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The purpose of this study to improve the efficiency of customer acquisition and retention through the design of salary information disclosure mechanism.

This study develops a stylized game-theoretic model of delegating customer acquisition and retention, focusing on how firms choose delegation and wage information disclosure strategy.

The results confirm the necessity for enterprises to disclose salary information. When sales agents are risk neutral, firms should choose multi-agent (MA) delegation and disclose their wages. However, when agents are risk averse, firms may disclose the wages of acquisition agents or both agents in MA delegation, depending on the uncertainty of the retention market.

This paper contributes to the literature on delegation of customer acquisition and retention and demonstrates that salary disclosure can be used as a supplement to the incentive mechanism.

Based on the perspective of knowledge management capability, this paper aims to reveal the internal mechanism of the digital empowerment of mobile social platforms to improve the operational performance of Chinese traditional retail enterprises. Such improvements have crucial theoretical value and practical implications for Chinese traditional retail enterprises to achieve transformation and sustainable development.

This study applied the typical analysis method, selected China’s leading mobile social platform, WeChat, as a typical case, and observed and analyzed the public data of the traditional retail industry and social platforms and interviews with relevant enterprises. On this basis, this study used the inductive and deductive methods of qualitative research to conduct an in-depth analysis of the mechanism by which WeChat’s digital empowerment improves the operational performance of Chinese traditional retail enterprises. It also discussed the critical role and path knowledge management capabilities play in this mechanism.

This research demonstrated that mobile social platforms empower Chinese traditional retail enterprises to build diversified digital channels, enhance the knowledge acquisition capability of enterprises and thus improve their performance; empower Chinese traditional retail enterprises to build digital community networks, enhance the knowledge diffusion capability of enterprises and thus improve their performance; and empower Chinese traditional retail enterprises to integrate online and offline businesses, enhance the knowledge integration capability of enterprises and thus improve their performance.

This study clarifies the internal mechanism of how the digital empowerment of mobile social platforms can improve the performance of Chinese traditional retail enterprises. This mechanism implies that knowledge management capabilities (knowledge acquisition, diffusion and integration capability) are the underlying logic for Chinese traditional retail enterprises to achieve higher performance levels. This has important practical implications for managers of Chinese traditional retail enterprises to leverage the digital infrastructure of mobile social platforms to achieve the sustainable development of enterprises.

This study provides an in-depth analysis of how the traditional retail industry uses digital social platforms to improve operational performance from the perspective of knowledge management capabilities, which can further promote the theoretical research and practical development of digitalization and knowledge management. At the same time, this study explored the research on the operational performance of Chinese traditional retail enterprises from the perspective of knowledge management capabilities and expanded the research on knowledge management in related fields. The authors have initially sorted out the impact of knowledge management capabilities on the operational performance of Chinese traditional retail enterprises in the digital era. This will help better understand the role and function of knowledge management in strategic transformation and expand the application of knowledge management theory.

After reading this case study, the students will be able to identify the various choices available in social e-commerce using network marketing, interpret data-driven decisions in social e-commerce and evaluate their role in scaling business, analyse cost and revenue management in value segments, evaluate technology adoption among the masses using appropriate communication structures and develop customer relationships and manage their sentiments in the era of social media.

DealShare became a unicorn in 2022 and targeted the rural and low-income groups. Based on a networking model for customer acquisition and a hyperlocal supply chain model, DealShare is increasing its customer base at a rapid pace. However, profitability was still a challenge, and converting high volume into high value continued to be a daunting task. This case study delves deep into the challenges co-founder Sourjyendu Medda and the DealShare team faced. It seeks to address key issues: how should DealShare leverage customer network for faster customer acquisition and how should they increase ticket size and profitability? As a data-driven business, what advantages does DealShare have in influencing customers’ buying behaviour using data? Dependence on social media could have a cascading effect on “word of mouth”. How can they manage customer complaints and increase engagement?

This case study has the potential to be used in different settings. In strategic cost management, this case study can demonstrate strategies for cost management in the value-conscious segment. This case study can be used in marketing management courses while teaching “positioning” in business-to-consumer markets and CRM. For second-year management students, this can be used in entrepreneurship and strategic management courses to demonstrate the network effect in social e-commerce start-up businesses. This case study is also relevant for various course modules in graduate management programmes to demonstrate the power of data-driven decision-making in business.

