An organizational capability perspective on multi-unit franchising

Previous research on multi-unit franchising (MUF) has primarily focused on agency and transaction cost perspectives. The present study develops and tests an organizational capability (OC) model of the franchisor’s choice of MUF. According to the OC view, the franchisor gains a competitive advantage by exploration and exploitation of firm-specific resources and capabilities. We hypothesize that, if the franchisor expects to obtain a competitive advantage resulting from higher exploration and exploitation capabilities when using MUF as opposed to single-unit franchising, the franchisor will more likely choose MUF as a governance mode of the franchise system. Based on empirical data from the German and Swiss franchise sectors, the results of the regression analysis support these hypotheses. Our main contribution to the franchise literature is the development of an OC model of the franchisor’s choice of MUF that complements the existing organizational economics ?explanation of MUF.     

Ethics, alterity, and organizational justice

This paper articulates a conception of organizational justice based on the promise of a mode of organizing that does not violate the particularity of each and every other person. It argues that the decisive condition for such a form of justice resides in the realities of the cultural practices of an organization as they are apparent in the conduct of people in relation to multiple others. These are practices that can only seek justification in the primary right of each person to be regarded with absolute alterity. It also argues that a degree of violence is unavoidable within any practical ordering of justice and that any consideration of ethics and justice in organizations must account for such violence and seek to negotiate its existence on ethical terms. The organizational justice that is referred to is one sensitive to the exercise of its own power and authority in the context of its unavoidable violation of its basis in ethics. This is a justice that is ethically necessary, but is never sure of itself.     

The impact of private labels on consumer store loyalty: An integrative perspective

This research studies the role of private labels (PLs) on consumers’ store loyalty. It offers an integrative approach that comprises several store loyalty drivers (in-store and economic factors), analyzing the role that PLs play among different types of retailers. Data were collected through an online survey. Using structural equation modeling, we run our analysis across different retail formats, assessing which factors lead to store loyalty and to what extent PLs contribute to it. Findings suggest that depending on retailers‘ market positioning, different factors contribute to loyalty and that the impact of PLs is mostly significant for medium-cost and premium supermarkets.     

A co-evolution perspective of EMNE internationalization and institutions: An integrative framework of 5Cs

While significant progress has been made on the contextual role of institutions, scholarly research on the dynamic process of emerging economy multinational enterprises’ (EMNEs) international activities interacting with home country and host country institutions still seems to be in its infancy. Therefore, in order to move the current academic debate forward, we examine the intersection between the internationalization of EMNEs and their institutional environments by undertaking a critical review of the existing literature, given that institutional forces not only shape organizational behavior but also affect EMNEs’ internationalization strategies and organizational outcomes. We propose an integrative framework of 5Cs (context, capability, change, concomitance and configuration) underlying the co-evolution of EMNEs’ internationalization and institutions, and position all the papers included in this Special Issue within this framework in order to point towards a number of directions for future scholarship.     

International transfer pricing and subsidiary performance: The role of organizational justice

International intrafirm trade is increasingly important in the global economy. Intrafirm transactions are governed by transfer‐pricing policies mandated by parent companies. Economic and accounting theories have long prescribed policies that maximize the parent company's short‐term profits but may have other, unintended outcomes. These outcomes are explored in a single‐case study. Based on this case study and organizational justice theory, a theoretical framework is developed to show how frequently used transfer‐pricing policies, through their impact on subsidiary managers' perceptions of justice, can significantly affect the subsidiary's strategic performance. First, the conditions under which transfer‐pricing policies can be perceived as procedurally, interactionally, or distributively unfair are presented. Second, it is proposed that those justice perceptions have an impact on subsidiary managers' commitment, trust in the parent company, neglect, ethical behavior, productivity, work quality, and compliance, and that the magnitude of this impact is moderated by the quality of relations between the parent company and subsidiary managers. Finally, it is predicted that such attitudes and behaviors may generate important agency and transaction costs that jeopardize the expected outcomes of international strategies of vertical integration. © 2009 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.     

