Strategies for local and regional NGO development: combining sustainable outcomes with sustainable organizations

This paper addresses the issue of the development of Non-Governmental Organizations (NGOs) and the problem of how to combine sustainable outcomes from activities with sustainable organizations. It seeks to blend concept with practice via the development and application of a model of the NGO as an entrepreneurial organization. The context is that of the experience of (and work undertaken with) the Deutsche Gesellschaft fur Technische Zusammenarbeit (GTZ) funded Competency-based Economies through the Formation of Enterprise (CEFE) Network of NGOs in South Africa. The paper argues that viewing NGOs as entrepreneurial small organizations with a focus upon dynamic stakeholder network development, entrepreneurial management, strategic business development, and strategic alliance building is the key to the much sought after combination of sustainable outcomes and organization. After briefly reviewing some of the advantages and disadvantages associated with the role of NGOs in small enterprise development and the context of the operation of the CEFE Network of NGOs in South Africa, a model of entrepreneurial NGOs is proposed and then applied to South African CEFE Networks. In the conclusion a final outline of NGO sustainability criteria is offered and implications for donor approaches are briefly explored.     

Exclusivity in licensing alliances: using hostages to support technology commercialization

We examine why exclusivity provisions are used in licensing alliances, and when restrictions in licensing scope (e.g., by product or geography) accompany these exclusivity provisions. We find broad support for the proposition that these features are associated with the contractual challenges of allying with licensees when they contribute valuable complementary capabilities toward the commercialization of licensed technologies. Evidence from our data suggests that exclusivity is used as a contractual hostage to safeguard licensee investments in complementary assets and to enable contracting over early stage technologies. Scope restrictions are employed to balance the tradeoffs between the value creation made possible by licensee complementary capabilities and the transactional hazards entailed in working exclusively with licensees. Our results also suggest that scope restrictions and other formal safeguards may be substitute mechanisms for managing similar transactional concerns in licensing alliances. Copyright © 2010 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Proposing a sustainable marketing framework for heritage tourism

This study tests a sustainable marketing protocol for heritage tourism institutions. The marketing plans of 20 museums across the United States are examined to grasp the empirical reality of the proposed model. The model is crafted along strategic marketing criteria, including measures such as environment analysis, level of local community involvement, partnership, and maintenance of traditional preservation-based objectives of the museums. A gap between the philosophical underpinnings of the proposed model and the existing marketing strategies is found. It is noted that the contemporary museum ethos in many regions of the United States is centered on short term plans and current survival. Additionally, regardless of locations, funding and short-termism dictate the core elements of all marketing plans. Overall, the results indicate that dedicated efforts and more awareness are needed to sustain the core purpose of contemporary museums. Using an applied approach, this study offers a unique and realistic perspective to a conceptually drawn framework. The results enhance the marketing literature, offer suggestions on how museum marketing plans could include sustainable elements and become part of a sustainable heritage tourism paradigm.     

Agency and trust mechanisms in consumer satisfaction and loyalty judgments

The authors propose a framework for understanding key mechanisms that shape satisfaction in individual encounters, and loyalty across ongoing exchanges. In particular, the framework draws together two distinct approaches: (1) agency theory, rooted in the economic approach, that views relational exchanges as encounters between principals (consumers) and agents (service providers) and (2) trust research that adopts a psychological approach toward consumer-provider relationships. In so doing, the authors specify how trust mechanisms cooperate and compete with agency mechanisms to affect satisfaction in individual encounters and influence loyalty in the long run. Because a multidimensional conceptualization of trust is used, the hypothesized framework offers a fine-grained understanding of the interrelated mechanisms. The high level of specificity allows extraction of multiple propositions, facilitates empirical testing, and encourages theoretical development of the proposed model. Several directions to guide future research are provided. Jagdip Singh is Professor of Marketing at the Weatherhead School of Management at Case Western Reserve University. His current research interests include consumer dissatisfaction and complaint responses, O-P-C (organization-person-customer) processes that occur in frontline/boundary roles, and measurement issues in marketing. He has published in theJournal of Marketing, theJournal of Marketing Research, theJournal of the Academy of Marketing Science, theJournal of International Business Studies, andPsychological Assessment, among others. Deepak Sirdeshmukh is Assistant Professor of Marketing at the Weatherhead School of Management at Case Western Reserve University. His current research involves a multiindustry examination of the role of trust in building consumer-firm relationships. Other research interests include consumer evaluation of brand extensions and consumer information processing. He has published in theJournal of Marketing Research, theJournal of Consumer Research, and theJournal of Consumer Psychology.     

On the differing pattern of corporate diversification across economies

Conglomerates, that is, firms which have diversified into industries having little in common in terms of markets, technologies, or skills, occupy only a relatively minor position among large firms in the U.S., but they dominate many other economies, particularly the developing ones in Asia. This paper describes a model which helps explain this difference in the observed pattern of corporate diversification across economies.The author is grateful to Gamal Atallah, participants at the Indira Gandhi Institute of Development Research, participants at the Forty-Third International Atlantic Economic Conference, October 8–11, 1998, Boston, Massachusetts, and an anonymous referee for helpful comments and suggestions. The author is responsible for all errors and omissions.