Intellectual capital in business-to-business markets

This paper reports on research concerning the level of knowledge assets possessed by firms in business-oriented vs. consumer-oriented industries. Further, the research also covers the level of competitive intelligence activity in these industry groups, estimating the level of interest of competitors in acquiring another firm's knowledge assets. From this information, we can begin to develop ideas about what types of firms and industries can really benefit from knowledge management systems and investment, as well as which can benefit from knowledge protection systems. As a result, the issues of knowledge management and knowledge protection become much more strategic and more obviously dependent on circumstances. Such a conclusion begs the question of what measures will help us to determine important circumstances and optimal knowledge strategies for competitive advantage, clearly opening up the field to a wide range of future research streams.     

Portfolio diversification into the Asia-Pacific capital markets: A currency perspective

This paper examines the potential benefits of international investment in the Asia-Pacific capital markets. Using the viewpoints of U.S., Hong Kong and Japanese investors, the study shows that the returns from international investment within the region are more dependent upon the state of exchange rate changes. For the Hong Kong investors, despite the adopted pegged-rate between the Hong Kong dollar and U.S. dollar, the pattern of exchange returns from investing in the region resembles that of Japan rather than that of the U.S.     

Establishing brand equity among business-to-business referral sources in the emerging markets: The case of specialty medical practice

The goal of this study is to establish brand equity among business-to-business (B2B) referral sources in the emerging markets. We consider the case of specialty medical practices (SMPs) within these markets to achieve this objective. In this regard, we conducted a qualitative study among doctors/managers involved in SMPs in a developed market to understand the functioning of an SMP, and observe the process of building brand equity among referral sources. Based on the insights, we propose a conceptual framework to establish brand equity for SMPs in the emerging markets that focuses on B2B relationships. This is one of the first studies to explore the SMP industry in the emerging markets. We also highlight future directions and call for empirical validation of the proposed framework.     

The evolution of generic brands in industrial markets: the challenges to owners of brand equity

The paper suggests that generic brands can develop in industrial markets as easily as they can in consumer goods markets. It briefly examines the issue of branding in industrial markets and then describes the problems that firms can face if their brand name becomes used in a generic manner. It suggests actions that such firms can take as responses to this situation.     

Optimizing capital investments under technological change and deterioration: A case study on MRI machine replacement

ABSTRACT

We study the multiple style and type parallel asset replacement problem (MST-PRES), which determines an optimal policy for keeping or replacing a group of assets that operate in parallel under a limited budget. Operating assets generally suffer from deterioration, which results in high operation and maintenance (O&M) cost and decreased salvage value, and technological improvements make it possible for new assets to operate more efficiently at a lower cost. In order to address these issues, we formulate a multi-objective mixed-integer programming (MIP) model that minimizes fixed and variable costs of purchasing new assets, O&M cost, inventory cost, and penalty cost for unmet demand minus salvage values, while considering technological advances and deterioration as a gain and loss in capacity, respectively. We apply our model to a case study involving two different styles of assets: a full-body magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) machine and a smaller extremity magnetic resonance imaging (eMRI) machine. Each has two types: high-field and low-field. We perform computational experiments and analyses using key model parameters and illustrate optimal replacement strategies considering the impact of technological advances and deterioration. Results show that the proposed MIP model provides valuable insights and strategies for companies, decision makers, and government entities on the capital asset management.     

From strategy to tactics: Building, implementing, and managing brand equity in business markets

Industrial marketers have long argued that brands play little role in the decision making process. Several macro-level changes have occurred challenging these notions some of which are reviewed. We review past research on brand building and brand management in business markets and identify that less research has focused on key strategic and tactical issues in relation to building, managing, and refreshing business brands. We then introduce six studies that add to our understanding of the nature and importance of branding in the business-to-business context. Finally, these studies provide important avenues for further research.     

