Marketing-sales interface configurations in B2B firms

As the body of knowledge on marketing-sales interface expands, there is a greater need to investigate the specific aspects of marketing-sales configurations in B2B firms. Using a qualitative methodology and interview data collected from over 100 sales and marketing professionals from the US, The Netherlands and Slovenia, this study presents a dynamic, evolutionary spectrum of four B2B marketing-sales interface configurations. These configurations are described in detail in terms of structure, communication patterns, information sharing, collaboration, and strategic outcomes. The findings show that no configuration is inherently superior. Our dynamic configuration spectrum offers managers a toolkit to evaluate their firm's marketing-sales interface in terms of current and desired positions, and contribute to their firm's market orientation and business performance.     

Symbiosis of monetary and fiscal policies in a monetary union

We consider the interaction between the monetary policy in a monetary union, and the separate fiscal policies of the member countries. We use a Barro–Gordon-type model extended to many countries and fiscal policies. Each country’s fiscal policies inflict externalities on other countries, and the common monetary policy has its time-consistency problem. But if the two types of policymakers agree about the ideal levels of output and inflation, then this ideal is attained despite disagreements about the weights of the objectives, despite ex post monetary accommodation to fiscal profligacy, without fiscal coordination, without monetary commitment, and for any order of moves.     

Price changes and optimum taxation in a many-consumer economy

A general equilibrium model of a many-consumer economy with commodity taxation is set up, and comparative static effects of small perturbations are studied. Production involves fixed factors which can be interpreted as repositories for pure profits, thus allowing taxation of profits at arbitrary rates. The question of whether the best local improvement starting from a production efficient point will lead to inefficiency is studied. The main concern is whether it will be optimal to rely on profit taxation alone given that it is feasible to do so. An affirmative answer is obtained in special cases where such policy yields the first best, and when the consumers are scaled replicas of one another.     

Welfare effects of tax and price changes

This paper studies a model of equilibrium in an economy without distributional problems but with distortions. The case where the distortions are due to specific taxes is examined in particular detail. A formula is derived to compare the utility levels in neighbouring equilibria corresponding to slightly different distortion levels. Several well known results in welfare economics and public finance are derived as corollaries, and other applications are suggested. An interpretation using consumers' and producers' surplus is given.     

Ecological investigation of firm effects in horizontal mergers

Using an ecological lens, we extend strategic management and industrial organization theory to investigate the performance effects of horizontal mergers. We theorize that firms differ in their ability to benefit from horizontal mergers; that the products involved in the merger differ in their ability to attain and sustain any increase in performance above their premerger level; and that resource niches in which each product competes differ in terms of competitive constraints. We then test these predictions using longitudinal data specified at the product–market level, a unit of analysis that is less influenced by aggregation bias than are industry, firm, and even line-of-business level data. Our findings demonstrate how organizational ecology, when coupled with strategic management and industrial organization economic theories, can enrich our understanding of horizontal mergers. Copyright © 2001 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

How is marketers' credibility construed within the sales-marketing interface?

Extant sales-marketing interface research has ignored how salespeople interpret marketers' credibility. This paper integrates interdisciplinary research on credibility and the sales-marketing interface with interview data from 33 informants to expound three components of this phenomenon; expertise, trust, and interpersonal proximity. Explication of this construct's nuances thus helps to better understand at a micro-level, the potential but sometimes non-apparent cause of some of the problems within sales-marketing interface, and also highlights many avenues to optimize this interface based on the understanding of its inner workings. The findings also expand the repertoire of tools managers may use to harmonize this interface.     

A simplified treatment of the theory of optimal regulation of Brownian motion

Consider a stochastic control problem where the state variable follows a Brownian motion. The flow reward is a function of the state, which can be regulated with a lump-sum and linear cost of adjustment. Using a discrete approximation, a simple exposition of the control problem is developed. The value matching conditions that hold for any given control parameters, and the smooth pasting conditions that hold for the optimal control are derived. Some extensions and economic applications of the method are also discussed.     

Policy preferences of experts seeking to raise and stabilise farm incomes in the Eastern Gangetic Plains

Poverty is endemic in the highly populated Eastern Gangetic Plains where agriculture is critical to more than half the population. However, the mechanisms to support agriculture for development are contested. For example, some have advocated a strong role for government support and assistance due to market weaknesses, while others have promoted the need for more market-oriented approaches. We use an elicitation process focussed on expert policymaking communities, employing stated preference techniques to explore these options. Differences in perceptions about the effectiveness of policies and their delivery are reported between countries, while also empirically examining the influence of the respondents' organisational background. The results show support for policies that improve farmers' access to inputs, especially when delivered by private sector actors. The research provides an important contribution to the literature on policies for agricultural development.     

Social responsibility,moral hazard,and collateral requirement: Evidence from a quasi-natural experiment in India

The stakeholder theory predicts that corporate social responsibility (CSR) activities reduce the morale hazard problem between creditors and corporate firms and decrease the requirement of collaterals in debt transactions. Consistent with this theory, our analysis shows that there is a negative relationship between CSR and secured debt in a cross-section of firms. Further, by using the mandatory CSR regulation implemented in India as a quasi-natural experiment setting, we observe the same negative relationship across periods in firms that were impacted by the regulation. These results suggest that CSR activities may substitute collaterals for obtaining debt from financial institutions, especially banks.