Investigating the Moderating Effects of Perceived Technological Change on Sales Force Acceptance

ABSTRACT

Purpose: Prior literature has shown that the acceptance of new technologies can improve the long-term performance of sales forces and firms. However, new technologies are likely to introduce obstacles to acceptance, especially for those technologies that represent a massive change for the user. Sales force members who drastically change their work processes in order to integrate a technology sacrifice both time and effort and may be distracted from their primary goals (e.g. hitting deadlines or sales goals). Thus, we investigate how perceived technological change can negatively moderate individual motives to accept a new technology. Furthermore, we analyze how managerial support can help overcome the acceptance issues caused by perceived technological change.

Methodology/approach: Data for this study was collected from 163 sales force members via an online survey. Respondent data was collected using a private market research firm that provides access to online panels. We utilize structural equation modeling for factor analysis and ordinary least squares (OLS) regression for testing the hypotheses.

Findings: We find that perceived technological change negatively moderates the influence of individual goal orientation on to acceptance of new technology. We also find that managerial support, as opposed to team goal commitment, will positively moderate an individual’s goal orientation onto acceptance of new technology. This suggests that managerial support is necessary in order to encourage acceptance of technologies that present drastic change for the end user. Post-hoc analysis takes a deeper look into potential curvilinear effects, a three-way interaction, and differences among categories of technologies. This analysis reveals that the negative influence of perceived technological change specifically affects the acceptance of behavioral-based technologies, as opposed to outcome-based technologies, thus necessitating the moderating influence of managerial support.

Contribution: This study demonstrates the acceptance issues presented by technologies associated with drastic perceived technological change. This article identifies and suggests how to more appropriately enhance acceptance of technologies that introduce drastic changes by sales force employees, thus enhancing potential long-term organizational performance.     

Managerial Judgement in Model Development

Abstract

The following paper discusses the development of a media planning model that utilized econometric methods, academic theory and managerial judgement. Stautamoyer and Lindquist (1994) called for the inclusion of advertising “experts” in the model development process at earlier stages to facilitate model acceptance. Other authors (Stewart and Furse, 1984; Chakravarti, Mitchell and Staelin, 1981; Kover, 1995) have also discussed the lack of relevance of advertising models that have hurt acceptance. The paper outlines the role played by advertising managers and findings on the applicability of academic theory and research in developing a functional media model.     

Explaining Firm Internationalization in Africa Using the Competence Approach

Abstract

The purpose of the study was to explore, through secondary research, the potential influence of the top management (key decision makers) of firms on the degree of internationalization of firms in sub-Saharan Africa.

More specifically, an attempt was made, firstly, to characterize the problem of low exports and low firm internationalization in Sub-Saharan Africa with a view to discussing the potential influence of the characteristics of key decision makers on firm internationalization. Secondly, to explore the competence theory and determine whether it could provide a viable analytical framework to facilitate future empirical investigations into the influence of key decision makers (top management) on firm internationalization focusing on sub-Saharan Africa.

Previous studies on firm internationalization from different parts of the world including Sub-Saharan Africa were examined. The characteristics and behaviors of top management reported to relate strongly to high levels of firm internationalization and export performance were extracted. The literature on competence then was examined with a view to obtaining theory that would be used to integrate the various managerial variables, which strongly related to high levels of firm internationalization.

The process of analysis and integration resulted into the development of the Competence Model of Firm Internationalization, which has been proposed. The analysis indicated that the top managers of firms had profound influence on the level and intensity of export activities mainly through the firms' production and marketing functions. The managerial implications of the findings and future research directions are discussed along with the limitations of the study.     

Reducing Disconnects in the Design Agency-Client Relationship

Abstract

Account turnover for smaller agencies, whether an advertising, marketing research or design agency, is a serious financial drain that absorbs disproportionate CRM and managerial energies. Using a web-based survey developed from in-depth interviews, this empirical study investigates the extent to which smaller graphic design agencies follow the classical decision-making “process” when producing a creative product (an advertisement; a new package design, etc.). The global hypothesis is that the greater the degree of adherence to the steps in the management of the ideal relationship management “process” the greater the perceived satisfaction will be with their clients. Results of the analysis partially support the hypothesis and provide valuable directions for future studies.     

