Search results

Several studies of the telecommunications industry have focused on government regulation and structural conditions, suggesting that initial order of entry and network effects create strong first‐mover advantages for GSM companies. This paper seeks to change the focus to managerial capabilities and to investigate how an early mover on the Turkish market manages the phase of vigorous competition following the early‐regulated period.

The paper is a case study of one leading firm in the context of the Turkish telecommunications market development. The most important sources for data are Telepati Telekom Journal, Turkcell Annual Reports, Telecommunications Authority of Turkey's publications, the reports of investment institutions, web pages of operators, and previous publications about the Turkish telecom industry.

The paper finds that the early mover, Turkcell, has used a mix of differentiated marketing strategies, innovative and diversified product development and increased service quality to defend its position in an era of increased competition with new operators, a high number of pre‐paid customers and number portability.

On the basis of this case, the paper argues that studies of the telecommunications industry need to expand their analyses of industry structures to also include firm‐specific strategies and management capabilities.

It is no secret that when the fortunes of the telecoms sector collapsed in 2000, network supplier Ericsson was hit hard. In October 2003, the Sweden‐based firm had spent 11 quarters in the red and chief executive Carl‐Henric Svanberg admitted “I think it’s very low odds on guessing that we will soon be in the black.” In a similarly worrying position, the Sony Ericsson partnership constantly lost money following its launch in 2001 until in 2003 it had halved its initial size. Admittedly, companies across the sector have experienced difficulties since the boom of the 1990s, yet when compared to rival Nokia Ericsson appears slow in fighting back. This has led to increasing suggestions that the firm’s hardships stem not just from external economic factors, but from poorly considered strategic decisions.

For an increasing number of firms in the capital goods industry, combinations of products and services, so called integrated solutions, are becoming part of their future growth strategies. By analysing three case studies, the article highlights the variety of such solutions and some important implications for the involved companies. The analysis suggests that companies need an extended set of competences to succeed in providing integrated solutions, amounting to a balance of technical and integration competence with market/business, consulting and partnering competences. This implies a move from product‐focus to customer‐centric orientation and focus on optimisation of user processes. From a research perspective the paper underlines the importance of integrating studies of product and service innovation, two fields that so far have been studied separately.

A key strategic objective behind the introduction of TQM centres on ensuring employee commitment and participation in continuous process innovation for the purpose of improving operational efficiencies and developing a competitive edge within the expanding and dynamic marketplace. Uses the experience of Pirelli Cables to describe employee responses to the process of establishing a “quality culture” and to illustrate how Japanese TQM programmes may not be well suited to building employee commitment within an Australian workforce which is culturally very diverse.

We all talk of logistical problems as if they were something which can be left to others ‐ you know, those less creative than ourselves; the slightly dull sorts with computer‐like brains who thrive on just this sort of basically mathematical problem. This may be an overstatement of the case, but how many senior executives regularly meet with the managers responsible for the movement of materials? And how often do the same executives physically visit the scenes of these activities? Often? Sometimes? Never? And how many equate the costs of logistics merely with warehouse rents plus road haulage or rail costs?

For those who like certainty, now is not a good time to be in logistics management ‐ for those who relish challenges, there are plenty to be had. There are challenges not just to the old certainties, but the new certainties which replaced them. Companies have, in recent years, looked to Japan for inspiration, only to find the Japanese economy beginning to falter. Japanese management practices were endorsed by, and imported into, many Western organizations and, when these transplanted practices failed to work, cultural difficulties were cited. It then becomes something of a shock, for example, to see the keiretsu distribution system fall into disrepute, and lean production methods become modified or abandoned by those who developed them.

The purpose of this paper is to investigate the attitudes, knowledge and beliefs regarding female genital mutilation/cutting (FGM/C) of six groups of immigrant men from countries where FGM/C is practiced and to identify their role in the decision-making process of circumcising their daughters.

The study took the form of qualitative action research with seven focus groups of 50 men coming from Somalia, Eritrea, Ethiopia, Benin, Egypt and Nigeria, living in Florence, Italy.

Different conceptions, cultures and attitudes about FGM/C exist among men coming from different countries, but also within the same community. The participants expressed positions both in favor and against the maintenance of the practice. There were opposite beliefs about the religious motivations invoked.

The study is qualitative and the non-probability sample and the small number of participants are important limitations.

The study improves current knowledge on men’s role and attitude in FGM/C and gives important information for the prevention of future activities that could include both men and women of the community.

The need to involve men in preventive actions against FGM/C has been underlined by the World Health Organization. The involvement of men and leaders of the communities could facilitate cultural changes toward the abandoning of these practices. FGM/C is often considered as a phenomenon concerning only women, who are frequently left alone to face the decision of whether to abandon the ritual.

The great advantage of conducting such a study in a country of migration is the presence of different communities, with different cultural views, in the same area.

The purpose of this study is to examine and identify the predominant themes in the literature on economic freedom. The paper also highlights the key journals, leading authors, top countries and organisations in the literature on economic freedom.

This paper uses the Scopus database to examine 1,512 articles covering the disciplines of economics, finance, business and social sciences from 1942 to 2022. Vosviewer software is used for creating bibliometric networks.

The findings suggest that significant growth in the economic freedom literature has occurred in the last ten years. Considerable attention has been devoted to examining the relationship between economic freedom and growth. The paper also finds that most of the research on economic freedom has been undertaken in the context of developed countries.

This study is one of the first attempts to undertake a bibliometric analysis of economic freedom. The article also highlights the less-researched areas in the literature and thus provides directions for future research.

The peer review history for this article is available at: https://publons.com/publon/10.1108/IJSE-09-2023-0690.

The purpose of this paper is to investigate the relationship between religious involvement and attitudinal (importance of helping others and of being socially active) and behavioral components of prosociality (volunteering, charitable giving, and blood donations) in Germany.

The empirical analyses are based on representative, longitudinal data from the German Socio-Economic Panel, which allows avoiding issues of reverse causality.

The results suggest for a moderate, positive link between individuals’ religious involvement as measured by church affiliation and church attendance and the prosociality aspects addressed. Despite the historic divide in religion, the results in West and East Germany do not differ substantially in terms of the underlying mechanisms.

The paper complements the growing literature from experimental economics on the relationship between individuals’ religiosity and their prosociality. Based on representative longitudinal data, it contributes by providing evidence for Germany for which there is barely any insight yet and by addressing a wider range of attitudinal and (self-reported) behavioral components of prosociality.

Based on the idea that insiders (i.e., managers and controlling shareholders) engage in earnings management to mask their diversion and rent seeking activities from outsiders, this paper presents international evidence supporting both a “diversion hypothesis” where earnings management is decreasing in economic freedom, and a “penalty hypothesis” where earnings management is increasing in human development.