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11 – 20 of 460
Article
Publication date: 18 June 2020

Osama Sam AL-Kwifi, Viput Ongsakul, Allam K. Abu Farha, Ahmed U. Zafar and Mahmoud Karasneh

The purpose of this paper is to explore the relationship between product innovativeness and the process of technology switching. This issue is important for two reasons: (1) in…

Abstract

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to explore the relationship between product innovativeness and the process of technology switching. This issue is important for two reasons: (1) in mature markets, the only way to increase market share is through consumers' switching from competitor firms and (2) it is essential to determine whether the product innovation strategy can meet users' needs in high-technology markets.

Design/methodology/approach

Research centers (university hospitals) specializing in magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) are the lead users of the MRI market. In this market, the technology switching process was tracked using an annual conference database. Interviews with industry experts and lead users were conducted in order to determine the relationship between product innovativeness and technology switching.

Findings

The findings reveal that in the lead users' segment, technology switching is occurring at a significant level. The interviews emphasized the influence of product innovativeness on technology switching in the global MRI market, as well as the importance of adopting an open innovation process as a strategy to enhance product innovativeness.

Practical implications

The results can be generalized to industries with similar characteristics, such as high rates of technological change and technology heterogeneity. In high-technology markets, managers should monitor switching behavior. They should also study the influence of product innovativeness on such behavior in order to determine the correct product innovation strategy and meet users' preferences effectively.

Originality/value

The literature reports considerable research that investigates switching behavior, but most publications use data from a short time period and cover a limited geographical region. This is the first study that uses data to track the switching behavior of high-technology products on a global scale over a 22-year period.

Details

EuroMed Journal of Business, vol. 16 no. 1
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 1450-2194

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 26 October 2020

Abdulla Hamad MA Fetais, Osama Sam Al-Kwifi, Zafar U Ahmed and Dang Khoa Tran

In 2017, Qatar Airways was recognized as the world's number-one airline by SKYTRAX World Airline Awards. These international awards have been described as “the Oscars of the…

2614

Abstract

Purpose

In 2017, Qatar Airways was recognized as the world's number-one airline by SKYTRAX World Airline Awards. These international awards have been described as “the Oscars of the aviation industry,” reflecting global recognition and excellence in conducting business activities at the international level. The main purpose of this case-based research is to explore and evaluate the internationalization strategies employed by Qatar Airways in becoming known as one of the best airlines in the world.

Design/methodology/approach

In accordance with the nature of this study, data were collected by interviewing managers from Qatar Airways as well as by exploiting supporting materials from secondary sources and airline-specific records. The recorded interviews were analyzed via content analysis to define airline strategies aimed at expanding globally and building a global brand.

Findings

The findings reveal that Qatar Airways has adopted effective strategies that have facilitated its aggressive global expansion and enhanced its global consumer recognition – mainly as a fast-growing network connecting important destinations that maintains a focused consumer orientation dedicated to providing an optimal travel experience. These strategies have been focused on building a superior consumer experience marked by exceptional comfort.

Practical implications

Qatar Airways' implementation of internationalization strategies in the airline industry represents an innovative approach marked by efficient operations and high-quality standards. Both international business managers and academics can learn from these strategies and their implications for enhancing airlines' global reputation and overall quality performance.

Originality/value

Unlike other research studies that investigate a wide range of firms across industries, this study focuses on exploring the factors that support the successful internationalization of a single firm, thus providing in-depth understanding of specific strategies to achieve global recognition. This study provides unique insights to analyze strategies and assess their practical relevance.

Details

Journal of Economic and Administrative Sciences, vol. 37 no. 3
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 1026-4116

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 1 April 1991

Zafar U. Ahmed

Today's tourism marketing is heavily focused on conveying a positive image to prospective consumer segments. Doing so is fully consistent with traditional marketing practices that…

Abstract

Today's tourism marketing is heavily focused on conveying a positive image to prospective consumer segments. Doing so is fully consistent with traditional marketing practices that attempt to develop the product, price it, promote it, and distribute it in a manner most likely to convey the most positive image attributes possible.