Should Strategic Market Management Replace Strategic Management as the Planning Model for Restaurant Decision-Making?

ABSTRACT

In his book, The Rise and Fall of Strategic Planning, Henry Mintzberg proposed that planning and implementation must not be two separate functions, but a continuous managerial decision-making process. One that is based first, on an astute analysis of volatile environmental market conditions, and second, on management's ability to effectively transform its offering to satisfy this moving target. This article questions the use of the concept and term strategic management in restaurants to describe what may be best termed strategic market management. Additionally, a framework within which modern restaurant planning takes place is presented.     

Multilevel trust in international marketing of healthcare services: A five-country comparative study

PurposeThis research aims to increase understanding on how multilevel trust is developed as well as how trust levels are interconnected and influence international marketing strategy for healthcare services.Design/Methodology/ApproachA comparative case study approach was applied with Elekta, a Swedish firm, operating in Brazil, the Philippines, China, Russia, and Hong Kong.FindingsThe research culminated in a multilevel trust (MLT) model comprised of three levels relating to individuals, company performance, and context.Research implications/limitationsThis study offers a context-based multilevel trust model from a process perspective focusing on healthcare. This model can be tested in other service sectors.Practical implicationsManagers should consider multilevel trust to boost relationships and achieve local acceptance.Originality/ValueThis research contributes to trust theory by constructing a context-based multilevel trust model for international healthcare marketing.     

Managing new product development: Some alternative ways to organise the work of technical specialists

There is an increasing amount of management literature about how to manage the product development process. By‐and‐large this concentrates on organisational and management techniques to be applied within the enterprise. Based on a piece of empirical work carried out in a number of engineering‐based companies, this paper suggests a range of organisational and managerial options extending beyond the boundaries of the firm. For those firms engaged in product developments which require the expertise of technical specialists choices have to be made about how much occupational control these specialists exert; how much managerial control should be exercised over them; how much of this expertise should be available in‐house and how much bought‐in; and what relations there should be with government in the training and development of these technical experts. This paper explores these options in the context of a study of engineering designers.     

Customer Relationship Management in Electronic Markets

Abstract

Customer relationship management, or CRM, has found increased attention in both the academic and managerial worlds of marketing in recent years. While the Internet has greatly enabled the application of CRM in fostering loyal customers, the preliminary results on the effectiveness and efficiency of technology-based CRM has been far from discouraging. The authors identify various contentious issues behind the various key concepts of relationship management and identify several areas that deserve closer academic scrutiny and managerial inspection. The paper also comments on the extent to which Internet technology can bring about closer relationships with a firm's customers.     

A Neural Network Classification of Export Success in Japanese Service Firms

Abstract

This study examines the export performance of 350 randomly selected Japanese engineering service firms. Inquiry is made regarding environmental, organizational, managerial, strategic, and functional determinants of these exporting firms. Two primary questions are addressed. Can performance category membership of engineering service exporters be predicted? Second and foremost, which determinants are the most effective in differentiating between the export performance categories? An Artificial Neural Network is selected as the statistical method because of the different perspective it provides for a highly non-linear function having many variables, offering results that consistently prove to numerically approximate such functions much easier than conventional methods, together with the ability to dependably and accurately predict membership classification while providing weighted analyses of input variables. Findings suggest that each group's membership can be consistently and accurately predicted and further identify which determinants dominantly impact category membership as supported by differences in the feature extraction phase of the neural network approach.     

Islamic Credit Card Adoption Understanding: When Innovation Diffusion Theory Meets Satisfaction and Social Influence

ABSTRACT

Understanding the main determinants of Islamic credit card (ICC) adoption is important for banks and users. Grounded in Innovation Diffusion Theory, Theory of Reasoned Action, satisfaction, and social influence concepts, this study purposes and empirically tests an integrated model to explore which factors influence acceptance and use of ICC. To test the conceptual model, the data was collected from 967 bank customers and Partial Least Squares (PLS) technique was used to test the forecasting model. Results suggest that intentions to use and attitude toward use of ICC are mostly determined by relative advantage, compatibility, social influence, and satisfaction.     

