Entrepreneurial marketing of international high-tech business-to-business new ventures: A decision-making process perspective

Knowledge of how entrepreneurial marketing is conducted in industrial markets is currently rather weak. This study explores the marketing decision-making process of entrepreneurs undertaking entrepreneurial marketing in international new ventures (INVs) operating in high-tech business-to-business markets. A qualitative study conducted with entrepreneurs from four case firms reveals that due to the iterative, incremental, and co-creative nature of the process, marketing decision making in high-tech business-to-business INVs that is more effectual than causal results in more entrepreneurial marketing. A novel finding is that entrepreneurs alternate causal and effectual marketing forms as a result of their ambidextrous entrepreneurialism, and variations in the internal uncertainty, technological uncertainty, and any market turbulence faced by the firm. We develop a dynamic model presenting the alternation between effectual and causal processes, and the feedback loop of entrepreneurial marketing. The research offers implications for the management of organizations operating under conditions of uncertainty on how their decision-making processes can optimize entrepreneurial marketing, how to create new markets, and how to reduce the perceived uncertainty in industrial markets.     

A dynamic capability view of marketing analytics: Evidence from UK firms

While marketing analytics plays an important role in generating insights from big data to improve marketing decision-making and firm competitiveness, few academic studies have investigated the mechanisms through which it can be used to achieve sustained competitive advantage. To close this gap, this study draws on the dynamic capability view to posit that a firm can attain sustained competitive advantage from its sensing, seizing and reconfiguring capabilities, which are manifested by the use of marketing analytics, marketing decision-making, and product development management. This study also examines the impact of the antecedents of marketing analytics use on marketing related processes. The analysis of a survey of 221 UK firm managers demonstrates: (a) the positive impact of marketing analytics use on both marketing decision-making and product development management; (b) the effect of the latter two on sustained competitive advantage; (c) the indirect effect of data availability on both marketing decision-making and production development management; and (d) the indirect effect of managerial support on marketing decision-making. The research model proposed in this study provides insights into how marketing analytics can be used to achieve sustained competitive advantage.     

Environment,planning processes,and organizational performance of churches

Churches have rarely been the focus of research dealing with strategic management issues, although their impact on individuals, as well as on society as a whole, is equal to or greater than the impact of many business organizations. The study reported herein was designed to fill some of the information void. Data were obtained from a sample of 175 churches, and the relationships of church size and growth to perceptions of the environment and to planning processes were examined. The results indicated that perceptions of the environment, or more specifically the importance of certain environmental factors used in decision-making, were related to the level of planning sophistication. In addition, planning sophistication was found to be related to the size and growth of churches.     

VMCI 下基于批发价决策权转移的供应链效率改进研究

本文在VMCI 模式下,考虑销售努力水平对市场需求的影响,研究批发价决策权由供应商转移至零售商的两级供应链效率改进问题。假定零售商决策批发价和销售努力水平,供应商决策寄售量,建立了零售商主导的Stackelberg 博弈模型,证明了集中决策下的最优解和分散决策下的均衡解均存在且唯一,集中决策下的寄售因子大于分散决策下的对应值。随后,引入收入共享与销售努力成本共担契约,论证了系统中寄售因子保持不变、批发价降低,且当契约参数满足一定条件时,可实现帕累托改进,实现供应链的效率改进。最后,分析了契约参数对于系统决策变量及利润的影响。     

Case Study: Model for Economic Lifetime of Drilling Machines in the Swedish Mining Industry

The purpose of this article is to develop a practical economic replacement decision model to identify the economic lifetime of a mining drilling machine. A data-driven optimization model was developed for operating and maintenance costs, purchase price, and machine resale value. Equivalent present value of these costs by using discount rate was considered. The proposed model shows that the absolute optimal replacement time (ORT) of a drilling machine used in one underground mine in Sweden is 115 months. Sensitivity and regression analysis show that the maintenance cost has the largest impact on the ORT of this machine. The proposed decision-making model is applicable and useful and can be implemented within the mining industry.     

Promoting structural adjustment in agriculture: The economics of New Entrant Schemes for farmers

We examine the efficacy of incentives for new entrants to farming as an alternative to early retirement schemes for farmers. We briefly review previous studies on the effectiveness of Farmer Early Retirement Schemes in promoting structural adjustment in agriculture and conclude that the economic case for these schemes seems weak. We then employ a dynamic farm optimisation model, incorporating a realistic specification of farmer decision-making, on an original Northern Irish dataset to analyse ex ante the possible impacts of New Entrant Schemes. We find a more positive potential impact from these schemes, particularly the option of an interest rate subsidy on farm development loans. This is attributed to the dynamic effects of the farm investments associated with such schemes, a likely reflection of the long-term effects of differences in age related lifecycle goals. Younger farmers have a longer planning horizon and tend to invest more heavily in business growth than comparable older age groups.     

