Antecedents and consequences of social capital on buyer performance improvement

The ability to leverage social capital within strategic buyer–supplier relationships is increasingly cited as a key driver of value creation. Despite the importance of strategic partnerships, the process by which social capital accumulates within buyer–supplier relationships and contributes to buyer performance improvements is not well understood. Drawing on social capital theory, we develop a model linking positive relational capital, and its antecedents, supplier integration and supplier closeness, to buyer performance improvements. Further, we hypothesize that structural capital, as reflected in managerial communication and technical exchanges, is also positively related to buyer performance improvements. Using data provided by 111 procurement executives from the United Kingdom, we find support for our hypotheses. The study extends the supply chain management and social capital literature and suggests important implications for both research and practice.     

Phase transition in the S&P stock market

We analyze the returns of stocks contained in the Standard & Poor’s 500 index from 1987 until 2011. We use covariance matrices of the firms’ returns determined in a time windows of several years. We find that the eigenvector belonging to the leading eigenvalue (the market) exhibits a phase transition. The market is in an ordered state from 1995 to 2005 and in a disordered state after 2005. We can relate this transition to an order parameter derived from the stocks’ beta and the trading volume. This order parameter can also be interpreted within an agent-based model.     

Trading the forward bias: Are there limits to speculation?

In this paper we investigate whether trading the forward bias allows for economically significant excess returns. We find that bias-trading strategies can be viewed as attractive investment opportunities per se, useful diversification devices, and promising portfolio extensions for active fund managers trying to beat their benchmarks. The empirical results, which also mirror the problems arising in attempts to explain the puzzle by risk-premia, are consistent with market evidence that the bias is traded in practice. Overall, our findings suggest that limits to speculation are unlikely to provide a (stand-alone) explanation for the persistence of the forward bias.     

Running for pleasure or performance? How store attributes and hedonic product value influence consumer satisfaction

Previous retailing studies have linked consumer satisfaction to perceived hedonic or utilitarian product value. This research extends previous studies by examining how the context in which the product is purchased (store attributes) and product value influence consumer satisfaction. We conducted a field study with 213 consumers attending two major running events. The findings from structural equation modelling suggest that a specific combination of store attributes (tangible and intangible) and hedonic product value has a positive influence on satisfaction. Results also show that tangible store attributes have a stronger positive impact on utilitarian (vs. hedonic) product value, and that intangible store attributes have a positive impact on hedonic product value. However, we found that only hedonic product value has a positive impact on satisfaction. This research contributes to theory by showing that a match between store attributes (tangible and intangible) and hedonic product value can positively influence satisfaction. In managerial terms, the findings provide insights on how to improve consumer satisfaction in retail environments through store attributes and hedonic product value.     

The development of new higher education courses

The main objective of this study was to present a proposal for a model explaining the construction of a new higher education course to be offered to the market. Having quite a limited theoretical basis and with few investigations dealing with innovation in educational services, a case study was made to help in construction of the model. The case study, supported by studies found and adaptation of innovation in services to the educational sector, made construction of the model possible, and this is divided in three stages: antecedents, development, and implementation of the new higher education course. The proposed model can be useful for managers of higher education institutes when they decide to put new courses on the market. As for the academic field, the study presented attempts to clarify the phenomenon, as well as showing the need for further research into the subject.     

Managerial Collective Cognitions: An Examination of Similarities and Differences of Cultural Orientations

abstract    Using the context of market orientation, we examine how an exemplary business's market orientation culture is reflected in managers' mental models, evaluate how mental models and perceived behaviours differ across hierarchical levels and functions, and compare the cognitive values and beliefs or the cognitive aspects of market orientation culture with behavioural aspects. Results from a rich, multi-method, case study suggest that while managers in the business share core beliefs regarding the customer dimension of market orientation, their beliefs regarding competitors, technology and inter-functional coordination dimensions vary widely across the levels and functions of the business. We found differences in terms of both the integration between the four dimensions of market orientation and the depth of knowledge within the dimensions. Our findings reveal that customer rather than competitor beliefs are the most important commonly shared beliefs in successful companies, leading us to encourage cognitive researchers to move beyond competitor analysis when examining managerial cognition. Another implication for future research is that a strong market orientation implies common core beliefs regarding customer dimensions but does not imply that all beliefs will be or should be shared. From the methodological standpoint, we find that cognitive mapping techniques provide rich insights into a business's market orientation culture that are not gained from behavioural methods alone.