Does Relationship Marketing Age Well?

Most managers agree that close co-operative relationships between business partners yield benefits to all parties. However, some question whether these benefits continue as the relationship ages. This article reports on a study designed to answer this question. The study suggests that, however long the relationship, building trust, commitment and the other components of Relationship Marketing (RM) continue to have a positive effect on the performance of business partners. However, it also shows that, over time, the positive effect diminishes. The authors suggest that managers need to recognize this, and to identify the true costs of building relationships so as to judge whether the diminishing returns justify the effort. Ultimately, managers need to vary their handling of each relationship because standardized RM practices are unlikely to be effective.     

Decentralisation of Pay In the Nhs: Diagnosis and Prognosis

This article analyses why some NHS trusts have departed from national arrangements and adopted a local pay regime, while others have not. It finds that the primary determinant is the attitude of management, particularly the chief executive. This is value driven and not a pragmatic response to the labour market. Although a healthy financial position is a necessary condition for a trust pay regime, it is not an adequate causative explanation. Moreover, while management sets the agenda, the pace, manner and extent of change, are tempered by the cohesiveness and vigour of the staff-side and the power of the medical profession. It also suggests that in some trusts more immediately pressing priorities have taken precedence over the government initiative on local pay bargaining, so it will be some time before fully fledged pay systems are adopted.     

Institutionalization of organizational ethics through transformational leadership

Concerns regarding corporate ethics have grown steadily throughout the past decade. In order to remain competitive, many organizational leaders are faced with the challenge of creating an ethical environment within their organization. A model is presented showing the process and elements necessary for the institutionalization of organizational ethics. The transformational leadership style lends itself well to the creation of an ethical environment and is suggested as a means to facilitate the institutionalization of corporate ethics. Finally, the benefits of using transformational leadership are demonstrated through the components of a psychological contract, organizational commitment, and ethical culture to institutionalize organizational ethics.Dawn S. Carlson is a doctoral candidate in Organizational Behavior at the Florida State University. She teaches and conducts research in the areas of Organization Behavior, Ethics, and Human Resource Management. Dawn continues to be active in the Academy of Management and Southern Management Association. She recently presented a paper at the National Academy Meetings on Work/Nonwork Conflict.Dr. Pamela L. Perrewe is Associate Professor and Chairman of the Management Department in the College of Business at Florida State University. She teaches and conducts research in the areas of Organizational Behavior and Human Resource Management. Pam has recently co-authored a textbook entitled,Strategic Human Resource Management. She is a member of the Academy of Management, American Psychological Association, Decision Sciences Institute and the Southern Management Association (SMA). Recently, she was elected to the Board of Governors for SMA.     

A cost–utility analysis of degarelix in the treatment of advanced hormone-dependent prostate cancer in the United Kingdom

Objective:

To determine the cost-effectiveness of the treatment of advanced hormone-dependent prostate cancer with degarelix compared to luteinizing hormone-releasing hormone (LHRH) agonists in the UK using the latest available evidence and the model submitted to AWMSG.

Methods:

A cost-effectiveness model was developed from the perspective of the UK National Health Service evaluating monthly injection of degarelix against 3-monthly leuprorelin therapy plus anti-androgen flare cover for the first-line treatment of patients with advanced (locally advanced or metastatic) hormone-dependent prostate cancer. A Markov process model was constructed using the patient population characteristics and efficacy information from the CS21 Phase III clinical trial and associated extension study (CS21A). The intention-to-treat (ITT) population and a high-risk sub-group with a PSA level >20?ng/mL were modeled.

Results:

In the base-case analysis using the patient access scheme (PAS) price, degarelix was dominant compared to leuprorelin with cost savings of £3633 in the ITT population and £4310 in the PSA?>?20?ng/mL sub-group. The chance of being cost-effective was 95% in the ITT population and 96% in the PSA?>?20?ng/mL sub-group at a threshold of £20,000 per quality-adjusted life-year (QALY). In addition, degarelix remained dominant when PSA progression was assumed equal and only the benefits of preventing testosterone flare were taken into account. Treatment with degarelix also remained dominant in both populations when the list price was used. The additional investment required to treat patients with degarelix could be offset in 19 months for the ITT population and 13 months for the PSA?>?20?ng/mL population. The model was most sensitive to the hazard ratio assumed for PSA progression between degarelix and leuprorelin and the quality-of-life (utility) of patients receiving palliative care.

Conclusion:

Degarelix is likely to be cost-effective compared to leuprorelin plus anti-androgen flare cover in the first-line treatment of advanced hormone-dependent prostate cancer.     

