Retail in my pocket– replicating and extending the construct of service quality into the mobile commerce context

Nowadays, retailers are interested in how customer preferences regarding service quality are changing due to the adoption of different devices for shopping purposes in both the desktop and mobile contexts. To answer this question, this paper first replicates, in the mobile commerce (m-commerce) context, the results from Blut et al. (2015), who conducted a meta-analytic review of electronic service quality. Replication results question the robustness and generalizability of the conceptualization in the mobile service quality context. Thereby, practitioners and academics are encouraged to adapt a customer-centric approach in organizing marketing practices. The replication extends the conceptualization of electronic service quality by considering a unique dimension named ubiquity of services, defined as the retailer's ability to provide offers based on location and time. To reveal psychological mechanisms explaining the results of the replication study, a follow-up study draws on these contextual factors. In this context, this study uses a quasi-experimental approach by utilizing propensity score matching to account for self-selection effects to examine differences between desktop and mobile device users. As a result, this research contributes to the literature by identifying contextual boundary conditions regarding the shopping trip intentions and risk perceptions of mobile device users and desktop device users. Based on the results, major implications for retailers and further research are given.     

Hospitality innovation strategies: Robustness analysis of paths to firm performance

Empirical knowledge on the relationship between innovation and firm performance in the hospitality industry is important for theoretical progress and for decision making. Martin-Rios and Ciobanu’s (2019) recent contribution identifies eight different innovation strategies being significantly associated with firm performance including the ambitious strategy of simultaneously innovating products, processes, organizations, and marketing. By replicating the analysis and testing the robustness of the results with a specification curve analysis using the same dataset, we find only three strategies to be robustly associated with firm performance. All three include process innovation as a necessary component: i) a pure backstage-oriented strategy of process and organizational innovation that can be ii) extended with product innovation and iii) a frontstage-oriented strategy, where marketing innovations complement new products and processes. This substantiates the relevance of the process-based view of innovation in services and call for efforts in theorizing about how different configurations of innovation strategies can represent paths to firm performance.     

基于知识经济性角度的连锁经营知识复制研究

连锁经营之所以具有生命力与活力,在当今知识经济时代应该作时代性的本质解读。本文认为,知识经济环境下连锁经营的根本在于知识的经济性,连锁经营效益是基于知识的经济性,通过知识复制来实现的;同时,知识还存在非经济性,阻碍着有效知识的复制和连锁经营效益的实现。为此,本文提出整合提炼正确有效的知识并确保可简单复制、构建知识有效传导体系、连锁经营单元遵照规律学习know-how知识等措施,实行制度性约束,采取分级分类保护措施,以保障知识资产避免贬值与零值,确保连锁经营效益实现。     

Where does business research go from here? Food-for-thought on academic papers in business research

This essay focuses on some of the adverse practices in business research publications. First, business researchers seem to have lost touch with business practice and to narrow the target group to fellow academics only, reducing the production of useful knowledge. Second, the objectives of business research publications narrow to impact and citations. This view leads to a strict focus on path-breaking theories and a denigration of replication and qualitative studies. Third, an obsession with the .05 significance level and corroborating findings leaves researchers with full file drawers of unpublished papers and could leave journals with a high rate of type I error papers. Fourth, complex, lengthy articles, the importance of carefully crafting a story around the research and a variety of style guidelines make business researchers less productive than they could be. Finally, a blind reliance on ISI's impact and citation scores may not do justice to a researcher's real contribution.     

Fast and realistic European ARCH option pricing and hedging

The behavior of the implied volatility surface for European options was analysed in detail by Zumbach and Fernandez for prices computed with a new option pricing scheme based on the construction of the risk-neutral measure for realistic processes with a finite time increment. The resulting dynamics of the surface is static in the moneyness direction, and given by a volatility forecast in the time-to-maturity direction. This difference is the basis of a cross-product approximation of the surface. The subsequent speed-up for option pricing is large, allowing the computation of Greeks and the delta replication strategy in simulations with the cost of replication and the replication risk. The corresponding premia are added to the option arbitrage price in order to compute realistic implied volatility surfaces. Finally, the cross-product approximation for realistic prices can be used to analyse European options on the SP500 in depth. The cross-product approximation is used to compute a mean quotient implied volatility, which can be compared with the full theoretical computation. The comparison shows that the cost of hedging and the replication risk premium have contributions to the implied volatility smile that are of similar magnitude to the contribution from the process for the underlying asset.     