Teaching notes are available for educators only.

CSS 8: Marketing

The primary objective of this study is to explore consumers' non-adoption intentions towards meta-commerce (or metaverse retailing). Utilizing the Innovation Resistance Theory (IRT) as the theoretical foundation, this study investigates the impact of diverse barriers on non-adoption intentions within the meta-commerce context.

A total of 356 responses were gathered to test the proposed hypotheses. Structural Equation Modelling (SEM) with SmartPLS 4 software was used to examine these hypotheses.

The findings of this study show that perceived cyber risk, perceived regulatory uncertainty, perceived switching cost and perceived technical uncertainty are significantly linked to non-adoption intention towards meta-commerce. Furthermore, the study suggests that the moderating influence of technostress on these connections is more pronounced for consumers with high technostress compared to those with low technostress.

This study makes a significant contribution to the current body of literature by providing valuable insights into the fundamental barriers that consumers encounter when contemplating the adoption of meta-commerce. This contribution is particularly noteworthy as it fills a gap in the existing literature, as no prior study has comprehensively examined the primary obstacles that shape consumer intentions towards meta-commerce adoption. This novel perspective offers scholars, businesses and policymakers a foundation for developing strategies to address these barriers effectively.

Studies have shown that customer orientation has a substantial impact on a business's success. This study examines the effects of positive personality on salespeople's proactive customer orientation (PCO) and responsive customer orientation (RCO) by incorporating the effects of job enthusiasm and transformational leadership.

A questionnaire survey is conducted. A total of 511 questionnaires are received from Taiwan's life insurance salespeople. Partial least squares (PLS) regression is used to test the hypotheses.

The results show that positive personality influences PCO and RCO both directly and indirectly through job enthusiasm. The effect of transformational leadership is also found to be significant. Financial service companies should be concerned about the important role of positive personality and transformational leadership in promoting job enthusiasm, PCO and RCO among salespeople.

Previous studies mostly focused on the direct relationship between customer orientation and organizational outcomes, neglecting the role of individual personality. This gap leaves us wondering how a positive personality influences a salesperson's proactive and responsive customer orientation. To the authors' knowledge, this is the first study to examine the mechanisms of a positive personality, job enthusiasm, and transformational leadership on salespeople's PCO and RCO.

This study aims to identify and assess the key ethical challenges associated with integrating artificial intelligence (AI) in knowledge-sharing (KS) practices and their implications for decision-making (DM) processes within organisations.

The study employs a mixed-methods approach, beginning with a comprehensive literature review to extract background information on AI and KS and to identify potential ethical challenges. Subsequently, a confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) is conducted using data collected from individuals employed in business settings to validate the challenges identified in the literature and assess their impact on DM processes.

The findings reveal that challenges related to privacy and data protection, bias and fairness and transparency and explainability are particularly significant in DM. Moreover, challenges related to accountability and responsibility and the impact of AI on employment also show relatively high coefficients, highlighting their importance in the DM process. In contrast, challenges such as intellectual property and ownership, algorithmic manipulation and global governance and regulation are found to be less central to the DM process.

This research contributes to the ongoing discourse on the ethical challenges of AI in knowledge management (KM) and DM within organisations. By providing insights and recommendations for researchers, managers and policymakers, the study emphasises the need for a holistic and collaborative approach to harness the benefits of AI technologies whilst mitigating their associated risks.

After completion of the case study, students will learn to use Lean Canvas to identify business opportunity. They will also learn the balancing of exploitation of profit-producing activities and exploring new opportunities according to the environmental dynamism.

WONK, a tutor discovery and booking app was launched by MyEdge in 2016 to search and book verified tutors in locations served by the company. Based on their requirements, parents and students could sort and book verified tutors in their area. Through the app, users could search for academic and hobby classes in the form of individual tuitions. The ease of use and the service offering made it a popular app with students enrolling every 6 min. Within a span of six years, WONK had provided services to thousands of students in 20+ countries and had 200,000+ tutors registered on their app from 15,000+ pin codes. Despite a plethora of Edtech companies in India, a different business model and services offered gave them an edge over other Edtech companies. To keep up with the customer needs, they were constantly making the upgrades to their technology and expanding their services. Vidhu Goyal, the founder of the company, was enjoying the progress when another development in the technology hit the world. With the launch of applications based on artificial intelligence, will it disrupt the business or not?

