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.     

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.     

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.     

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.     

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.     

An IT professional’s dilemma: be an entrepreneur or a consultant?

Using a simple model, this paper examines the behavior of an IT professional who faces the choice between becoming an entrepreneur or an employee. To our knowledge, this is the first formal study of the dilemma facing an IT professional. IT professionals are somewhat unique in that they embody enough labor input/intellectual property that even a single professional can deliver a viable product/service. An incentive contract is auctioned to attract the highest bid in return for partial ownership from venture capitalists. Failure to raise venture finance results in the professional seeking employment. Both venture finance and employment are uncertain. The comparative-static effects of changes in project size and VC competition are determined. We find that under certain conditions a larger project is associated with a cost-plus contract, while greater VC competition results in a fixed-price contract being offered. The agent’s effort is lower in a larger project, but non-negative under greater VC competition.     

Does corporate advertising work in a crisis? An examination of inoculation theory

The primary purpose of this paper is to propose a conceptual framework of consumer evaluation of corporate advertising in a corporate crisis. It also suggests future research propositions by investigating how the so-called inoculation effect from pre-crisis corporate advertising influences consumer response to corporate advertising during a crisis. First, the paper describes how the inoculation effect confers resistance to negative news in a corporate crisis. Next, the paper determines whether the inoculation effect further reduces consumer resistance to corporate advertising during a crisis. Other factors that figure into the broader context of corporate crises are then discussed. These include four other types of external impacts on a crisis situation – the crisis, the corporation, the media, and individual differences. The article concludes with implications for research and practice.     

Gender equality's impact on female directors’ efficacy: A multi-country study

This paper studies the role of gender equality in female directors’ efficacy and its subsequent effects on firms. Female directors in more gender equal societies should possess greater skills and exert more influence due to better access to educational/professional opportunities and more amicable boardroom dynamics. Therefore, we hypothesize that gender equality serves as an important moderator in the relation between female board representation and firm outcomes. Using a multi-national panel comprising 1986 public firms from 24 countries or areas spanning from 2007 to 2016, we obtain results that firms with higher female board representation exhibit higher overall performance, less earnings management, and less excessive risk taking, in which all three relations are stronger in countries with greater gender equality. Taken together, our paper implies that the impact of female directors on firm outcomes depends on a country's overall level of gender equality.     

A transformative service research agenda: a study of workers’ well-being

Interest in workers’ well-being is mounting – a key driver being the growing recognition that well-being is linked to performance. Utilizing a transformative service research (TSR) agenda, this study examines how people management practices impact the well-being of hospitality and retail workers. Comparing the experiences of permanent and precarious workers, we find it is not employment practices per se that promulgate feelings of insecurity and inferiority; rather, it is the attributions ascribed to them. This has practical implications. Most notably, some of the deleterious effects of precarious employment might be mitigated where careful attention is paid to the motives underlying an organization’s people management practices. Theoretically, TSR offers a more expansive lens for understanding the social exchange occurring in both employment relationships and service encounters, thus contributing significantly to knowledge on mutual gains theories. These findings and their implications are discussed in detail in the paper.     

The role of a municipality’s financial health in a firm’s siting decision

When deciding where to locate a new facility, a firm needs to consider the financial health of the municipality where its activities will take place. Unless it sites its facility in a financially viable community, a firm is putting a substantial investment at risk. Despite the importance of this issue, many firms pay insufficient attention to a municipality’s financial condition. Instead, they focus on matters such as the tax rate, the quality of the school system, or the absence of regulatory constraints. All of these features are important, but unless a municipality is financially healthy, they can evaporate before a company has attained its expected return on investment. There are 5 financial statements and 10 financial ratios that can be used to create a financial health template, which can help a firm to assess a municipality’s financial strength, or its counterpart financial weakness. The template goes beyond the debt-repayment focus of credit rating agencies to matters such as financial autonomy, cash flows, and borrowing capacity. We use data from three cities—Barcelona, Dublin, and Detroit (pre- and post-bankruptcy)—to demonstrate the template’s ability to facilitate comparisons among cities that are in different countries and that use different accounting systems.     

The relationship between CIO’s presence in the top management team and IT’s contribution to corporate innovation: An empirical study

This study investigates the impact of CIO’s presence in an organization’s top management team (TMT) on the contribution of information technology (IT) to corporate innovation. A new theoretical model is proposed based on the literature review. Through a survey of 120 CIOs of Chinese companies, we examine a series of hypotheses developed based on this model. Our findings reveal significant influences of CIO’s presence in the TMT on IT’s contribution to corporate innovations. The findings also suggest that such impacts are mediated by TMT’s IT knowledge. Furthermore, we find the significant moderating role of TMT’s risk appetite, i.e., when the executives are more willing to take risks, the relationship between CIO’s participation in TMT and the importance of IT to innovation is more significant. Theoretical contributions and practical implications of these findings are also discussed.     

