Barriers to implementing value-based pricing in industrial markets: A micro-foundations perspective

Value-based pricing has the potential to improve differentiation, profitability, and value creation for industrial firms and their customers. However, while most of the pricing research considers the ways organizations set or get value-based prices, only few studies consider how individual managers influence the pricing process and what prevents them from setting and getting value-based prices. This is of critical concern, since it is not just organizations, but individuals within organizations who make pricing decisions—and their decision-making is influenced by institutional pressures such as socially prescribed norms, rationalized meanings, and beliefs about profitable approaches to pricing. This study addresses this gap in the current knowledge by adopting a micro-foundations perspective to pricing, and focusing on the barriers that individual managers encounter when implementing value-based pricing. Drawing on a single case study in a global industrial firm, and from interviews with 24 managers, this study identifies 11 individually, organizationally, and externally induced barriers to value-based pricing. The study also sheds light on the potential sensegiving strategies for overcoming these barriers.     

Value-Based CRM

One major development within business practice is the increasing interest in customer relationship management (CRM) in recent years. CRM thereby focuses on establishing and maintaining profitable relationships with the customer using modern information technology (IT) and has emerged as a major research field in business and information systems engineering. However, despite huge investments many CRM projects fail to achieve their objectives as the complex and interdisciplinary nature of CRM is not addressed adequately. In fact an adoption of a customer-centric orientation within a value-based management requires not only a cross-functional integration of different business departments but also a selectively adjusted collaboration of those departments.     

Linking strategic HRM,performance management and organizational effectiveness: perceptions of managers in Singapore

Strategic human resource management (SHRM) theory is predicated on the assumption that effective human resource management (HRM) processes have the capacity to contribute significantly to organizational effectiveness, expressed in terms of productivity, flexibility, effectiveness, efficiency, return on investment, competitiveness, and ultimately, profitability. Earlier research studies have explored the overall value-adding potential of HRM processes as a whole. Few have focused on the links between strategic HRM, performance management systems and organizational effectiveness, and even fewer have examined these relationships in Southeast Asia. This paper addresses this gap in the literature by examining the perceptions of a split sample of senior managers in Singapore. It reveals an interesting gap between their rhetoric and the realities of their performance management systems, and suggests future research directions.     

Entrepreneurial Orientation and Corruption

Organizational corruption is a wide-spread negative aspect of economic activity, and a seemingly never-ending series of corruption scandals has been made public around the globe. Although research is performed in a broad variety of disciplines, ranging from psychology to management to law, a fully satisfactory explanation for the causes of organizational corruption has not been found. By looking at organizational factors as potential triggers for corruptive behavior, this study draws upon the concept of entrepreneurial orientation (EO). Diverse studies have shown that EO, as an antecedent to company performance, has a positive effect. Recent EO literature, however, indicates that EO has not only positive but also negative consequences. In this line of reasoning, this study builds upon principal agent theory and makes a first step in exploring the impact of EO on a negative aspect of business behavior, namely organizational corruption. We gathered survey data and publicly available data from 411 firms, inquiring for both acts of corruption from within the top management team over the last 3 years and the level of entrepreneurial orientation within the organization. Results show diverging effects along the individual dimensions of EO; they point to risk orientation as the dark side of EO, as it significantly increases the likelihood of corrupt behavior in companies. In contrast, innovation orientation, to a certain extent, counterbalances by reducing the likelihood of corrupt behavior.     

基于控制目标的企业内部控制体系框架设计与实践

企业内部控制体系设计的起点是选择控制目标,从业务流程入手,以风险的识别、评估和应对为主线,重整流程,施以信息化应用,推动配套的制度重整、组织架构重整和管理模式重整,设计内部控制评价作为制度保障,并用S公司的案例论证了"风险管理为主线,流程管事、制度管人"的设计路径的可行性和合理性。同时,在内部控制设计中,还应注意领导重视、会计部门地位高低和企业文化建设等问题。     

企业核心能力信息披露理论研究

以现代企业能力理论──信息披露理论和资源基础论为基础,建立了以企业战略管理能力、创新管理能力、风险管理能力、组织整合能力、价值识别和分析能力、价值实现能力、价值管理能力信息体系核心层──股东价值最大化的企业核心管理能力信息体系。由于对核心管理能力信息体系的具体分析,所以为构建企业核心能力信息披露的框架奠定了基础。     

An evaluation of The Ethics Program at General Dynamics

The Ethics Program at General Dynamics was evaluated relative to its stated objectives and its implied objectives. The program was found to have met its specific objectives which require employees to follow rules and standards of conduct. The program did not apparently meet its implied objectives which would have created a more humanistic work environment for employees. This result apparently stemmed from program planners' intentions to use the hope for better working conditions as a motivation for employees to follow company standards. A substantial conflict was found between the philosophical bases for ethics programs and work environment improvement programs.Dr. Barker recently joined the faculty of Marist College to teach courses in organizational behavior, human resources management, and business policy. He was previously an internal change agent, at middle management levels, for General Dynamics for thirteen years. During that period, he also taught courses part time for the University of Redlands in business ethics, management theory, organizational behavior, human resources management, strategic planning, and research design.     