Details

The Tourist Review, vol. 46 no. 4
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0251-3102

Open Access
Article
Publication date: 8 November 2018

Allam K. Abu Farha, Osama Sam Al-Kwifi and Zafar U. Ahmed

This paper aims to investigate the interplay between managerial assumptions and institutional corporate social responsibility, and determines how such fit affects performance.

1857

Abstract

Purpose

This paper aims to investigate the interplay between managerial assumptions and institutional corporate social responsibility, and determines how such fit affects performance.

Design/methodology/approach

The authors developed and tested a model using survey methodology. The authors’ data from 210 hotels located in Qatar and the UAE were analysed using the partial least squares (PLS) approach.

Findings

The results reveal that firms with entrepreneurial, political and professional frame of reference (FoR) engage in institutional corporate social responsibility (CSR) practices. In addition, the entrepreneurial and professional FoR enhances the institutional CSR – organisational performance link.

Research limitations/implications

The findings will help managers to determine the effect of their FoR on their adoption of institutional CSR, thereby increasing the effectiveness and efficiency of their CSR strategy. As the study is exploratory in nature, several limitations have been highlighted and discussed.

Originality/value

To the authors’ knowledge, this is one of the few papers that inspect the relationship between managerial assumptions and institutional CSR and establishes their effect on performance.

研究目的

本论文旨在研究管理假设和企业社会责任的关系并且决定其如何影响企业绩效。

研究设计/方法/途径

本论文采用问卷采样形式, 位于卡塔尔和阿联酋地区的210家酒店为问卷样本。本论文采用偏最小二乘回归(PLS)来分析数据。

研究结果

如果企业拥有创业者精神、政治、及专业的参考架构(FoR), 那么往往会参与到体制性企业社会责任(CSR)的实践。此外, 创业者精神的和专业的FoR促进体制性CSR-组织绩效的关系。

研究实践意义

本论文结果帮助经理人判定FoR对于CSR实践的影响, 因而提高了CSR政策的效果和效率。由于本研究是探索性论文, 一些所带来的限制已经在文中提到并强调。

研究原创性/价值

据作者所知, 本论文是仅有的几篇论文中, 研究管理假设和体制性CSR的关系并且确立其对于企业绩效的作用。

关键词

管理假设,参考架构,体制性CSR,新兴市场,企业绩效,偏最小二乘回归

纸张类型

研究论文

Article
Publication date: 11 April 2023

Binh Tan Mai, Phuong V. Nguyen, Uyen Nu Hoang Ton and Zafar U. Ahmed

COVID-19 has made businesses increasingly dependent on technology to be competitive and efficient. Small and medium enterprises (SME) digitalisation and innovation research are…

Abstract

Purpose

COVID-19 has made businesses increasingly dependent on technology to be competitive and efficient. Small and medium enterprises (SME) digitalisation and innovation research are widespread. SME digital transformation and innovation require government policies, initiatives and assistance. How the government can help SMEs achieve these goals is unclear. So, this paper aims to investigate how government policy may assist Vietnamese SMEs to boost innovation performance and digital transformation.

Design/methodology/approach

The study will take a quantitative approach, with questionnaires distributed to 659 respondents from SMEs in Vietnam through snowball and convenience sampling procedures. The structural equational modelling method is used for data analysis.

Findings

The study indicated that government policies supported Vietnamese SMEs’ innovation and information technology (IT) capabilities. Government policy assistance also boosted IT capabilities and innovation. Furthermore, mediation effects show that digital transformation fully mediates the relationship between innovativeness and firm performance, whereas IT capabilities partially mediate this relationship.

Research limitations/implications

Further research that replicates the findings and analyses contextual heterogeneities between nations is advised because Vietnam’s pandemic setting was both similar and dissimilar.

Practical implications

The study demonstrated government-company interactions through supportive policy. It investigated whether SMEs seeking digital transformation and innovativeness might gain competitive benefits by implementing effective knowledge management and enhancing their IT capabilities.

