Search results

This study aims to capture how the association between a multichannel relational communication strategy (MRCS) and customer performance is contingent upon such customer performance (low- versus high-performance customers) and to reconcile past contradictory results in this marketing-related topic. To this end, the authors propose and validate the method of quantile regression as an unconventional, yet effective, means to proceed to that reconciliation.

This study collected data from 4,934 customers of a private pension fund firm and accounted for both firm- and customer-initiated relational communication channels (RCCs) and for customer lifetime value (CLV). This study estimated a generalized linear model and then a quantile regression model was used to account for customer performance heterogeneity.

This study finds that specific RCCs present different levels of association with performance for low- versus high-performance customers, where outcome customer performance is the dependent variable. For example, the relation between firm-initiated communication (FIC) and performance is stronger for low-CLV customers, whereas the relation between customer-initiated communication (CIC) and performance is increasingly stronger for high-CLV customers but not for low-CLV ones. This study also finds that combining different forms of FIC can result in a negative association with customer performance, especially for low-CLV customers.

The authors tested the conceptual model in one single firm in the specific context of financial services and with cross-sectional data, so there should be caution when extrapolating this study’s findings.

This study offers nuanced and precise managerial insights on recommended resource allocation along with relational communication efforts, showing how managers can benefit from adopting a differentiated-customer performance approach when designing their MRCS.

This study provides an overview of the state of the art of MRCS, proposes a contingency analysis of the relationship between MRCS and performance based on customer performance heterogeneity and suggests the quantile method to perform such analysis and help reconcile past contradictory findings. This study shows how the association between RCCs and CLV varies across the conditional quantiles of the distribution of customer performance. This study also addresses a recent call for a more holistic perspective on the relationships between independent and dependent variables.

This paper aims to study the positive impact of functional conflict and conflict management in improving supplier–reseller relationship performance in multi-channel setting (reseller together with supplier’s sales reps). The authors develop four hypotheses, including direct and mediated effects, about conflict management, conflict and the impact on channel performance.

The authors’ sample of suppliers in the information and communication technology (ICT) industry in Brazil consists of an interesting setting of multi-channel distribution, as suppliers deal with sales reps in combination with reseller channels to offer products to customers. The sample is representative of the industry, including more than 60 per cent of the ICT suppliers. The model was tested with partial least squares in the context of ICT industry in Brazil.

The empirical test shows that although an increase in functional conflict improves channel performance (direct effect), an excessive increase may amplify the dysfunctional conflict, thereby damaging channel performance (indirect effect). The negative interplay between the two natures of conflicts is counterbalanced with conflict management. Results show that conflict management improves channel performance by decreasing the harmful effects of dysfunctional conflict. This paper contributes to the theory by deepening our understanding of conflict, a critical challenge underlying supplier–reseller relationships in marketing channels. For managers, this research clarifies the importance of considering and managing conflict of different nature in the context of multi-marketing channels.

The contribution of the authors’ study is twofold. First, they develop an integrative mediating model with key constructs of multi-channels’ conflict and channel performance. They incorporate the causal relationships between functional and dysfunctional conflict, conflict management and channel performance into a single conceptual framework. This integrative mediating model to the best of their knowledge has not been developed before. Second, they provide managers with a broad understanding of conflict management implications to supplier’s multi-channel strategy, and how functional conflict can actually be beneficial for channel performance.

As manufacturers and retailers aim to increase return on marketing investments, value- vs experience-related trade promotions gain attention. These two trade promotions become complicated in the presence of different retail format strategies (generalist vs specialist) and channel structures (direct to retailer vs distributors). Building on trade promotion literature, this study aims to show the main effect of value-related and experience-related trade promotions on retailers’ sales and the moderating role of different retail strategies and channel structures.

The authors use unique panel data from 8 personal care brands with 1,920 observations to test the hypotheses. The authors investigate how consumer goods manufacturer sells products using different channels structures and retail strategies. Estimated panel regressions provide the empirical evidence and robustness analyzes provide extra confidence to the findings.

Results reveal higher retail sales when the manufacturer invests in value-related trade promotions rather than experience-related trade promotions. The results also demonstrate how the manufacturer successfully invests in trade promotion by adequately accounting for channel structure and retail strategy. While temporary price reduction’s positive effect on retail sales is enhanced in generalist retailers (e.g. supermarket stores), shelf display’s positive impact is enhanced in specialist retailers (drug stores).

