Search results
1 – 10 of over 78000Svante Andersson, Gabriel Baffour Awuah, Ulf Aagerup and Ingemar Wictor
This study aims to investigate how mature born global firms create value for customers to achieve continued international growth.
Abstract
Purpose
This study aims to investigate how mature born global firms create value for customers to achieve continued international growth.
Design/methodology/approach
The study employs a case study approach to investigate the under-researched area of how mature born globals create value for customers and, by doing so, contribute to their continued international growth. This in-depth examination of how three born globals developed over time uses interviews, observation and secondary data.
Findings
The findings indicate that the entrepreneurs of born global firms, that continued to grow, created a culture in the early stages that supported value creation for foreign customers. These firms have built a competitive position by developing international niche products. They have also implemented a combination of proactive and reactive market orientation to facilitate the creation and delivery of value to customers. To maintain growth, they further invest the revenues earned on additional international marketing activities and continuously enhance their focal products.
Research limitations/implications
The study relies on three cases. We therefore recommend that future studies extend the scope of the research to several companies in various industries and countries, in which the theoretical arguments can be applied. In addition, further studies that test the propositions developed in this study, in different contexts, are highly recommended.
Practical implications
To gain international growth, managers should create an organizational culture that facilitates satisfying international customer needs. Firms should continuously invest in sales and market development (e.g. social media marketing, personal selling) and undertake technology development of niche rather than new products. To achieve international growth, managers need to standardize part of the offer to achieve economies of scale and adapt the other part to international customers' needs.
Originality/value
Research on born globals has focused on the early stages of their internationalization processes, while largely neglecting the later stages (mature born globals) or the factors that lead to continued international growth. To address this gap, this study explores what happens when born globals ‘grow up’. This study contributes to the literature by capturing the factors and processes underlying how mature born globals create value for customers, for international growth. In particular, the study shows that the culture and strategies developed in the born globals' early stages also lead to international growth in later stages. The mature born globals have also invested in niche products, brand building, and effective market channels and adopted a combination of proactive and reactive market orientations.
Details
Keywords
Jiawen Chen, Linlin Liu and Yong Wang
This study investigates business model innovation in small- and medium-sized manufacturing enterprises (SMEs) and its impact on firm growth.
Abstract
Purpose
This study investigates business model innovation in small- and medium-sized manufacturing enterprises (SMEs) and its impact on firm growth.
Design/methodology/approach
The study was based on analyzing data collected through a questionnaire survey. Structural equation modeling was applied to test the hypotheses.
Findings
Business model innovation has a positive effect on SME growth in the manufacturing sectors. Moreover, growth is also achieved through the indirect effect of business model innovation on customer trust and commitment.
Practical implications
Managers will benefit from understanding how business model innovation can help their companies to overcome resource constraints and achieve sustained growth. When manufacturing SMEs engage in modular or structural changes to their business model, they may find it worthwhile to focus on maintaining a relationship of trust and commitment with their customers.
Originality/value
This study highlights business model innovation as a unique and important, yet underexplored, factor in manufacturing SME growth. The findings also untangle the complex processes of customer relationship management by which business model innovation improves manufacturing competitive advantage for SMEs.
Details
Keywords
The purpose of this article is to present a method to help management teams and sales leaders evaluate opportunities and risks in business‐to‐business relationships from an…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this article is to present a method to help management teams and sales leaders evaluate opportunities and risks in business‐to‐business relationships from an outside‐in perspective.
Design/methodology/approach
The approach derives from practical work with companies over the past ten years and has been validated by five benchmarking consortia held by Columbia Business School (New York) and the University of St Gallen (Switzerland), in cooperation with approximately 30 large‐scale enterprises from the USA, Asia, and Europe.
Findings
An increasing share of wallet follows an S‐shaped curve, such that for high and low performing companies, increasing the quality of the customer relationship usually leads to only marginal growth. In contrast, companies situated in the area around the steepest part of the slope are the best growth candidates that promise the potential for exceptional gains. The paper refers to this area as the “booster zone”.
Originality/value
Investing in business‐to‐business (B2B) relationships located in the so‐called “booster zone” drives above‐average growth. Mapping customer relationships properly offers also a valuable early‐warning function and complements widely used, past‐oriented performance indicators effectively.