基于系统动力学的汽车产业技术创新能力影响因素研究

本文在分析汽车产业技术创新能力影响因素的基础上,构建汽车产业技术创新能力影响因素的系统动力学模型并进行模拟仿真,对影响汽车产业技术创新能力的各因素及其关系进行系统分析。仿真结果表明：增加要素的投入,尤其是增加企业家因素、产学研合作强度及外商投资力度对自主品牌汽车销量具有显著的正向影响;增加企业R&D和人力资源的投入不能给新产品销量带来显著影响;政府的支持有时会增加企业的创新成本。研究结果可为汽车产业进行技术创新提供决策依据。     

Productivity effects of worker participation in management,profit-sharing,worker ownership of assets and unionization in U.S. firms

In this paper we provide our first econometric estimates of the effect of worker participation in decision-making, ownership and profits on productive efficiency. Participation has the potential for exerting several conflicting influences on firm performance simultaneously. As a result both the direction and magnitude of its impact are empirical issues. Previous studies have empirically measured the impact of each of these forms of participation; however, no prior study has controlled for the influence of the other forms. Because of the potential for correlation among these forms of participation, it is possible that omitted variables bias has affected the previous results. Using a new panel data set with simultaneous measures of all four types of participation in U.S. manufacturing establishments, we model participation as disembodied technical change, and estimate production function coefficients for each type while controlling for the others. We use both OLS and instrumental variables in order to guard against potential simultaneity. The IV results indicate that participation in decision-making has a large positive productivity effect while the impacts of unionization and profit-sharing depend upon regression specification. Moderate amounts of indirect worker ownership affect productivity positively, while the estimated effect of direct worker ownership is negative. However, this last result may reflect the industrial concentration of the direct ownership firms in our sample.     

Stochastic Oil Price Models: Comparison and Impact

A good investment decision-making process is one that is able to assess risk and uncertainty and manage them in a balanced manner. Literature on current oil and gas industry practice indicates that the modeling of uncertainty is largely restricted to reserves while production, cost, and oil price data are all single point deterministic values indicating certainty. The objective of this article is to explore the impact of three stochastic oil price models: geometric Brownian motion (GBM), mean reversion (MR) and mean reversion with jumps, on the uncertainty output of a project's net present value (NPV). Furthermore, it investigates the impact of varying the input parameters of the three stochastic oil price models. This article concludes that range in the project NPV values using the MR with jumps model is far greater than the MR and GBM models. In addition, if the decision is based on the mean value, then the GBM model is a good approximation if the current oil price is close to the long-term price. However, if the decision is based on the standard deviation, GBM does not provide a good approximation. Finally, uncertainty in the volatility of oil price has a significant impact only in the GBM model, but not on the MR or the MR with jumps models.     

中国再生资源价格长期波动特征及其对经济的影响研究

尽管再生资源在工业生产中替代原生资源的比例逐渐升高,但对再生资源价格波动的特征及对经济的影响尚缺乏研究。本文以再生铜为例,采用GRACH族模型分析发现,我国再生铜价格的波动存在一定集聚性和持续性,价格波动比较缓慢。且负向冲击对再生铜价格波动的影响比正向冲击大,存在显著的杠杆效应。此外,再生铜价波动具有显著的GARCH-M效应,即预期的风险对再生铜价格波动具有正向影响。然后采用VAR模型和脉冲响应函数等方法,引入产出、投资、消费和通货膨胀率变动等宏观经济变量,定量分析了再生资源价格波动与中国经济之间的关系。检验结果表明：再生铜价作为建筑业重要的生产资料,其价格上涨短期内 促使GDP增长,但长期则抑制投资,最终可能影响GDP增长并提高通货膨胀率,即再生铜价格上涨对国家经济发展有不利影响。本文的实证结果揭示出,对中国经济的影响而言,废旧金属价格的变动只是某种表象,经济增长和通货膨胀率变动的背后是更为复杂的原因,问题的实质是以固定投资拉动经济增长的发展模式和部分地区对房地产业过度依赖的产业结构的变化等对中国经济产生的根本性的影响。     

煤炭企业集团投资决策方法科学化的探讨

投资决策方法科学化是企业集团投资决策的重要方面,它直接关系到投资项目的社会效益和经济效益,直接影响到企业集团产生、存在、发展,以及企业集团产品方向和产品结构的有效调整.本文分析了煤炭企业集团投资决策方法现状和存在的主要问题,提出了煤炭企业集团投资决策方法科学化的建议.     

Technology Push or Market Pull? Strategic Orientation in Business Model Design and Digital Start-up Performance*

The digital revolution is fundamentally reshaping the business landscape by generating abundant new opportunities and novel business models. As a new source of value creation, a start-up’s business model is critical for its survival and growth. How, then, should a digital start-up design its business model? The present study departs from existing viewpoints on the topic and proposes a strategic orientation view. By integrating the resource-based view and the demand-side perspective, we examine the impact of strategic orientation in business model design on the performance of start-ups in the digital economy. Using a data set of digital start-ups, our empirical results show that both technology and consumer orientations are beneficial to the performance of start-ups. However, it would be counterproductive for a digital start-up to seek a balance between both strategic orientations in business model design. Furthermore, the positive relationship between consumer orientation and firm performance becomes more prominent in a highly open technological environment, but is weakened in environments characterized by high user interactivity. This study advances business model design research by proposing a strategic orientation view, and contributes to business model theory building by offering an integrated view that embraces the resource-based view and the demand-side perspective.     

