Issues which Impact upon Marketing in the Small Firm

Defining the small firm is somewhat arbitrary as criteria used to classify entities as such include size, number of employees, sales volume, asset size, type of customer, capital requirements and market share. There is, however, general agreement that smallness and newness create specific difficulties for business. Furthermore, there is widespread acceptance of the notion that small firms typically possess certain characteristics, which serve to differentiate them from larger organisations. These characteristics include inherent weaknesses with respect to capitalisation and marketing awareness and practice. Small firms are perceived as vulnerable yet valuable entities, important both economically and socially. High failure rates of small firms are largely attributed to weaknesses in financial management and marketing. Many classical management concepts are unsuitable for application in a small firm context, with research suggesting non-implementation of theoretically based marketing practice is the rule rather than the exception in the small firm. This paper reviews issues pertaining to marketing practice in the small firm. It examines the absence of agreed definitions of "the small firm" and "success" or "failure" of such entities, offers definitions for these terms, acknowledges the importance of small firms to the economy, reviews small firm characteristics, acknowledges inherent weaknesses with regard to finance and marketing in small firms, reviews marketing practice in the context of small firm characteristics, and considers the roles of marketing educators and owner/managers in improving small firm's marketing practice.     

The Contribution of Networking to Small Firm Marketing

It is generally accepted that networking is one means through which owner–managers of small firms market their goods and services. However, though there has been considerable attention directed toward the concept of small business networking, previous studies have failed to present a comprehensive investigation of the contents of network links, an analysis of the benefits contained within these links, and an expatiation of how these benefits contribute to the small firm, specifically its marketing activities. To that end, this paper reports on an in‐depth qualitative study to present an analysis of the contribution that networking makes to small firm marketing.     

Internationalization, Strategic Behavior, and the Small Firm: A Comparative Investigation

Previous research on the internationalization of the small firm explored the relationship between the adoption of a global orientation and strategic thinking. However, there was difference in opinion between those arguing that there is a positive relationship between the two variables and others who contended that small firms may internationalize by adopting a passive or reactive approach to the external environment. Within this context, this study sets out to further the discussion by comparing the experience of small enterprises with their medium and large-scale counterparts. In doing so, it draws upon the findings of survey of 1,000 internationalized enterprises located in the main urban conurbations of England. The results suggest that overall there is little disparity in strategy development among internationalized enterprises of different sizes. However, whereas the incidence of strategic behavior among medium and large businesses increases with the complexity of international operations, this is not the case for small firms.     

区域市场营销与企业市场营销的关系研究

在全球化时代,经济、社会、文化、人才等资源的区域化乃至全球化流通以及"产业集聚"使得区域必须运用营销思想来进行规划和运营。而区域市场营销与企业市场营销在营销实质上是相同的,都是以顾客为中心,围绕着顾客的需要和愿望来开展的营销活动,都要面临市场竞争并借助促销手段来追求双赢结果;但在具体操作上,二者既有联系又有区别。     

Marketing Capabilities and Firm Performance: A Hierarchical Model

The resource based theory of the firm (RBV) is briefly reviewed together with its recent application in the marketing literature. Significant contributions by Webster (1992) and Day (1994) are identified and an integration of the two presented as a hierarchical model of marketing capabilities. Three research propositions concerning the relationships between marketing capabilities and performance are developed and tested empirically in the transition economies of central and eastern Europe. In line with expectations from the theory of the RBV, higher order marketing capabilities are seen to be more important than operational capabilities in explaining superior competitive performance. The overall model is shown to be a helpful conceptualization of marketing capabilities and a number of issues for further research are identified.     

Small Firm Statistics: A Hotel Sector Focus

This article contrasts and compares statistics from the UK small firm sector in general with those related to small firms within the hotel industry. In doing so, it is clearly illustrated that there is a need to focus research, resultant policy and strategy on the specific issues facing small firms at a sub-sector level, rather than assuming a homogeneity of the small firm population in general. The paper concludes that the plight of the small firm operating within the hotel industry is dire and questions what the future holds.     