Details
Keywords
The aim of this paper is to propose a consistent framework that allows the brand manager to detect innovation/growth opportunities and risks.
Abstract
Purpose
The aim of this paper is to propose a consistent framework that allows the brand manager to detect innovation/growth opportunities and risks.
Design/methodology/approach
The paper is based on an extensive theoretical study of innovation and growth approaches combined with analysis of cases (Dell and Red Bull) and many practical examples. The different approaches are compared at three levels: the customer value, the process and customer segment level. It also uses principles of the logical brand management model, proposed in a JPBM (2004) article as a benchmark.
Findings
The paper shows that many frameworks still focus too much on the firm's perspective instead of the customer perspective. An approach is proposed in which growth and innovation starts from the customer value. It allows to detect potential opportunities and risks at a very detailed level.
Research limitations/implications
The growth and innovation model proposed may be used in a business‐ to‐consumer and a business‐ to‐business context (as illustrated with the cases and examples).
Practical implications
Continuous adjustment of the customer value, by manipulating importance and satisfaction rates of different brand drivers leads to a continuous redefinition of contextual segments. In an effort to keep current customer segments and to attract new ones a balance must be sought continuously when adjusting the brand drivers. This kind of audit may also be perceived as a risk management approach for brand managers who want to evaluate innovation and growth options.
Originality/value
This paper “integrates” many innovation and growth approaches into “one” consistent approach.
Details
Keywords
Matt Symonds, Tim Wright and John Ott
Banks have worked hard to improve their bottom‐line performance by focusing relentlessly on cutting costs. The effort made banks leaner, but essential as those efficiency gains…
Abstract
Purpose
Banks have worked hard to improve their bottom‐line performance by focusing relentlessly on cutting costs. The effort made banks leaner, but essential as those efficiency gains have been, they did little to reduce costly customer defections. This article demonstrates that banks' long‐term growth and profitability hinge on their ability to attract and retain loyal customers and describes the key disciplines they need to master to become customer‐led organizations.
Design/methodology/approach
The article is based on the results of a global benchmarking survey of senior executives and customers at 30 major retail banks serving 170 million clients in 15 countries to ascertain what factors they saw to be most important to the success of strategies to promote organic revenue and profit growth.
Findings
The study revealed that the best‐performing banks garner the highest marks across the entire spectrum of managing the customer relationship. On average, banks that excel across all dimensions of acquiring and retaining loyal customers outgrow their peers and boost their return on equity.
Originality/value
Putting customer loyalty at the heart of their growth efforts requires banks to nurture the faithful core of their customer base and hone their skills for spotting and attracting the right new customers. The article describes how banks can design the right propositions by identifying target segments and crafting experiences to delight them, deliver on these promises by focusing the entire company on them, and use customer metrics to refine their products and services and develop organizational capabilities to delight customers again and again.
Details
Keywords
Vassilios P. Valsamakis and Linda G. Sprague
This work is focused on small‐ to medium‐sized manufacturers (SMMs) within supply chains and, in particular, on how such SMMs develop effective working relationships with…
Abstract
This work is focused on small‐ to medium‐sized manufacturers (SMMs) within supply chains and, in particular, on how such SMMs develop effective working relationships with customers. Development of a model based on the literature was followed by a mail survey, augmented by semi‐structured interviews with SMMs. Factor analysis and multiple regression analysis were used to provide an understanding of the underlying processes.
Details
Keywords
Sara Quach, Felix Septianto, Park Thaichon and Billy Sung
This research examines the effect of team diversity on customer behavior (purchase likelihood) associated with sustainable luxury products and further considers the mediating role…
Abstract
Purpose
This research examines the effect of team diversity on customer behavior (purchase likelihood) associated with sustainable luxury products and further considers the mediating role of customer skepticism and the moderating role of the growth mindset in these relationships.
Design/methodology/approach
Study 1 aims to confirm the direct effect of team diversity on purchase intention and the mediating effect of customer skepticism. Featuring a fictitious brand, Study 2 seeks to test the moderating effects of a growth mindset. This research recruits participants located in the USA who have shopping experiences with a luxury product.
