Ready to export? The role of export readiness for superior export performance of small and medium-sized enterprises

Drawing on the entrepreneurship perspective and the network-based view on internationalisation, this exploratory study contributes to our understanding of why some exporters succeed while others do not, through an empirical examination of export readiness factors. The paper provides an operationalisation of export readiness for small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs). Based on a sample of 96 New Zealand SMEs, we find that export readiness is a complex construct involving finance, trade and exchange, and marketing. The study provides evidence that internal export stimuli are important antecedents of export readiness, while factors traditionally assumed to be critical to export success, such as importing and pre-export domestic expansion, may not be prerequisites to being export-ready. Finally, the study examines the link between export readiness and subsequent, initial export performance and finds a strong, positive relationship. Our study contributes to the export literature by providing a deeper and more integrated understanding of the antecedents of export readiness in a small, open economy, and its implications for subsequent export performance.     

Do board directors affect the export propensity and export performance of Korean firms? A resource dependence perspective

Using the Heckman two-stage method, this study empirically investigates whether board directors’ work experience in government and multinational corporations (MNCs), as well as the proportion of outside directors affects export propensity and export performance based on a sample of Korean firms. We find that the Korean firms with former government officials on the board are more likely to engage in exporting, although there is no empirical evidence supporting export performance. The findings also show that firms with former MNC employees on the board demonstrate higher levels of export propensity and export performance. Similarly, firms with a higher proportion of outside directors exhibit a higher level of export propensity and export performance. These findings highlight the importance of the board of directors in Korean firms’ first stage of internationalization and provide new insights into which type of board members can benefit their firms in terms of export propensity and export performance.     

Cost-Benefit Analysis for the Selection,Migration, and Operation of a Campus Management System

An increasing number of students, together with organizational and technological requirements, pose new challenges for universities. For these reasons, Campus Management Systems provide a solution for the necessary IS-support in student administration. In order to ensure cost-effectiveness, an extensive cost-utility analysis of the campus management systems under consideration is required. The process model illustrated here facilitates a ten-step cost-utility analysis for the selection, migration and operation of a campus management System. The process-oriented approach addresses the challenges posed by cost and benefit allocation. The subsequent ten steps, using the case analysis of two large German universities, show that the implementation of an integrated campus management system can lead to significant cost saving effects. The presented process model enables comparative calculations of differences with regard to the alternatives. The approach enables a comprehensive decision-support system for the selection of a university-specific and individually applicable campus management system.     

Best–worst scaling: A new method for advertisement evaluation

The evaluation and selection of advertisements with desired levels of attributes such as ethicality, likeability, humour, or information content, can be undertaken using a variety of methods. These include researchers' personal judgments, focus groups, expert panels, and ratings scale approaches. However, there is still no generally accepted systematic evaluation or selection procedure. This paper details a simple but powerful method known as ‘best–worst scaling’ (BWS) to evaluate and select advertisements on criteria of interest. BWS represents an important new tool for advertising researchers, advertising agencies and their clients, communications scholars, and policy makers to evaluate and select advertisements. This paper achieves three ends. First, it critiques existing methods of advertisement evaluation. Second, it demonstrates that BWS has greater validity than existing methods. Third, this is the first paper to present a worked example of how to use BWS, and demonstrate its use in an advertisement evaluation context. Importantly, BWS is not restricted to evaluating advertisements – it can be used to evaluate any items on criteria of interest.     

Ferrous and non-ferrous metals — A problem of supply or a challenge?

The following article represents an excerpt from a report made by the author on September 30, 1976 to the German-Brazilian Chamber of Commerce in Rio de Janeiro, sponsored by the Fried. Krupp Company. It offers an outlook on the future supply and demand situation for ferrous and non-ferrous metals and identifies a number of factors which might, in the long run, lead to supply problems for the Federal Republic of Germany. Against this background it illustrates the Federal Government’s policy for safeguarding the supply with metals vitally needed by the German economy.     