Small but Sincere: How Firm Size and Gratitude Determine the Effectiveness of Cause Marketing Campaigns

Cause-Marketing (CM) has gained momentum in recent years, both in marketing research and practice. However, while CM aims to influence consumers on an emotional or affective level, research into the emotional and affective response to CM campaigns is scarce. The current research fills this void by showing that a CM campaign is a win–win–win strategy. Though the tangible benefits of CM campaigns go to the firm and the philanthropic cause, our perspective is novel by arguing that the consumer benefits as well, albeit intangibly; CM campaigns provide an opportunity to do good, and hence induce feelings of gratitude in consumers. However, this effect depends on several contingencies. In particular, consumers perceive greater effort by small firms, relative to large firms, that engage in CM campaigns, leading them to assess the underlying motives as more sincere and then experience stronger feelings of gratitude for the opportunity to donate. Four experiments confirm this greater CM effectiveness for small compared with large firms. In turn, this study offers substantive contributions for both marketing research and practice: It proposes a cost-effective strategy for enhancing CM effectiveness, and specifies concrete strategies for both small and large companies.     

Small Firm Bankruptcy

From the results of a survey we compare the demographics and potential problem situations of 57 bankrupt firms to 55 nonbankrupt firms in an attempt to identify root causes of bankruptcy. Results indicate that the most serious problems of bankrupt firms can be condensed into three categories: lack of knowledge, inaccessibility to debt, and economic climate. Bankrupt firms also appear to be older, more likely to be in the retail industry, and organized as proprietorship or partnership than nonbankrupt firms. They are also less likely to use the Internet in their business operations than the nonbankrupt firms. One surprising finding is that while both subsamples found knowledge important, the nonbankrupt sample found it significantly more important than the bankrupt firms. This evidence provides insights for governments and academic institutions in their efforts to provide resources that may help reduce the incidence of bankruptcy, especially during times of declining economic health.     

Ethical Behavior of Marketing Managers and MBA Students: A Comparative Study

The ethical tendencies of graduate business students from the United States were examined by analyzing their reactions to ethical dilemmas in a replicated study, which presented a set of ethical problem situations. These dilemmas dealt with coercion and control, conflict of interest, physical environment, paternalism and personal integrity. A comparison of these findings with the previous study of marketing managers indicates that the MBA students exhibited a greater degree of sensitivity to the ethical dimensions of business decision-making. Implications are drawn for business education and further research.     

American and British Clergy Attitudes Towards Marketing Activities: A Comparative Study

Churches, in both the US and the UK, are increasingly seen to be engaging in what have been termed marketing activities. A small of studies have investigated the degree to which clergy in the US view the use of rnarketing techniques as acceptable and appropriate. This article rnakes a contribution to the continuing debate surrounding the use of marketing in a church setting by comparing the extent to which American and British clergy views differ: Results indicate that, in general, British clergy are rnore reluctant to countenance the use of merketing techniques within a church context, although a small number of exceptions emerged. In particular; British clergy appeared to be rnore accepting of changes made to the presentation of church doctrine, given changs in society's views of acceptable behaviour.     

中西方色彩营销差异比较研究

色彩作为视觉感知的第一要素,在营销中占有不可替代的重要位置。但不同国家对每种色彩的认识是不同的。本文对中西方10种色彩性格进行比较研究,结合相关案例,阐明了解色彩认知差异在营销中的重要性,总结了色彩在中西方营销中应用的基本规律。希望研究结果能有助于我国企业正确理解中外色彩文化差异,成功地开展国际商务活动。     

