Assessment of Acceptance Sampling Plans Using Posterior Distribution for a Dependent Process

In this study, performance of single acceptance sampling plans by attribute is investigated by using the distribution of fraction nonconformance (i.e., lot quality distribution (LQD)) for a dependent production process. It is the aim of this study to demonstrate that, in order to emphasize consumer risk (i.e., the risk of accepting a bad lot), it is better to evaluate a sampling plan based upon its performance as assessed by the posterior distribution of fractions nonconforming in accepted lots. Similarly, it is the desired posterior distribution that sets the basis for designing a sampling plan. The prior distribution used in this study is derived from a Markovian model of dependence

Firm-Specific Assets, Multinationality, and Financial Performance: A Meta-Analytic Review and Theoretical Integration

Through a meta-analysis of 120 independent samples reported in 111 studies, we test the predictions of internalization theory in the context of the multinationality-performance relationship. Findings indicate that multinationality provides an efficient organizational form that enables firms to transfer their firm-specific assets to generate higher returns in international markets. In addition, the results delineate the conditions under which firm-specific assets have the strongest impact on the multinationality-performance relationship. Meta-analytic evidence also suggests that multinationality has intrinsic value above and beyond the intangible assets that firms possess, given analyses controlling for firms\u27 international experience, age, size, and product diversification

Market-driving strategy implementation through global supplier relationships

The global supplier network is becoming an increasingly important asset for many firms. If successfully managed, supplier relationships may support the firm's strategic orientation and become a sustainable advantage on the global market. A key question is thus how the firm can develop and maintain such relationships. The market-driving strategy has recently been advanced as a more pro-active type of market orientation that aims to reconfigure the supply chain, change the nature of competition and the values of the customers. We especially investigate how market-driving firms can develop their supplier relationships so that they actively support this strategy. We present a set of propositions that specify factors critical for the development of the market-driving firm's supplier relationships and develop a theoretical framework that specifies how these different factors interact in order to strengthen the market-driving orientation of a supplier relationship. The results are generated from an in-depth case study of IKEA's corporate supplier strategy and of supplier relationships in the Russian and Polish markets. (C) 2011 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved

Opportunism as the Inhibiting Trigger for Developing Long-Term-Oriented Western Exporter-Hong Kong Importer Relationships

Notwithstanding the extensive literature on opportunism in buyer–seller relationships, scant empirical attention has been given to this issue in both international and Chinese contexts. Using a sample of 202 Hong Kong Chinese importers, this article highlights the harmful effect of Western exporters' opportunism on importers' long-term orientation through the intervening role of key behavioral constructs. The study confirms almost all hypothesized associations between the constructs examined, indicating that an exporter's opportunistic behavior reduces trust and generates conflict. In turn, low trust reduces commitment, and conflict impedes communication. Low levels of both commitment and communication reduce importers' satisfaction, which inhibits their long-term orientation. The importer's proactive initiation of the relationship moderates the link between opportunism and trust but not that of opportunism with conflict. The study also confirms the moderating role of importer dependence and exporters' marketing adaptation on the association of satisfaction with long-term orientation. The authors find moderating effects on this association through the Chinese constructs of renqing and mianzi, albeit in the opposite direction to that hypothesized