Findings
The findings support the notion that team diversity can mitigate customers' skepticism while enhancing purchase likelihood. Moreover, this effect is stronger among those with a growth mindset. As such, the findings suggest that communicating the heterogeneous composition of team members can benefit sustainable luxury brands.
Originality/value
Underpinned by the signaling theory and incremental theory, this research examines the effects of team diversity on customer behavior (purchase likelihood) related to sustainable luxury products, as well as the role of customer skepticism (as a mediator) and a growth mindset (as a moderator) in these relationships. Thus, the findings broaden the current diversity research which has predominantly focused on team decision-making and performance.
Details
Keywords
Suhaib Ahmed Soomro, Serife Zihni Eyupoglu and Fayaz Ali
The paper aims to explore the relationship between customer mindsets and customer citizenship behavior. This study used the cognitive-affective-behavioral model to examine how…
Abstract
Purpose
The paper aims to explore the relationship between customer mindsets and customer citizenship behavior. This study used the cognitive-affective-behavioral model to examine how customer mindsets relate to customer citizenship behavior. In addition, it investigated the mediating effect of customer brand engagement and moderating role of brand trust.
Design/methodology/approach
The study used a self-administered online survey from 412 respondents using cellular mobile operating brands. Partial least square structural equation modeling was used to analyze the collected data.
Findings
The results revealed that growth-mindset customers directly and significantly influence customer citizenship behavior. The impact of a fixed mindset on customer citizenship behavior is indirect through customer brand engagement. The moderating findings revealed that the effect of brand trust on the relationship between customer brand engagement and customer citizenship behavior is higher than that between the fixed mindset and customer brand engagement.
Practical implications
The findings provide valuable insights for marketing and brand managers to design marketing campaigns considering different mindsets to generate customer citizenship behavior among customers.
Originality/value
This study provides new avenues in consumer psychology and behavior by unfolding the underlying mechanism through which mindsets lead to customer citizenship behavior, contributing to existing knowledge by extending the cognitive-affective-behavioral model.
Details
Keywords
Birgit Leisen Pollack and Aliosha Alexandrov
The purpose of this study is twofold. First, it aims to provide a review of the Net Promoter© Index (NPI), the evidence of its ability to predict financial performance, and the…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this study is twofold. First, it aims to provide a review of the Net Promoter© Index (NPI), the evidence of its ability to predict financial performance, and the evidence of its superiority to other voice of customer metrics. Second, it seeks to investigate the nomological validity of the Net Promoter question. It aims to view the NP question as an alternative to the traditional word-of-mouth measure, which is one of the components of customer loyalty. The nomological validity of NP was evaluated in a model including customer satisfaction as an antecedent and repurchase intention as a consequence.
Design/methodology/approach
The data for empirically addressing a set of hypotheses related to the nomological validity were collected via self-administered questionnaire. A total of 159 participants completed questions for banking services, 153 individuals completed questions for hairdresser/barber services, and 132 completed questions for cell phone services. The hypotheses were tested using partial least square analysis.
Findings
The results provide evidence for the nomological validity of the NPI question; albeit, the traditional word-of-mouth measure seems to perform equally as well or even better.
Practical implications
A set of pros and cons related to NPI are developed. The paper recommends including the NPI in a portfolio of voice of customer metrics but not as a standalone diagnostic tool. Further, given the present state of evidence, it cannot be recommended to use the NPI as a predictor of growth nor financial performance.
Originality/value
The paper provides further insights into the validity of the Net Promoter Index as a measure of customer loyalty.
Details
Keywords
Carol J. Emerson and Curtis M. Grimm
Investigates the moderating effect of firm and environmental variables on the importance of a strategic element, customer service, in explaining satisfaction. The purpose of this…
Abstract
Investigates the moderating effect of firm and environmental variables on the importance of a strategic element, customer service, in explaining satisfaction. The purpose of this paper is twofold. Explores first, the direct impact of certain firm and environmental variables on satisfaction. Next, investigates the quasi‐moderating effects of firm and environmental variables on the relationship between customer service and satisfaction. Indicates that product line growth rate and supplier flexibility contribute to customer satisfaction both directly and through an interaction with customer service. Suggests that the remaining environmental variables tested – channel configuration, reseller size, rivalry, and reseller power – do not affect the amount of customer service provided.
Details