Global acquisition and knowledge transfer — a case study of company D

Knowledge transfer, acting through capital, technology and people, is typically accompanied by globalisation. This paper examines a case of such transfer, paying attention to some theoretical implications of the political economy of Japanese business. It looks at the corporate culture, production systems and industrial relations of a British firm (herein ‘D’) which was taken over by a Japanese textile trading company (S), and in particular at the change from a line system to a flexible group system in production, representing a paradigmatic change from Fordism. Under Japanese ownership, managerial control increased, though without degrading working conditions; how far this ‘miracle’ will go remains to be seen. This paper thus examines the dialectical process of capitalist knowledge transfer, suggesting that it will provide opportunities for innovation in management, but within the strictures of capitalist development.     

The skills balance in Germany’s import intensity of exports: An input-output analysis

In the decade prior to the economic and financial crisis, Germany’s net exports increased in absolute terms as well as relative to the growing level of import intensity of domestically produced export goods and services. This article analyses the direct and indirect employment effects induced both by exports as well as by of the import intensity of the production process of export goods and services on the skills used. It shows that Germany’s export surpluses led to positive net employment effects. Although the volume of imports of intermediate goods increased and was augmented by the rise in exports, it could not undermine the overall positive employment effect.     

The Shaping of a Society’s Economic Ethos: A Longitudinal Study of Individuals’ Morality of Profit-Making Worldview

This study investigates the processes involved in the shaping of a society’s economic ethos. The discussion of ethics and economics has a very long history across multiple disciplines. The founder of modern economics, Adam Smith, likewise had a keen interest in this topic. However, with the development of economic science, scholarly assessment has shifted toward positive analysis while normative analysis has been left mainly to philosophers. By utilizing the newly developed morality of profit-making scale (MPM), the authors sought to understand how respondents’ economic ethical worldview shifts over time. Specifically, we theorized that the news media’s copious negative coverage of the gasoline price crisis of 2006 would significantly impact individuals’ MPM worldview. The results show that respondents’ explicit attitudes toward MPM were significantly impacted. However, respondents’ more deeply held, implicit economic ethical worldview was only slightly impacted. The authors argue that only patient, long-term explanation and argumentation can permanently affect a society’s economic ethos. Implications and future research directions for business researchers are outlined.     

New product development strategies of suppliers of emerging technologies—a case study of expert systems

Rapid change, high levels of risk and uncertainty is the context in which suppliers of emerging technologies are developing strategies for new product development. Collaboration with “progressive” customers and the formation of lateral links with suppliers and manufacturers are options available for effective innovation. Approaches to innovation of established and start‐up companies operating in the embryonic expert systems market in the UK are discussed and salient features of a nascent product market outlined.     

The ‘Catch 22’ of communicating CSR: Findings from a Danish study

This research explored the apparent ‘Catch 22’ of communicating Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR). Although companies are regularly encouraged to engage in CSR, they are simultaneously discouraged to communicate about this engagement. We contribute with two models that may help to explain how companies can best communicate about their CSR initiatives. Based on a reputation survey and two case studies of Danish corporate CSR frontrunners, first we develop an ‘inside‐out approach’ to suggest how managers can manage their CSR activities to achieve favourable CSR reputation in a ‘Catch 22’ context. Employees appear as a key component in building trustworthiness as CSR communication is shown to evolve when taking an ‘inside‐out approach’. Second, we develop a CSR communication model with two CSR communication processes targeting different stakeholder groups: ‘the expert CSR communication process’ and ‘the endorsed CSR communication process’. Integrating these models and processes may help companies strategically capture reputational advantage from their CSR initiatives.     

Institutional background as a determinant of boards of directors’ internal and external roles: The case of Russia

This conceptual paper analyses why some companies in Russia give strong weight to the external roles and some to the internal roles of the boards of directors. The institutional background of Russian corporate governance is reviewed, concentrating on the contextual variables of time of founding, ownership type and governmental dependency, which are seen to explain the varying weight given to internal and external board roles. After arriving at several propositions, the paper finishes with suggestions for an empirical evaluation of the proposed relationships and addresses several managerial implications that stem from the discussion. This paper addresses the under-researched field of contingencies in board roles, focusing on Russia and emphasizing the importance of the prevailing institutional framework in transition economies.