Decision-making in an export context: combining planning and improvisation to improve export performance

The increasing interdependence of economies and the recent economic crisis has considerably strengthened the importance of exporting. It is recognised as promoting the survivability of companies as they are better able to diversify risks and generate multiple income streams. Thus, investigation of the determinants of export performance has become particularly important. Marketing decision-making has been identified as one of the core drivers of firms success. It is a process under the direct control of managers where significant changes can be introduced to improve it, and by extension, the ability to achieve successful outcomes. However, little is known about how export marketing decisions are made and what key decision-making approaches managers rely on to drive their performance. A literature review that span multiple disciplines (e.g. strategic management, organisation studies, marketing) helped to disentangle two key decision-making approaches, namely planning and improvisation. This is the first study examining the impact of both of these simultaneously on a firm s export performance. While planning is considered to be a unidimensional construct, improvisation is comprised of three facets: spontaneity, creativity and action-orientation. Based on decision theory, this research was conducted in two phases. The literature review informed phase 1: a qualitative exploratory study among export managers in the UK. A conceptual model was then derived from the results and tested in phase 2 through quantitative analysis utilising data generated from 200 respondent companies via a self-reported online questionnaires and the application of structural equation modelling. The results indicated that export customer performance was negatively affected by planning and positively influenced by action-orientation, whilst export financial performance was found to benefit from planning. All decision-making approaches (planning, spontaneity, creativity and action-orientation) were found to be positively related to responsiveness to environmental changes. Using moderator analysis, important insights were uncovered into combining decision-making approaches. The export function was found to benefit from a combination of planning and action-orientation, whereas spontaneity and creativity while having separate positive effects are not well combined with planning, producing negative moderation effects

The impact of agility on the market performance of born-global firms: an exploratory study of the ‘Tech City’ innovation cluster

Although there is some recognition that agility is advantageous for a born-global firm, the concept of agility is underexplored in the management and marketing literature. Little is known about the ability of born-globals to become agile and under what conditions agility can lead to better market performance. In this investigation the exploratory qualitative research was conducted using the data of fifteen in-depth interviews with managers and experts in Tech City in London, UK. Firstly, the findings show that creativity and informal planning are the main decision-making drivers of agility in born-global firms. Secondly, the study reveals that agility is more likely to be positively related to international market performance when key decision-makers have certain skills, including knowledge of the market, international experience, learning orientation and ambiguity tolerance

Does Improvisation Help or Hinder Planning in Determining Export Success? Decision Theory Applied to Exporting

Exporting enables organizations to diversify risk and generate multiple income streams. In turn, the ability to make good export decisions is purported to be a main determinant of performance. Although substantive export decisions are well researched, little is known about how export decisions should be made in practice and whether different decision-making approaches should be combined. This study addresses this gap using decision theory; the authors assess the interaction of planning and improvisation and examine the impact of these approaches on export responsiveness and export performance. They develop a conceptual model through exploratory research and test it through structural equation modeling. The authors seek insights into the results through post hoc in-depth interviews and conclude that improvisation has multiple dimensions (spontaneity, creativity, and action orientation) and that there is no one “best way” for export managers to make decisions. Furthermore, export planning can enhance economic performance but detract from customer performance. In addition, improvisation improves responsiveness, whereas action orientation leads to greater customer performance and results in greater responsiveness with regard to planning. However, export managers should be wary of spontaneity and creativity, because they detract from planning outcomes

Chutzpadik advertising and its effectiveness: Four studies of agencies and audiences

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Controversial advert perceptions in SNS advertising: the role of ethical judgement and religious commitment

This study attempts to advance knowledge in the area of controversial advertising by examining the antecedents and consequences of controversial advert perceptions in the context of social media, and particularly social networking sites (SNS). Specifically, we explore how ethical judgement and religious commitment shape controversial advert perceptions leading to attitudes towards the advert, brand attitudes and purchase intentions. Our results indicate that when a SNS advert is judged to be ethically acceptable, the level of perceived advert controversy is lower. However, the impact of ethical judgement on controversial advert perceptions becomes significant and positive when intra-personal commitment and inter-personal religious commitment are introduced as moderators. This result implies that the level of religious commitment changes the ethical judgement - controversial advert perceptions relationship. The results also highlight that controversial advert perceptions negatively influence attitude toward the advert. The study contributes to the limited knowledge on controversial advertising on SNS, yielding significant and relevant implications for academics and advertisers alike, in their effort to improve advertising effectiveness without offending or alienating target audiences

