Entrepreneurial Orientation versus Small Business Orientation: What Are Their Relationships to Firm Performance?

This study examines the constructs of entrepreneurial orientation (EO) versus small business orientation (SBO), their impact on small business performance, and whether these effects are moderated by longevity. A sample of 267 small business owners from 11 small–medium downtowns was used in structural equation modeling (SEM) testing of the measurement, structural and moderation hypotheses. The measurement confirmatory factor analyses models of the two constructs revealed that EO and SBO are unique constructs. Then a structural model predicting performance was tested. Finally, a two‐group model split on “below 11 years” versus “11+ years” demonstrated that the structural paths connecting EO and SBO to performance are not the same in these groups: for the younger group, only EO significantly predicts performance while for the older group, only SBO significantly predicts performance.     

The mismatch between regional spatial planning for wind power development in Germany and national eligibility criteria for feed-in tariffs—A case study in West Saxony

In future, wind power is to contribute decisively toward achieving climate policy goals. It can accomplish this, however, only if sufficient space for erecting wind turbines (WTs) is made available. In Europe we currently observe the trend that administrative landscape protection counteracts the desired development. Especially in Germany, the country that leads the world thus far in terms of installed capacity for wind power, the planning authorities are moving toward limiting locally available sites by designating so-called priority and suitability areas. These areas give the erection of WTs priority over other types of land uses but prohibit the erection of WTs outside these areas. The scale and the placement of these areas will be of great significance in future for securing wind energy supply at the regional level and thus for accomplishing national goals in climate policy. According to the regulations in the law revising the legal status of the Renewable Energy Sources Act (Erneuerbare-Energien-Gesetz, EEG, 2009), payment for wind power feed-in to the grid is granted only if, with regard to energy production, the WT to be erected yields at least 60% of a pre-defined standard performance level. With this regulation, the EEG wishes to prevent erecting WTs at locations inefficient for energy production. At the same time, however, higher standards are placed on the allocation of VE areas (priority and suitability areas) as a result. This poses the question: Does regional planning conform to such standards? With the example of the planning region West Saxony, we will evaluate the role the designation of VE areas plays in achieving Germany's wind energy ambitions. The case study reveals that the strategic search of VE areas by the regional planning authorities, involving local stakeholders and the public, hampers investment in state-of-the-art WTs as fostered by the EEG (2009). This leads us to the general conclusion that, even with a participatory design of strategic planning and a determined governmental policy, deployment of the wind resource is not a fast-selling item that in future may contribute decisively toward achieving the ambitious goals in energy and climate policy.     

Creating commitment and loyalty behavior among retailers: what are the roles of service quality and satisfaction?

As a result of weakening brand image/loyalty, little differentiation, and intense price competition, manufacturers are now increasingly pressed to ensure retailers’ shelf space and/or salesperson attention. This research contributes to the literature by empirically examining an underrepresented body of literature in the B2B context—retailer loyalty. Specifically, this study fills a gap by investigating retailer evaluations of the technical and relational dimensions of a manufacturer’s order fulfillment service quality as predictors of retailer satisfaction, affective versus calculative commitment, and ultimately loyalty behavior. Results suggest that both technical and relational order fulfillment service quality influence satisfaction, which in turn positively affects both affective and calculative commitment. By separating the affective and calculative dimensions, loyalty behavior is associated directly only with affective commitment. Further examination reveals that relational order fulfillment service quality has a direct impact on affective commitment. When the sample was split based on “share of wallet,” results suggest that satisfaction impacts both affective and calculative commitment, regardless of “share of wallet.” For “high share” retailers, the positive relationship of calculative to affective commitment creates an indirect route (through affective commitment) by which calculative commitment affects behavioral loyalty.     

Strategic fit to resources versus NPD execution proficiencies: what are their roles in determining success?

This research examines the roles of strategic ‘fit’ versus execution proficiency in creating superior performance for new products. Specifically, we compare main effects versus moderation effects models of execution proficiency within a resource-based view (RBV) framework. Four new product success dimensions are outcomes. Marketing ‘fit’ and technological ‘fit’ are viewed as resource fit advantages and are antecedents in the model; marketing versus technical execution proficiencies relate to the project’s execution. The results show that the proficiencies-as-moderators model is the better fitting one; marketing but not technical proficiency is the key moderator. The results regarding resource fit advantage show that (1) both marketing fit and technological fit were positively related directly to profitability and to new product advantage; (2) marketing fit had direct positive effects on customer need met; and (3) neither marketing fit nor technological fit predicted speed. Concerning execution proficiencies: (1) technical execution proficiencies led to higher profitability and customer needs met, as well as speed; and (2) marketing execution proficiency was the only construct that led directly to increased success on all four dimensions examined in this research. Overall, support was found for the general premise that both marketing and technological resource fit advantages and marketing and technical execution proficiencies are significant predictors of new product success factors, with marketing proficiencies having additional moderating effects on the relationship of resource fit to performance.