Alternative beta applied—an introduction to hedge fund replication

Motivated by the surge in popularity of passive hedge fund investments, the present article discusses the concept of “alternative beta” and its implications for the hedge fund industry. The article covers a variety of topics, ranging from the basic rationale for hedge fund replication to replication methodologies and products to the academic and financial market environment. We find that with their radical departure from the hedge fund hallmark of alpha delivery, passive replication products represent the next generation of hedge fund investing, and offer the catalyst for further development of the matured hedge fund industry. Further, we show how the alternative beta concept contributes to a proper separation of alpha, and thus enhances the overall efficiency and quality of hedge fund returns. The article also demonstrates that hedge fund replication can take several different forms. In conclusion, we believe that passive hedge fund products have the potential to consistently outperform mediocre (funds of) hedge funds on an after-fee basis.

“Systematic combining”—A decade later

Ten years ago we published a paper in this journal: “Systematic Combining—An abductive approach to case research”. The aim of the present paper is to further articulate and emphasize key features of ‘systematic combining’ as a non-linear, non-positivist approach, in contrast to the mainstream perspectives on case research as represented, for example. The discussion revolves around three themes. First, we compare case studies based on replication logic with single case research. Second, we discuss the research processes in studies relying on these approaches. Third, we analyze the types of theories that can be developed from these two kinds of studies. We then discuss some general problems related to the assessment of the quality of the type of case studies we advocate. The paper ends with a concluding discussion addressing the opportunities available for case research, of which systematic combining is one of many alternative approaches.     

Transfer mechanisms and knowledge transfer: The cooperative competency perspective

This study examines the role of transfer mechanisms, including replication and adaptation, in knowledge transfer from the cooperative competency perspective. This study tests the hypotheses in a sample of 120 knowledge transfer cases. The results indicate that transfer mechanisms relate positively to cooperative competency with partnering firms, which then improves knowledge transfer performance. The results provide evidence that cooperative competency plays a mediating role between transfer mechanisms and knowledge transfer performance. The findings of this study contribute to the theoretical development of a conceptual model for explaining the interrelationships among transfer mechanisms, cooperative competency, and knowledge transfer performance. The empirical evidence of the Sobel test in line with Baron and Kenny's procedure and bootstrap analysis supports the process-oriented view and indicates that cooperative competency mediates the effects of transfer mechanisms on knowledge transfer performance. Finally, this study discusses the managerial implications and highlights future research directions.     

Convenience samples of college students and research reproducibility

Tests of theory in marketing and consumer behavior research are frequently based on convenience samples of undergraduate college students. In a study of business-related ethicality, analysis of data from four dozen convenience samples of undergraduate business students revealed significant differences in means, variances, intercorrelations, and path parameters across the samples. Depending on the particular convenience sample used, relationships between variables and constructs were positive or negative and statistically significant or insignificant. The present research empirically documents, for the first time, the uncertainty created by using convenience samples of college students as research subjects. Only through empirical replications can researchers pragmatically assess the reliability, validity, and generalizability of research findings.     

Evaluating the forecasting performance of econometric models of air passenger traffic flows using multiple error measures

Airline traffic forecasting is important to airlines and regulatory authorities. This paper examines a number of approaches to forecasting short- to medium-term air traffic flows. It contributes as a rare replication, testing a variety of alternative modelling approaches. The econometric models employed include autoregressive distributed lag (ADL) models, time-varying parameter (TVP) models and an automatic method for econometric model specification. A vector autoregressive (VAR) model and various univariate alternatives are also included to deliver unconditional forecast comparisons. Various approaches for taking into account interactions between contemporaneous air traffic flows are examined, including pooled ADL models and the enhanced models with the addition of a “world trade” variable. Based on the analysis of a number of forecasting error measures, it is concluded that pooled ADL models that include the “world trade” variable outperform the alternatives, and in particular univariate methods; and, second, that automatic modelling procedures are enhanced through judgmental intervention. In contrast to earlier results, the TVP models do not improve accuracy. Depending on the preferred error measure, the difference in accuracy may be substantial.