The interplay of task allocation patterns and governance mechanisms in industrial distribution channels

Task allocation involves the placement and performance of distribution subtasks among participants on an on-going basis in the channel. The authors offer an extended conceptualization of task allocation and examine its interplay in varying environmental conditions with shared decision making, pseudo-vertical integration, and dependence. They test the hypothesized relationships with three-stage least squares regression on a sample of farm equipment dealers. Results show that contractually based pseudo-vertical integration facilitates task allocation and, in turn, enlarged dealer task allocation patterns result in pseudo-vertical integration. Firm size has a significant influence on pseudo-vertical integration. In turbulent environments, dealers rely more heavily on shared decision making to allocate tasks than they do in stable environments. Although dependence increases pseudo-vertical integration, its effects on other factors are minimal. The results suggest that task allocation is an important construct that relates to several commonly observed channel characteristics.     

Sales training in Malaysia: High- vs. low-tech methods

This study examines initial high-tech sales training practices of firms in Malaysia. A review of initial sales training programs reveals that firms that engage in high-tech sales training practices report significantly greater levels of needs determination, objective setting, instructional methods, and training program content than their low-tech counterparts. Also, firms that employ high-tech training methods report teaching the “soft area” of salesmanship via computer and both groups place less emphasis on evaluating training programs. To better understand high-tech sales training, managers are provided with in-depth discussions and managerial implications of the study's findings.     

Innovativeness: Its antecedents and impact on business performance

In this study, we address three research questions: (1) Why are some industrial firms more innovative than others? (2) What effect does innovativeness has on business performance? (3) Does the linkage between innovativeness and business performance depend on the environmental context? Accordingly, we draw on various theoretical perspectives to develop hypotheses that propose market orientation, entrepreneurial orientation, and learning orientation as key antecedents to innovativeness, as well as a direct relationship between innovativeness and business performance. A model is devised and tested that examines these relationships in general and in the context of varying market turbulence. Findings confirm the validity of the model and afford various insights on the role of market turbulence in the proposed relationships. Lastly, implications are offered on the antecedents and consequences of organizational innovativeness.     

Exploring the characteristics of the market-driven firms and antecedents to sustained competitive advantage

During the last few decades, identifying and examining the characteristics of market-driven firms have been a dominant theme in strategic marketing research. It has been argued that market-driven firms are superior in their market sensing and customer linking capabilities, enabling market-driven firms to outperform their competitors. This paper reports the findings of a study that examines the role market-focused learning capability and marketing capability in innovation-based competitive strategy on sustainable competitive advantage. The findings indicate that entrepreneurship is an important factor in sustained competitive advantage (SCA) and while market-focused learning capability leads to higher degrees of innovation, marketing capability enables SCA.     

Organizational antecedents of environmental responsiveness in industrial new product development

The greening of new product development process has been under scrutiny by researchers, but the attention has been limited to consumer products. Based on a survey, this paper investigates the environmental responsiveness in industrial new product development in 82 industrial firms. In comparison to traditional NPD process in the extant literature, the findings revealed additional activities in the greening of industrial NPD. These activities fall under the broader scope of life cycle assessment (LCA) for environmental impact including supplier evaluation and design for environment issues. The paper also investigates the relative impact of organizational antecedents on greening of industrial NPD activities. Organizational antecedents include functional interface of environmental specialists with design and product managers, environmental product policy, and top management support.     

Managing in complex business networks

For many years, research and management thinking has focused on understanding business relationships and networks. Now, the focus is shifting to managing business relationships and networks. This new approach focus poses two questions. Since networks are loosely coupled systems, to what extent are business networks manageable? Furthermore, how can a firm's ability to manage a network be characterized and measured? This paper addresses these two questions by synthesizing the current state of knowledge on management issues in networks and the contribution to managerial abilities in complex relationships. The discussion leads to a set of propositions describing the abilities firms will need to successfully manage complex business networks.     

Moving beyond intuition—Managing allocation decisions in relationship marketing in business-to-business markets

Developing and estimating structural models is becoming a routine practice in marketing. In this study, the possibilities of applying such models in managerial decision making under uncertainty are investigated. In particular the feasibility of exploiting the inherent probabilistic nature of structural models to buttress decision making is demonstrated. The approach is based on making heavy use of standard simulation routines. The model that is under scrutiny describes the relationships between firms' efforts in three areas (the offer, customer relationships, and market positions) on the success of a new product introduction. Special attention is given to the aspect of risk aversion. Accounting for the risk attitude implies different allocation decisions for risk-averse compared to risk-prone managers, in line with common sense.     

A quantitative exploration of communication's role in determining the governance of manufacturer-retailer relationships

Today's managers are organising and managing a portfolio of interorganizational relationships (IORs); hence, the governance of exchange relationships has gained strategic consequence. Prior interorganizational research by the authors has indicated that communication may be central to IOR governance. One test of communication's potential in this area would be to examine if communication could delineate differing IOR types. To study this, we decided to utilize a type of test-retest statistical application. We first classified manufacturer-retailer relationship structures by using Donaldson and O'Toole [J. Bus. Ind. Mark. 15 (2000) 491] original relationship strength framework (RSF) and discriminant analysis. Next, employing the same statistical technique, we classified the respondents after adding communication measures to the RSF. Results were limited. Only the inclusion of communication quality, one of the elements of communication behavior, in the RSF enhances its power to delineate relationship structures. However, we believe that it is in the ongoing management of relationships that the communication dynamic holds most promise.     

Matter over mind: When specific asset investment affects calculative trust in supply chain partnership

This study, using the concept of trust defined as calculative, risk-related, and relationship-based, examines the relationships between bilateral specific asset investments and after-investing trust. The findings indicate that a firm's trust in their supply chain partner is highly associated with both sides' specific asset investments. It also signifies that the replaceability of a respondent firm moderates the positive relationship between the partner's specific asset investment and trust. Our data has proven that the calculative-based trust theory has better explaining power with the transaction cost analysis (TCA) variables than the knowledge-based trust theory.     

Learning process in new product development teams and effects on product success: A socio-cognitive perspective

The study purports to develop and empirically test a model of team learning process and its effects on team performance in new product development teams. Using the socio-cognitive theory of learning in groups and organizations, several hypotheses were tested to show that the primer components of social cognition (that is, information acquisition, information dissemination, information implementation, unlearning, thinking, intelligence, improvisation, sense-making, and memory) form an interactive process model of the team learning phenomenon. By studying 165 new product development projects, it was shown: (i) that the eight primer socio-cognitive factors of information acquisition, information dissemination, information implementation, memory, thinking, improvisation, unlearning, and sense-making constitute interrelated sub-components of a higher-order team information-processing construct; (ii) that team intelligence is positively related to components of team information-processing; and (iii) that information-processing facilitates new product success primarily through the positive effects of superior information implementation. Theoretical and managerial implications of the study findings are discussed.