A specialty store’s perspective on retail internationalization: a case study

Retail internationalization is an important trend for today’s retailers. However, the appropriateness of the strategy for all retailers has not been fully addressed. Most of the literature is based on experiences encountered after businesses have entered their new marketplaces. Very little information exists about strategic considerations occurring prior to international expansion. This study contributes to retail internationalization theory by partially validating a conceptual model of decision antecedents (Simpson and Thorpe, 1995). Data collected from an idiographic case study using a qualitative methodology support the conceptualization presented in the model, indicating that certain pre-conditions should exist in the retailer’s domestic environment, act as motives for considering a global expansion strategy, and drive the internationalization decision-making process forward.     

An examination of consumers’ cross-shopping behaviour

This study addresses antecedents of cross-shopping behaviour. Five theory-driven hypotheses are derived and tested. The results indicate that impulse buying tendency and perceived time pressure have a statistically significant negative effect on supermarket patronage. Product assortment and price consciousness have a statistically significant negative effect on speciality store patronage, while impulse buying tendency and convenience orientation have a statistically significant positive effect on speciality store patronage. Perceived time pressure has a statistically significant positive effect on meat store patronage. This effect is, however, not statistically significant on seafood store patronage. The findings have managerial implications for both supermarkets and speciality stores.     

Assessment of work compatibility across employees’ demographics: a case study

‘Work compatibility’ (WC) is a multi-dimensional diagnostic tool for measuring human performance that affects safety performance of work force. There are a dearth of literature on the use of WC in industrial applications. In this study, the status of WC and its components across employees' demographics such as age, experience, designation and location of work were examined in a steel plant in India. Data on 119 employees collected using Demand-Energizer Instrument was analysed. The results revealed that supervisors perceive higher energizers, higher demands and low WC as compared to workers. Older and high experience employees perceive higher energizers, lower demands and high WC as compared to younger and less experienced employees. All employee groups perceive higher demand for physical environment and physical task content. The problematic work groups identified are less experienced employees and workers in ‘allied sections’. The outcomes of the study help the management in three ways to improve human performance at work places: (i) it provides useful information about the work factors to be considered for intervention design, (ii) it identifies the work groups to be targeted while preparing intervention strategies and (iii) it can be used as a leading indicator of human performance.     

Artistic intervention,intellectual capital,and service innovation: a case study of a Taiwan’s hotel

This study adopts the perspective of artistic intervention to argue that art is a catalyst. Interdisciplinary cooperation between artists and managers prompts artists to enter the corporate world, intervening in organizational routines and operations and thereby promoting service innovation. This paper, which also adopts the perspective of intellectual capital (IC), explores the characteristics of IC management through an in-depth case study of a successful art-focused Taiwanese hotel that has adopted long-term artistic intervention. The results show the importance of analyzing IC as a stock of resources. Hotel managers must emphasize the importance of managing the physical and the intangible resources, and both embedded in employees and processes of hotels. The relationship of a hotel with its external stakeholders and customers are particularly good sources for improving IC and promoting service innovation. This paper has management implications for the artistic interventions of the studied hotel and recommends future research directions.     

Disparate satisfaction scores? Consider your customer’s country-of-origin: a case study

Although post-transaction surveys (i.e. trailer calls) allow service organizations to better understand their customers, these surveys inherently assume that all customers have the same service expectations of the organization’s service quality. This research reveals that telecommunications customers from different countries of origin have different service expectations; thus, post-transaction surveys based on this assumption can be flawed. We conduct in-depth interviews with recent immigrants in Israel, as well as local customers, to evaluate their expectations of their remote (i.e. telephone) service recovery encounters. Interviews included customers from each of the three primary regions from which they originated: Israel (home), former Soviet Union, and Ethiopia. The data show that the organization’s customers have vastly different expectations of how the firm should handle a called-in service failure, which influenced their post-transaction survey scores. Organizations must realize that their customers have varying service expectations due to cultural influences, which in turn affect their post-transaction survey scores.     

Weber’s Protestant Work Ethic: a case study of Scottish entrepreneurs,the Coats Family of Paisley

This study examines the potential of Weber’s Protestant Work Ethic (PWE) to illustrate the growth, development and business philosophy of J & P Coats, a thread manufacturer from Paisley. The company grew from humble beginnings in 1826 to dominate the world thread market in a comparatively short period of time. The article will begin with a synopsis of the key arguments from the PWE, before moving to a summary of many of the debates, both past and recent, which have been put forward both for and against Weber’s work. The review of this body of work will highlight the continued relevance of Weber’s thesis. The brief history of the J & P Coats firm, and the main family members involved in its rise and progress will be provided, which will then provide a background against which Weber’s theories can be examined. Finally, the article will conclude that Weber’s thesis provides a rationale for understanding the development of the company, and the behaviour of its owners, which will in turn offer more contemporary validation of Weber’s theories.     

