Can You Hear Me Now? Communication in Virtual Product Development Teams*

Globalization and technological advances are driving organizations to extend the boundaries of new product development (NPD) teams from traditional colocated settings to dispersed or virtual settings. Virtual NPD teams have a wide array of information and communication technologies (ICTs) at their disposal. ICTs allow team members to communicate and collaborate as they cope with the opportunities and challenges of cross‐boundary work. The purpose of this paper is to explore ICT use by members of virtual NPD teams. This study presents an exploratory test and integration of two competing perspectives of media use in virtual teams: media capacity theories and social dynamic media theories. Specifically, this paper examines the role of task type, organizational context, and ICT type as critical contingency variables affecting ICT use. It also examines how different patterns of ICT use relate to individual perceptions of team performance. The findings from this study of 184 members of virtual NPD teams in three global firms suggest that communication via ICTs in virtual NPD teams is contingent on a range of factors.     

Auditing Standards in China—A Comparative Analysis with Relevant International Standards and Guidelines

The continuing and deepening economic reforms in China have brought many changes both socially and economically to the society. The primary function of auditing in China has begun to shift away from the traditional tax compliance assessment towards the credibility lending to financial statements. The economic reforms and the development of the Accounting Standards for Business Enterprises have necessitated the parallel development of auditing standards in China. While some significant differences exist, the new Chinese auditing standards are, in a number of important aspects, similar to the professional standards promulgated by the International Federation of Accountants. The development of a comprehensive body of standards, auditor independence, the role of certain auditing techniques, and certified public accountant (CPA) population are the major areas that China needs to improve. Opening up the Chinese accounting industry will trigger significant advances in the implementation of Chinese standards and the development of the Chinese accounting profession.     

Measuring traveler involvement in urban public transport services: The case of Kaohsiung

The city of Kaohsiung has been urgently reducing its rates of ownership and usage of privately owned motor vehicles. The most important strategy undertaken thus far has been to build mass rapid transit systems. This study aims to apply the Involvement Theory to construct an inventory to measure level of travelers’ involvement in public transport services. The results indicate that the number of low involvement travelers is the critical factor that determines whether the new public transport system can effectively operate. They also provide authorities with precise marketing strategies targeting different groups in order to allow the new public transport systems to sufficiently meet public needs.     

A membership pricing policy to facilitate service scale-expansion

This paper proposes a multi-year membership pricing policy for a service business like a gym chain. In the pricing policy, the equivalent membership price per year is relatively low to attract customers, and the multi-year membership fees must be prepaid in full. The prepaid cash provides resources for scale-expansion by opening new stores. We develop a nonlinear mixed integer programming model to formulate the pricing decisions. Numerical experiments reveal that the multi-year membership pricing policy, from a long-term perspective, is substantially better than the business-as-usual pricing policy (1-year membership) in cash balance, profit, and market share. Yet, the performances of the two pricing policies do not differ much from a short-term perspective. These findings indicate that the multi-year pricing policy may be a good strategy, because it initially attracts less attention of competitors; suddenly it emerges and substantially outperforms its competitors in cash balance, profit, and market share.     

Understanding the formation of e-loyalty based on a dedication-constraint perspective

Despite the importance of retaining customers in the context of e-shopping, the formation of an e-buyer’s loyalty remains inconclusive. Drawing on e-shopping literature, this study developed and tested a model to explain e-buyer loyalty from the perspective of business-to-consumer relationship management. We build on a dedication-constraint dual model to delineate the relationship between perceived benefits, switching cost, service-specific investment, and loyalty. Empirical results from 505 respondents show that loyalty is influenced by both perceived benefits and switching costs. In addition, switching costs partially mediate the relationship between service-specific investments and loyalty. Implications of these results are discussed.     

The interrelationships among service quality,customer satisfaction,and customer loyalty: Examination of the fast-food industry

The purpose of this study was to use customers’ perspectives to develop a conceptual model for improving service quality and enhancing customer satisfaction and loyalty. The 197 samples were selected from customers of leading fast food franchise enterprises in Taiwan. The research results indicate that service quality positively influences customer satisfaction and customer loyalty. Service quality positively influences customer loyalty through customer satisfaction. The research findings indicate that managers need to ensure they have efficient service quality to enhance customer satisfaction and customer loyalty levels.     

Why Celebrity Sells: A Dual Entertainment Path Model of Brand Endorsement

This article introduces a dual entertainment path model that integrates insights from media entertainment and transportation theory to show how links between entertainment motives (aspirational and playful) and experiences (celebrity fantasy and emotional investment) influence endorsed brand attitude. Results of two studies validate the salience of two paths. Fans, who hold parasocial bond with the celebrity, are driven by both aspirational and playful motives to engage in celebrity-induced entertainment experiences. Nonfans lack aspirational motive and are driven predominantly by playful motive. In either situation, celebrity-induced entertainment experiences enhance endorsed brand attitude. This model complements the existing celebrity endorsement literature by positing entertainment as a salient dimension of brand endorser effects. Its findings provide new insights on how advertisers promote their brands.     

Cognitive Lock‐In Effects on Consumer Purchase Intentions in the Context of B2C Web Sites

The perspective of power law of practice and human capital model asserts that cognitive search costs, cognitive transaction costs, and cognitive switching costs are three lock‐in mechanisms that a business‐to‐consumer (B2C) Web site holds to retain customers. Whether the ability of customer value or the lock‐in mechanism is more dominant for retaining online shoppers has received recent attention, but remains unresolved in the literature. This study sheds light on perceived value and cognitive lock‐in to develop a research model to predict consumer purchase intentions. Empirical results obtained from a survey of customers of a B2C Web site are used to examine the proposed model. Implications of cognitive lock‐in and product cues for increasing purchase intentions are also discussed.     

How Can We Better Understand Current and Future Workforce Values in the Global Business Environment?

Our study tested the predictive power of socioeconomic development theory and age differences theory to explain work values across cultures and across age groups. We compared the values orientations of future managers, business students under the age of 25, with those of current managers and professionals, who we split into three decade groups (30 to 39, 40 to 49, and 50 to 59). Our respondents (n = 1,518) come from six diverse societies: Brazil, Germany, Indonesia, Russia, the United States, and Vietnam. Our findings indicate that both theories contribute to our understanding of work values and behaviors. One implication is that while socioeconomic development theory makes an important contribution, it is clearly not sufficient by itself to explain work values/behavior differences in the global context. The study findings and the discussion of them will hopefully provide multinational managers with a clearer assessment of current and future workforce values/behavior. © 2012 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.     

Relinking Cross‐functional Collaboration,Knowledge Integration Mechanisms,and Product Innovation Performance: a Moderated Mediation Model

Previous research shows that knowledge integration mechanisms (KIMs) mediate the cross‐functional collaboration‐product innovation performance relationship; however, this mediating effect seems to be rather weak. This study, in contrast, develops a moderated mediation (MOME) model to argue that such a mediating effect is moderated by product innovativeness. A sample comprised of 106 manufacturing firms is utilized in the analyses. A moderated‐mediation approach shows that the mediating effect of KIMs in the linkage between cross‐functional collaboration and product innovation performance varies by different perspectives of product innovativeness. From an industry (macro‐level) perspective, product innovativeness positively moderates the mediating effect of KIMs on product innovation performance; in contrast, such a moderating effect is not significant under a firm (micro‐level) perspective. Copyright © 2011 ASAC. Published by John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.