Originality/value

A resource-based theoretical framework is extended to study how innovation, public policy and digital transformation for SMEs interact. The study confirms government policy strongly influences enterprises’ digital development. Specifically, the new mediating effects of IT capabilities and digital transformation are explored and provide new insights into the existing literature.

Details

International Journal of Organizational Analysis, vol. 32 no. 2
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 1934-8835

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 7 January 2019

Abdel Hafiez Ali Hasaballah, Omer Faruk Genc, Osman Bin Mohamad and Zafar U. Ahmed

The purpose of this paper is to analyze the influences of relational variables on export performance and the interactions among relational variables in the emerging market context…

Abstract

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to analyze the influences of relational variables on export performance and the interactions among relational variables in the emerging market context of Malaysia.

Design/methodology/approach

The study used a mail questionnaire sent to Malaysian companies that export to Arab-speaking countries and achieved a response rate of 27.92 percent, resulting in a sample of 106 exporters.

Findings

The results of the path analyses indicate a positive impact of relational variables (adaptation, cooperation and communication) on export performance. However, the authors found that the impact was mediated by trust and commitment, rather than being direct.

Research limitations/implications

The findings suggest that the impact of relational variables on export performance is complex and indirect. Mediators and moderators play important roles in this relationship.

Practical implications

Firms should invest in export relationships with the aim of building trust and commitment, which are the primary factors that affect export performance.

Originality/value

The authors have shed light on the way relational variables affect export performance. Moreover, this study contributes to a better understanding of small emerging markets, which are poorly represented in studies in this field.

Details

Asia Pacific Journal of Marketing and Logistics, vol. 31 no. 1
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 1355-5855

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 14 May 2018

Shahid Nakib Bhuian, Sujeet Kumar Sharma, Irfan Butt and Zafar U. Ahmed

The purpose of this study is to examine the predictabilities of five intra-personal factors to predict pro-environmental consumer behavior (PECB) and the moderating role of…

1864

Abstract

Purpose

The purpose of this study is to examine the predictabilities of five intra-personal factors to predict pro-environmental consumer behavior (PECB) and the moderating role of religiosity in Oman.

Design/methodology/approach

The study uses neural network to analyze the antecedents/antecedents × religiosity → PECB relationships by using a sample of 306 consumers from Oman.

Findings

This study finds that the most important predictors of PECB, according to the order of importance, are attitude × religiosity, knowledge, concern × religiosity, knowledge × religiosity, value, religiosity, attitude, concern and value × religiosity.

Research limitations/implications

The convenience sample from a single Islamic country limits the generalizability of the findings. Future studies should use probabilistic sampling techniques and multiple Islamic countries located in different geographical regions.

Practical implications

To promote PECB, businesses and policymakers should provide environmental education to expand knowledge and value, leverage ecological religious values in integrated marketing communications, make positive inducements to change attitude and concern enhancing interventions.

Social implications

As religiosity enhances PECB by moderating the impacts of environmental intra-personal factors on PECB, businesses and policymakers should find ways to use faith-based ecological messages in Islamic countries.

Originality/value

Determining the predictabilities of psychological factors and their interactions with religiosity to predict PECB in Islamic countries is necessary for promoting environmentally friendly products in Islamic countries and for reducing the ecological damage to the environment.

Details

Journal of Consumer Marketing, vol. 35 no. 3
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0736-3761

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 18 November 2019

Michael Christofi, Alkis Thrassou, Hela Chebbi, Zafar U. Ahmed, Balakrishna Grandhi and Lea Iaia

A substantial body of research evidence has now accumulated in the cause-related marketing (CRM) literature. Yet, research on positive word of mouth (WOM) in the CRM domain is…

Abstract

Purpose

A substantial body of research evidence has now accumulated in the cause-related marketing (CRM) literature. Yet, research on positive word of mouth (WOM) in the CRM domain is scarce. Based on this, the purpose of this paper is to present a framework that enhances positive WOM persuasion in a CRM context.

