Market Orientation in the Chilean Small Business Context

Abstract

Market orientation has been considered a key factor in successful business operations across different markets. To test this assertion, the authors examine the influence of a firm's market orientation on small business performance in the Chilean retail environment. They go on to report empirical information about the characteristics of the market-oriented retailers in Chile. The Kohli, Jaworski, and Kumar (1993) MARKOR scale is used in the study to assess the market orientation in the context of a developing country environment. Data for the study were collected from small retailers in Chile through self-administered questionnaires using a drop-off/pick-up method. The results show a significant correlation between market orientation and small business performance. Path analyses found that the best structure among the Market Orientation dimensions is: Intelligence Generation→ Intelligence Dissemination → Responsiveness. Moreover, these performance measures differed significantly among the three different partitions obtained using a k-means cluster analysis. The findings indicate that the MARKOR scale is both valid and reliable in a diverse Chilean small business environment.     

A case study in the evaluation of geotourism potential through geographic information systems: application in a geology-rich island tourism hotspot

The significant growth in geotourism across all continents over the past two decades has created a strong demand for more creative, robust and systematic approaches to assessing the geotourism potential of natural areas, for identifying suitable sites of geological interest and providing comprehensive frameworks for management. We investigate a range of spatial data-sets using remote sensing analysis tools as well as geographic information systems (GIS) to complement field-derived data and allow for comprehensive analysis of combined data-sets. Such an approach allowed the creation of a spatial geological data base which can be assessed against access and management criteria, including environmental factors and risks. We used the relatively data-rich example of Rottnest Island in the south-west region of Western Australia to demonstrate the opportunities for future geotourism project development.     

Employee performance outcomes and burnout following the presentation-of-self in customer-service contexts

This study examines how emotional intelligence and occupational commitment have a moderating effect on the relationship between emotional labour and its potential outcomes. Two acting strategies reflect emotional labour, namely surface and deep acting, with burnout and performance as the prospective outcomes. Burnout is operationalized into emotional exhaustion, depersonalization and diminished personal achievement; whereas performance is operationalized into task performance and organizational citizenship behaviour (OCB). The study investigates employee responses from several tourism and hospitality organizations in Florida, USA. The results show that emotional labour relates most positively to task performance and to burnout in the case of surface acting. Tests of moderation show that occupational commitment enhances performance outcomes by facilitating emotional labour strategies, and the prevalence of higher emotional intelligence amongst employees reduces burnout. These findings contribute to the literature on emotional labour by incorporating emotional intelligence and occupational commitment as moderators and by incorporating OCBs within performance analyses.     

IT project portfolio governance: The emerging operation manager

Today's information technology (IT) organizations are under pressure to meet or improve IT service levels for critical business functions. Various industry standards, such as the IT Infrastructure Library (ITIL) and the Control Objectives for Information and Related Technology (COBIT) standard, have gained wide acceptance as comprehensive methodologies for improving the effectiveness of IT management. The role of IT operations management is subsequently changing from a component orientation (such as networks, systems, storage, database, and applications) to managing business‐oriented, end‐to‐end IT services. This article presents a detailed analysis of available literature in order to identify the most appropriate competencies and necessary skill sets that will be needed by an operation manager for strategic business alignment.     

基于森的功能和能力福利理论的失地农民福利水平评价

研究目的:测算农民失地前后的福利水平。研究方法:模糊综合评价法。研究结果:失去土地后,农民的福利水平略有提高,模糊评价值从0.342上升到0.373,居住条件和发展空间的改善是失地农民福利水平提高的主要原因,而失地农民的经济状况、心理状况和居住环境则呈现出恶化趋势。研究结论:应该通过提升失地农民的人力资本、完善失地农民的社会保障制度、建立失地农民的心理调适机制,从而提高失地农民的福利水平。     

城镇土地储备适宜性评价初探

针对城镇存量土地盘活难的问题,提出了建立城镇土地储备适宜性评价体系,对城镇建成区内所有地块的储备适宜性进行评价。评价体系包括年度储备适宜级,储备方式适宜级,储备用途适宜级,储备适宜宗地单元四个级别,分别提供适宜储备时间、适宜储备方式、后续开发适宜用途及程度、储备限制因素等信息。评价结果可为土地管理者提供详实直观的土地储备信息,为空间上合理开发利用城市土地资源提供科学依据,从而能够提高土地利用效率,盘活城镇存量土地,优化城镇结构布局。     

Some Determinants of Core Competencies: Evidence from a Binary-Logit Analysis

Despite the increasing recognition of the salience of core competencies in the process of competition, the notion of core competencies has remained largely ambiguous in the literature. Neither is it clear what strategies, institutions, and resources are necessary for developing and sustaining core competencies. This paper uses the binary-logit model to explore the determinants of core competencies, and identifies investment in intangible assets, marketing/promotional activities and firm size as significant determinants of core competencies. An evaluation of the technology strategies of two competence-seeking firms also points to the increasing salience of intangible assets, decentralization/globalization of the R&D function, and the intensive search for knowledge and capabilities.     

稀土含量对低铬合金钢的性能影响分析

本文对不同稀土含量的低铬合金钢性能进行了实验研究,实验结果表明:为了细化合金钢的组织,获得合适的碳化合物尺寸,使合金元素相互作用良好以及降低有害元素的影响,应将稀土含量控制在0.1%左右。     

基于流程状态聚类的林业企业经营绩效评价模型研究

在业务流程管理、传统绩效评价和人工神经网络等理论的基础上,构建了基于SOM网络的企业绩效评价模型,解决了模型构建的4个基本问题:输出层设计、权值初始化、优胜邻域设计和学习率设计;并在流程仿真的基础上对所构建的评价模型进行验证。根据所建立的模型,对林业企业的核心业务流程的运行状态进行聚类,并根据聚类结果,对林业企业的运行绩效进行评价。结果证明:应用这一评价方法可以方便地、动态地、有效地对林业企业的绩效进行评价。     

基于主成分分析的区域人造板产业竞争力评价

按照人造板产业的主要财务指标,对区域人造板产业进行了聚类分析,在此基础上,对有代表性的省区进行了主成分分析和综合打分评价。结果显示:中国人造板产业竞争力呈现出东强西弱非均衡发展的态势,低级资源禀赋竞争力被取代现象明显;区位优势、产业集群、结构优化综合因素构成了人造板产业的主要竞争力。