A wearable sales assistant: capturing dynamic nonverbal communication behaviors using sensor technology

Marketing Letters - Sales research has focused on enhancing selling effectiveness and performance, which largely depends on the abilities and capabilities of the sales force. Interpersonal skills...     

How do cross-country differences in institutional trust and trust in family explain the mixed performance effects of family management? A meta-analysis

Cross-country research finds mixed performance effects of family involvement in management (FIM) but consistently positive performance effects of family involvement in ownership (FIO). We argue that cross-country differences in institutional trust and trust in family can help explain this discrepancy. We reason that trust in family normalizes family managers’ use of firm resources to satisfy family needs. In contrast, institutional trust orientates family managers’ attention toward improving firm performance. A meta-analysis supports our theory: greater trust in family increases and greater institutional trust reduces the gap between FIM and FIO's performance effects across countries.     

Strategic and Operational Determinants of Relationship Outcomes With New Venture Suppliers

While the vast majority of the supplier selection and development literature has focused on relationships between mature, established firms, significantly less attention has been paid to relationships between established firms and new, entrepreneurial ventures. This study addresses this important topic and, using an interdisciplinary lens, investigates the question of how established buying firms can work with new ventures to achieve desired relationship outcomes. Drawing on the literature from the disciplines of entrepreneurship and supply chain management, we propose a theoretical model that links buying firms' strategic orientation in supplier selection (innovation and cost in strategic supplier selection) and operational approach in supplier development (direct and indirect development of new venture suppliers) with new venture‐specific relationship outcomes (purchasing volume and realized innovations). The model's predictions are tested on cross‐sectional survey data from 136 buying firms. Our results contribute to the emerging research stream at the supply chain management–entrepreneurship interface and enhance the understanding of relationships between established firms and new ventures.     

Susceptibility to Advertising and Perceived Friend Norms: A Meta-Analysis of Materialism in Youths “Meta-Analysis of Materialism in Youths”

This study presents a meta-analysis assessing the antecedents that are associated with the influence that advertising and friends' behaviours have on the formation of materialistic behaviours in youth. We carried out a systematic review in which we identified an initial 217 studies. Of these, 32 were ultimately included in the analysis. Our results revealed significant relationships for the constructs associated directly with susceptibility to advertising (advertising viewing attitudes, attention to advertising, celebrity endorsements in advertising, advertising exposure and TV viewing frequency) and for perceived friends' norms (friends' attitudes, social comparisons with friends and communication with friends) with materialism in youth.     

Women Entrepreneurs and Family Firm Heterogeneity: Evidence from an Emerging Economy

Family firms add to the economic and social well-being of countries. While research on heterogeneity of family firms is gaining momentum, it has mostly been gender-neutral. The study fills this gap by examining heterogeneity of family firms owned and managed by women, in the context of a developing country—Brazil. The study draws upon the resource-based view of the firm to investigate the relationships between firm performance, family involvement, and financial resources at the start-up phase. An inductive analysis reveals two patterns. First, family firms that are started with the family achieve better performance than firms that are launched without the family and later evolve into a family business. Second, family firms that are funded with women entrepreneur’s own savings achieve worse performance than family firms that are started with borrowed funds. The results are useful for strategic decision making in fostering family businesses headed by women and proactive public policies for future innovation to enhance the success of women entrepreneurs.     

Expanding Servicescape Dimensions with Safety: An Exploratory Study

This exploratory research allows participant responses to drive the development of key servicescape dimensions and to determine whether a safety-related dimension surfaces from the data. The study context is a pair of nested servicescapes, a university campus and its surrounding town. The investigation reveals three themes which are consistent with past research: ambient conditions, physical spaces, and social interactions. However, a fourth theme of safety elements routinely emerged in both servicescapes. This theme constitutes a dimension of the servicescape that has largely been ignored in the literature. The effect of one servicescape on another adds to the nascent ecosystem literature.     

Effects of perceived retail crowding: a meta-analytic study

ABSTRACT

We performed a meta-analysis to understand the crowding construct in the retail context. The systematic review identified 535 studies, of which 69 were present in the analysis conducted, generating 504 quantitative relationships. Our meta-analysis indicated that the perception of crowding generates many negative feelings, a few positive feelings, minimal perceived value, low attractiveness of the environment and low short- and long-term consequent behaviours. At the methodological level, it was found that student samples and experiments tend to produce a stronger impact on the relationship between crowding and satisfaction. It was also found that the effect of crowding perception on customer satisfaction differed according to cultural influence. Finally, the results did not demonstrate an influence of the type of density (human vs spatial) on the relationship between retail crowding and satisfaction.