Preference Ordering Cash,Near Cash,and Electronic Cash

ABSTRACT

This research investigates the impact of sociocultural determinants on people’s perceptions and usage of smart systems in the United Arab Emirates (UAE). This research used the Theory of reasoned action, Unified theory of acceptance and use of technology (UTAUT) and Frambach and Schillewaert’s framework. These theories which focus on the determinants of technology acceptance behavior of users have been widely used in contemporary technology acceptance research. Data were collected from the UAE Ministries of Foreign Affairs, Health, and Economy using structured questionnaires. A total of 357 responses were analyzed using multivariate statistical techniques such as regression analysis and factor analysis. Multiple regression analysis helped to determine the direction of relationships between the constructs representing users’ sociocultural orientation, attitude toward smart systems and acceptable behavior. Factor analysis served to identify the underlying dimensions of the above constructs. The major finding of this research is that cultural values and peers’ influence significantly affect users’ perceptions and applications of technological innovations. Furthermore, the study reveals that users’ age and gender wield critical moderating effects on the relationship between cultural values and attitude toward smart systems. These findings have important implications for acceptance and implementation of smart systems in the UAE which are highlighted in this paper. This paper also identifies the limits of this research and explores the venues of further research in this field.     

Employee involvement in ideation and healthcare service innovation quality

ABSTRACT

This study hypothesizes and empirically tests the influence of involvement of (1) frontline employees and (2) top managers in ideation process on healthcare service innovation quality. Based on data from 168 service innovation projects in Dutch healthcare organizations, the empirical results indicate that frontline employee involvement and top management involvement in, respectively, idea generation and idea application both improve the quality of healthcare service innovation. We find that the positive effect of frontline employee involvement is stronger under the condition of higher service innovativeness. In the direct relationship of top management involvement and healthcare service innovation quality, our data do not show such a moderating effect. The key and general managerial implication of the findings is that healthcare organizations are inspired to involve frontline employees in the idea generation processes and involve top managers in the idea application processes of service innovation projects, in order to improve innovation quality.     

An Investigation of Control and Performance in U.S.-Chinese Joint Ventures

ABSTRACT

This study took an integrated approach to managerial control in international joint ventures (IJVs). The various control mechanisms used in U.S.-Chinese joint ventures were examined. The linkage between control and performance was empirically tested using a sample of U.S.-Chinese joint ventures established in China during the period of 1979–1989. The findings support the hypothesis that effective managerial control exercised by the U.S. partner over the joint venture operation is positively related to its performance. U.S.-dominant joint ventures significantly outperformed Chinese-dominant joint ventures, but no significant performance differences were found between U.S.-dominant joint ventures and shared management joint ventures.     

中国国企高管人员的薪酬与激励:总结与思考

从制度成本的角度出发,关注中国国企高管人员薪酬制度的效率问题,并认为好的薪酬制度有助于实现国有企业剩余索取权的顺利复归。在这个基础上,着重探讨高管人员薪酬决定因素、过度投资与在职消费、年薪制及股权激励等重要题域,并对新的激励制度保持审慎乐观的态度。     

Bouncing back from a sudden-onset extreme event: exploring retail enterprises’ resilience capacity

ABSTRACT

A feature of recent decades has been the sudden and unexpected occurrence of catastrophic events seriously affecting people and territories. From an economic viewpoint, this has led scholars to pay increasing attention to factors and determinants taking enterprises face-to-face with extreme and catastrophic events, through the resilience lens. In this context, this study aims to contribute to the literature on resilience to natural disasters which is currently still limited in the business and management fields, both theoretically and empirically. This is particularly true as regards retailing, despite the key role played by retail in the aftermath and recovery periods following on from sudden-onset extreme events such as earthquakes.

