Customer satisfaction as a performance measurement and management tool in English social housing

Customer satisfaction measurement is argued to be the ultimate arbiter of the success of public organisations (Hill et al 2007). Despite being a regulatory requirement for English social housing providers to measure customer satisfaction throughout the 2000’s and remaining relevant after sector de-regulation in 2010 (Williams 2013), it is surprising there is little academic literature underpinning quality of service and customer satisfaction within English social housing. This study meets this gap by presenting the first academic research exploring the empirical evidence underpinning the relationship between customer satisfaction and service quality orientated business performance in the UK social housing sector

International marketing strategies of emerging market firms: Nature, boundary conditions, antecedents, and outcomes

Purpose: The purpose of this paper is twofold: to publish scholarly works that extend knowledge on the drivers, consequences and boundary conditions of international marketing strategies employed by emerging market firms of all sizes and types; and to advance a narrative for future research on emerging market firms’ international marketing activities. Design/methodology/approach: To achieve this agenda, the authors invited scholars to submit quality manuscripts to the special issue. Manuscripts that addressed the special issue theme from varied theoretical perspectives and methodological approaches were invited. Findings: Out of 70 manuscripts reviewed, 7 are eventually accepted for inclusion in this special issue. The papers touched on interesting research topics bothering on international marketing practices of emerging market firms using blend of interesting theoretical perspectives and variety of methods. Key theoretical perspectives used include resource-based theory, internationalization theory, institutional theory and corporate visual identity theory. The authors employed unique sets of methods including literature review, surveys, panel data, and process-based qualitative and case-study enquiries. The authors used some of the most advanced analytical techniques to analyze their data. Originality/value: This introduction to the special issue provides a review of the extant literature on the international marketing strategy of emerging market firms, focusing on summarizing key empirical contributions on the topic over the last three decades. Subsequently, the authors discuss how each paper included in this special issue helps advance the agenda to develop scholarly knowledge on emerging market firms’ international marketing strategy

How and when does big data analytics capability contribute to market performance

YesThis study looks at the relationship between big data analytics capability and market performance and how this relationship can be facilitated by adopting disruptive business models in competitive environments

Clarifying supply chain disruption and operational resilience relationship from a threat-rigidity perspective: Evidence from small and medium-sized enterprises

Given the significant risk supply chain disruptions pose to businesses, scholars and experts presume such events encourage resilience-building efforts. This study uses the threat-rigidity theory to question this normative assumption by proposing that supply chain disruption can trigger threat interpretation bias, which undermines operational resilience. Specifically, the study contends that threat interpretation bias negatively mediates the relationship between supply chain disruption and operational resilience, particularly in low disruption orientation circumstances. An empirical analysis of survey data from 259 small and medium-sized enterprises in Ghana using covariance-based structural equation modeling supports these theoretical predictions. The results indicate that supply chain disruption increases threat interpretation bias, which in turn reduces operational resilience. The negative effect of threat interpretation bias on operational resilience is stronger when disruption orientation is low than when it is high. These results offer an enhanced understanding of the supply chain disruption–resilience link while shedding light on how firms can manage threat interpretation bias to improve operational resilience

Linking resource slack to operational resilience: integration of resource-based and attention-based perspectives

With limited empirical evidence, prior research suggests resource slack as a fundamental feature of resilient operations and supply chains. This study draws insights from the resource-based theory to empirically examine the relationship between resource slack and operational resilience. The attention-based view of the firm is then used to argue that while resource slack may be an essential feature of operational resilience, its effect is mediated by organizational attention under varying conditions of strategic mission rigidity. These arguments are tested on primary data from 259 firms in a sub-Saharan African market, Ghana. Contrary to conventional wisdom, findings show that resource slack is not directly related to operational resilience. Rather, the study finds that the contribution of resource slack in driving operational resilience is channeled through organizational attention. Results further show that this indirect path is strengthened under conditions of low strategic mission rigidity. In expanding and clarifying extant literature on the resilience implications of resource slack, therefore, this study explains how operations and supply chain managers can combine organizational attention with low strategic mission rigidity conditions to convert resource slack into enhanced operational resilience outcomes

Developing and utilizing coopetitive relationships: Evidence from small and medium-sized enterprises in sub-Saharan Africa

