The moderating effect of brand orientation on inter-firm market orientation and performance

While prior research has shown that market and brand orientation are key contributors to successful business performance, research to date has not fully explored how inter firm collaboration for these two key orientations can enhance business performance. The purpose of the paper is to investigate the relationship between inter-firm market and performance; to test for the moderating role of brand orientation in that relationship. A total of 169 completed pairs of surveys were collected of small and medium enterprises operating internationally in a variety of industries in Switzerland. The results show that inter-firm market and brand orientation are two antecedents of marketing and financial performance. The impact of inter-firm market on marketing and financial performance is significant when the brand orientation is favorable. This study extends previous research by examining the moderating role of brand orientation on inter firm market orientation, which is important, especially for firms wanting to increase their brand reputation by entering into partnerships with other firms. Further research is indicated, to identify the key moderators of the driving force of inter-firm market in relation to business performance and the reason why maintaining a strong brand presence is important in the international marketplace

Perceptions of knowledge sharing among small family firm leaders: a structural equation model

Small family firms have many unique relational qualities with implications for how knowledge is passed between individuals. Extant literature posits leadership approach as important in explaining differences in knowledge-sharing climate from one firm to another. This study investigates how leadership approaches interact with family influence to inform perceptions of knowledge sharing. We utilize survey data (n = 110) from owner-managers of knowledge-intensive small family firms in Scotland. Our findings present a choice in leadership intention, contrasting organization-focused participation against family-influenced guidance. Insight is offered on the implications of this leadership choice at both organizational and familial level

Growing Two-Sided Networks by Advertising the User Base: A Field Experiment

Two-sided exchange networks (such as eBay.com) often advertise their number of users, presumably to encourage further participation. However, these networks differ markedly on how they advertise their user base. Some highlight the number of sellers, some emphasize the number of buyers, and others disclose both. We use field experiment data from a business-to-business website to examine the efficacy of these different display formats. Before each potential seller posted a listing, the website randomized whether to display the number of buyers and/or sellers, and if so, how many buyers and/or sellers to claim. We find that when information about both buyers and sellers is displayed, a large number of sellers deters further seller listings. However, this deterrence effect disappears when only the number of sellers is presented. Similarly, a large number of buyers is more likely to attract new listings when it is displayed together with the number of sellers. These results suggest the presence of indirect network externalities, whereby a seller prefers markets with many other sellers because they help attract more buyers

Projected Images of Major Chinese Outbound Destinations

This study aimed to explore the projected images of major outbound destinations based on popular travel magazines in China. Travel articles on Hong Kong, Macau, Japan, South Korea, Vietnam and Taiwan from 2006 to 2008 were content analyzed. Japan was reported on most, and the projected images of the six destinations are dominated by leisure and recreation, and culture, history and art. Correspondence analysis was used to examine relationships between destinations and popular image attributes. The results showed that South Korea and Macau had distinct projected images, whereas Japan, Taiwan, Hong Kong and Vietnam shared many similar image attributes. Practical implications for destination marketing organizations are provided

Attitudinal Determinants of Aberrant Driving Behaviors in Pakistan

The aberrant behavior of drivers is regarded as the most significant contributory factor to traffic accidents in Pakistan. This research was conducted on the premise that personal attitudes were key determinants of driving behaviors. Consequently, the research attempted to identify the key sociocognitive determinants of aberrant driving. To do this, a quantitative study that used an attitudinal questionnaire (inspired by the theory of planned behavior and a modified driver behavior questionnaire) was conducted in the city of Lahore, Pakistan. The study obtained self-reports of attitudes, norms, perceived control, and opinions of drivers regarding a number of intentional road traffic violations and enforcement. The responses to the statements in the questionnaires were first factor analyzed to identify underlying attitudinal and behavioral constructs. Later, following a cluster analysis technique, the attitudinal constructs were used to classify drivers into four distinct groups: the autonomous, the opportunists, the regulators, and the risk averse. Sociodemographic characteristics and behavioral constructs of these groups were also studied. The results indicated that the behaviors of drivers could be interpreted in relation to their attitudes and were partly influenced by the drivers’ sociodemographic characteristics. Attitudes toward enforcement and compliance with rules specifically appeared to be the strongest determinants of Pakistani drivers’ behavior. In particular, the results indicate that being affluent, female, and a student negatively influenced driving behaviors

