Exploring export sales management practices in small- and medium-sized firms

We investigate key sales management aspects in relation to the export involvement stage of the firm. Specifically, an attempt is made to examine the presence of significant differences in export sales management control strategy, export sales organization design and export sales management behavioral attributes between ‘active’ and ‘committed’ exporting firms. We identify several differences among these exporter groups with the main conclusion being that the sales management function is more effectively organized and managed at advanced levels of export involvement. These findings are discussed in the light of existing knowledge, and various conclusions and research implications are also derived.     

Internet impacts on supply chain management

The traditional way of managing supply chains has changed dramatically over the last 5 years. Face-to-face management, manual tracking systems, paper-dominated order processing systems, and wired communication links were the primary management tools available to logistics managers. Today, they are obsolete. The article provides an overview of some of the new tools and trends discussed in this issue, including website structure, e-purchasing, electronic marketplaces, building vendor relationships, and the use of the Internet in managing supply chains in China.     

Strategic Internet application trends in supply chain management

The Internet is evolving as a powerful force in the new marketplace where the nexus of competition has changed from individual firms to efficient supply chain networks both between firms and within industries. This study explores Internet adoption patterns and operational applications in US supply chain networks. The data reveal that the integration of the Internet into supply chain management applications has increased and has moved away from indiscriminate application of novel Internet technologies towards becoming a focused endeavor with precise expectations and measurable goals. Specifically, the study finds that Internet usage within supply chains is maturing as evidenced by enhanced and increased productivity, reduced costs and increased profit for participating firms.     

Designing sales force satisfying selling positions: a conjoint measurement approach

To design selling positions that appeal to both new and incumbent salespersons, management needs to understand salespersons' preferences for job characteristics. The study reported here exemplifies an effort to operationalize salespersons' preferences for job and task characteristics that takes account of both career stage and gender. Findings indicate that salespeople in the sample prefer salary-based compensation and that female salespeople prefer sales jobs that are fixed in location.     

Strategizing in industrial networks

This paper provides an overview of the implications for strategizing offered by an industrial network perspective and a comparison of this view with strategic management thinking. We argue that it is crucial for a company to relate its activities to those of other firms in order to enhance its performance, and it is through the continuous combining and recombining of existing resources that new resource dimensions are identified and further developed within business relationships. From the standpoint of a single company, strategizing from an industrial network perspective implies that the heterogeneity of resources and interdependencies between activities across company boundaries, as well as the organized collaboration among the companies involved, must be considered simultaneously.     

The coexistence of transaction and relational marketing: Insights from the Chinese business context

Transaction and relational approaches to marketing have been promoted as alternative forms but recent evidence suggests that they may coexist. We explore this in the context of China. If firms operating in a highly relational society, such as China, exhibit transactional behavior, these two approaches must be compatible. We argue that Chinese values give rise to business practices consistent with both transactional and relational perspectives. These are summarized in six propositions for research. Theory building and managerial practice could benefit from thinking in terms of how elements from the two perspectives can be brought together rather than remain as alternatives.     

用单片机实现渗碳工艺的控制

本文介绍了一个简单、廉价的单片机系统,并用其实现了渗碳过程的各段时间和渗剂滴量的自动控制,取得了良好的效果。     

梅花香自苦寒来——霸州市政府采购工作纪实

霸州市的政府采购工作自1999年开始运作以来，至今已经有7个春秋。在此期间，让霸州市从事政府采购工作的人们感触最深的两个字就是“苦”和“乐”。首先是“苦”，源于工作的艰难，其次是“乐”，源于工作成绩的取得。政府采购工作是泥泞中的跋涉，痛并快乐着……     

中国会计国际化与国际会计中国化的文化思考

中国文化的核心是儒家思想,它与几千年中国文明发展史存在相关性,中国会计文化是中国文化对会计影响、渗透的结果,中国会计文化变异促进其文化创生。中国会计国际化是一个不可扭转的趋势,中国会计发展路径是从中国会计国际化到国际会计中国化。     

从我国纳税维权的困境看非政府组织的作为

税权源于神圣不可侵犯的私人财产权,是纳税人将部分私人财产权让渡给公共权力而置换来的权利。税权的实现不仅依赖于社会税权意识的觉醒、法律和制度保障的跟进,还依赖于政府、市场和纳税人三者维权实践的水平。一个发达、良性的NGO与公众在空间距离和心理距离上都较政府要小,因此能比政府更敏感地发现社会弱势群体的维权诉求,并通过自身可以动员的资源,直接地或间接地为其提供公益性服务。