Managing Corporate Networks from America to China

Multinational corporations (MNCs) are making a major contribution to China's economic development. This analysis examines how eight prominent American MNCs are handling the process of linking the management of their China joint ventures into their global structures. It looks at how the MNCs are addressing the tensions that arise between maintaining control in terms of their worldwide standards while attempting simultaneously to adapt to the complex and dynamic environment of China. The reconciliation of these requirements depends on a relatively few focal actors, who are located at critical interfaces within the MNCs' internal networks between the China joint ventures and the corporate level.     

Likeability as a measure of advertising effectiveness: the case of financial services

Television advertising for financial services accounts for over one-third of total financial services advertising expenditure, yet there is evidence to suggest it is not very well done. Given the difficulties advertisers have to overcome in terms of promoting an intangible product in accordance with tight restrictions on advertising content and format to a largely uninvolved audience, it becomes all the more imperative to study how viewers judge financial services commercials. This paper presents the findings of a study which seeks to establish which elements, if any, of a financial services commercial first make it likeable to its target audience, second motivate the viewer to seek more information about the service being advertised and, third, have an effect on the image the viewer has of the advertiser. Some interesting findings from the research point to the similarities between the emerging factors for viewers' affective reactions to fast-moving consumer goods (FMCG) and financial services commercials and the extent to which likeability mediates the influence which advertisement execution features have on subsequent behavioural intentions.     

Contents of Volume 5

Volume Contents

Contents of Volume 5     

Up,up and away: social marketing breaks free

Abstract

The social marketing literature has been dominated by questions about the field’s legitimacy along with the ethical and other implications of its relationship with commercial marketing. In reviewing social marketing’s origins and considering its future, this paper acknowledges then moves beyond these concerns, enabling a focus on the opportunities created for this vibrant field in the current environment. Three thematic areas frame the paper’s discussion: the legitimacy of social marketing as a field in its own right; the broadening and deepening of the field and the consequences for social change; and the strengths and opportunities arising out of social marketing’s relationship with mainstream marketing. The paper reviews social marketing’s origins, before considering how the field might draw on the turbulent environment and the dynamic developments taking place within marketing to shape its future.     

Managerial and Other White-Collar Employees’ Perceptions of Ethical Issues in their Workplaces

Understanding what types of issues working adults perceive as ethical in their workplaces will allow better teaching of business ethics. This study reports findings of a thematic analysis of 764 ethical challenges described by working adults in a part-time MBA program and combines its findings with the other published studies on perceptions of ethical issues in the workplace. The results indicate that most people are assured about what they describe as ethical transgressions although experts might disagree. It also highlights certain issues and contexts as being more frequently perceived than others. Ideas for future research in this area are also explored.     

Developing service climate in local vs. foreign firms in smaller Asian emerging markets: a resource-based and social exchange perspective

While research on drivers of service climate has focused on organisational resources and human resource practices such as training, employee autonomy and inter-departmental support, how these resources interrelate and influence service climate has not been examined, especially in the context of smaller Asian emerging market. Drawing on the resource-based view and its extension on dynamic capability, and social exchange theory, this qualitative study investigates how local and foreign firms in smaller Asian emerging markets create a favourable service climate. Our findings suggest three inter-related groups of factors that influence service climate, namely firm-based, market-based and culture-based drivers. Notably, foreign service firms perform better than their local counterparts in several firm-based drivers (e.g. service-oriented human resource management practices, work facilitation resources). Our study proposes a conceptual framework that integrates inter-relationships of organisational resource-based factors and explains how internal and external factors drive service climate in firms in smaller Asian emerging markets.     

On the way to Ithaka[1]: Commemorating the 50th Anniversary of the Publication of Karl E. Weick’s The Social Psychology of Organizing

Karl E. Weick’s The Social Psychology of Organizing has been one of the most influential books in organization studies, providing the theoretical underpinnings of several research programs. Importantly, the book is widely credited with initiating the process turn in the field, leading to the ‘gerundizing’ of management and organization studies: the persistent effort to understand organizational phenomena as ongoing accomplishments. The emphasis of the book on organizing (rather than on organizations) and its links with sensemaking have made it the most influential treatise on organizational epistemology. In this introduction, we review Weick’s magnum opus, underline and assess its key themes, and suggest ways in which several of them may be taken forward.     

Union‐division: on the paradoxes of purpose and membership scope in union mergers

Union mergers raise central questions about a union's raison d'être and the range of constituents it can serve effectively. Whereas the challenges posed by union purpose and scope of membership have long engaged researchers, few studies have fleshed out the contradictory issues that engage committed members and leaders during a merger. We argue that in mergers, fundamental themes in unionism intersect in paradoxical ways. We analyse a merger of tertiary education unions in New Zealand and situate its debates within a changing context for industrial relations. The case provides insight into the tensions inherent in union mergers by addressing the drivers for integration and differentiation as well as the role of leaders in shaping these. The findings elucidate paradoxical dynamics inherent in mergers: the paradox of purpose confronts the tension between industrial and craft unionism and the paradox of membership scope considers critical mass and communities of interest. The conclusion reflects on identity, leadership and context during mergers and poses contributions to research and practice.