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This article has been withdrawn as it was published elsewhere and accidentally duplicated. The original article can be seen here: 10.1108/EUM0000000000375. When citing the article, please cite: Kofi Q. Dadzie, (1990), “Transfer of Logistics Knowledge to Third World Countries”, International Journal of Physical Distribution & Logistics Management, Vol. 20 Iss: 9, pp. 10 - 16.

This study aims to examine how various components of interpersonal trust (affective and cognitive) influence the duration of buyer-seller relationships in the emerging market (EM) context of a heterogeneous market structure dominated by small, fragmented sellers/suppliers.

The study proposes a hazard model for analyzing duration effects of interpersonal trust in the EM context. The model was validated using data on buying agents provided by 340 cocoa sellers/producers in Ghana, gathered from extensive field interviews.

Results of the survival analysis reveal a limited but significant positive duration effect of cognitive (ability) trust only. Further analysis of sellers’ duration intentions (intention to remain with a buyer) also reveals a positive impact of affective trust but no impact of cognitive (ability and integrity) trust. Cocoa bean sellers’ evaluation of buying firms’ purchasing agents suggests that buying firms underperform on emotional/affective components of interpersonal trust, and that private firms outperform state buying agents on ability trust as well.

While this study focused on the fragmented nature of sellers in the EM context, and the scope was limited to the sellers’ interpersonal trust perception of the buyer-seller, future research should examine both buyer and seller perceptions to obtain complete insight into the buyer-seller dyad in the EM context. In addition, the results of the duration effects identified in this study may not be generalizable to other EM export commodities, where channels have long been fully privatized. Ghana’s cocoa export marketing system was only recently privatized, and potentially has more sellers at the risk of adopting/switching relationships with their buyers than would be expected in more privatized expert commodity marketing systems.

Managers of export commodity buying firms in EMs can take advantage of the positive duration effects of cognitive trust by constantly improving the capabilities of their purchasing agents throughout the lifetime of their suppliers to sustain their relationship. However, sellers’ intention to switch can be mitigated by formalizing policies that encourage emotional bonds with sellers, especially small-scale producers in highly vulnerable bargaining positions. The aggregate output of small-scale producers could be of strategic importance in the future.

Managers need systematic empirical evidence of the nature of duration effects of interpersonal trust given anecdotal evidence suggesting that managers have a tendency to emphasize cognitive trust over affective/emotional trust. Further, the applicability of such evidence in the EM context is critical given unique conditions such as highly fragmented sellers dealing with relatively large corporations.

This article addresses the issue of adoption timing in the diffusion of logistics technology. An event history analysis of warehouse automation technologies confirms the conceptual soundness of this relatively new procedure for predicting adoption of logistics technology. Implications for logistics technology research and managerial practice are presented.

The adequacy of logistics within the context of the Third World business environment is evaluated. Problems facing practitioners and educators are identified and suggestions to enhance logistics practice and education in Third World countries are offered.

The purpose of this paper is to explore country‐of‐origin (COO) effects on service evaluation in an emerging market.

To gain insight, 24 in‐depth interviews were conducted with stakeholders in five West African countries. A conjoint analysis was also conducted to further explore COO effects.

Propositions were developed based on findings from the qualitative study and conjoint analysis. Situational personal characteristics, such as motivation and ability to process information, may influence use of COO attributes in evaluating a service. Individual characteristics, such as ethnocentrism and culture orientation, may influence COO preference in service evaluation.

Propositions and findings will assist firms considering entering a market in terms of service offerings and positioning strategies.

While COO and consumer products have been widely studied in the literature, mostly within the contexts of industrialized nations, the paper examines COO effects with a service within the context of an emerging market.

This study examines the effects of normative social beliefs, customer satisfaction with service quality and demographic variables on the long‐term savings behavior of rural households some 15 years after the 1981 large‐scale promotion of the rural bank program in Ghana. The results show that considerations of these influences beyond income alone provide stronger predictive power, over and above that of income. In addition, it appears that the negative effects of social beliefs on savings behavior were ameliorated significantly as a result of the promotional program. Similarly, customer satisfaction with the level of service quality was also positively correlated with the level of savings. However, the effects of the marketing approach used in Ghana differed significantly across state owned commercial banks, foreign multinational banks, and rural banks. The implications for enhancing the role of promotional marketing in changing savings attitudes in rural savings mobilization programs in Ghana and elsewhere in Africa are discussed.

In this article, the authors examine the incidence of market orientation of Nigerian and Kenyan firms by focusing on the role of top managers. It is argued that top management’s emphasis on market orientation provides insight into how marginal conditions impact on the applicability of market orientation philosophy in sub‐Saharan African countries. The results suggest that although the level of top management’s emphasis on market orientation is only marginal in these countries, it is likely to increase with the perceived level of competition, the prevalence of a buyer’s market environment and the privatization of the firm. In addition, top managers’ emphasis on market orientation has the strongest influence on the development of market orientation after the presence of international firms and private firms. The results also suggest the importance of understanding the role of top managers in the development of market orientation in Nigeria, Kenya, and other sub‐Saharan African countries.

Despite renewed interest in the cross‐national implementation of market orientation, there is hardly any consideration of this practice in sub‐Saharan Africa. The present study examines the validity of two widely used market orientation scales from Kholi and Jaworski and Narver and Slater, in Ivory Coast, and the ability of both scales developed from explained market orientation practices among Ivorian firms. The results of this study confirm the transferability of both scales, although Narver and Slater’s were found to perform better. In addition, several related organizational antecedents recommended in the extant literature were found to predict market orientation in this sub‐Saharan African country. Several managerial recommendations and implications for further research are also discussed.

Consumer response to merchandise shortage in the online supply chain outlet is an interesting and important issue for e‐vendors because of the high risk associated with the online environment. The purpose of this study is to examine the effects of the online environment on consumer out‐of‐stock behaviors. In addition, it aims to examine the relative impact of non‐web site situational factors on consumer out‐of‐stock behavior.

The study proposed an expectation confirmation‐disconfirmation framework based on the utility maximization principle in consumer research. This framework was validated with data from online shopping transactions gathered in two field studies.

The occurrence of a stock‐out had a pervasive negative impact on consumers' assessment of their online transactional experience and repurchase intentions. Furthermore, item substitution behavior was positively linked with merchandise information content, vividness of web site content, and service speed and a few situational factors. Overall, it was found that consumers' reaction to the “shock” effect of a stock‐out was best explained by an expectation confirmation‐disconfirmation model rather than a performance‐only or expectation‐only model.

While the focus on the total expectation confirmation‐disconfirmation process limited the scope of the study to a single stock‐out event, future research should examine multiple stock‐out events to further validate the proposed framework.

Managers can take advantage of the positive linkage between web site design features and item substitution behavior by tracking the online consumers' expectation confirmation‐disconfirmation evaluative process and its effect on how consumers respond to high priced versus low priced items during a stock‐out event. Design features for low priced items such as CDs and books require product specific information to reduce item switching or exit from the e‐supply chain during a stock‐out event.

Scholars need a systematic framework for examining consumer response to a stock‐out that is applicable in the e‐commerce context because of the effects of abundant information access, low switching cost and the high service expectations of online customers.