Participatory trials and farmers' social realities: understanding the adoption of legume technologies in a Malawian farmer community

This article presents results from a study exploring the reasons for low adoption of legume technologies to improve soil fertility by farmers from a community in central Malawi who took part in participatory trials. This study explores the influence of gender roles in agriculture and land ownership and socio-economic differentiation in the community. Because most women do not own land and are traditionally responsible for legume crops, they have little interest in managing soil fertility for maize crops. Men are not interested in using legumes in maize-cropping systems. Some are too poor: this group needs to complement their subsistence maize production with paid labour on the farms of better-off farmers; restricting the labour availability for their own farming activities. Wealthier farmers have access to, and prefer to use chemical fertilizer and cattle manure. Take-up rates among the middle group of farmers were also low. This study discusses how these (and other) factors influence the (non-)adoption of maize-legume technologies in Malawi and the effectiveness of participatory research. It emphasizes how differentiated farmer-realities affect the uptake of technologies identified as promising in participatory field evaluations.     

Marketing and technology resource complementarity: an analysis of their interaction effect in two environmental contexts

The dynamic capabilities perspective posits that a firm can leverage the performance impact of existing resources through resource configuration, complementarity, and integration, but little empirical research addresses these issues. We investigate the effects on performance of marketing capabilities, technological capabilities, and their complementarity (interaction), and whether these effects are moderated by low vs. high technological turbulence. Results from SEM two‐group analyses (with controls) show that both main effects positively impact performance in both environmental contexts. However, (1) their interaction effect is significant only in the high‐turbulence environment; (2) the marketing‐related main effect is lower in the high‐turbulence environment; and (3) the main effects of technology‐related capabilities are the same in both environments. Our research suggests that the synergistic performance impact of complementary capabilities can be substantive in particular environmental contexts: while synergistic rents cannot always be obtained, it is possible to leverage existing resources through complementarity. Copyright © 2005 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Regulating Access to International Large-Value Payment Systems

This article studies access regulation to international large-valuepayment systems when banking supervision is national. We focuson the choice between net and real-time gross settlement. Asa novel feature, the communication between the public authoritiesis endogenized. It is shown that the national authorities' incentivesare not perfectly aligned concerning the settlement method.Therefore public regulation fails to implement the first-bestaccess criteria. Banks prefer net settlement too often due tolimited liability. Still, if banks have superior informationabout their counterparties, private involvement in access regulationis desirable as it reveals information to the public authorities.     

The Impact of IFRS Adoption on Foreign Direct Investments: Insights for Emerging Countries

International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS) adoption research supports the arguments of an increase in the credibility of corporate financial information. We investigate the association between IFRS adoption and foreign direct investments (FDI) inflows. The aim is to analyse several characteristics of the adoption process specific to European emerging countries. Our results indicate that the countries adopting IFRS are more likely to benefit from a higher increase in FDI inflows than the non-adopters. Additional tests reveal that the impact is driven by the adoption level related both to listed and unlisted companies. IFRS adoption by unlisted companies has a lower impact on FDI inflows, as compared to IFRS adoption by listed companies. Furthermore, difference-in-difference analysis illustrates a higher increase of FDI inflows after adopting IFRS in the case of non-European Union (EU) countries as compared to EU countries.     

Beyond the firm's initial declaration: Are preannouncements of new product introductions and withdrawals alike?

Previous preannouncement research has primarily focused on product preannouncements regarding the firm's intention to introduce a new product and, for the most part, has ignored preannouncements that update the status of new product introductions (e.g., delays in launch dates and cancellation of new product programs). This study's goal is to examine if different factors influence preannouncements of new product introductions (NPIs) versus new product withdrawals or delays (NPWs). A model of six antecedents that could influence a firm's propensity to issue NPIs and NPWs is developed and tested using a sample of 265 CEOs and Presidents from manufacturers of new products. Three of the antecedents are organizational in nature; specifically, first mover predisposition, firm information interactivity, and reputation building. Also, the effects of two environmental constructs, industry innovativeness and competitive hostility, are examined. Finally, the model incorporates the effect of buyer involvement on a firm's propensity to issue NPIs and NPWs. The results indicate that NPIs and NPWs are very alike regarding their antecedent factors. Reputation building, defined as a firm's tendency to pursue a high profile leadership position within its industry, and buyer involvement are the primary motivators of a firm's propensity to issue both NPWs and NPIs. Future directions for research include the development of a normative preannouncement framework and the examination of NPIs and NPWs as nonadvertising forms of marketing communication targeted at numerous audiences such as buyers, employees, channel members, industry influencers (e.g., business and trade related press), and investors.