Marketing strategy:a history of the next decade

Editoria

Factor analysis and discriminant validity:a brief review of some practical issues

Growth in availability and ability of modern statistical software has resulted in greater numbers of research techniques being applied across the marketing discipline. However, with such advances come concerns that techniques may be misinterpreted by researchers. This issue is critical since misinterpretation could cause erroneous findings. This paper investigates some assumptions regarding: 1) the assessment of discriminant validity; and 2) what confirmatory factor analysis accomplishes. Examples that address these points are presented, and some procedural remedies are suggested based upon the literature. This paper is, therefore, primarily concerned with the development of measurement theory and practice. If advances in theory development are not based upon sound methodological practice, we as researchers could be basing our work upon shaky foundations

Intuition in strategic decision making:implications for strategic decision effectiveness

Intuition can produce effective strategic decisions because of its speed and ability to solve less-structured problems. Despite this, there are only a very small number of empirical studies that have examined intuition in the strategic decision-making process. We examine the relationship between the use of intuition in the strategic decision-making process, and strategic decision effectiveness. We propose that the expertise of the decision-maker, environmental dynamism and the characteristics of the strategic decision itself moderate the relationship between the use of intuition in the strategic decision making process, and strategic decision effectiveness. We make a significant theoretical contribution by integrating the management and social-psychology literatures in order to identify the variables that affect the relationship between the use of intuition in the strategic decision-making process, and strategic decision effectiveness. This article builds upon existing empirical research that has examined intuition in the strategic decision-making process, and reconciles some of the confounding results that have emerged. The paper presents a conceptual model and research propositions, which if empirically examined, would make a significant contribution to knowledge in the strategic decision-making domain of literature

Process innovation and performance : the role of divergence

Process innovation is a key determinant of performance. While extant literature paints a clear picture of the drivers of process innovation, the effect of process innovation on performance has received little attention. This paper contributes to theory building in this important area and examines how divergence of process innovation impacts performance. Divergence concerns the extent to which the observed level of process innovation diverges from the expected level of process innovation. Positive (negative) divergence occurs when the observed level of process innovation is higher (lower) than expected. In turn, we consider how divergence acts as a driver of performance. This approach is useful and important for managers and theory development as it provides insight into situations where a firm may have “too little” or “too much” process innovation. We use survey and archival data from 5,594 firms across 15 countries and find negative divergence to reduce performance under high competitive intensity, whereas positive divergence is detrimental under high environmental uncertainty. Thus, divergence advances understanding as, in contrast with previous work, we do not suggest that more innovation is always better. These findings contribute to understanding the process innovation-performance relationship and has important implications for strategic management research and practice alike

Social media and related technology:drivers of change in managing the contemporary sales force

The selling environment has undergone tremendous transformation over the past 2 decades. Perhaps the greatest change has centered on changes and advancements in technology. The latest dramatic change has been the rapidly increasing use of social media and other related technologies in the business-to-business realm. The sales world began the use of technology through the use of Web 1.0, which was primarily webpage oriented; now we see the world of social media as the paradigm of how firms should implement technology. Although there has been some recent emphasis on how marketing might implement social media into their strategies and how the individual salesperson might implement social media into his or her daily selling routine, no substantive discussion on how social media is affecting the role of the sales manager has appeared in the literature. This article systematically examines how social media is impacting the sales management function and, in fact, may be dramatically revolutionizing the position. To help the marketing and sales organization better understand the changing sales world, we present eight lessons that every sales manager needs to embrace

Antecedents of strategic flexibility:management cognition, firm resources and strategic options

Purpose: Current conceptualisations of strategic flexibility and its antecedents are theory-driven, which has resulted in a lack of consensus. To summarise this domain the paper aims to develop and present an a priori conceptual model of the antecedents and outcomes of strategic flexibility. Discussion and insights into the conceptual model, and the relationships specified, are made through a novel qualitative empirical approach. The implications for further research and a framework for further theoretical development are presented. Design/methodology/approach: An exploratory qualitative research design is used applying multiple data collection techniques in a branch network of a large regional retailer in the UK. The development of strategic options and the complex relationship to strategic flexibility is investigated. Findings: The number and type of strategic options developed by managers impact on the degree of strategic flexibility and also on the ability of the firm to achieve competitive differentiation. Additionally, the type of strategic option implemented by managers is dependent on the competitive situation faced at a local level. Evidence of managers' limited perception of competition was identified based on their spatial embeddedness. Research limitations/implications: A single, in-depth case study was used. The data gathered is rich and appropriate for the exploratory approach adopted here. However, generalisability of the findings is limited. Practical implications: Strategic flexibility is rooted in the ability of front-line mangers to develop and implement strategic options; this in turn facilitates competitive differentiation. Originality/value: The research presented is unique in this domain on two accounts. First, theory is developed by presenting an a priori conceptual model, and testing through in-depth qualitative data gathering. Second, insights into strategic flexibility are presented through an examination of managerial cognition, resources and strategic option generation using cognitive mapping and laddering technique. © Emerald Group Publishing Limited

