourcing strategy on a global scale.     

国内现行长期债券投资核算与国际会计准则的比较分析

本文介绍了有关金融企业长期债券投资的会计核算问题上,目前我国所采用的金融企业会计制度与国际会计准则39号-“金融工具的确认与计量”的差异,并给出了具体实证分析。指出差异主要体现在1.持有债券时必须首先分类。2.摊消方法一律采用实际利率法。3.引入公允价值概念,用于期末重估确定损益。4.减值准备的计提主要靠专业判断。本文又分析了国际会计准则39号对于金融企业会计核算工作的启示,指出它对于会计人员的专业判断能力,资产负债比例管理和电子化应用等各方面提出的挑战,最后提出了我行从多方面进行具体实施准备的政策建议。     

油田企业应用质量可靠性技术初探

结合油田企业特点，阐述了开展质量可靠性技术的必要性，并从提高人的意识、加强质量可靠性信息管理、加强软件可靠性管理、加强统计技术应用、加强质量可靠性技术在油田勘探开发生产工艺中的应用等几方面提出建议。     

The effect of mandatory auditor assignment and non-audit service on audit fees: Evidence from Korea

In Korea, regulators could assign auditors to firms. We investigate the relationship among audit fees, mandatory auditor assignment, and the joint provision of non-audit and auditor services in Korea. We find that assigned auditors charge significantly higher audit fees than freely selected auditors. We also find that the joint provision of non-audit and audit services does intensify the relation between auditor assignment and audit fees. Combined with the results of other studies that have shown that firms audited by assigned auditors report smaller amounts of discretionary accruals than firms audited by freely selected auditors, our results suggest the possibility that mandatory auditor assignment may improve auditor independence.     

An optimization approach to business buyer choice sets: How many suppliers should be included?

In many new or repeat purchasing situations, business buyers must decide how many suppliers to consider (a “choice set”) in determining which supplier(s) to actually buy from or contract with. This paper develops an optimization approach to determining the size of the choice set, taking into consideration buyer utility and search and evaluation costs. A theoretical model is developed for both one-time and repeat purchase situations. The model is estimated using empirical data received from bids received for procurement auctions. In these auctions, suppliers provide bids for steel pipe based on two product attributes (price and delivery time). Model sensitivity to small changes in parameters is also tested.     

The evolution of the seven steps of selling

The traditional seven steps of selling is perhaps the oldest paradigm in the sales discipline. The seven steps model has served as a basic framework in sales training, personal selling textbooks, and teaching personal selling classes. Very little has changed in this framework since the turn of the 20th century. This article reviews the traditional seven steps of selling, examines transformative factors that have led to changes in each step, and presents an evolved seven steps process. While the traditional seven steps reflected a selling orientation on the part of a firm, the evolved selling process reflects more of a customer orientation in that the focus is on relationship selling—that is, securing, building, and maintaining long-term relationships with profitable customers.