Adoption and Implementation of Internal Marketing Systems by Ghanaian Small- and Medium-Sized Enterprises

This paper explores the concept of internal marketing (IM) as an internal supportive system that could provide the infrastructure for a strategic business take-off. It investigates how IM, as a concept, is understood and made practical in the context of Ghanaian small- and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs). This qualitative research method was used due to the nature of the enquiry. The government of Ghana is constantly searching for more effective ways of assisting SME performance, through various strategic growth and development schemes. Despite the fact that much has been said in the literature, the IM concept remains elusive. Most SMEs are not aware of IM and demonstrate little understanding of the concept. And SMEs have problems with the implementation of IM. The manufacturing sector demonstrates more IM orientation than does the service sector. This paper unravels sociocultural factors that frustrate the practice of IM among Ghanaian SMEs and calls for a greater awareness of the concept by stakeholders. Suggestions include more general business support for SMEs to improve performance and subsequently grow. The paper finishes by drawing attention to management implications within the practice of IM.     

The Impact of Situational,Demographic, and Socioeconomic Factors on Impulse Buying in the Republic of Macedonia

This study explores the role of situational, demographic, and socioeconomic variables in stimulating impulse purchase behavior in the Republic of Macedonia. Factor analysis reveals five categories of situational impulse buying factors: social and personal, in-store atmosphere, sales related, sales promotion, and time and money. Cluster analysis produced two segments: noticeably rational and noticeably impulsive. The results show significant differences between the two segments on all five factors of impulse buying. Furthermore, the results show that segments differ in terms of age, working status, household income, and frequency of buying.     

Leben nach Rektumkarzinom

Sexualit?t und Stoma - Obwohl eine Stomaanlage heute zu den Standard eingriffen z?hlt, hat sie weitreichende Auswirkungen auf das Leben der Erkrankten. Das gilt besonders dann, wenn Betroffene noch vergleichsweise jung sind. Wie kann eine junge Frau lernen, mit der Diagnose, dem Eingriff und dessen Folgen umzugehen? Und wie findet sie ihren Weg zu einer ver?nderten Sexualit?t?     

Environmental Reporting of Global Corporations: A Content Analysis based on Website Disclosures

Today, more corporations disclose information about their environmental performance in response to stakeholder demands of environmental responsibility and accountability. What information do corporations disclose on their websites? This paper investigates the environmental management policies and practices of the 200 largest corporations in the world. Based on a content analysis of the environmental reports of Fortune’s Global 200 companies, this research analyzes the content of corporate environmental disclosures with respect to the following seven areas: environmental planning considerations, top management support to the institutionalization of environmental concerns, environmental structures and organizing specifics, environmental leadership activities, environmental control, external validations or certifications of environmental programs, and forms of corporate environmental disclosures.     

Finding delay-resistant line concepts using a game-theoretic approach

We present a game-theoretic model for the line planning problem in public transportation, in which each line acts as player. Each player aims to minimize its own delay, which is dependent on the traffic load along its edges. We show that there exists a line plan at equilibrium, which minimizes the probability of delays of the transportation system. This result is achieved by showing that a potential function exists. Numerical results using close-to-real world data in the LinTim framework clearly show that our method indeed produces delay-resistant line concepts.     

Boards of directors in family firms: a generational perspective

The purpose of this study is to advance the understanding of boards of directors in family firms. Building on generational changes in family attributes, we argue that firms in a different generational phase have different governance needs and characteristics. With regard to board task needs, the empirical results indicate a convex generational evolution in the need for board advice, and a rise over the generations in the need for board control. With regard to board composition, we find that the likelihood of having an outside director on the board has a convex generational trend. This relationship seems to be fully mediated by the firm’s board task needs. Furthermore, the number of family directors seems to increase over the generations. This study demonstrates that it is important to consider the generational phase of the family firm in order to understand its governance system.

Contents of Volume 14

Volume Contents

Contents of Volume 14