OmniMapFree: A unified tool to visualise and explore sequenced genomes

<p>Abstract</p> <p>• Background</p> <p>Acquiring and exploring whole genome sequence information for a species under investigation is now a routine experimental approach. On most genome browsers, typically, only the DNA sequence, EST support, motif search results, and GO annotations are displayed. However, for many species, a growing volume of additional experimental information is available but this is rarely searchable within the landscape of the entire genome.</p> <p>• Results</p> <p>We have developed a generic software which permits users to view a single genome in entirety either within its chromosome or supercontig context within a single window. This software permits the genome to be displayed at any scales and with any features. Different data types and data sets are displayed onto the genome, which have been acquired from other types of studies including classical genetics, forward and reverse genetics, transcriptomics, proteomics and improved annotation from alternative sources. In each display, different types of information can be overlapped, then retrieved in the desired combinations and scales and used in follow up analyses. The displays generated are of publication quality.</p> <p>• Conclusions</p> <p>OmniMapFree provides a unified, versatile and easy-to-use software tool for studying a single genome in association with all the other datasets and data types available for the organism.</p

The impact of brand value on brand competitiveness

The role of brand value in driving brand competitiveness has recently received attention from marketing scholars like Winzar et al. (2018). From the perspectives of marketing and strategic orientation, we propose and test a framework that depicts the effects of these variables on brand competitiveness. Development of the framework was achieved by synthesising existing research from the marketing and management streams. A convenience sample of 374 retailers who worked with the brand as its business customers completed a survey questionnaire. Structural Equation Modelling (SEM) was employed to test the proposed model. We found that brand value, created for business customers, indirectly enhances brand competitiveness through marketing orientation, albeit not directly. Moreover, brand differentiation directly and positively influences brand competitiveness in addition to building brand value. Our study is one of the initial attempts to explore the capability of brand value to bring together market orientation and strategic orientation for brand competitiveness and also extend the periphery of current knowledge about the variables that drive the competitiveness of a brand

Understanding cross-cultural sales manager-salesperson relationships in the Asia-Pacific rim region : a grounded theory approach

As more organizations implement multinational strategies, sales managers leading sales forces encounter complex cultural challenges that affect relationships, processes, and outcomes. We undertake a qualitative study with the objective of understanding the sales manager–salesperson relationship when the sales manager is leading sales representatives located in other cultures. Because of the significant size and growth of Asian countries, we focus our study on the Asia-Pacific Rim region. In-depth interviews conducted with 21 sales managers working for a large multinational technology firm in our focal region provide the data for our analysis. Using a grounded theory approach, we identify five key themes: building and sustaining cross-cultural relationships, cross-cultural communication effectiveness, acquisition and maintenance of trust across cultures, language, and decision-making. From our findings, research propositions are offered and implications for researchers and practitioners are discussed

Development and Deployment of Remotely Operable Optical Communication Terminals

Since the launch of the Optical Communication and Sensor Demonstration (OCSD) Mission in November 2017, The Aerospace Corporation has relied upon a manually operated optical terminal in El Segundo, CA to support optical communications downlinks. Scaling our constellation of laser communication capable small satellites and resulting increase in data volume has necessitated multiple geographically dispersed optical ground stations. In 2021, The Aerospace Corporation developed and deployed two remotely operable optical terminals in Maui, Hawaii and Albuquerque, New Mexico, demonstrating up to 200 Mbps downlink communication rates with Forward Error Correction. The station is comprised primarily of commercial off-the-shelf (COTS) components to reduce cost and enable short assembly time. Upgrades to support greater than 200 Mbps downlink rates are in-work. To the best of the authors’ knowledge, this newly deployed optical communication terminal network is the lowest cost operational system of its type worldwide. Each ground station is comprised of a 7ft clamshell dome housing a 17-inch telescope equipped with two short wave infrared (SWIR) imagers - the narrow field of view (NFOV) and the wide field of view (WFOV). The telescope is mounted on a gimbal articulated by two rotary stages (azimuth and elevation) and their associated drive electronics. Hardware is commanded with servers housed in a separate temperature-controlled cabinet, connected to the dome via conduit. The Optical Communication Terminals are passive receive only. Satellite tracking is achieved by ingestion of high precision GPS based ephemeris downloaded in advance of the laser communication pass via radio from the spacecraft. Tracking software translates spacecraft ephemeris to telescope azimuth and elevation until acquisition of laser signal, typically at twenty degrees elevation. At this point, incoming NFOV frames are run through custom image processing algorithm to determine the region of interest (ROI) and pixel coordinates of the satellite. The algorithm is optimized to limit false positives on noise and atmospheric phenomena while maintaining the ability to locate dim targets. Target coordinate information and associated frame timestamp are then forwarded to centroid processing software which commands the gimbal with azimuth and elevation offsets to center the target on the avalanche photodiode’s (APD) field of view. In the absence of centroids due to clouds, Laser Clearing House closures, or space segment related pointing errors, the tracking system defaults to pre-loaded ephemeris-based tracking. The Aerospace Corporation has integrated lasercomm modems targeted for data rates greater than or equal to 622 Mbps. The system is designed to be expandable for higher data rates and additional capability by incorporating an FPGA frontend with real-time software processing using CPU servers. Docker has been used to containerize and orchestrate the various software modules, including the FPGA controller, real-time CPU apps, and post-processing software. Remote commanding of all components is orchestrated by high level Python application programming interface (API) accessible via representational state transfer (REST) interface. The software and hardware architecture supports fully automated capability which is being actively developed for the terminals. Results are presented showing acquisition and tracking performance, as well as bit error rate characterization and metric tracking for the receive modem