Trade and trade policy with differentiated products: A Chamberlinian – Ricardian model. A comment

Abstract

This paper shows that the results of Venables (1987 Venables, A. 1987. Trade and trade policy with differentiated products: a Chamberlinian – Ricardian model. The Economic Journal, 97: 700–717. [Crossref], [Web of Science ®] , [Google Scholar]) depend critically on the assumption that there are no fixed costs of trade. The introduction of fixed costs of exporting, while making the model more consistent with the empirical evidence, leads to the opposite conclusion that technological progress in one country cannot harm the welfare of its trading partner. However, the results can be obtained in a richer setting with heterogeneous firms.     

A New and Strong Platform for CYTS

In this February, CYTS has signed the contract with RADIUS, the famous global corporate travel management company based in U.S. This co-operation is one of the steps for CYTS going global. The International M.I.C.E. Department of CYTS-the main body co-operating with RADIUS is seeking new growth point for profitability-that is engaging in nontraditional travel business like corporate travel, events management conventions,exhibitions, incentive and FITs etc. So how CYTS starts her business after joining Radius? We have interviewed Mr. Galen Zhang, Managing Director of International M.I.C.E. Department of China CYTS Tours Holding Co. Ltd. Below are his ideas about developing new business and strengthening core competitiveness.     

A New and Strong Platform for CYTS

In this February, CYTS has signed the contract with RADIUS, the famous global corporate travel management company based in U.S. This co-operation is one of the steps for CYTS going global. The International M.I.C.E. Department of CYTS - the main body co-operating with RADIUS is seeking new growth point for profitability - that is engaging in non-traditional travel business like corporate travel, events management, conventions, exhibitions, incentive and FITs etc. So how CYTS starts her business after joining Radius? We have interviewed Mr. Galen Zhang, Managing Director of International M.I.C.E. Department of China CYTS Tours Holding Co. Ltd. Below are his ideas about developing new business and strengthening core competitiveness.     

A supply chain coordination mechanism with suppliers’ effort performance level and fairness concern

The interest conflict is an important factor affecting the supply chain (SC) performance, so it is very important to set up a reasonable coordination mechanism to eliminate the SC conflicts. Considering the fact that suppliers' effort performance level and fairness concern behavior are important factors affecting SC performance, we can develop SC models to analyze and compare SC decisions under the centralized decision and decentralized decision, and then we design a SC coordination mechanism through cost sharing. The results show that the designed coordination mechanism can effectively solve the conflict problem of SC, mobilize SC members’ motivation and initiative without damaging their profits, and realize the long-term cooperation between the retailer and multi-suppliers. It also can achieve the Pareto improvement and the sustainable development of SC.     

Organizational and Technological Options for Business Process Management from the Perspective of Web 2.0

Corporate operative systems are often highly dynamic, a fact which is only insufficiently taken into account by recent process management approaches. In contrast, the perspective of Web 2.0 opens up new options for action in process management. In this contribution, we figure out new organizational and technological options of process management using a design-oriented research approach. The analysis especially considers the aspects of self-organization and collective intelligence in process management. We conceptually develop options for action and illustrate them based on a prototype platform for process management. The paper is complemented by a presentation of real-world application scenarios in the construction industry and results of an evaluation of the design-oriented research approach.     

A New Chapter for Poland and Chinese-Polish Cooperation

It is a country having good relations with China. Half a century ago, Mr. Zhou Enlai, former Premier of China visited Poland. Now this year, President Hu Jintao's visit is break ing a new stage for Sino-Polish relations.     

A Historic Leap for China's Post and Telecommmunications

China's post and telecomsector achieved furthergiant development in 1995,afterit accomplished its eighth five-year plan a year ahead ofschedule,and realized its targetof eight-fold expansion duringthe period of 1980-2000 sixyears ahead of schedule,thusresulting in a historic leap.     

A New Chapter for Poland and Chinese-Polish Cooperation

It is a country having good relations with China. Half a century ago, Mr. Zhou Enlai, former Premier of China visited Poland. Now this year, President Hu Jintao‘s visit is break ing a new stage for Sino-Polish relations.     

