The antecedents of export performance of Brazilian small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs): The non-linear effects of customer orientation

This article examines the determinants of customer orientation and the quadratic effects of customer orientation on export performance. The relationship between customer orientation and export performance has been assumed to have a linear relationship, neglecting the possibility of non-linear relationships. While most studies have been conducted in developed countries, we test our model in Brazil, an emerging market economy. The findings suggest that technology intensity and competitive intensity are key determinants in explaining success in an export market. Our findings also indicate that the relationship between customer orientation and export performance is quadratic (U-shaped) rather than linear. The implications of these findings are discussed

Publicidad conjunta marca-causa: el papel de la implicación del individuo hacia la publicidad en la comprensión y evaluación del mensaje. = Brand/cause advertising: The role of the individual's involvement toward the understanding and evaluation of the ad message

El efecto que tienen los anuncios que incorporan mensajes de marketing con causa (MCC) sobre el comportamiento del consumidor es uno de los aspectos que mayor interés ha despertado en la literatura reciente. La implicación hacia la marca o la causa es uno de los antecedentes frecuentemente incluidos en los modelos de respuesta a estos mensajes de MCC. Sin embargo, este tipo de implicación supone la existencia de una afinidad previa, bien con un elemento bien con el otro, aspecto que podría introducir cierto sesgo a la hora de analizar la influencia real que tienen este tipo de acciones de comunicación. En este trabajo analizamos de qué manera la implicación del individuo con el mensaje influye en la valoración de los mensajes conjuntos y en la actitud del sujeto hacia la marca. Esta implicación es totalmente extrínseca y se construye en el momento de percibir el anuncio, de modo que solo exige al individuo que se fije en el anuncio, pero no requiere una vinculación previa ni con la marca ni con la causa. Para ello, se desarrolla un estudio empírico en 2 etapas que confirma que dicha implicación facilita que el individuo preste atención al mensaje, contribuye a que la información sea valorada correctamente y favorece la evaluación de la campaña. = The influence of cause-related marketing campaigns on consumer behaviour is a key topic of interest in recent marketing literature. Both brand- and cause-related individual's involvement are frequently incorporated into consumer response models. However, such involvements are based on the premise of a strong level of affinity towards the brand or the cause. As a consequence, a biased estimation of the ‘real’ influence of these campaigns on consumer behaviour should be estimated. The aim of this paper is to analyse how an individual's involvement toward the ads influences his/her assessment of joint (brand-cause) messages and his/her attitude towards the brand. This involvement is extrinsic, and does not involve any previous relationship with either the brand or the cause. With this aim, a two-step empirical study is developed. The results confirm that such involvement makes it easier for the individual to pay attention to the message. It also contributes to the information being correctly evaluated and favours the evaluation of marketing campaigns

Exploring the Antecedents of Staff Turnover within the Fast-food Industry: The case of Hamilton, New Zealand

The purpose of this study is to investigate, within four multinational fast-food chains, the relationships between job satisfaction and job turnover in Hamilton, New Zealand. The study seeks to reveal the antecedents of intention to leave the current job among workers. The partial least squares path modeling (SmartPLS 2.0) is used to specify a theoretical model for analyses to identify the antecedents of satisfaction/dissatisfaction. A survey approach was undertaken to accumulate responses. Data analysis indicates that workers are not satisfied with their jobs, and this leads to increased intentions to leave. The results of the model estimation reveal that Training and Recognition, Job Security, and Loyalty are positively related with job satisfaction. The outcomes of the study support the conclusion that in order to reduce staff turnover, fast-food industry management should develop strategies with emphasis on training, recognition of the employees, creating a feeling of job security, and trying to develop loyalty amongst its employees

Entrepreneurial Capacities as Antecedents of Business Performance in Brazilian Firms.

We investigate the relationship between entrepreneurial capacities and firm performance. More specifically, we investigate the effects of radical innovation and learning orientation on business performance. We test the effects of entrepreneurial orientation on learning orientation and radical innovation. The results suggest that radical product innovation and companies' orientation to learn have a positive effect on organizational performance. Additionally, we find that entrepreneurial orientation positively influences a firm's capability to learn and innovate. Our findings also show a direct effect of learning orientation on radical innovation, which means that companies with a higher proclivity to learn are more likely to create products and processes, representing a major departure from the state of current knowledge