An empirical examination of transaction‐ and firm‐level influences on the vertical boundaries of the firm

A large literature has successfully employed transaction cost economic theory to describe how exchange conditions affect the optimal form of organization. However, this approach has historically not accounted for the influence of firm‐specific attributes on the governance decision. This paper develops a model based on insights from transaction cost economics, the resource‐based view, and real options theory to examine how transaction‐level characteristics, firm‐specific capabilities, and product‐market scope influence the governance of production. Empirical evidence derived from analysis of 469 make‐or‐buy decisions involving 117 semiconductor firms indicates that decisions regarding the governance of production activities are strongly influenced by both transaction‐ and firm‐level effects. Copyright © 2003 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

The effects of customer and supplier involvement on competitive advantage: An empirical study in China

The focus of this paper is on the effects of customer and supplier involvement on competitive advantage in the firm. Using the resource-based view and knowledge-based view of the firm, hypotheses are developed concerning customer involvement, supplier involvement, and competitive advantage. Hierarchical multiple regressions are employed to test the hypothesized relationships. The data used was collected from 139 Chinese manufacturing firms across different industries. Each variable except control variables in the model is measured by a number of scale items. Both reliability and validity (content validity, convergent validity, and discriminate validity) are demonstrated. The results of the regression analysis show that (1) customer involvement has positive impact on product quality, delivery reliability, process flexibility, and customer service; and (2) supplier involvement leads to decreased cost. These findings are interpreted in the context of Chinese manufacturing setting and enhance the understanding of the roles of customer and supplier involvement in China's business environment.     

Perceptual difference of dependence and its impact on conflict in marketing channels in China: An empirical study with two-sided data

Although many firms have adopted the relational exchange or relationship marketing philosophy for developing long-term inter-firm relationships in marketing channels, the issues pertaining to channel conflict still deserve further investigation. The purpose of this paper is to examine the possible impact of perceptual difference of dependence between members in channel dyads on perceived channel conflict. By analyzing paired data collected from both sides of supplier-retailer dyads in China, we test two hypotheses about perceptual difference of dependence and its impact on conflict. We found that there was considerable perceptual difference of dependence between both sides of the dyads, and that the perceptual difference of dependence asymmetry between the two was positively associated with channel conflict perceived by the supplier side. Both researchers and practitioners should be aware of such differences when confronted with channel conflict issues, especially in international channel settings.     

Impacts of mobile Internet use intensity on the demand for SMS and voice services of mobile network operators: An empirical multi-method study of German mobile Internet customers

Scholarly and business publications alike convey the message that past and future strong growth in mobile Internet (MI) access and service demand has solely positive commercial implications for mobile network operators (MNOs). This position neglects the possibility that increasing MI use intensity may lead to demand decreases for the highly profitable short messaging service (SMS) and mobile voice telephony. The extant literature provides few insights on relations between MI use intensity, on the one hand, and SMS as well as mobile voice call use intensities, on the other hand. This study developed hypotheses concerning the presence or absence of impacts of MI use intensity and circumstances of MI use (e.g., device type, tariff scheme) on the demand for SMS and mobile voice telephony at the individual customer level. The hypotheses were tested by analyzing actual use behaviors of 304 MI adopters in Germany, for whom objective use intensity data were extracted from the billing system of an MNO. These non-reactive measures were combined with responses collected from the adopters through a telephone survey. Multivariate regression results suggest that though MI use intensity significantly negatively affected both number of SMS sent and received, these effects were so small that their practical relevance is highly doubtful. Further, customers who used MI more intensively did not generate lower volumes of outgoing or incoming mobile voice connection minutes. Conclusions are drawn for MNO, telecommunications sector regulators and scholarly researchers seeking to explain the acceptance of mobile communications services.     

Implementation of Key Account Management: Who, why, and how?: An exploratory study on the current implementation of Key Account Management programs

Key Account Management, as currently described in relationship marketing literature, is an important approach to creating value, by implementing specific processes targeting most important customers. This exploratory study contributes to the understanding of Key Account Management by focusing on factors influencing the decision for implementing Key Account Management and the implementation-process. The findings suggest that the intensity of competition as well as the intensity of coordination are factors driving companies towards the adoption of Key Account Management programs, and that companies still pay too little attention to the selection of key accounts. The study also reveals the phenomenon of ‘hidden key accounts’: More than 80% of the investigated companies without Key Account Management offer their key customers special treatment without aligning their own internal organizational structures.