The Opinion Volume 27 Number 6 – November 12, 1986

The Opinion newspaper issue dated November 12, 1986https://digitalcommons.law.buffalo.edu/the_opinion/1347/thumbnail.jp

Learning by exporting and innovation performance: evidence from Thai SMEs

This study aims to analyze the crucial mediating role of tacit knowledge acquisition from foreign markets between the effect of sub-dimensions of export activities and the innovation performance of small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) in Thailand. The primary purpose is to demonstrate that a Learning-by-Exporting (LBE) concept cannot always enhance SMEs' innovation performance directly, and their relationship is not always linear. Contributing to the LBE literature, the study uses the Knowledge-Based View (KBV) to emphasize a driving mechanism that explains why the LBE concept may not always lead to a firm's innovation performance directly, together with discussing current issues related to the mixed results of LBE effects on innovation performance. Involving 220 Thai Manufacturing SMEs and using structural equation model, the results indicate that tacit knowledge acquisition mediates the relationship between export intensity and process innovation, not product innovation. Besides, the study suggests that the sub-dimensions of export activities are significant factors to reconcile the inconclusive effects between export and innovation performance. Each dimension is also found to provide different significant results on the firm's tacit knowledge acquisition; for instance, while export intensity positively impacts tacit knowledge acquisition, the number of markets negatively affects it. Furthermore, whereas the results of multigroup path analysis for young and mature firms do not support the model-level, a significantly positive impact of the numbers of customers on mature firms’ tacit knowledge acquisition is observed at the path-level, and the direct effect of the number of markets on young firms’ product innovation is noted. The findings of this study shed new light on the LBE literature in the SMEs context by proposing a scrutiny of the ages of firms in further LBE research

Impact of Social Media Marketing on Consumer Purchase Action: A Case Study of SME consumers in Bangladesh

This study examines the influence of Impact of Social Media Marketing on Consumer Purchase Action. A Case Study of SME consumers in Bangladesh. A survey questionnaire was used to conduct the study on Bangladeshi SME customers who utilise online social media sites. The purpose of the research was to examine the significance of social media marketing in Bangladesh and how it influences customer purchase action. In the study's first phase, relevant literature research was conducted to thoroughly comprehend social media marketing techniques. After analysing previous research in the subject matter, the conceptual framework of the study was developed. This framework studied both the causes and consequences of social media marketing on consumer engagement. In the second phase, a cross-sectional quantitative data survey was constructed to evaluate the research framework and hypotheses. In a pilot test, 16 valid survey questionnaires were distributed to determine how social media is embedded in various situations and locations. The assumptions of the extended model were then verified with 329 valid surveys. The data were analysed through structural equation modelling (SEM). The research found a positive correlation between customer engagement and the social media marketing efforts of SMEs. Moreover, the statistically significant mediating influences of trust, perceived value, and social media antecedents on this connection were discovered. Furthermore, there was a substantial correlation between customer engagement and client acquisition, indicating that SMEs in Bangladesh might strengthen their customer interactions by using a social media marketing approach. This study also examines how social media marketing influences consumer behaviour, customer engagement, and consumer purchase action in Bangladesh's small and medium-sized enterprises. This study could help Bangladesh's SMEs interact with consumers on social media platforms and establish the framework for future research on the moderating influence of online consumer behaviour

The web-based simulation and information service for multi-hazard impact chains. Design document.

The overall objective of the PARATUS project and the platform is the co-development of a web-based simulation and information service for first and second responders and other stakeholders to evaluate the impact chains of multi-hazard events with particular emphasis on cross-border and cascading impacts. This deliverable provides a first impression of the platform and its components. A central theme in the PARATUS project is the co-development of the tools with stakeholders. The central stakeholders within the four applications case studies are therefore full project partners. They will be directly involved in the development of the platform. We foresee that the PARATUS Platform will have two major blocks: an information service that provides static information (or regularly updated information) and simulation service, which is a dynamic component where stakeholders can interactively work with the tools in the platform. The PARATUS will further make sure that documentation (e.g., software accompanying documentation) is also publicly available via the project website1 and other trusted repositories. The deliverable 4.1 was submitted to the European Commission on 31/07/2023 and is waiting for approval by the Research Executive Agency. Therefore, this current version may not represent the final version of the deliverable

Semantic discovery and reuse of business process patterns

Patterns currently play an important role in modern information systems (IS) development and their use has mainly been restricted to the design and implementation phases of the development lifecycle. Given the increasing significance of business modelling in IS development, patterns have the potential of providing a viable solution for promoting reusability of recurrent generalized models in the very early stages of development. As a statement of research-in-progress this paper focuses on business process patterns and proposes an initial methodological framework for the discovery and reuse of business process patterns within the IS development lifecycle. The framework borrows ideas from the domain engineering literature and proposes the use of semantics to drive both the discovery of patterns as well as their reuse