The case study is recommended to be taught in a 90-min class to Master of Business Administration students. The case study may be used in courses related to strategy, information systems management and entrepreneurship.

Teaching notes are available for educators only.

CSS 11: Strategy.

While existing literature extensively explores manufacturing firms expanding into services, little is known about the modes of servitisation, the means by which they carry it out. This paper concentrates on acquisitions as a mode of servitisation. Post-acquisition integration is when the potential of an acquisition is realised. The paper therefore aims to categorise types of integrations following the acquisition of servitised firms and discusses their consequences for servitisation.

The empirical part of the paper is based on two case studies, each involving the acquisition of servitised firms. Both acquirers changed their integration approach over time.

The paper conceptualises three types of integrations: rhetorical, insulated and transformative integrations, indicating whether and how the acquirer becomes servitised following the integration. These highlight the analysis of integration based on business models and customer orientation in relation to servitisation.

This paper contributes to research on servitisation by emphasising acquisitions as a mode of servitisation and conceptualising three integration types related to business models and customer orientations. Furthermore, the paper highlights how an acquirer's servitisation leads to new offerings targeting new customers, as opposed to strengthening existing relationships.

This study develops an empirical framework to address how large third-party sellers (TPSs) can apply customer acquisition strategies to improve their performance in consumers’ person-goods matching process and how the platform firm’s similar strategies moderate the effects of TPSs’ strategies.

Using data collected from the top ten TPSs from a Chinese e-commerce platform, the fixed effect model is used to validate the conceptual model and hypotheses.

The study results show that both market detection strategy and matching optimization strategy can help large TPSs improve their sales performance. Moreover, the similar market detection strategy applied by the platform firm weakens the effect of large TPSs’ customer acquisition strategies, while the similar matching optimization strategy applied by the platform firm strengthens the effect of large TPSs’ customer acquisition strategies.

This study provides firsthand evidence on the performance of large TPSs’ and the platform firm’s strategies. It demonstrates the effectiveness of large TPSs’ market detection strategy and matching optimization strategy, which can be adopted to meet consumers’ search and evaluation motivations in their person-goods matching process respectively. Moreover, it identifies the role of platform firms by showing the moderating effect of similar strategies adopted by the platform firm on the effect of large TPSs’ customer acquisition strategies.

This study aims to investigate the conflicting views in supply chain and strategic management literature regarding cooperative supply chain relationships (CSCR) and firm performance. Supply chain literature suggests a universally positive impact of CSCR on performance, irrespective of a firm’s strategy. In contrast, strategic management literature contends that the effectiveness of CSCR depends on their alignment with the firm’s competitive strategy. The research aims to clarify this disparity, offering insights into the strategic use of CSCR for enhancing firm performance.

This paper theorizes the integration of perspectives for the impact of CSCR on firm performance by examining the relationships considering the alignment of cost leadership and product differentiation strategies with supplier and customer relationships. Plant-level survey data is analyzed using regression techniques to test four hypotheses.

All four main relationships (cost leadership, product differentiation, supplier relationship and customer relationship) on firm performance are statistically significant. However, cost leadership firms are better aligned to their chosen strategy when they have strong relationships with suppliers, whereas similar relationships with customers create misalignment, negatively influencing firm performance. In contrast, product differentiators benefit by investing in relationships with customers rather than with suppliers.

A firm’s performance does not solely depend on its CSCR efforts but on aligning them with the firm’s overall strategy. Therefore, managers need to be cognizant of the firm’s competitive strategy when investing in CSCR. Failing to do so could negatively impact firm performance and, eventually, its ability to compete in the marketplace.

Scholars have advocated for the importance of examining competing perspectives of phenomena, both within and across various bodies of literature, as cross-disciplinary analysis often brings enhanced focus and depth, leading to improved understanding. This research is one of the initial efforts to empirically analyze the varying perspectives on CSCR in supply chain and strategic management literature. This cross-disciplinary approach can yield a more integrated perspective.