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Purpose: This study examines the affective dimension of racial threat. Most modern studies of threat are framed through Blumer's group position theory and measure threat as increases in levels of traditional racism or perceptions of competition. These measurements neglect to operationalize Blumer's affective conceptualizations of threat.

Methodology/Approach: Building on Blumer's theoretical framework, we outline threat's affective dimension through a presentation of new survey items designed to capture what threat feels like.

Findings: Using factor and regression analyses, we demonstrate how affect is distinct from perceived competition, and how it is positively associated with Blumer's theoretically predicted outcome of racial prejudice, in the form of increased levels of racial resentment.

Practical Implications: Future research by sociologists and other social and behavioral scientists should explicitly consider threat's affective dimension in order to provide a more robust picture of racial prejudice in the United States.

The purpose of this study is to examine two opposing approaches to the effects of power on negotiation: a “collaborative approach” of power and a “competitive approach” of power. Accordingly, the authors state oppositional hypotheses based on each approach. This study further investigates the mediating role of the perceived threat of the negotiation and the moderating role of negotiation topic (i.e. topics that touch on one’s power position versus topics that are related to the tasks one needs to perform) in this relationship. Finally, the authors state a moderated mediation hypothesis where they expected that the negotiation topic would moderate the indirect effect of power on negotiation strategies.

A vignette study (N = 279) and a negotiation game (N = 138) were conducted where the power within dyads was manipulated.

Study 1 showed that powerholders prefer collaborative strategies, whereas powerless negotiators prefer competitive strategies. Perceived threat of the negotiation mediated this effect. Furthermore, both Studies 1 and 2 showed that the negotiation topic moderates the effect of power on negotiation strategies providing further support for the collaborative approach of power. Finally, Study 1 provided partial support for the moderated mediation hypothesis.

Both Studies 1 and 2 are experimental studies. A field study should try to replicate these results in the future.

This study illuminates the effects of power on negotiation and addresses inconsistent findings in the negotiation literature. The results might be of great importance to large organizations where power asymmetries constitute an integral part of the employee/manager interactions.

To the best of the authors’ knowledge, this is the first study to show the moderating role of negotiation topic in the relationship between power and negotiation.

Threats from the informal sector have become an important concern among formal firms. As a response to these threats, formal firms can adopt product innovation (PI) and marketing innovation (MI) strategies to differentiate themselves. The purpose of this paper is to examine how firm-level technical capability and external institutional quality affect firms’ reactions to the threats from informal firms by adopting innovative activities.

Based on attention-based view (ABV), an empirical study is conducted by using firm-level data from the World Bank Enterprise Survey in 2013.

The findings indicate that when faced with competition from informal firms, formal firms will intensify their innovation activities in both MI and PI, and their technical capability mitigates the competitive threats from informal sectors and thus weakens the impact of informal competitors on the level of product and marketing innovations. Moreover, it is found that the improvement of institutional quality reduces formal firms’ urgency to introduce new products when facing informal competitors. However, this improvement strengthens the impact of informal rivalry on formal firms’ innovation in marketing methods.

Previous studies that investigate the influence of informal threats are focused on technological innovation (e.g., PI and process innovation) strategies, but little knowledge is provided on non-technological innovative strategies, such as marketing strategies (e.g., MI and organizational innovation). This study contributes to the innovation literature by delving into the circumstances under which PI and/or MI is adopted to counter informal rivals. The findings enrich ABV by investigating how inter-firm resource similarity and marketing commonality strengthen top managers' attention to competition from informal firms.

The purpose of this paper is to examine the impact of managerial perceptions of the competitive environment on shaping the way firms respond to their rivals in terms of speed, intensity, innovativeness and breadth of competitive responses.

The paper develops a research model based on current literature of competitive dynamics and then test this model in 174 firms selected from 22 manufacturing, trade and service sectors in Greece.

The results indicate that managerial perceptions regarding the competitive environment affect the competitive response behaviour of companies in terms of specific characteristics and thus can be used as predictors of responses to competitive actions. This is in line with recent research in competitive dynamics, arguing that managers decode cues of their competitive environment in terms of threats and opportunities and respond to them accordingly.

This study could benefit from a larger sample and replication in more countries. Moreover, more perceptional influences on competitive response characteristics should be examined in depth in future research with a view to enhancing awareness of competitive interactions.

Managers will develop a better understanding of factors influencing competitive response characteristics and will be able to better predict rivals' retaliation schemes when initiating competitive actions and foresee forthcoming industry changes.

Previous research in competitive dynamics is associated with measuring the impact of various measurable situational and environmental characteristics, such as industry growth and organizational age, in competitive response characteristics. It instead focus on the role of managerial interpretations of the competitive environment and how they affect the way they respond to a firm's competitors.

To achieve a full understanding of the role of marketing from plan to profit requires a knowledge of the basic building blocks. This textbook introduces the key concepts in the art or science of marketing to practising managers. Understanding your customers and consumers, the 4 Ps (Product, Place, Price and Promotion) provides the basic tools for effective marketing. Deploying your resources and informing your managerial decision making is dealt with in Unit VII introducing marketing intelligence, competition, budgeting and organisational issues. The logical conclusion of this effort is achieving sales and the particular techniques involved are explored in the final section.