Globalization and organizational restructuring: A strategic perspective

The new market opportunities, competitive threats, and diffusion of business models associated with globalization have been key drivers of organizational restructuring over the past decade. Companies have responded to these developments in a variety of ways with the objective of improving their cost and/or revenue structures through reorganizing their vertical, horizontal, and spatial boundaries and governance mechanisms. Major forms of restructuring at the business level have included labor intensification, investment in new technologies, downsizing and reengineering, the formation of strategic alliances and networks, spatial reconfiguration, and a shift from international and multinational to global and transnational strategies. To be most effective, any type of restructuring must be clearly and explicitly aligned with a firm's business‐level strategy in order to maximize the efficient and effective allocation of resources in pursuit of competitive advantage. A strategic use of restructuring which links such efforts to broader competitive strategy, and where possible to a “high‐road” approach to overall competitiveness, should result in more sustainable benefits which generate increased value‐added to shareholders as well as greater well being in the broader stakeholder community. © 2002 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.     

An integrative perspective of closeness in retailing: From retailers' sense-giving to consumers' sense-making

This research investigates the concept of closeness in retailing. While previous research on closeness has tended to adopt only consumers' point of view, in-depth interviews with managers and customers of a French supermarket chain show that both parties interpret and define closeness differently. Analysis reveals that “store closeness” comprises a complex set of meanings that are not limited to a geographical notion but rather encompass functional, relational, and integration notions. Furthermore, retailers define store closeness very broadly, which contributes to nurturing their positioning but also leads them to idealize their role in the marketplace. In contrast, consumers’ definition of store closeness is more limited and mainly focuses on the functional features of the store, thus highlighting a discrepancy between retailers’ sense-giving and consumers’ sense-making.     

Understanding consumption in social virtual worlds: A sensemaking perspective on the consumption of virtual goods

Virtual consumption involves consuming virtual goods in cyberspace. Virtual consumption activities are evolving into an essential activity in social virtual worlds. Despite the growing importance of this activity, little research examines this phenomenon. The current study investigates the fundamental question of how users understand the consumption of virtual goods. Using the theory of social representations and core-periphery analysis, this study elicits and analyzes the social representation of virtual consumption. Study participants are 154 Second Life users. Results identify 32 concepts and relationships representing the collective perceptions of virtual consumption in this social virtual world. Social representation map interpretations point to several key themes that provide a foundation for future investigations of virtual economy consumption behavior.     

The organizational ecology of retailing: A historical perspective

Little empirical research has been done on how to help retailing firms survive recessions. Using the “natural experiment” of the Great Depression and the theoretical lens of organizational ecology, we explore survival of retailers during 1929-1939 to test whether strategic competitive advantages related to human capital, the liability of newness, organizational form, and legitimacy facilitated survival through this upheaval. Consistent with theory from organizational ecology, survival was positively influenced by the average wage paid in the population, the average age of the population, chain store penetration, and an interaction of level of chain store penetration and age. The study offers recommendations for research and practice to retailers. The most important application for retailing managers is that high wage employees, presumably of higher quality, help retailers survive recessions better than low wage employees.     

组织学习研究的社会视角分析

群体学习的独特性导致有人认为学习必然是社会性的.群体学习是组织中产生共同理解的一个关键过程.个体学习可以在不需要他人而进行,而群(集)体学习固有地产生于人们的相互交往过程中.本文分析总结了关于组织学习的社会维度的主要研究,并进一步对群体学习的社会过程进行了阐述.最后对未来研究方向进行了展望.     

Exploring the determinants of organizational emergence: A legitimacy perspective

In an attempt to explain why some nascent organizations become new organizations while others do not, we contend that the process of organizational emergence can be understood and predicted by viewing it as a quest for legitimacy. We subsequently find empirical evidence to suggest that the actions a nascent organization takes (or strategic legitimacy) may be more important than its characteristics (or conforming legitimacy) in explaining organizational emergence. Such a conclusion is important in that it provides a theoretical framework with which to understand organizational emergence and in so doing advances our knowledge of this important process.     

Communication channels in markets: a definition and conceptualization

The marketing mix taxonomy by classifying marketing communications according to how they are controlled by the marketer. The proposed definition of 'marketing communications' and 'communication channels' is customer-focused in contrast to the prevailing marketer-focused interpretations in the literature. This definition calls attention to the sources of information received by customers, some of which are only weakly controlled by the marketer. The control of communication channels is conceived in terms of five types-supervisory, contractual, agency, relational and informal.     