The Impact of Work-Related Values on the Readiness to Change in Estonian Organizations

This study contributes to our understanding of how work-related values, including ethics, are connected with the readiness to change in Estonian organizations. Research in Estonian companies involved 747 respondents. The author examined the influence of work-related values on attitude towards change and organizational learning. Empirical research in Estonian organizations indicates that work-related values predict attitude towards change and organizational learning. This study indicates the need for ethical conduct to achieve a competitive advantage in Estonia. Guidelines for managers and a model of value-based change management are subsequently developed.     

THE ROLE OF LOGISTICS IN MARKET ORIENTATION

In today's increasingly competitive environment, survival depends on two key aspects of being market‐oriented ‐ understanding the external environment and executing decisions based on that understanding. Logistics personnel are uniquely positioned to play a key role in creating and maintaining a market‐oriented organization as they are progressively gaining more responsibilities in integrating cross‐functional processes and implementing supply chain strategies. This paper explores how logisticians participate in market orientation behaviors and how a market‐oriented logistics function impacts logistics and business performance. Based on a qualitative field research study involving in‐depth interviews with seventeen logistics personnel that draws and builds upon the logistics, market orientation, knowledge management, organizational behavior, information processing, and strategic management literatures, a theoretical model of logistics market orientation and its effect on logistics and business performance is developed and propositions are presented. Findings highlight logistics' central role in generating, disseminating, reaching a shared interpretation of, and responding to market intelligence.     

The 11 Questions Every Donor Asks and the Answers All Donors Crave: How You Can Inspire Someone to Give Generously,by H. McKinnon

Organizational learning and customer orientation have been a focus of research for a number of years in both marketing and management literature. Customer learning orientation is conceptualized as three important components: management customer orientation, customer feedback, and employee learning orientation. By drawing from both marketing and organizational research theories, the authors propose a model of customer learning orientation in a public sector organizational setting. Customer learning orientation is hypothesized to have a significant effect on employee attitudes of role ambiguity and self-efficacy, which in turn affects job outcomes of job satisfaction and organizational citizenship behaviors. Using a sample of 438 employees of a public sector organization, the authors test the model through a structural equation modeling technique. The results provide general support for the model. Implications for managers of public sector organizations and future research are discussed.     

The post-Asian financial crisis: changes in HRM in Taiwanese enterprises

The changes in the macro-economic environment, due to the recent Asian crisis, have been an important stimulus to organizational and human resource management (HRM) changes in Taiwanese enterprises. This essay tackles these responses by looking at individual firms, using a case study approach. The pattern of organizational responses introduced in these companies has exhibited a variety of different characteristics. Most have implemented strategies towards enhancing the individual firms' competitiveness. The situation has changed since Chen's research in 1997, marked by differences between a period of economic boom and a period of economic recession. Consequently, key economic indicators and labour market conditions have changed, so HRM practices have evolved too. Generally speaking, the adoption of international standardized HRM practices is one such move that is now becoming more general in Taiwan.     

Examining the Link between Entrepreneurial Orientation and Learning Processes in Small and Medium‐Sized Enterprises

The present study unravels how small and medium‐sized enterprises (SMEs) learn and determines the role that entrepreneurial orientation (EO) plays in how they learn. Adopting a multilevel perspective on learning and the unique role of the management team in SMEs, the study empirically examines the “feed‐forward” learning process initiated by the intuition and interpretation of individual managers, advanced by integration on the management team level, and brought to the organizational level by institutionalization. It also identifies firm‐level EO as an antecedent to this process on all three organizational levels, highlighting the relevance of innovativeness, proactiveness, and risk‐taking with respect to learning in SMEs.     

Market Orientation and Nonprofit Organizations

This paper discusses the concept of market orientation within the context of nonprofit organizations. Three elements of market orientation-market intelligence, intelligence dissemination, and responsiveness-are examined for their association with performance in nonprofit organizations. A conceptual framework is developed which identifies select senior management characteristics, organizational characteristics, and external factors as key determinants of market orientation and subsequent performance of nonprofit organizations. In all, fourteen propositions are advanced for future research. This conceptual work posits that nonprofit decision makers can create a market orientation by focusing on specific organizational and senior management characteristics, and adapting to certain external factors. The ultimate objective is to achieve and sustain organizational performance.     

Marketing Transformation and the Concomitant Excellence of Private Institutions

The article empirically presents the findings of a study about the changes in marketing orientation and the accompanying changes in the organizational resources of the private sector institutions. This publication on the subsample of private institutions is the part of a major undertaking which was designed to: (1) to determine the degree to which marketing orientation has become the main driving force in the institutions of higher education (2) to isolate the structural characteristics which either popularize or impede the adoption of a marketing orientation, and (3)to test the central hypothesis that the increased marketing orientation leads to greater success in acquiring and managing institutional resources. The research is based on an in-depth case study method whereby 81 administrators from twenty-four universities were interviewed through personal visits. Statistical analyses indicate a rapid acceptance of marketing orientation in the private sector over the five year period of investigation. The results confirm the central hypothesis that the impellent of improved marketing orientation is higly visible on the attraction of institutional resources and the management thereof.     

