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.     

论我国当前的税收社会学运动

税收社会学运动的蓬勃兴起是基于对契约社会权利假说的守护,也是在市场经济条件下对形式正义和实质正义的一种平衡。税收理论与税收政策对社会协调运行从自发嵌入到自觉嵌入是税收社会学运动的发展趋势。我国当前税收理论对取消农业税、下岗再就业税收优惠等税收现象的深入研究,政府在税收政策制定过程中对这些方面给予的政策支持,实际上就是一场把税收政策嵌入社会协调运行的税收社会学运动。     

FASB对GAAP体系进行简化的战略目标分析

2005年6月举行的美国证监会(SEC)第24届年会暨财务报告组织会议上,美国财务会计准则委员会(FASB)主席罗伯特·赫兹在发言里提到,FASB将会把精力集中于三个关键的战略目标:会计准则改善、简化以及国际趋同。其中值得注意的是对会计准则的简化,这是FASB在配合SEC建立高质量会计准则的过程中达成的新战略目标。根据这一目标,FASB将会对公认会计原则(GAAP)的结构进行详细的梳理,这也是达成高质量会计准则目标的必经之路。FASB2005年4月28日发布的《GAAP的层次(》TheHierarchyofGenerallyAcceptedAccountingPrinciple)征求意见稿…     

培养新型牧民是社会主义新牧区建设的首要条件

社会主义新牧区建设的首要条件是培养新型牧民。就目前来看草原牧区劳动者的素质难以达到产业结构升级和国际国内的竞争要求,人才短缺是草原牧区经济持续发展的重要制约因素。人才的培养,人才的成长,从根本上讲取决于有没有一个良好的人才成长的体制和机制。因此、建立充满活力的人才成长的机制和科学合理的人才管理体制是社会主义新牧区建设的迫切任务。     

Determinants of economic and social satisfaction in manufacturer-distributor relationships

The aim of this work is to examine the dimensions of satisfaction in manufacturer-distributor relationships as well as identifying the antecedents of both the economic and the non-economic dimensions of satisfaction. A literature review about satisfaction in marketing channels is followed by quantitative research into how this interchange process is perceived by food product distributors in their relationships with manufacturers. The results provide strong support for the impact of communication, trust and commitment on satisfaction, as well as the interrelationships among the economic and the non-economic dimensions of satisfaction. Theoretical and managerial implications are extracted from these findings.