An efficient approach to understanding and predicting the effects of multiple task characteristics on performance

In ergonomics there is often a need to identify and predict the separate effects of multiple factors on performance. A cost-effective fractional factorial approach to understanding the relationship between task characteristics and task performance is presented. The method has been shown to provide sufficient independent variability to reveal and predict the effects of task characteristics on performance in two domains. The five steps outlined are: selection of performance measure, task characteristic identification, task design for user trials, data collection, regression model development and task characteristic analysis. The approach can be used for furthering knowledge of task performance, theoretical understanding, experimental control and prediction of task performance

Assessing direct contributions of morphological awareness and prosodic sensitivity to children’s word reading and reading comprehension

We examined the independent contributions of prosodic sensitivity and morphological awareness to word reading, text reading accuracy, and reading comprehension. We did so in a longitudinal study of English-speaking children (N = 70). At 5 to 7 years of age, children completed the metalinguistic measures along with control measures of phonological awareness and vocabulary. Children completed the reading measures two years later. Morphological awareness, but not prosodic sensitivity made a significant independent contribution to word reading, text reading accuracy and reading comprehension. The effects of morphological awareness on reading comprehension remained after controls for word reading. These results suggest that morphological awareness needs to be considered seriously in models of reading development and that prosodic sensitivity might have primarily indirect relations to reading outcomes. Keywords: Morphological Awareness; Prosody; Word Reading; Reading Comprehension

How do supply chain management and information systems practices influence operational performance?:Evidence from emerging country SMEs

This study first provides a comparative analysis of the impact of supply chain management (SCM) and information systems (IS) practices on operational performance (OPER) of small- and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) operating in two neighbouring emerging country markets of Turkey and Bulgaria. Then, we investigate moderating effects of both SCM–IS-linked enablers and inhibitors on the links between SCM and IS practices and OPER of SMEs. To this end, we first empirically identify the underlying dimensions of SCM and IS practices, and SCM–IS-related enabling and inhibiting factors. Second, a series of regression analyses are undertaken to estimate the impact of the study's constructs on OPER of SMEs. The results are discussed comparatively within the contexts of both Turkish and Bulgarian SMEs and beyond. The study makes a significant contribution to the extant literature through obtaining and analysing cross-national survey data of SCM and IS practices in emerging country markets

Testing a model of antecedents and consequences of defensive pessimism and self-handicapping in school physical education

There has been very limited research on the use of self-worth protection strategies in the achievement context of school physical education (PE). Thus, this study aimed to examine some antecedents and consequences of defensive pessimism and self-handicapping. The sample comprised 534 (females n = 275; males n = 259) British pupils recruited from two schools who responded to established questionnaires. Results of structural equation modelling analysis indicated that self-handicapping and defensive pessimism were positively predicted by fear of failure and negatively predicted by competence valuation. In addition, defensive pessimism was negatively predicted by physical self-concept. In turn, defensive pessimism negatively predicted enjoyment in PE and intentions to participate in future optional PE programs. Self-handicapping did not predict enjoyment or intentions. Results from multi-sample structural equation modelling showed the specified model to be largely invariant across males and females. The findings indicate that although both strategies aim to protect one’s self-worth, some of their antecedents and consequences in PE may differ

Relationship between sport website quality and consumption intentions: Application of a bifactor model

This study investigated the cognitive structure of sport website quality constructs by comparing a bifactor model (a.k.a., a general-specific model) to a second-order model. The models are two alternative approaches for representing general constructs consisting of several highly related but distinct domains. In addition, the link between sport website quality and the revisitation and media consumption intentions was empirically tested. Data (N=272) were collected through an online survey, and the majority of respondents were men (66.3%) between 21 and 30 years old (63.0%). The bifactor and second-order models of sport website quality were also assessed and compared, and a simultaneous equation modeling analysis was used. The bifactor model fit the data significantly better than the second-order model, indicating that the five sub-constructs revealed both the specific dimensions of sport website quality and the holistic nature of sport website quality. Results from the simultaneous equation model indicated that sport website quality explained 70.2% of the variance in revisitation and 58.7% of intention to consume sports media. © The Author(s) 2016