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This paper attempts to resolve the conflicting results on sticky cost behavior in prior literature. Large sample studies find that selling, general, and administrative costs (SG&A) and cost of goods sold (CGS) are sticky, that is, costs are less likely to decrease when activity decreases than to increase when activity increases. In contrast, studies limited to one industry find little or no sticky cost behavior.

We investigate whether SG&A and CGS sticky cost behavior differ across/ four major industry groups (manufacturing, merchandising, financial, and services) characterized by different production, operational, and economic environments. In addition, we study whether sticky cost behavior arises for all changes in activity level (as measured by revenue changes) or for only large changes in activity level. Finally, we investigate whether determinants of sticky cost behavior vary across industries.

Our results suggest that costs in the manufacturing industry are the “stickiest,” while costs in the merchandising industry are the “least sticky,” with financial and service industries exhibiting some level of sticky cost behavior. Further, we find that sticky cost behavior is industry-specific, both in the magnitude of activity changes that give rise to sticky cost behavior and in the determinants that drive the behavior.

Our investigation of 20 distinct sub-industries within the “stickiest” manufacturing industry finds that while some sub-industry groupings show significant sticky behavior, most do not. This result may explain why, contrary to large sample studies, single industry studies find little or no sticky behavior in costs.

Our research is the first to try and reconcile the conflicting results on sticky cost behavior. Understanding the pervasiveness of stickiness is necessary to move research forward in this domain.

It seems that the Internet boom, which started at the end of the 1990s and finished with the spectacular collapse of the so-called dotcoms, is probably over. We are currently enjoying a period of fast and stable growth. This is manifested by the growing number of both Internet users and companies which – to an ever-increasing extent – use the Internet as a form of communication (both internal and external), promotion, sales etc. Expenditures on Internet advertising are growing continuously and now constitute more than 25% of all advertising expenditure. A natural consequence of this development is the need for the standardisation and organisation of the world of the Internet. These activities will result in a greater awareness of the benefits which this medium provides, increasing the possibilities of its use, and – most importantly – the opportunity to evaluate the return on investments made on the Internet. Nowadays, it is clear that many companies are striving to increase the quality of their activities on the Internet or to improve the effectiveness of such activities. As a consequence, the number of companies that look for indices which would enable the making of more precise and effective decisions in the scope of online operations is growing.

This chapter is dedicated to the phenomenon of the increasing role of the Internet in business, including the scale of its use by Polish and international companies. We present the most commonly used measures of marketing activities on the Internet and in social media. This group includes the indices which make it possible to determine whether a company actually needs a website. Other measures allow for the improvement in the effectiveness of the activity on the Internet, whereas others specify the costs of activities on the Internet and often serve as the basis for settlements between a company and advertising agencies or companies specialising in website design. It is worth emphasising that the Paid, Earned, Shared, Owned (PESO) model, worked out by Don Bartholomew,¹ is the basis for creation and description of indices concerning social media. This model has gained certain popularity in the social media industry. It does not, however, specify how individual indices should be named and calculated. It maps already existing indices and adapts them to specific levels of marketing communication measurement. All the measures indicated by the author of the model have been grouped into five major areas: exposure, engagement, brand awareness, action and recommendations. This model– similarly to all models of performance measurement – inspired by the sales funnel concept, adjusts certain standard indices and proposals of measurements for specific levels. Additionally, the measures are divided into four types, depending on who the owner of the content is: Paid (P) – refers to all forms of paid content; Owned (O) – all websites and web properties controlled by a company or brand; Earned (E) – the contents about a given brand created spontaneously by Internet users; and Shared (S) – the contents shared by Internet users.

This research explores perceptions of knowledge management processes held by managers and employees in a service industry. To date, empirical research on knowledge management in the service industry is sparse. This research seeks to examine absorptive capacity and its four capabilities of acquisition, assimilation, transformation and exploitation and their impact on effective knowledge management. All of these capabilities are strategies that enable external knowledge to be recognized, imported and integrated into, and further developed within the organization effectively. The research tests the relationships between absorptive capacity and effective knowledge management through analysis of quantitative data (n = 549) drawn from managers and employees in 35 residential aged care organizations in Western Australia. Responses were analysed using Partial Least Square-based Structural Equation Modelling. Additional analysis was conducted to assess if the job role (of manager or employee) and three industry context variables of profit motive, size of business and length of time the organization has been in business, impacted on the hypothesized relationships.

Structural model analysis examines the relationships between variables as hypothesized in the research framework. Analysis found that absorptive capacity and the four capabilities correlated significantly with effective knowledge management, with absorptive capacity explaining 56% of the total variability for effective knowledge management. Findings from this research also show that absorptive capacity and the four capabilities provide a useful framework for examining knowledge management in the service industry. Additionally, there were no significant differences in the perceptions held between managers and employees, nor between respondents in for-profit and not-for-profit organizations. Furthermore, the size of the organization and length of time the organization has been in business did not impact on absorptive capacity, the four capabilities and effective knowledge management.

The research considers implications for business in light of these findings. The role of managers in providing leadership across the knowledge management process was confirmed, as well as the importance of guiding routines and knowledge sharing throughout the organization. Further, the results indicate that within the participating organizations there are discernible differences in the way that some organizations manage their knowledge, compared to others. To achieve effective knowledge management, managers need to provide a supportive workplace culture, facilitate strong employee relationships, encourage employees to seek out new knowledge, continually engage in two-way communication with employees and provide up-to-date policies and procedures that guide employees in doing their work. The implementation of knowledge management strategies has also been shown in this research to enhance the delivery and quality of residential aged care.

Globalization increases concerns about national governments’ ability to regulate firms’ environmental conduct because firms can avoid complying with stringent environmental regulations by locating polluting operations in countries with low regulations. Business self-regulation is increasingly seen as a force that can counterbalance the decreasing power of governments in the global economy. Previous research identified external stakeholder pressures as an important determinant of business self-regulation. In this chapter we explore how firm capabilities affect the likelihood that firms self-regulate their environmental conduct by adopting ISO 14000 environmental standards. Our findings show that firm capabilities are indeed an important determinant of self-regulation in the global economy. We discuss implications of this finding for governments, other stakeholders, and business decision makers.