The effect of organizational justice, perceived organizational support, and perceived supervisor support on marketing employees' level of trust

For more than four decades, research has investigated the relationship between perceptions of organizational justice and employees' work attitudes. This study used two data sets to examine how perceptions of organizational justice influence marketing employees' perceived support and trust. Specifically, this study examines the role of perceived support as a mediator between organizational justice and trust. The results indicate that in Study 1 perceived organizational support (POS) serves as a mediator between procedural justice and organizational trust. Interactional justice is both a direct and indirect predictor of supervisory trust through perceived supervisor support (PSS). Distributive justice is related indirectly to organizational trust through PSS and directly to organizational trust. In contrast to the results in Study 1, distributive justice is an antecedent to both POS and PSS while procedural justice is related directly to organizational trust.     

Understanding the link between communication satisfaction,perceived justice and organizational citizenship behavior

This study broadens the application of the justice and OCB concepts beyond pay and job satisfaction to capture previously uninvestigated effects by examining the link between communication satisfaction (CS), perceived justice, and organizational citizenship behaviors (OCB) among Chinese employees. We predict perceived justice will mediate the relationship between CS and OCB. We also predict CS will mediate the relationship between perceived justice and OCB. Quantitative analyses were used to analyze the relationships. FsQCA was used as an additional technique to test the mediating effect. Results show that OCB were influenced by CS and perceived justice. CS is a mediator between perceived justice and OCB. Perceived justice is not a mediator between CS and OCB. The finding points to the need for enhancing communication practices and creating a fair working environment in order to encourage discretionary behaviors. Theoretical and practical implications are discussed along with the limitations.     

An integrative approach to relationship marketing,customer value,and customer outcomes in the retail banking industry: a customer-based perspective from Turkey

Given how important it is to provide superior value to customers and to maintain customer loyalty for a sustainable competitive advantage, the aim of this paper is to examine the relationships among relationship marketing components of – trust, competency, commitment, communication, and conflict handling, – relationship investment, relationship quality, perceived customer value, satisfaction and loyalty in an integrated framework in the Turkish retail banking industry. Unlike previous studies, this research extends the literature by analysing affective as well as cognitive dimensions in the same model with a holistic view by simultaneously examining the direct and indirect effects of the related concepts. The distinctive nature of this study is its evaluation of customer satisfaction and loyalty from the perspective of actual consumers. The research model was tested using data collected from 685 retail banking customers by applying structural equation modelling. The findings show that relationship marketing induces loyalty through relationship quality, customer value, and satisfaction, which are mainly provided by trust, communication, and relationship investment. Furthermore, relationship investment and relationship quality are the most important factors in the development of customer value, satisfaction, and loyalty. The emotional value dimension, which captures the affective aspects of perceived value, has the strongest effect on both satisfaction and loyalty.     

Measurement of organizational investments in social capital: The service employee perspective

This paper describes the development and validation of a measure of organizational investments in social capital (OISC). The scale development process is carried out over three stages (item generation, scale purification, scale validation), with two separate data collection phases involving a total of 735 working adults from multiple and diverse service-related workplace settings. As such, the data provide evidence for the face, content, discriminant, convergent and nomological validity, dimensionality and reliability of the OISC measure. The OISC measure is a concise, unidimensional scale that has the potential for significant usage in the development and testing of theory, as well as practical application in retail and other service provision contexts.     

Access to justice for consumers: A perspective from common law countries

The paper examines techniques suggested in recent times by the “access to justice” movement for overcoming the inadequacy of traditional means of consumer protection, which are very dependent upon the individual consumer's initiative and financial resources. The jurisdictions discussed are the United States, Britain, Australia, and Canada. The author first examinesclass actions. They have found recognition only in the United States, and even there, courts have begun to follow a more restrictive line. There is little reason to believe that the introduction of the institute into other jurisdictions — as recommended in Australia — will have great impact upon the consumer's position.Small claims courts have become popular, both in the United States and the other countries discussed, due to the cumbersome and expensive procedures in ordinary courts. The main deficiency of small claims courts lies in the fact that they may be used by enterprises for cheap debt collection. The procedure of awarding monetarycompensation to consumers who have experienced loss as a result of an offence — instituted by law reform in certain places — has a very limited scope. Finally, the author discussesactions by consumer organizations and agencies. They are not very frequent in common law countries, and if consumer organizations do no get public funding, such a system will hardly turn out to be adequate. In his conclusion, the author is rather skeptical of the role of the courts in the improvement of consumer protection: They have too little input from consumer quarters and they are limited to a case-by-case reasoning. Courts have only a supplementary role to play in consumer protection.