Ownership as R&D incentive in business groups

Small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) are supposed to be less likely to conduct formal R&D because of the lack of financial resources, weaker competencies, and the absence of scale and scope economies. These limitations may be overcome when an SME belongs to a business group. Empirical studies have shown that firms belonging to business groups have a higher propensity to engage in R&D. We demonstrate that this higher propensity depends on the ownership of controlled companies, besides the presence of coordination mechanisms. We develop a model, and we empirically test its predictions using a data set of Italian SMEs operating in the manufacturing sector. From the model we derive three main implications: (1) there is no difference in R&D propensity between standalone firms and firms at the bottom of groups; (2) head and intermediate firms have a higher R&D propensity than standalone firms and firms at the bottom of the group; (3) the intensity of R&D depends on the ownership of controlled firms and on their size. Overall, the results of the empirical analysis are in accordance with the implications of the model.     

An exploratory study of the Internet as an industrial communication tool: Examining buyers' perceptions

A thorough understanding of the impact of the Internet on industrial purchase decisions is of critical importance for industrial marketers seeking to incorporate the Internet in their overall communication strategy. Accordingly, this study examines (1) the degree to which purchasing professionals perceive the Internet as useful, (2) how purchasing professionals are using the Internet for communication activities, (3) how the Internet compares to other promotional tools in influencing buyers' purchase decisions, and (4) whether differences among buyers can be identified relative to the perceived influence of suppliers' websites. The results provide some practical implications for industrial marketers regarding the use of the Internet relative to other promotional tools.     

Network analyses of brand switching behavior

Networks are extremely important in marketing because so much of marketing is relational, and network methods are important and appropriate tools for studying such structures of interconnections. In this paper, we model data that represent consumer brand switching in the French and British automobile marketplaces. We describe network methods that range from simple to sophisticated. We believe it is novel to consider brand switching patterns as networks, exploring results that arise from network methodologies and philosophies and examining what leverage network methods might have for understanding purchase transition behavior. Our methods include the modeling of multiple networks simultaneously to study such phenomena as dynamic markets and cross-cultural competitive market structure.     

Formal and Informal Corruption Environments and Multinational Enterprise Social Irresponsibility

Using an institutional theory framework we theorize, hypothesize, and empirically show that higher levels of formal and informal corruption environments found in a firm's operating portfolio are related to higher levels of corporate social irresponsibility (CSiR). Failing to consider corruption's informal dimension leads to potentially false perceptions about a multinational enterprise's (MNE) operating environment, particularly when the formal dimension is low but the informal corruption dimension is high, as is the case in about one third of our sample. Including the informal corruption environment component provides additional explanatory power over the formal corruption environment alone in predicting CSiR and yields a superior understanding of both the formal and informal dimensions of the corruption institutional environment's influence on corporate social irresponsibility levels of MNEs. Managerial implications and future research directions are discussed.     

JBBM at 21: Variety of Theories,Methods, and Countries While Giving Further Voice to Emerging Markets Within Africa

ABSTRACT

Purpose: The articles published in the Journal of Business-to-Business Marketing (JBBM) are reviewed for three themes: the varieties of theories used and tested, the methodologies of choice, and most pertinent to this article, the countries from which the data were obtained in the empirical studies.

Methodology/approach: Literature review of the JBBM issues, all inclusive.

Findings: The JBBM has had papers involving surveys 74%; case studies 11%; interviews 6%, experiments 4%, and networks 3%. There is a tremendous breadth of country representation, more than most other marketing journals.

Research implications: The authors encourage more frequent investigations into emerging markets, using African countries as exemplars.

Practical implications: To begin to understand marketing phenomena in the variety of African countries, the authors encourage researchers to establish partnerships, with African scholars and global multinationals whose marketing managers may have interest in understanding these markets and who may have data to share.

Contribution of the paper: Although a seemingly infinite number of marketing questions still exist even in well-developed markets, and scholars have begun to recognize opportunities in developing markets, future research will prove useful into emerging and nascent markets.     

Propelling diverse leaders to the top: A developmental network approach

Scholars and practitioners are making a strong business case for greater representation of women and other underrepresented groups on senior management teams and boards. A model is developed that highlights how to create optimal developmental networks—groups of developers who help advance people's careers and personal growth—that can assist in propelling diverse leaders into the upper echelons of their organizations and board positions. Several literature streams are integrated in order to identify developmental networks that will help diverse leaders overcome barriers to breaking the glass ceiling in greater numbers. Numerous strategies intended to shape diverse leaders' network structure and content are discussed, as are contextual challenges that may inhibit optimal networks' development. Lastly, theoretical and practical implications for individuals and organizations are highlighted.