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Using the resource‐based view, a study was conducted to identify resources required to successfully compete in the Malaysian housing development industry. Data was collected using postal questionnaires and interviews. From the statistical tests done on the data, it was found that variation in certain firm characteristics influenced the value the respondents attached to certain resources. In addition, the more housing segments the developers operated, the more emphasis are given to organisational strategy and policies. There is an inverted‐U relationship between product diversification and trade secrets and innovation, with the maximum value at four housing segments. The housing developers that practise strategic management emphasised significantly more on management expertise and experience than those that did not. No variation in the value attached to resources was found when the other two firm characteristics, i.e. legal status and geographical diversification, were examined. Given the small number of companies that participated in the study, the results should be treated with circumspect. What the study provided though are grounds for more in‐depth study to be conducted.

Teams have become increasingly popular in firms of all sizes and industries. Managers believe that teams often provide better outcomes than individuals. Firms can hire such talent or develop it. This study explored whether team training, team experience, mentoring, participation in team sports, and collectivism/individualism orientations were correlated with team knowledge, skills, and abilities (KSAs) in problem solving, communication, conflict resolution, goal setting and planning. The most consistent finding was that those with mentors were more likely to be high on all team KSAs. Employees whose teams had been together longer and those in large firms were more likely to report strong team skills. Those with training in conflict resolution and team skills reported higher conflict resolution, goal setting, and planning skills. Implications of these findings for managers are provided.

The purpose of this paper is to provide a unique overview of business-to-business (B2B) companies engagement with and strategic approach to use of social media in brand building. This research complements the much more extensive knowledge base regarding social media use in business-to-consumer (B2C) contexts.

Since social media marketing is a relatively new activity for B2B companies an interpretivist stance that is inductive in nature is adopted. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with marketing professionals involved in managing social media programmes in France, Ireland, the UK and the USA.

The study found that the level of enagement with social media marketing varied, as summarised in the B2B Social Media Engagement Taxonomy. Enhancing brand image, extending brand awareness and facilitating customer engagement were the most common social media objectives. There was no evidence to suggest that companies saw social media as heralding a paradigm shift in brand management and control of the kind discussed and experienced in B2C social media contexts. The B2B social media strategy framework is proposed; this identifies the following six components of a social media strategy: monitoring and listening, empowering and enagaging employees, creating compelling content, stimulating electronic word of mouth, evaluating and selecting channels, and enhacning brand presence through integrating social media.

The research contributes to the knowledge base associated with social media marketing by offering insights into and a framework summarising B2B social media strategy.

Innovation is the secret to competitive advantage in today's rapidly changing environment, but how does a company ensure an innovative environment? Is innovation all in the process, or does organizational culture play a role?

The purpose of this paper is to explore relationships between corporate governance characteristics and strategic management accounting (SMA). The relationships provide insight into a debatable issue of whether corporate governance characteristics affect applications of SMA in Thailand. SMA is supporting tools for an organization to effectively execute its management strategies aiming for business success.

This study analyzes primary data from survey and corporate governance data from year 2011 to 2013 of companies listed on the Stock Exchange of Thailand.

Results show that corporate governance characteristics significantly affect SMA in two aspects, namely, participation and usage. This study finds some results that, on the one hand, separation of CEO’s role and chairmanship, size of independent board, and frequency of audit committee meetings positively affect both participation and usage. On the other hand, an independent chairman and board size negatively affect both participation and usage.

Findings confirm framework of enterprise governance issued by the International Federation of Accountants that not only does corporate governance provides assurance control, but it also provides strategic governance through behavioral applications of SMA tools and supports.

In this study we investigated the effects of news reports on acquirer short-term performance. Our focus was on the extent to which key deal characteristics – the type of deal, during a merger wave or not or the presence of a significant premium – are made explicit. Moreover, we looked for the effect of the assessment of the deal characteristics by different key informants: board members, top management team members, and analysts. Configurations derived using the set-theoretic approach suggest that media-transmitted signals form complex interrelations among content and informant. We found that investors react positively to deals that are surrounded by unequivocal signals of synergy potential: they contain explicitly stated deal characteristics as well as deal endorsements from the boards and/or top management of acquirer and target companies. Analysts’ assessments of the deals seem to bear little influence on investor reaction. Meanwhile, investors react negatively to deals with low or absent media coverage as well as deals surrounded by signals of ambiguous synergy potential.

Over the last years traditional accounting methods of investment appraisal (such as pay‐back period and discounted cash‐flow analysis) have been abundantly criticized for not being appropriate to evaluate strategic investments, in advanced production technology. It has been argued that strategic arguments should be used as the only sound basis for investment justification. However, opinions continue to be divided about which evaluation criterion (strategic and/or financial) should prevail in the evaluation of flexible manufacturing technology (FMT) investments if the firm is to end up with a successful project. Studies the investment decision‐making process which precedes a major investment in FMT. It is hypothesized that different ways of investment justification can lead to high financial performance of investment projects in FMT, but each way may not be equally effective in every situation. Based on field research in six manufacturing companies, some of the key characteristics of the decision process on the one hand and the investment context on the other have been identified. Suggests how their interaction may affect the ex post financial performance of an FMT investment project.

The bank commercial market is less homogeneous than the retail market which justifies the development of differentiated marketing activities to meet the distinct needs of subgroups of commercial clients. A two‐stage segmentation approach to the bank commercial market is presented. The objectives and resources of the bank with the associated costs/benefits of each segment determine the choice of target segments and whether the second stage will be performed. The first stage of the procedure is illustrated with the use of geographical statistical data and internal data on commercial clients to perform a detailed analysis of the commercial coverage of the bank. Additional data used to illustrate the second stage are the perceived importance and performance of financial services by the banks′ commercial clients. Limitations and benefits of the procedure for marketing decision making are presented in the conclusion.

Discusses needs/benefits segmentation in the context of alternative ways to segment markets. Describes the elements most important in the successful design, implementation and strategic use of needs/benefits segmentation. Counters a set of five commonly held myths, with implications for effective management of expectations and use of results.

Head count reduction, downsizing, and the elimination of middle management jobs—“Is that all there is?” To many middle managers, Peggy Lee's classic ballad rings painfully true today. The good news is that a growing number of folks‐in‐the‐middle are defying that image and making a big difference in the growth and performance of their colleagues and their companies. We call them Real Change Leaders (RCLs), and you can learn a lot from them.