The 2012 Emilia earthquake is a case in point with which to explore small retail enterprises’ resilience to sudden-onset disasters. Specifically, our empirical research consisted of administering a structured questionnaire to a sample of small retail enterprises which experienced an earthquake. The unit of analysis adopted was the retail enterprise. Data was processed applying Covariance-Based Structural Equation Modeling (CB-SEM). The structural model aims to verify the impact of sales capabilities, market orientation and networking capabilities on the resilience capacity of retail enterprises affected by an extreme event, controlling for certain financial indicators such as suppliers’ payment timeframes and the use of debt capital, as well as respondent age and gender. The findings show that all the antecedents analysed exert a significant and positive effect on small retail enterprises’ resilience capacity and ability to bounce back from natural disasters. Moreover, suppliers’ payment timeframes showed a direct relationship with retail enterprises’ resilience capacity, with lower use of debt capital equalling higher retail business resilience. Age and gender do not exert any significant effect. Scientific, managerial and public policy implications are derived.

Abbreviation: SEM     

Cultural determinants of alliance management capability – an analysis of Japanese MNCs in India

This study examines the role of national and organizational culture in alliance management in the context of three prominent joint ventures between India and Japan, which reached diverse alliance outcomes. It uses the case study method as a tool for an initial rich exploratory analysis (Yin 2013) of alliance management capabilities that may later be tested on a larger dataset. The study finds that national and organizational culture is both important factors of alliance management capability. It highlights the specific role of trust, consensus in decision-making, communication and relationship building as key constituents of alliance management capability. This paper thus contributes to an important strand of literature on alliance management in the context of two important Asian players from the developed and emerging markets. Its focus on cultural factors as determinants of alliance management helps to establish a managerial blueprint leading to positive alliance outcomes for such ventures in future and to establish a roadmap for increased interaction between India and Japan.     

Improving Customer Service

Abstract

The article presents a framework for implementing a TQM-oriented management process that can enable an organization to achieve continuous quality enhancements at minimal cost while simultaneously increasing the marketability of the service. The modeled framework demonstrates how such quality improvements can be made possible by heightening employees' sensitivity towards details pertaining to the many aspects of the service delivery process. The incidence of customer dissatisfaction resulting from sheer insensitivity towards detail during the delivery of service is established through real-world examples of actual customer experiences with numerous services. The severity of the implications of customer dissatisfaction and defection on a firm's bottom line are highlighted. The role of nonverbal communication and the many relevant forms of such communication are examined. A nonverbal communication feedback-response process model is presented that can help align the service with the expectations of the customer in high-contact services. Finally, a comprehensive set of managerial requisites for the creation of an enabling service quality culture is also identified. The framework presented also shows how performance can be enhanced, and competitive advantage gained, by effectively shaping and servicing the customer satisfaction plane.     

Current Trends and Future Challenges in the South African Advertising Industry—An Introductory Review

ABSTRACT

The purpose of this article is to provide an introductory review of the structure of the South African Advertising Industry, to identify and discuss the main issues and future challenges in the South African Advertising Industry, and to recommend applicable managerial strategies to the main role players.

The South African society has been involved in a process of transformation, a search for identification, and a conscious effort towards non-discriminatory practices, direct or indirect, for the past eight years. This is apparent in current marketing and advertising practices, which remain firmly focussed on the new breeds of consumers-including the growing young black market. This new challenge to marketers includes a paradigm shift from established practices to an embracing of new research methods, which could address the complexities of reaching, communicating, and meeting the demands of a multicultural consumer society in South Africa. The marketing challenge also indicates the necessity of redefining the largest audience groups in categories that reinterpret race from a South African perspective.

A review of the literature was undertaken, followed by discussions with knowledgeable industry spokesmen. The survey of racial issues in South Africa forms part of an on-going project, as it is envisaged that the shape of the industry will change dramatically during the next decade.

Key managerial implications focus on perspectives and attitudes towards changing employment and empowerment ratios, that would require innovative interpretative studies to contribute towards an understanding of the current challenges. This includes the elimination of stereotypes and linguistic ethnocentrism, black empowerment, training in multicultural advertising communication, and the aligning of conflicting cultures with corporate vision.     

Part II: Titles and Abstracts

ABSTRACT

The commentary discusses the analysis of the content of business marketing textbooks by Backhaus, Mell and Sabel and in particular the dichotomy managerial used to classify the approaches adopted. It is argued that such a dichotomy tends to veil different and changing assumptions regarding the task of marketing management in business markets, and the claim is made that the interplay between the different approaches is beneficial for the development of the body of knowledge of the discipline of business marketing.