The study proposes the notion of coopetition capability as an ability to cooperate and compete with rival firms simultaneously. We draw on the tenets of the resource-based and dynamic capability theories as well as insights from in-depth qualitative studies of small and medium-sized enterprises (SME) in two Sub-Saharan African markets – Kenya and Zambia – to explore the conceptual domain of the coopetitive capability phenomenon. We further examine how external and internal environmental forces trigger the development of coopetition capability, and how coopetitive capability contributes to firm success outcomes. Findings from the study indicate that coopetitive capability is manifested in SMEs’ ability to proactively develop, coordinate, and learn from portfolios of inter-firm relationships with competitors. The study further finds that interactivities between regulatory requirements, customer demands, and firm-specific learning processes are major triggers of SMEs’ propensities to develop and benefit from coopetition capability. The study extends the literature on inter-organizational relationships by highlighting the conceptual domain and drivers of coopetition capability

Developing and utilizing coopetitive relationships : evidence from small and medium-sized enterprises in sub-Saharan Africa

The study proposes the notion of coopetition capability as an ability to cooperate and compete with rival firms simultaneously. We draw on the tenets of the resource-based and dynamic capability theories as well as insights from in-depth qualitative studies of small and medium-sized enterprises (SME) in two Sub-Saharan African markets – Kenya and Zambia – to explore the conceptual domain of the coopetitive capability phenomenon. We further examine how external and internal environmental forces trigger the development of coopetition capability, and how coopetitive capability contributes to firm success outcomes. Findings from the study indicate that coopetitive capability is manifested in SMEs’ ability to proactively develop, coordinate, and learn from portfolios of inter-firm relationships with competitors. The study further finds that interactivities between regulatory requirements, customer demands, and firm-specific learning processes are major triggers of SMEs’ propensities to develop and benefit from coopetition capability. The study extends the literature on inter-organizational relationships by highlighting the conceptual domain and drivers of coopetition capability.The Commonwealth Scholarship Commission, United Kingdom.https://www.elsevier.com/locate/jbusreshj2023Gordon Institute of Business Science (GIBS

Methodology of Natsal-COVID Wave 1: a large, quasi-representative survey with qualitative follow-up measuring the impact of COVID-19 on sexual and reproductive health in Britain [version 1; peer review: awaiting peer review]

Background: Britain’s National Surveys of Sexual Attitudes and Lifestyles (Natsal) have been undertaken decennially since 1990 and provide a key data source underpinning sexual and reproductive health (SRH) policy. The COVID-19 pandemic disrupted many aspects of sexual lifestyles, triggering an urgent need for population-level data on sexual behaviour, relationships, and service use at a time when gold-standard in-person, household-based surveys with probability sampling were not feasible. We designed the Natsal-COVID study to understand the impact of COVID-19 on the nation’s SRH and assessed the sample representativeness. Methods: Natsal-COVID Wave 1 data collection was conducted four months (29/7-10/8/2020) after the announcement of Britain’s first national lockdown (23/03/2020). This was an online web-panel survey administered by survey research company, Ipsos MORI. Eligible participants were resident in Britain, aged 18-59 years, and the sample included a boost of those aged 18-29. Questions covered participants’ sexual behaviour, relationships, and SRH service use. Quotas and weighting were used to achieve a quasi-representative sample of the British general population. Participants meeting criteria of interest and agreeing to recontact were selected for qualitative follow-up interviews. Comparisons were made with contemporaneous national probability surveys and Natsal-3 (2010-12) to understand bias. Results: 6,654 participants completed the survey and 45 completed follow-up interviews. The weighted Natsal-COVID sample was similar to the general population in terms of gender, age, ethnicity, rurality, and, among sexually-active participants, numbers of sexual partners in the past year. However, the sample was more educated, contained more sexually-inexperienced people, and included more people in poorer health. Conclusions: Natsal-COVID Wave 1 rapidly collected quasi-representative population data to enable evaluation of the early population-level impact of COVID-19 and lockdown measures on SRH in Britain and inform policy. Although sampling was less representative than the decennial Natsals, Natsal-COVID will complement national surveillance data and Natsal-4 (planned for 2022)

The Effects of Learning Orientation and Marketing Programme Planning on Export Performance: Paradoxical Moderating Role of Psychic Distance

Despite extensive research on the effect of organisational learning processes on firm performance, how and when a propensity to learn influences the export performance of small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) remains unclear. Using multiple-informant and time-lagged primary data from 242 SMEs in a sub-Saharan African market, this study examines the roles of marketing programme planning and host country psychic distance in linking export learning orientation to export performance. Findings from the study show that increases in both export learning orientation and marketing programme planning are associated with increases in export performance. In addition, the study finds that while increases in psychic distance weaken the effect of export learning orientation on export performance, it strengthens the effect of marketing programme planning on export performance. These findings draw attention to the idea that cognitive distance between home and host country markets may play a paradoxical role in explaining when organisational learning activities may help or hurt exporting SMEs