An examination of mobile app usage and the user’s life satisfaction

Increased engagement with mobile apps is an emerging trend with people today. Mobile devices have become so personalized that many people consider their mobile device as an extension of themselves. Research has suggested that one driving factor in a person’s adoption of mobile apps is the pursuit of happiness. However, there is little research regarding the influence of apps on a person’s well-being. The purpose of this paper was to examine mobile app usage among college students and the relationship between app usage and one’s satisfaction with life. Findings suggest that there is a correlation between mobile app usage and a person’s level of satisfaction with life. Gender differences in app usage were also found.     

The evolution of hierarchy toward heterarchy: A case study on Baosteel’s managerial systems

In recent years, the hierarchical nature of organizations is severely criticized. Will hierarchy be gradually replaced by networks? Or else, will it be revitalized through certain variations while remaining its distinct characteristics in the vertical relationship between upper and lower levels of an organization? Drawing upon research on “administrative organization” by Simon (1962), this research is based upon an in-depth case study on Baosteel, one of the “Fortune Global 500” Chinese iron & steel conglomerate. We find that heterarchy is a variation of hierarchy and applicable in both systems of operations management and strategic management. Moreover, the seemingly paradoxical decentralization of authority and concentration of business activities are discovered as the key driving forces in the formation of hierarchical structure. The existence of heterarchy adds variety to organizational world.     

Business failures in institutionally weak environments: An examination of Virgin Atlantic’s failed adventure in sub-saharan africa

In view of the paucity of scholarly work on how conditions in weak institutional environments at organizational founding can persist leading to eventual international joint ventures (IJVs), this paper utilizes the case of Virgin Nigeria Airways to illuminate our understanding of the subject. Based on semi-structured interviews, we developed a four-phase model that demonstrates the persistent interactions of internal and external factors. The four phases are as follows: pre-formation resource mobilization, formation and embryonic challenges, decoupling and rebranding, and phasing out. Phase 1 highlights political and non-political activities geared towards venture formation and resource mobilization. Phase 2 focuses on the decoupling of functional activities and the loss of legitimacy in response to changing political and economic conditions in the country. Phase 3 sheds light on triggers for corporate rebranding activities resulting from loss of identity and legitimacy. In Phase 4, we highlight the dispute with the government that typified and culminated in the airline's demise. We identify and examine the implications of these findings.     

Compensating international mobility in a workers’ cooperative: An interpretive study

This study uses an interpretive research design to analyze how worker-members in cooperatives understand and handle the challenge of designing a compensation system for their international workforce. The empirical study, conducted in a cooperative belonging to the Mondragon Corporation, reveals how such a challenge is understood as one of finding a system that combines international business performance with the need to uphold and maintain the cooperative’s identity. Drawing on that understanding, the cooperative adopts a number of management decisions and criteria for the distribution of rewards and the justification of unequal working conditions among its international assignees that are very different to the mainstream ones in conventional firms. The study’s findings are an invitation to question many of the traditional theoretical assumptions and practices involved in global compensation, prompting the need to develop theories and research initiatives in this field that are more in keeping with the needs and characteristics of social enterprises.     

Value network analysis for complex service systems: a case study on Taiwan’s mobile application services

Service Business - This paper aims to develop a service value network analysis approach based on system dynamics (SD) for analyzing the feedback structures that causes dynamic behavior of service...     

Service robots with (perceived) theory of mind: An examination of humans’ reactions

In the near future, it is expected that we humans will receive an increasing part of various services from robots. Many observers, and several existing studies, indicate that we react more positively if our robots have humanlike attributes and capabilities, and the present study examines one such capability: theory of mind. It has to do with the ability to impute mental states to others, which is essential for human-to-human interaction (including interactions in service settings). More specifically, the present study examines the effects of perceptions of service robots' theory of mind capabilities in human-to-robot interactions when the main downstream variable is perceived service quality. Several mediators are also examined. To this end, two empirical studies comprising human-to-robot interactions in a domestic setting were conducted. Both studies indicate that a service robot with more as opposed to less perceived theory of mind enhances perceived service quality, and that this effect is mediated by perceived humanness and perceived usefulness in relation to the robot. It may be argued that a robot's theory of mind capability can also be seen as creepy, which may reduce perceived service quality, because a competent mind reader can create serious harm to others. In the present study, however, robotic theory of mind capabilities did not influence creepiness perceptions.     