基于组织理论视角的企业内部控制设计

设计健全、完整的内部控制是企业防范风险、实现企业战略目标的根本保障。从组织设计理论的视角来看,企业内部控制设计的基本程序为：明确企业发展战略,确定内部控制设计的目标;设计公司内部控制框架;划分各个管理层次、职能部门和工作岗位的权责;设计业务流程和管理规范,制订各种保证企业有效运行的规章制度;配备人员和培训;适时的信息反馈和修正。     

Branding in practice: The profile and role of brand managers in the UK

Marketing as an area of management has come under close scrutiny in recent years and the management of brands, both product and corporate, has been no exception. In particular, the brand manager as the champion of the brand has been under attack, namely, they are too young, inexperienced and focus too much on the short term. Indeed, the entire system of brand management has been questioned in the light of the rapidly changing marketing environment brought about by economic recession, internationalization and changing patterns of distribution. Add to this the growth of corporate branding and it is not difficult to understand the concerns. However, do these concerns reflect the reality?

This paper explores the role and profile of the brand manager through a research survey carried out by the authors. The research examined the age, experience and remuneration package of brand managers and looked at their responsibilities, accountability and planning horizons within marketing departments. The results are discussed in the context of the wider marketing environment and trends towards alternative management systems such as category management and flatter organizational structures. It concludes that many of the criticisms are true but sometimes only in part. For example, brand managers are young and well educated but poorly trained. They manage more brands than they used to but have not widened their span of functional responsibilities to include the newer areas of marketing such as database marketing and trade marketing. They spend a relatively short period of time in one job, have short‐term objectives and are paid in proportion to the size of their advertising and promotion budgets but are nevertheless usually part of a strategy formulation team. The research also indicates that organizations have been slow to adopt new structures, which is resulting in an increasingly fragmented brand management process.     

Performance or learning goal orientation: Implications for business performance

An organization's long-term effectiveness and efficiency reflect its learning goal or performance goal orientation. Goal orientation concepts originate in psychology of achievement motivation theory. Goal orientations drive the development and deployment of organizational capabilities, such as market orientation and innovativeness to achieve organizational performance outcomes. Extant research pays little attention to whether or not industry type (services or manufacturing) operates as a significant moderating factor in the relationships among an organization's capabilities, goal orientation, and performance outcomes. This study addresses this gap. The study results indicate a significant moderating effect of industry type on relationship between goal orientation and performance but not between goal orientation and either market orientation or innovativeness. Goal orientation appears to be more important for service industries than for manufacturing.     

Market orientation in franchise networks: a contrast analysis of franchisors and franchisees views

Market orientation is considered as key to organizational survival and performance. In inter-firm settings, previous research indicates that it contributes to the overall performance of marketing channels. This research note investigates the perception of market orientation in franchise networks. Based on a dyadic multi-sectorial sample of 27 franchisors and 720 of their franchisees, the study examines how franchisors and franchisees perceive market orientation and to what extent their perceptions are concordant views. The underlying hypothesis is that a common view of the network orientation facilitates co-ordination and eventually performance. Results indicate that although the spirit of market orientation may be partially shared within the franchise channel, its consequences in terms of performance are not uniform.     

High performance work systems and corporate performance: the influence of entrepreneurial orientation and organizational learning

This study investigates the functioning mechanisms of how high performance work systems (HPWS) affect organizational performance. We propose that (HPWS) can positively affect organizational performance through the mediating role of entrepreneurial orientation. An organization with high performance work systems can perform better if it enjoys high level of organizational learning. We design and administer a survey questionnaire to high-level executives or founders of companies from manufacturing and service industries and receive 176 valid responses. The results of the empirical data indicate that the relationship between high performance work systems and corporate performance is more positive when organizational learning is stronger. Entrepreneurial orientation partially mediates the relationship between high performance work systems and organizational performance. This study opens new research avenues by extending and incorporating explanations and predictions of HPWS and entrepreneurial orientation, two areas that largely have been considered independently of each other. Implications for practice and directions for future research are provided.     

High performance work systems and corporate performance: the influence of entrepreneurial orientation and organizational learning

This study investigates the functioning mechanisms of how high performance work systems (HPWS) affect organizational performance. We propose that (HPWS) can positively affect organizational performance through the mediating role of entrepreneurial orientation. An organization with high performance work systems can perform better if it enjoys high level of organizational learning. We design and administer a survey questionnaire to high-level executives or founders of companies from manufacturing and service industries and receive 176 valid responses. The results of the empirical data indicate that the relationship between high performance work systems and corporate performance is more positive when organizational learning is stronger. Entrepreneurial orientation partially mediates the relationship between high performance work systems and organizational performance. This study opens new research avenues by extending and incorporating explanations and predictions of HPWS and entrepreneurial orientation, two areas that largely have been considered independently of each other. Implications for practice and directions for future research are provided.