Leveraging dynamic export capabilities for competitive advantage and performance consequences: Evidence from China

As the business arena becomes more global and therefore dynamic, organizations must balance their capabilities with the demands and the conditions of the international marketplace. This leads firms to trade off the development of more capabilities with the identification of core capabilities which can best improve export competitiveness and performance. Based on the Dynamic Capabilities Approach (DCA), we develop a model of four export capabilities, namely adaptability, innovativeness, unpredictability, and task-flexibility, aimed at achieving competitive advantage in foreign markets and enhance export performance. Based on a survey of 213 Chinese exporting organizations, we find out that innovativeness, unpredictability and task-flexibility are positively related to competitive advantage, while adaptability is negatively related to it. Moreover, we uncovered that in the cases of adaptability, innovativeness and task-flexibility their impact on competitive advantage diminishes under higher levels of competitive intensity, however, for unpredictability this impact becomes negative. We also confirm the necessity of addressing competitive advantage separately from firms’ performance

Effect of CFP-10/ESAT-6 secretory proteins on long-term non-specific immunological memory in mouse macrophages

Innate immune cells (monocytes/macrophages, NK) can also develop immune memory, which means that these cells are trained after their first encounter with pathogens so that they exhibit a nonspecific immunological response to the same or another pathogen. Bacilli Calmette–Gu rin (BCG) induces nonspecific innate memory (trained immunity) in innate immune cells. We examined nonspecific innate memory in macrophages of BALB/c mice in response to mycobacteria with or without the RD1 region in the genome. Mice were immunized with BCG vaccine, and peritoneal macrophages were isolated on day 7, and then stimulated with bacterial lipopolysaccharide, CFP-10, or ESAT-6. In addition, mice were immunized with Mycobacterium tuberculosis uro-BCG vaccine (RD1-) and Mycobacterium tuberculosis strain H37Rv (RD1+) subcutaneously or intravenously; peritoneal macrophages were isolated and stimulated with lipopolysaccharide on day 4. Alveolar macrophages were obtained from lung explants of mice infected with Mycobacterium tuberculosis strain H37Rv mice, were expanded to confluence 70-80% and further stimulated with lipopolysaccharide. Lactate, cytokines, and glucose levels were examined in conditioned macrophage medium. Peritoneal macrophages from mice primed with BCG vaccine were shown to increase IL-1b, TNFa, and lactate production in response to CFP-6 and ESAT-10 (p < 0.05). Of note is the fact that lipopolysaccharide also increased production of IL-1b, TNFa, and also increased glucose uptake by peritoneal macrophages primed with BCG vaccine (p < 0.05). Peritoneal macrophages primed with Uro-BCG were shown to increase spontaneous production of IL-1b and decrease spontaneous production of TNFa (p < 0.05). When macrophages were primed by subcutaneous or intravenous administration of Mycobacterium tuberculosis strain H37Rv differentially affected cytokine production, by decreasing IL-1b production and increasing TNFa and IL-10, was observed. In response to lipopolysaccharide, peritoneal macrophages increased IL-1b, TNFa, IL-10 production and glucose consumption (p < 0.05). The mode of priming of macrophages with Mycobacterium tuberculosis strain H37Rv also led to multidirectional levels of cytokine production. Alveolar macrophages were shown to retain trained immunity, as they produced elevated levels of IL-1b, TNFa, and IL-10 (p < 0.05). Thus, mouse macrophages formed a trained immunity phenotype in response to different types of mycobacteria, which persists for a long time after primary contact with the pathogen, particularly in alveolar macrophages

Holarctic phylogeographic structure of Eurasian wigeon (Mareca penelope)