Private equity leveraged buyouts in European telecoms: The case of Eircom

Highly leveraged buyouts (LBOs) of former state owned telecoms operators by private equity groups have occurred in a number of countries in recent years. This paper examines the case of Eircom in Ireland which has experienced five changes in ownership since full privatisation in 1999, two of which were LBOs. Enormous increases in Eircom’s debt levels as a result of the LBOs resulted in the company’s bankruptcy in 2012. This paper argues that this outcome was largely attributable to the short-termist strategies adopted by the private equity groups that assumed ownership of the enterprise. These strategies included high leverage, cash extraction and underinvestment in the fixed-line network which contributed to the demise of the enterprise and had wider economic and social effects. The Eircom case demonstrates the risks attendant to ownership of important network infrastructure by private equity groups and the need for regulatory safeguards to protect the public interest.     

Understanding the role of marketing-purchasing collaboration in industrial markets: The case of Russia

This study aims to investigate the role of interfunctional collaboration between marketing and purchasing functions in industrial companies. Interfunctional collaboration is considered as a measure of the internal alignment and partnership between departments in the firm, which in turn contributes to the creation of sustainable advantages via improved external partnerships and facilitating demand chain integration. We test the impact of customer orientation as well as the interactions between departments (specifically marketing and purchasing) as collaboration antecedents, and analyze the direct impact of marketing-purchasing collaboration on business performance. The model is tested on a sample of 148 industrial companies in Russia with two key respondents in each firm, incorporating the purchasing as well as the marketing perspective. The results show that marketing-purchasing collaboration mediates the effects of interfunctional interaction as well as customer orientation on business performance. Alternative model testing shows that the direct effects of these antecedent constructs on performance are non-significant in the context of Russian industrial companies.     

Favor prevalence in emerging markets: A multi-level analysis

Favors are a medium of exchange for social capital. Social capital creates social, political, and economic benefits for individuals, organizations, communities, and societies around the world. Favors promote cooperation between individuals and are used to bond individual actors with other individuals, groups, communities, and institutions. Favors are prevalent in business in emerging markets because of the presence of institutional voids, limited social and geographic mobility, and strong reciprocity norms. Favors create benefits and liabilities for business organizations and their networks. They produce outcomes beyond the favor exchange process that can be characterized as productive or perverse. Despite their prevalence and importance, favors and their dynamics are not well understood. We explore the antecedents, content, process, and consequences of favors. We conclude our multi-level analysis of favors with a discussion of the “breakeven” point for favors—the point where favors tip from having a positive effect to having a negative effect on organization performance. We present an integrated framework to explain the dynamics of favors in emerging market business contexts, and develop propositions to guide future research.     

Green logistics at Eroski: A case study

In today’s highly competitive environment, green logistics issues are gaining interest. This paper analyses how logistics managers could lead the initiative in this area by incorporating environmental management principles into their daily decision-making process. A case study is given to show how they can turn practices into green while simultaneously meet the efficiency objectives. We have chosen one of the leader companies of the Spanish food distribution sector to check this hypothesis. The study covers the introduction of several changes into its fleet management and the implementation of a methodology to solve vehicle routing problems with environmental criteria minimisation.     

Reengineering of materials management system: A case study

A business process reengineering (BPR) project relating to the materials management function of a cement manufacturing plant is presented in this paper. The BPR project evolved out of an organisation development (OD) intervention initiative. Such an intervention aimed at improving value innovation capability of materials management professionals of a large cement manufacturing plant in India. The proposition here is that the value metrics relate to inside-in value innovations in order to deliver inside-out value to the customers in the face of fierce competition in Indian Cement industry. Materials of all types used in a cement plant constitute 60–70% of the total cost and hence the effective operations of procurement and inventory are the critical success factors for strategic value innovations and thereby competitiveness. The primary emphasis in this project was on learning and implementation, by creating an urgency for instilling responsible leadership and building organic partnership through knowledge networking.     

