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

Identifying Research Fields within Business and Management: A Journal Cross-Citation Analysis

A discipline such as business and management (B&M) is very broad and has many fields within it, ranging from fairly scientific ones such as management science or economics to softer ones such as information systems. There are at least three reasons why it is important to identify these sub-fields accurately. Firstly, to give insight into the structure of the subject area and identify perhaps unrecognised commonalities; second for the purpose of normalizing citation data as it is well known that citation rates vary significantly between different disciplines. And thirdly, because journal rankings and lists tend to split their classifications into different subjects – for example, the Association of Business Schools (ABS) list, which is a standard in the UK, has 22 different fields. Unfortunately, at the moment these are created in an ad hoc manner with no underlying rigour. The purpose of this paper is to identify possible sub-fields in B&M rigorously based on actual citation patterns. We have examined 450 journals in B&M which are included in the ISI Web of Science (WoS) and analysed the cross-citation rates between them enabling us to generate sets of coherent and consistent sub-fields that minimise the extent to which journals appear in several categories. Implications and limitations of the analysis are discussed

Early-Morning and Late-Night Maximal Runs: Metabolic and Perceived Exertion Outcomes

People may exercise at the ends of their day to fit activity into their schedule; the purpose of this investigation was to determine if metabolic or perceived exertion outcomes differed between maximal runs early in the morning and late at night. After consuming a standardized, glucose drink, thirteen recreationally active individuals completed an early-morning and a late-night run on the treadmill while researchers measured metabolic (aerobic capacity and substrate usage) and perceived exertion outcomes. Point of application #1: Aerobic capacity (maximal consumption of oxygen) and the usage of fat as a fuel to support energy production during exercise were similar between runs. Point of application #2: Maximal perceived exertion (Borg’s 6-20) was similar during early-morning and late-night runs. Point of application #3: While research indicates that people may prefer activity in the morning or evening, and this might impact metabolic responses to the exercise bout, most of our participants (n=8) identified with no preference for exercising in the early-morning or late-night. Key Words: glucose; CHO shake; VO2max; fat oxidation; effor

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

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

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

Green supply chain management – food for thought?

This paper investigates the impact of green supply chain management (GSCM) practices on the performance of UK food retail small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs). A quantitative approach using a non-probability sampling of 84 participants was employed. Based on the literature review, five hypotheses were developed and tested using the partial least square-structural equation modeling (SEM-Smart PLS 2.03) approach. The reviewed literature revealed that key internal drivers (ID) and external pressures (EP) stimulate organizations to initiate GSCM practices in UK food retail SMEs. Though empirical findings strongly supported the statement that ID influence GSCM practices, they did not show a significant relationship between EP and GSCM practices. Literature also suggests that practicing GSCM can help improve the efficiency, brand image (BI) and profitability, and thus improve the overall firm performance which is also empirically proved. This study helps enrich existing theories on SCM and organizational performance. As to practical impact, this study should facilitate SMEs in GSCM practices and thus help green the economy. While the findings of this study have limited generalisability as the data were collected from UK SMEs only and the sample size was comparatively small, this research establishes a foundation for further study in this domain

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

Social Influence, Risk and Benefit Perceptions, and the Acceptability of Risky Energy Technologies:An Explanatory Model of Nuclear Power Versus Shale Gas

Risky energy technologies are often controversial and debates around them are polarized; in such debates public acceptability is key. Research on public acceptability has emphasized the importance of intrapersonal factors but has largely neglected the influence of interpersonal factors. In an online survey (N = 948) with a representative sample of the United Kingdom, we therefore integrate interpersonal factors (i.e., social influence as measured by social networks) with two risky energy technologies that differ in familiarity (nuclear power vs. shale gas) to examine how these factors explain risk and benefit perceptions and public acceptability. Findings show that benefit perceptions are key in explaining acceptability judgments. However, risk perceptions are more important when people are less familiar with the energy technology. Social network factors affect perceived risks and benefits associated with risky energy technology, hereby indirectly helping to form one's acceptability judgment toward the technology. This effect seems to be present regardless of the perceived familiarity with the energy technology. By integrating interpersonal with intrapersonal factors in an explanatory model, we show how the current "risk-benefit acceptability" model used in risk research can be further developed to advance the current understanding of acceptability formation