The purpose of this paper is to attempt to develop a measure of competitive advantage by identifying a stipulative definition, composing an operational definition and constructing a measurement variable.

The paper undertakes critical literature review, cognitive interviews as well as a pilot and full study, which were carried out by applying a cross-sectional, self-administered e-mail survey with questionnaire in a fillable text-processing file, in order to develop a valid and reliable measure of competitive advantage.

The results have led to the identification of a conceptually robust stipulative definition, the composition of a comprehensive operational definition and the construction of a qualified variable, making the development of a valid and reliable measure of competitive advantage possible.

The newly developed measure of competitive advantage, exempt from past conceptual problems, could be used for valid measurements in future empirical studies in the field of strategic management. At the same time, authors encourage future tests of the newly developed measure's reliability and validity.

The provision of a conceptually clear stipulating definition and a comprehensive operational definition for competitive advantage could increase practicing managers’ awareness relating to the conceptual nature as well as the latent expressions of competitive advantage.

The findings contribute to the evolution of the strategic management field by providing a valid and reliable measure of competitive advantage that is applicable under any leading theoretical perspective in strategic management and it could better serve the needs of both empirical research and management practice.

The automotive industry in the European Union (EU) faces a sharply reduced regulatory environment, with Block Exemption (1400/2002). Economists have predicted fundamental changes in the market as a result of the modified Block Exemption. In this article, the aim is to investigate how the relationship between a car dealer and its main supplier (i.e. an OEM or its national representative), affects how the dealer perceives threats and opportunities in this more competitive environment.

Based on relationship marketing theory, propositions about antecedents and consequences of commitment to a supplier are formulated for the changing automotive market. Data were collected from 413 car dealerships in Belgium, The Netherlands and Finland, countries without domestic automobile brands.

Commitment to the main supplier is mainly driven by satisfaction and trust. The more car dealers are committed to their main supplier, the lower the threat they perceive from new intermediaries, and the lower their intention to expand their business beyond the current relationship. Commitment to their main suppliers also reinforces their confidence in the future. This confidence in the future spurs dealers' expansion plans within their current relationship.

Longitudinal research would allow better inferences about market evolution and causal sequences.

Satisfied and committed dealers seem reluctant to make radical changes in their relationships and marketing strategy, apparently being entrenched in traditional channel structures. The modified Block Exemption could increase the average size of dealerships, improve the competitive position of large dealers, accelerate consolidation in the automotive distribution sector, and decrease competition between traditional dealerships. Opportunities have been created by the modified Block Exemption for new entrants to capitalize on new market niches and customer categories. Multi‐brand dealers could use these opportunities to create a purchasing experience that differentiates them from the traditional dealers.

Contributing to scarce research on complex channel relationships within a captive distribution structure, this is the first empirical study of the European car industry in the context of the modified Block Exemption. It is also one of the few studies that takes the perspective of the dealership.

The purpose of this paper is to explain how an organization’s performance measurement system can influence the appropriateness of an organization’s responses to threats.

Inductive and deductive reasoning, drawing on major theories and on empirical findings in the management literature.

An organization’s performance measurement system can influence the effectiveness of the organization’s detections of threats and the appropriateness of the organization’s responses to threats and, in these ways, contribute to the organization’s robustness and sustainability.

Formation of an appropriate performance management system can prove critical to both detection of and responses to organizational threats. As such, an organizational performance management system can contribute to organizational robustness and sustainability.

The idea, that an organization’s performance measurement system can influence the effectiveness of the organization’s detections of threats and the appropriateness of the organization’s responses to threats, is not articulated in the management literature. Thus, the research reported here is original and would seem to have value to the research community, the organization design community (as an organization’s control systems are an important component of its architecture), and the management community.

Turbulent hypercompetitive market conditions make small and medium enterprises (SMEs) vulnerable to abrupt crises caused by unexpected competitor moves. In these situations, enterprise risk management (ERM) can serve as a dynamic capability (DC) to overcome the impending crisis and improve SMEs' survival rates. To explore this capacity, which has only been vaguely addressed in prior research, we conduct an exploratory, abductive study to update the extant (ERM and DC) literature with empirical evidence from expert interviews.

We conduct an exploratory, abductive study using empirical evidence from expert interviews.

Our findings reveal ERM as a second-order DC in the micro-foundational components of competitive intelligence gathering, alliance building and integrative capabilities. We find that competitive intensity and government policy moderate the effects of these foundational capabilities. Finally, our study proposes a survivability model that provides new valuable knowledge of ERM as a DC for SMEs to deal with competition-driven crises.

This research survivability model shows how ERM as DC can facilitate the survivability of SMEs against competitive surprises. Although restricted to crises arising out of competitive surprises, this study provides valuable knowledge to the literature on what type of DCs are useful for specific situations. The study findings not only extended Teece's (2007) DCs framework to competitive crises but also placed it within a hierarchy of capabilities. The research findings indicate that an ERM culture in SMEs promote the growth and development of sensing, seizing and reconfiguring capabilities, vital for tiding competitive crises.