Venture capital in China: A view from Europe

This article provides commentary on the analysis of venture capital in China by Ahlstrom, Bruton, and Yeh (Venture capital in China: Past, present, and future. Asia Pacific Journal of Management, 2007). The article considers issues relating to the scope of venture capital and private equity, the nature of venture capital and private equity organizations, the life-cycle process of VC investing, internationalization, and foreign venture capital firms. The paper identifies areas for future research and compares the Chinese VC context with those in Western Europe and Central and Eastern Europe.

The implementation of customer profitability analysis: A case study

By using customer profitability analysis (CPA), firms can determine the profit contribution of customer segments and/or individual customers. This article presents an approach for the implementation of CPA. The implementation process is illustrated using a case study of a firm producing and selling professional cleaning products. The case study highlights specific issues related to CPA in an industrial setting, and the results provide examples of the possible benefits of implementing a process of regular CPA.     

Implementation of food distribution policies: A case study in South India

Public policy for foodgrains distribution and consumption in Coimbatore District of South India involves processing through state trading institutions, and distribution through fair price shops, Food for Work and Employment Guarantee Schemes. Policies are evaluated in terms of their objectives, and institutions for the implementation of policy are analysed in terms of the way in which they mobilize and distribute resources: foodgrains, capital and labour. Although this deficit district has captured shares of Tamil Nadu State's publicly distributed grain which are disproportionate to its share of the state's ‘vulnerable’ population, nevertheless, schemes to increase the latter's foodgrain consumption have been patchily implemented over space and time, and they have had little measurable impact on intended beneficiaries.     

Marketing supplementary food products in LDCs: A case study in Morocco

Developing country governments as well as a number of international agencies have become directly involved in the past two decades in the production and marketing of supplementary food products. This article discusses the Moroccan government's involvement in introducing a weaning food targeted for elaborates on the factors which contributed contributedm to the failure of this and other similar ventures, while drawing attention to the important low-income Moroccan children. It role that marketing plays in launching socially desirable food products in developing country environments.     

Women of influence: A case study of three telecommunications policymakers

With some notable exceptions, the scholarly literature in communications policy mostly reflects the accomplishments of men. “Women of Influence” expands this literature by profiling the experiences and contributions of three women: Cardiss Collins, the first African American Congresswoman from Illinois; Patricia Diaz Dennis, one of the first Hispanic FCC Commissioners; and Janice Obuchowski, the first woman appointed Assistant Secretary of Commerce for Communications and Information. Their policy work affected various issues from creating opportunities for minorities in broadcasting to helping countries privatize formerly government-owned media. Their experiences demonstrate the importance of including women and minorities in the policymaking process.     

Cost allocation and regulatory pricing in telecommunications : A UK case study

This article describes the application of alternative cost allocation methodologies to the Hull telephone system, which provides service to a small area of the UK independently of British Telecom. The article first discusses alternative uses of and methods for allocating costs among access, local usage and trunk usage. It then implements the fully distributed cost approach, using accountancy data provided by the company. In addition, several illustrative calculations are shown which cost individual services on a stand-alone basis using different technologies. The results broadly suggest that, on a full distributed cost basis, access costs exceed existing average tariff levels. The article concludes with some illustrative calculations showing the rebalancing of access and usage charges which would generate the same revenue but bring them more in line with costs.     

Evaluation of postponement in the soluble coffee supply chain: A case study

This paper, through a case study, evaluates postponement as an option to improve supply chain performances in a soluble coffee manufacturer. The main focus of the paper is on the development of a numerical data-driven methodology for quantifying the benefits of postponement obtained from the total inventory reduction. Our study shows that significant cost savings are achievable by delaying the labelling and packaging processes until actual orders from retailers are known. These savings include the reduction of the cycle stock, safety stock, and obsolete stock unsold from promotional events. We also discuss the cost implications of the proposed configuration that may offset the estimated potential benefits. The methodology presented in this paper can also be used in many other supply chains, particularly in the food industry with similar environments. This paper contributes to the literature in extending the very short list of published work presenting a systematic methodology of characterising the postponement benefits in real world settings and driven by numerical data.