What drives the export performance of small and medium-sized subcontracting firms? A study of Korean manufacturers

Building on the resource-based view and network theory, we propose and test a framework of export antecedents of subcontracting small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs). Whereas the internationalization of firms has been extensively studied in general, little is known about what drives the exports of subcontracting SMEs which play a very important role in the manufacturing sectors of East Asian economies. These subcontracting firms operate under very different conditions from other companies, resulting in specific ways they leverage their resources, capabilities and customer networks. An analysis of survey data from 1733 subcontracting SMEs in three South Korean manufacturing industries reveals that the firms’ export orientation and export intensity are related not only to their technological resources and their executives’ managerial capabilities, but also to features of their subcontracting network ties. Our study suggests that due to the specific nature of their business, subcontracting firms’ internationalization antecedents need to be analyzed in the context of their business environment which is strongly shaped by their customer relationships.     

A Method to Evaluate the Suitability of Requirements Specifications for Offshore Projects

Today, even the development of business information systems is subject to the global offshoring trend. With the division of development work in an inter-organizational and intercultural context, requirements specifications become the central means to communicate the development scope as explicitly as possible. The suitability of requirements specifications hence often is mission critical in offshore projects. To assess their suitability, we first present eight quality criteria for requirements specifications. We then discuss five critical compensating factors that may potentially balance out an insufficient specification quality during the offshore project. On this basis, we describe a method to rationally evaluate the suitability of requirements specifications for instantiating an offshore project. We illustrate the application of the method by elaborating on a large case study that has been conducted with an industry partner. The results achieved by applying our method were confirmed during the further course of the actual project.     

Are you ready for your next product recall crisis? Lessons from operations and supply chain management

Most manufacturing companies face the possibility of a product recall crisis, if not within their own firms, then certainly somewhere within their supply chains. Recall crisis management typically finds a home within literature on crisis management, public relations, communications, marketing and brand management, and related fields. However, this research seldom addresses the operations support that must be mustered behind the scenes. The tumultuous material flows that can occur during a product recall imply a supply chain disruption. An effective response during the heat of a crisis therefore requires the foundation of a well-oiled supply chain. In this article I draw on learnings from the operations and supply chain management (OSCM) literature, integrate them with important precepts from the general crisis management and product recall literature, and identify managerial best practices that will help managers better prepare for product recall crises.     

Money in the real and the virtual world: e‐money,c‐money and the demand for cb‐money

Electronic money seems to become a new form of means of payment, not only for the Internet. It therefore will compete with other means of payment as central bank money and credit cards. There is an extensive literature on the technical and security aspects of the several forms of electronic money, but only a few papers on the economic aspects exist. In this paper, a Lancaster approach to the demand for means of payment is employed to scrutinize closer the relationship between electronic money and central bank money and credit cards. It is shown that in a two characteristics world of liquidity (acceptability) and security, there is a place for electronic money. Furthermore, it is shown that at present none of the existing monies has the potential for being a dominant means of payment. However, if the network externality problem of electronic money can be solved, electronic money may supplant the others. This revised version was published online in June 2006 with corrections to the Cover Date.     

On the Relevance of Design Knowledge for Design-Oriented Business and Information Systems Engineering

In general, research in business and information systems engineering (BISE) focuses on the design of business information systems. So far, the prevailing design-oriented research has taken a technique-oriented perspective, which focuses on the creation and application of innovative techniques such as methods, models, software prototypes, and similar artifacts for system design. In this paper we argue that design knowledge is of considerable importance for system design. Relevant design knowledge includes, for example, knowledge about design objectives, design techniques, and effects resulting from the use of techniques. This design knowledge can be produced, evaluated, and used in a scientific way. In this paper we present necessary basics for conceptualizing design knowledge. We illustrate the applicability of the conceptual foundations and the relevance of design knowledge using the example of “event-driven process chains (EPC)”. A discussion of implications of the presented results and future challenges for design-oriented BISE concludes the contribution.