Fly-posting: An exploration of a ‘controversial’ medium

This paper investigates the concept of a controversial medium focussing on fly posting and provides insights into the attitudes held on it, the controversies surrounding it, its media effects, and on how these issues affect sponsoring organisations. Overall, the findings from the group depth interviews paint an attractive picture for potential users, as target groups of younger informants hold positive overall attitudes towards the medium. Indeed, rather than offending, fly posting's illegality and covert use were found to further enhance its ability to communicate effectively with this group. In contrast, older respondents held a range of negative views, suggesting that fly posting is not inherently controversial but it can become so in combination with audience and executional factors. Our main contribution is that we provide evidence on which to caution organisations about putting the goal of engaging with youth segments above their responsibility to other customer groups, employees, and society.     

A case study on the internationalization process of a ‘born-global’ fashion retailer

This case study on Zara elucidates the expansion strategies used by both born-global and gradual global fast-fashion retailers based on theories of internationalization. Aspects related to knowledge sharing, resource-based theory, and psychic distance are overlaid with Zara's internationalization strategies to advance understanding of the role fashion plays in dynamic internationalization. Zara employs a high-risk, high-reward model of internationalization to defend its unique merchandise and retail position by remaining completely vertical. Zara's born-global expansion strategy engendered a psychic distance paradox in that it was very successful in distant markets early on. It is proposed that fashion retailers may take note of Zara's success through the proposed ‘dynamic strategic planning process’ for expansion in international markets. Researchers can test the proposed framework empirically to investigate the theoretical constructs for both gradual- and born-global firms.     

An Analysis of Factors Influencing Membership Retention at a Children’s Museum

Membership fees are an important source of sustained revenue for not-for-profit organizations. Moreover, these membership programs facilitate loyalty to the organization and provide certainty to a percentage of revenue intake. In this study, we examine how frequency of visits, satisfaction with membership programs, length of membership, age, average household income, and driving time affect membership retention in a children’s museum. Findings indicate that all of the factors above influence membership renewal intention. We summarize this study with recommendations for both member recruitment and retention for not-for-profit organizations that utilize membership programs.     

An exploratory study of examining students’ expectations of training in a laboratory class: Factor analysis of affective heuristic features

When developing effective training programs, it is important to know students’ expectations of laboratory classes. The authors collected 170 surveys from students in one laboratory class to investigate the underlying dimensions of their expectations of training. Factor analysis identified the following six dimensions of students’ expectations: climate, courtesy, credibility, entertainment, relevance, and structure. These dimensions of training expectations were used to cluster students into two groups: serious and enthusiastic. Thereafter, these two clusters were compared using chi-square tests to determine whether there were statistical differences among them. The findings suggest instructors should consider students expectations to improve students’ learning from laboratory classes.     

Uncovering consumers’ returning behaviour: a study of fashion e-commerce

Abstract

The increasing prominence of e-commerce is shaping the nature and dynamics of retailing. E-commerce offers consumers lower prices, wider product categories and a more convenient shopping experience. In addition, consumers seek ways to manage the risk that is often perceived when making purchases online, which is why retailers’ online return policies have become an increasingly important attribute through which companies compete. Lenient return policies fuel unnecessary ordering and increase return rates, which in turn has major implications both for consumer behaviour and for managing the increasingly complex ecological and economical issue of online returning. Despite its relevance, prior research has paid limited attention to this evolving phenomenon. Consequently, the purpose of this study is to explore and analyse online returning behaviour in the context of fashion merchandise. As a result, 10 categories of online returning behaviour are identified that capture the reasons why consumers actually return items they have ordered online. These categories are further linked with when the decision to return ordered items emerges. Based on the results, managerial implications are provided to give guidance in managing online returning behaviour.     

Bolstering the female CEO pipeline: Equalizing the playing field and igniting women’s potential as top-level leaders

Females represent just 6% of Fortune 500 CEOs in the U.S. Which competencies, traits, motivations, and experiences drive female CEOs to the corner office? Our study includes interviews with 57 women, all current and former CEOs of Fortune 500 companies, in an effort to explore the common characteristics of female CEOs and record their experiences as well as actions organizations took that supported—and hindered—their leadership ascents. We found common themes of female CEOs’ courage, risk taking, resilience, and ability to manage ambiguity. Women need not shy away from tough and unpredictable job assignments that will build these characteristics. To this end, we suggest steps organizations should take to cultivate a robust pipeline of female talent in the workplace.