The Eurasian wigeon (Mareca penelope) is one of the most numerous migrant species of waterfowl in the Palearctic. Annually, significant part of the world’s wigeon population makes seasonal flights over distances from tens to thousands or more kilometers. According to different estimates based on banding data, five geographic populations of the species were described in the Palearctic. However, distinct borders between the populations have not been identified. At the same time, no phylogeographic studies have been carried out for the complete native range of wigeon so far. In addition to the fundamental importance of such a study, knowledge of the genetic structure of populations is necessary for the development of measures to increase the number of and preserve this valuable game species. The aim of our work was a phylogeographic analysis of the wigeon across its vast native range in the Palearctic including ducks wintering in North America. We examined genetic diversity and differentiation of wigeon populations identified with banding data, phylogenetic relationships of mtDNA haplotypes and demographic history of populations and species as a whole by sequencing a 661 base-pair 5’-fragment of the mitochondrial control region from 195 individual ducks collected throughout the Palearctic and Nearctic. Genetic diversity was high in all studied populations. A reconstruction of haplotypes phylogeny revealed the absence of geographic structure in the data. Nonetheless, analysis of molecular variance (AMOVA) identified two groups of populations: EuropeanSiberian and East Asian. The former included wigeons from Europe, Siberia and the Atlantic coast of North America, and the latter comprised ducks from Russian Far East, Kamchatka Peninsula, Chukotka Autonomous District, the Aleutian Islands, Alaska, and the Pacific coast of North America

The Cation Exchange Resin Leaching of Zinc from Zinc Cake and Zinc Calcine

Цинковый кек, образующийся при кислотном выщелачивании цинкового огарка на ПАО «Цинковый завод» (Челябинск), имеет сложный минеральный состав. Основные минеральные фазы в кеке в основном представлены ферритом цинка, сульфатом цинка, плюмбоярозитом и оксидом меди. Катионообменное выщелачивание металлов из цинкового огарка и цинкового кека (полученного на стадии кислотного выщелачивания) является перспективным методом, в котором в качестве реагента может быть использован ионит КУ‑2–8 в Н‑форме. В работе установлено, что значительная часть ZnFe2O4 (60 %) может растворяться в мягких условиях при рН=1 и 25 °C, а общий цинк, извлекаемый из огарка при выщелачивании катионообменной смолой, достигает 98 %. Активность цинкового кека выше, чем у синтезированного образца феррита цинкаThe zinc ferrite cake, which is generated during the wet extraction of zinc calcine at PJSC Zinc Plant (Chelyabinsk) has a complex mineral composition. The main mineral phases in the cake are basically represented by zinc ferrite, zinc sulfate, plumbojarozite and copper oxide. The cation-exchange resin leaching of metals from zinc calcine and zinc cake (obtained at the acid leaching stage) is a promising method in which KU‑2–8 ion exchanger in H‑form can be used as reagent. In the paper it was found that a significant part of the ZnFe2O4 (60 %) can be dissolved under mild conditions at pH=1 and 25 °C while the total zinc recovered from the calcine by the cation-exchange resin leaching reaches 98 %. The activity of the zinc cake is higher than that of the synthesized zinc ferrite sampl

Quadratic effects of dynamic decision-making capability on innovation orientation and performance: Evidence from Chinese exporters

© 2018 Elsevier Inc. This study examines quadratic effects of three export decision-making approaches (planning, creativity and spontaneity) on innovation orientation, and the direct effect of innovation orientation on export market performance. The model, anchored in decision theory and dynamic capabilities, is tested on a sample of Chinese exporting firms using structural equation modelling. Findings indicate that while a greater proclivity to innovate is beneficial for export market performance, a more complex web of relationships is revealed between the three export decision-making approaches and innovation orientation, providing insights on the operationalization of a dynamic decision-making capability. Specifically, while an increasing level of export planning reduces an exporter's capacity to innovate, creativity has a positive direct effect on exporters’ innovation orientation, which also benefits from extreme spontaneity in export decision-making. We discuss theoretical contributions and export managerial implications of this dynamic decision-making capability for industrial marketing management