The authors used unique panel data accounting for 15 months, limiting the findings. The results supported the investment allocation decisions in each period. However, future research may evaluate the effectiveness over a longer period and thoroughly address each investment’s seasonal effects.

The authors unveil how retailers achieve higher sales with value-related trade promotions when compared to experience-related trade promotions. The authors also shed light on the way manufacturers design their relationships with generalist and specialist retailers by working in direct and indirect channels. Trade promotions yield better results when the direct channel structure couples with a retailer’s generalist strategy.

The empirical findings help manufacturers achieve success in trade promotions by developing an equitable evaluation to contrast value- and experience-related promotions accounting for generalist and specialist retail strategies and direct and indirect channels.

The purpose of this paper is to identify factors influencing firm adoption of internet banking services (IBS). While previous literature has primarily focused on the individual consumers’ adoption, we aim to shed light on the adoption of online banking by firms. We investigate the propensity and speed of IBS adoption and offer recommendations to providers of IBS and firm users.

To attain the above purpose a conceptual model was based on research about IBS adoption in the firm context that derives primarily from technology acceptance model and diffusion of innovation. We use data from 5,002 firms located in 239 counties, encompassing 52.1% of firms users of IBS of a financial service provider and 47.9% of non-user firms. All sampled firms received an offer to adopt IBS from the financial service provider. Such unique data set was analyzed using logistic regression to assess propensity and a survival analysis model to assess IBS adoption speed.

Results revealed that firms, with high propensity to adopt IBS, operate with a diverse management board, are large and young, and compete with a large number of firm users. The survival model showed that the diverse composition of management board also speeds up IBS adoption.

Several implications are drawn from our findings. For instance, managers in firms adopting IBS should invest in recruiting and retaining a diverse set of board members (e.g. internal and external with full decision power), which allows for thorough assessment of pros and cons of any relevant decision to be made. We also highlight implications for managers in financial service providers (e.g. Bank) that offer IBS to automate the relationship with customer firms. Managers should consider our study as a template for the selection criteria of firms that are likely to accept the IBS offer.

This is one of few empirical studies to investigate the adoption of IBS in a firm context. Previous studies focused on the individual consumer adoption of IBS. We show that adopting diverse set of board management, growing in size, young firms and facing the competitive environment positively influence firm´s propensity to adopt IBS. We also analyze the time spent by firms from the IBS offering to the adoption, which shows that management decision context play a key role in adoption speed. Our research contributions add to the scarce ongoing discussion about firm´s adoption of IBS.

The recent interest in and increasing demand for healthy, social and environmentally sustainable products, particularly in developed countries, have fostered the presence of organic coffee supermarket shelves of such countries. Proposes two models of B2B relationships for the Brazilian supply of organic coffee to international markets, more specifically, The Netherlands. For this proposition, compares two possible organizations of the supply chain wherein B2B relationships are based not only on contracts but more importantly on the informal safeguards of mutual trust, long‐term orientation and joint actions. For the two proposed chains, a cross‐border integrator is included to support the coordination of the business relationship. Emphasis is placed on coordination to increase overall efficiency of the supply chain through reduction of internal and transaction costs.

It is the aim of this paper to discuss the value of trust and the effects of transaction specific investments for the relative degree of collaborative joint efforts, and also to assess the moderating effect of the information network on such joint efforts.

The paper takes the perspective of the buyer making the joint effort decision and draws on transaction cost economics, relational exchange and network perspectives to develop the hypotheses of the conceptual framework. Wholesalers and other merchant‐distributors in the Dutch flower industry provided the data to test the hypotheses.

The results show the importance of trust in coordinating the joint efforts and the joint effort response in terms of safeguarding and better integrating the transaction specific investments.

While the information network does not moderate the relation between trust and joint efforts, there is a significant moderating effect of the network on the relation between transaction specific investments and joint effort. This result suggests that buyers temper their specific investments to the degree of joint effort according to the information that is obtained in the network. This implies that coordinating collaborative joint efforts with suppliers is more than just buying well. The degrees of trust, specific investments and the information from the network have managerial implications for the coordination of a buyer‐supplier relationship.

This study aims to assess the moderating effect of the business network on the effects of between relational behavior and the effects of transaction‐specific investments on joint actions.

The study was a survey based field study designed using theoretical support from marketing channels, transaction cost economics and network perspectives.

The results show the importance of relational behavior and the network in coordinating joint actions, and this has relevant managerial implications for the coordination of a collaborative relationship. The characteristics of the relationship, its length as well as the size of each partner affect the collaborative efforts of the partners.