Definition of innovation projects in small firms: A Spanish study

Small and medium‐sized enterprises (SMEs) are the main holders of the European economy and innovation projects are essential tools for SMEs to ensure their growth. A high percentage of innovation projects implemented by SMEs lacks planning and initial management, which causes the appearance of important problems for the SMEs survival. The authors have confirmed with a field study of 72 Spanish small firms that a lot of these problems arise from an incomplete project definition, so it is necessary to help SMEs to have a specific methodology that is appropriate to their own characteristics and projects. The statistical analysis shows how the project management knowledge helps to a better project definition, contributing to the project alignment with the company strategy. Also, it reveals other problems related to the project definition as planning, budget, market and financing. Of this analysis, it concludes that the definition phase supports the other phases and is essential in order to achieve project success. This paper presents an ‘integration model of factors’ that helps SMEs in the management of the definition phase of their innovation projects. This model relates the various areas of analysis needed to ensure their integration at the project definition. The relationships between the different model areas have been defined, showing the way to integrate the technical, economic and strategic outlooks of project objectives management in the definition phase of the project. This model has been implemented in 21 new innovation project definitions. The users' valuation has been very positive with a 90.4% of success and all of the model users are interested in implementing the model again in next projects. The main advantages highlighted were user‐friendliness, intuitive model and easy application.     

The Effects of Global Competition on Total Factor Productivity in U.S. Manufacturing

This paper utilizes an instrumental variables approach to investigate the relationship between growth in total factor productivity and growth in imports and exports. Empirical models are based on a sample of Census years covering the period 1977–1992, with 1986 substituted for Census year 1987. The most important finding is that export growth positively impacts growth in total factor productivity for the pooled model and for every year of the sample. Growth in imports has a positive impact on TFP for the pooled model and in two of four sample years.     

考虑营销成本的库存与运输联合优化三阶段决策模型研究

一般来说,个体最优和整体最优是不一致的,二者之间存在着偏差,这一偏差就是分散优化带来的效率损失。库存与运输联合优化（ITIO）将物流系统中的库存控制和运输管理融合到一个大问题中,去寻求这一联合问题而非单个问题的最优解决方案,可以最优化整个配送系统的运营成本。本文在考虑营销成本条件下,建立ITIO三阶段决策模型,并求解分析模型性质。研究表明：ITIO零售价和营销成本与需求的营销成本弹性、零售商订购成本、供应商生产启动成本、供应商生产成本、运输固定成本和运输可变成本正相关;与需求函数的价格弹性和订货批量负相关;当订购数量相同时,零售商单独优化的营销成本大于ITIO联合优化的营销成本。     

The rationality of emotions: A hybrid process model of decision-making under uncertainty

Decision-making continues to be a vital area of research on organizations, particularly in Asia. After years of research under the cognitive approach, there has been an upsurge of scholarly attention connecting decision-making to emotion. Nonetheless, competing accounts of the role played by emotion in decision-making have created a conundrum as to whether emotion is rational or irrational and whether it should even be considered along with other cognitive aspects of the decision-making process. In response, we derive a hybrid process decision-making model to integrate the effects from cognition and emotions varying with the levels of uncertainty. In proposing this model, we seek to differentiate the rationality of emotions from the instrumental, functional, and expressive mechanisms in decision-making. In particular, we proffer that affective construal legitimates the rational account of emotions under high uncertain situation. Finally, we draw some key implications and recommendations for organizational research in the Asian region.     

转型期中国经济增长的产业结构和制度效应——基于一个随机前沿模型的研究

本文依据中国的市场化改革特征,将产业结构和制度引入到随机前沿生产函数的分析框架中,探讨了产业结构和制度对经济增长的影响。数理分析表明,产业结构和制度不仅对经济规模产生直接影响,而且还通过对生产要素的资源配置功能发生作用,影响其产出效率,从而对经济增长产生间接影响。实证分析显示,在改革开放的30年中,产业结构和制度对经济增长的作用具有明显的阶段演进特征。总体上,产业结构调整对经济增长的直接影响在短期和长期内均有明显作用,但是其要素配置功能则只具有短期效应,制度对经济增长的影响则不同,其对要素配置功能具有长期和短期效果,而对经济增长的直接影响则是短期的。     

Analyzing the impact of the coronavirus crisis on business models

In the light of the current coronavirus crisis, business-to-business firms face a variety of challenges in a complex and fast-changing environment. In order to provide structured analysis and to guide strategic decision-making, we present a novel, five-step approach for analyzing the impact of a crisis on a firm's business model. We applied the approach with eight business-to-business firms and find support for its usefulness. The evidence suggests very different impacts of the coronavirus crisis on business-to-business firms, and that understanding these differences is important for strategizing during the crisis but also to navigating successfully into the future. We also describe six different types of crisis impacts on business models. We conclude by developing managerial implications and questions for future research.