创业型小企业营销策略分析——以MP烘焙店为例

创业型小企业是国家重点关注的对象,然而许多创业型小企业在发展过程中,由于企业自身的营销团队欠佳、创业者营销管理理念落后、产品定位不明确、产品缺乏科学的促销策略、缺乏可靠的社会关系渠道等问题的出现,导致企业并没有达到预期的发展目标。通过以MP烘焙店为例,对其企业创业过程中面临的营销策略、经营管理等问题进行了探讨,借鉴其摒弃传统的营销理念、明确产品定位、专业互补型团队的成功的营销模式的经验,构建创业型小企业的营销策略,即组建互补型的企业营销团队,新时代下的营销管理理念,明确产品定位,制定科学的促销策略,建立可靠的社会关系渠道。以期对其它创业型小企业的发展有所启示。     

服务企业国际营销能力研究

20世纪80年代，服务企业国际营销活动开始引起人们的注意，国外学者开始进行服务企业国际市场进入模式、国际服务质量等方面的研究，但是对服务企业国际化有重大影响的国际服务营销能力问题尚没有引起人们的重视。本文从现有关于营销能力的研究出发，结合服务企业国际营销的实际情况，提出了国际服务营销能力的构成、影响因素及培育方法。     

Reassessing Firm Size in International Marketing Research

This study investigates the relevance and importance of firm size as a current research variable in international marketing while being cognizant of the reasons behind previous researcher's focus on firm size. Utilizing two different databases and analyses, this study integrates existing research on the effects of firm size variables on decisions in international marketing and draws a general conclusion. The main research questions center on whether firm size matters in internationalization decisions and whether firm size is a meaningful proxy for specific firm resources. Our results suggest that the effect of size on internationalization becomes less significant over time and that the effect of firm size on choice of ownership is significantly less than that of other firm-specific variables such as R&D intensity and advertising intensity, suggesting that strategic international marketing decisions are more related to a firm's unique assets than to its size.     

The Small Accounting Firm

No abstract available for this article.     

Political Connections and Firm Value in China: An Event Study

On 19 October 2013, the Chinese government issued the Opinions on Further Regulation on Party and Political Leaders and Cadres Working Part-Time (Holding Office) in Enterprises, also known as the 18th Decree, to regulate government officials’ employment with businesses. The 18th Decree is widely perceived as having had a significant impact on the use of independent directors with political backgrounds by firms, given the prevalence of this business practice. This paper examines the market reaction to the 18th Decree to ascertain the value effect of political connections in China. We note a negative relationship between the political connections of independent directors and market reaction. We also note that the negative relationship between political connections and market reaction is moderated by ownership type and state of regional development. Specifically, we find that the negative relationship holds only for private firms in less developed regions. These results support our prediction that political connections add value to Chinese firms and that the value effect of political connection is contingent on institutional factors.     

Small Firm Behaviour in Sri Lanka

This paper investigates the behaviour of small firms in Sri Lanka using a countrywide cross-sectional survey. The 73 responding firms provide information on whether certain variables: the firm's utilisation of assets; labour; technology; family savings; and access to bank financing, vary with four firm-specific factors: industry; family ownership; size; and whether the firm's manager was also an owner of the firm. Sampled small firms are mostly family owned and owner managed although a significant number of family owned firms are managed by non-family managers. Most firm's under-utilise assets, use existing rather than the latest technology, and are reliant upon family savings. Statistical analysis provides evidence of significant cross-sectional variation in small firm practice. The results are explained in terms of the cost of acquiring new technology, asymmetries and opacity in financial information, and the non-value maximising behaviour of firm owners who are also firm managers.     

沃尔玛、家乐福在华市场营销组合比较研究

在综述营销组合及零售营销组合理论的基础上,构建了其分析维度,进而从产品、服务、价格、地点、店面设计、促销、人员、物流配送等方面对沃尔玛和家乐福在华市场的营销组合进行比较研究,同时也对国内零售企业给出相应的几点启示。     

柔性公司模型及其应用

随着经营环境动态性和复杂性的增强,越来越多的企业实施柔性劳动力雇佣。欧洲的柔性公司模型主要采用三类雇佣模式:共同雇佣、直接雇佣和间接雇佣,这些模型在国内应用必须依据我国国情实际,以及国内的现行法律。     

Marketing a Financial Service Within a Firm

No abstract available for this article.