Design/methodology/approach

Specifically, the authors explore collectivism as a contextual dimension for positive WOM persuasion in a CRM setting and discusses three novel constructs for effectively designing such campaigns, namely, cause proximity, choice of donation type and choice variety of donation types in a single offering frame. Based on conceptual logic and drawing on literature from a variety of disciplines, this framework should provide deeper insight into achieving positive WOM persuasion with CRM strategy and implementation.

Findings

Additionally, the analysis leads to specific research questions regarding the associations between these contrasts and positive WOM persuasion in a CRM context.

Originality/value

Finally, the managerial and theoretical contributions are discussed, as well as directions for further research.

Details

Business Process Management Journal, vol. 26 no. 5
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 1463-7154

Keywords

Open Access
Article
Publication date: 1 November 2019

Allam K. Abu Farha, Paul Sergius Koku, Sam O. Al-Kwifi and Zafar U. Ahmed

The service marketing literature has traditionally argued that the marketing practices of service firms that operate in diverse cultures should also differ. This paper aims to…

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Abstract

Purpose

The service marketing literature has traditionally argued that the marketing practices of service firms that operate in diverse cultures should also differ. This paper aims to investigate this argument by examining the marketing practices of service firms in two highly diverse countries “Canada and Qatar” in the context of a contemporary conceptual framework.

Design/methodology/approach

Survey data were collected in both countries using a self-administered questionnaire that was used in previous contemporary marketing practice (CMP) studies. The data analysis was conducted in two stages. First, descriptive statistics were used to determine cross-national differences in the intensity of use of various CMP activities in Qatar compared to Canada. Second, cross-national differences in various combinations of marketing practices were identified using a cluster analysis.

Findings

The results indicate that service firms in both countries have more similarities than differences and that the overall patterns of marketing practices are similar. In addition, the firms’ marketing practices reflect aspects of all four marketing approaches rather than just one.

Research limitations/implications

The study was conducted in only two countries, thus generalisability of its findings and conclusions may not be possible.

Practical implications

The results of this study can help marketers to better understand the changing marketing environment and identify new marketing solutions when operating in different environments.

Originality/value

This study enhances the literature on service marketing and expands the application of the CMP framework to a new context that has not been addressed in previous studies.

Article
Publication date: 1 October 2021

Nakul Parameswar, Sanjay Dhir, Tran Tien Khoa, Antonino Galati and Zafar U. Ahmed

While the number of global alliance terminations in the business world has grown steadily during the past few decades, the scholarly literature on strategic alliance (SA…

Abstract

Purpose

While the number of global alliance terminations in the business world has grown steadily during the past few decades, the scholarly literature on strategic alliance (SA) termination remains limited. This research paper aims to perform a bibliometric analysis of the literature on alliance termination and propose a model for future research agenda that links the termination phase to the pre-alliance termination phase and post alliance termination phase.

Design/methodology/approach

A search query on global alliance termination identified a total of 69 research papers from the Scopus database, and a bibliometric analysis was performed using the bibliometrix R-package and VOSviewer. The analysis further used the TCCM framework to review the set of papers.

Findings

This research analysis reveals that, compared to the pre-formation, formation, and process stages of alliances, limited research has been undertaken on global alliance termination. The bibliometric analysis and TCCM framework provide a complete view of the extant literature on global alliance termination from different dimensions and act as the which as the foundation for a developing the research agenda that links pre-alliance termination phase and post-alliance termination phase to that of alliance termination phase.

Research limitations/implications

The proposed research agenda is unique as it integrates multiple phases in the alliance lifecycle with global alliance termination phase and develops a distinct view for future research that emphasizes on the post-alliance termination phase.

Practical implications

The bibliometric analysis provides a precise snapshot of the state of the literature on global alliance termination. The research agenda developed provides a direction for further academic research that links alliance termination not only to pre-alliance termination phase but also to the post-alliance termination phase that is nascently explored in the literature.

Originality/value

This study is among the few to review and synthesize the literature on global alliance termination. It, therefore, functions as a catalyst to draw global scholars' attention. Further, it provides global researchers with direction by proposing a global research agenda.

Details

International Marketing Review, vol. 39 no. 5
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0265-1335

Keywords

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