Firms and managers should understand not only the dyadic relationships they are in but also the network structure. Dyadic characteristics affect collaboration, while the network also has effects on the collaboration of partners in vulnerable positions.

The paper points out the role of the network as a countervailing safeguard for dyadic TSIs and network stability. Dyadic relationships are supported by the network.

We present a critical literature review debating Brazilian research on social and environmental accounting (SEA). The aim of this study is to understand the role of politics in the construction of hegemonies in SEA research in Brazil. In particular, we examine the role of hegemony in relation to the co-option of SEA literature and sustainability in the Brazilian context by the logic of development for economic growth in emerging economies. The methodological approach adopts a post-structural perspective that reflects Laclau and Mouffe’s discourse theory. The study employs a hermeneutical, rhetorical approach to understand and classify 352 Brazilian research articles on SEA. We employ Brown and Fraser’s (2006) categorizations of SEA literature to help in our analysis: the business case, the stakeholder–accountability approach, and the critical case. We argue that the business case is prominent in Brazilian studies. Second-stage analysis suggests that the major themes under discussion include measurement, consulting, and descriptive approach. We argue that these themes illustrate the degree of influence of the hegemonic politics relevant to emerging economics, as these themes predominantly concern economic growth and a capitalist context. This paper discusses trends and practices in the Brazilian literature on SEA and argues that the focus means that SEA avoids critical debates of the role of capitalist logics in an emerging economy concerning sustainability. We urge the Brazilian academy to understand the implications of its reifying agenda and engage, counter-hegemonically, in a social and political agenda beyond the hegemonic support of a particular set of capitalist interests.

The purpose of this paper is to extend the previous regulatory focus and sales force control literature suggesting that organizational control system not only moderates but also mediates the interactive effect of the assessment × locomotion on salesperson ambidextrous behavior. Organizational control system, which has behavior and outcome dimensions, moderates the effects of employee regulatory focus on their ambidextrous behavior, sales performance, and satisfaction.

The authors conducted a survey with 163 bank frontline employees (FLEs) who sell financial products to final consumers. Each respondent was approached by a professional interviewer who presented the questionnaire and collected the answers. These respondents are FLEs, who are the ones that sell financial services and are responsible for post-sales services, such as answering customer questions and account problems. In the sample, FLEs are the primary source of revenue generation and services activities (ambidextrous features) in banking sector, similar to Bailey et al. (2016).

First, the moderating and mediation analysis showed that the interactive effect of both regulatory focus, locomotion and assessment, predicts FLE ambidextrous behavior. Second, this interaction effect suffers a three-way interaction under organizational control system. Third, organizational control system also moderates the impact of ambidextrous behavior on performance, such that outcome-based control system amplifies the relationship. Fourth, the authors found a conditional indirect effect, in such ambidextrous behavior, mediates the indirect effect of control system on sales performance, generating stronger (vs weaker) results under an outcome-based control system (vs behavior-based control system).

Since this study adopts the cross-sectional research design, the authors could not empirically demonstrate the causality of the relationships among constructs. The authors also analyzed the organizational control system from the FLEs perspective and not from the supervisors/managers perspective, who daily control employees activities.

The authors propose a conditioning indirect mediating impact of control system on performance and consumer satisfaction through ambidextrous behavior and explore the regulatory focus-ambidexterity-performance moderating chain, theorizing that this sequence depends on the level of control system.

This paper aims to examine the direct and indirect effects of the use of electronic markets (e‐markets), access to online data and trading partner collaboration on operational performance.

This study involved survey data from 233 Australian firms. Data were provided by members of the Chartered Institute of Purchasing and Supply Australia, who reflected upon relevant practices and performances of their firms. Structural equation modeling was used to analyze the data.

The results show that whilst all three direct effects are non‐significant, when the indirect effects are taken into account, the total effects are significant in strength. This suggests that use of e‐markets, access to online data and collaboration with trading partners, when taken in isolation, are not as effective as could be expected. However, when these factors are implemented together, their value and impact becomes significant.

The study is limited to Australian firms.

The results highlight that investments in information and communication technology must be deployed in an holistic manner, for example, by combining use of web‐based applications and market mechanisms with effective data sharing and collaboration, if they are to produce significant improvements in operations.

While e‐markets may have been viewed as a mechanism for reducing the costs of inputs and/or as a new demand channel, this study establishes that more value can be extracted when this technology is viewed and exploited in a more strategic manner. E‐markets should be used in concert with access to data and collaboration with trading partners who are able to exploit the opportunities for mutual benefit.