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The Nature of Business Policy Business policy — or general management — is concerned with the following six major functions:

The aim of this paper is to examine the effect of servicer and cross‐seller functional performance on salesperson perception of cross‐functional conflict.

Frontline employees often specialize in selling, servicing, or cross‐selling to customers. Two studies separately examine the effect of servicer and cross‐seller functional performance on salesperson perception of cross‐functional conflict.

In Study 1, salesperson conflict with frontline specialists who do not directly sell, called servicers, is examined and it is found that salespeople perceive less cross‐functional conflict when servicers perform well. Group cohesion decreases conflict directly. The effect of servicer performance on conflict is less pronounced as cross‐functional training increases. In Study 2, salesperson conflict with employees who cross‐sell additional goods and/or services to customers, called cross‐sellers, is evaluated and it is found that salespeople perceive more cross‐functional conflict when cross‐sellers perform well. Cross‐functional training decreases conflict directly. The effect of cross‐seller performance on conflict is less pronounced as group cohesion increases.

The research was carried out in a single setting, automobile dealerships, and only two controls, one formal and one informal, were examined.

The results indicate that salespeople view the performance of each type of specialist differently depending on the specialists' goals. Based on this finding, the paper provides guidelines for which formal and informal controls are likely to be effective for reducing conflict between different frontline functions.

The paper shows that salespeople view servicer performance positively and cross‐seller performance negatively. Thus, the research adds to the understanding of cross‐functional relationships among specialized frontline employees.

Functional diversity research has resulted in equivocal findings for group performance suggesting the need for theoretical clarification. A review of previous functional diversity research indicates that high quality productive relationships are a key determinant in the performance of cognitively diverse groups. A theoretical framework is provided that demonstrates that assets embedded in the social structure of group member relationships impact group performance. The primary goal of this paper is to consider the concept of social capital at the group level and explain its role in mentoring the relationship between functional diversity and group performance

These concepts are supported by prior studies and theoretical development rather than empirical evidence.

Social capital is introduced as a moderator in the group performance model improving the group processes of communication, social integration, and coordination. Enhanced group processes in turn lead to elevated group performance. It is argued that social capital offers promise for understanding and improving the performance of functionally diverse groups.

This paper offers a bridge between the diversity‐group performance relationship. This bridge, social capital, offers a new and exciting means of further examining these key relationships.

In this chapter, we posit that identity integration, an individual difference variable measuring the degree to which multiple and disparate social identities are perceived as compatible, moderates the relationship between team diversity and innovation. Prior research shows that individuals with higher levels of identity integration exhibit higher levels of innovation on tasks that draw from identity-related knowledge systems. In this chapter, we extend this research to examine how innovation can be increased in cross-functional teams. We propose that reinforcing the compatibility between functional identities within a team facilitates access to functionally unique knowledge systems, which in turn increases team innovation.

Cause‐related and affinity marketing are based on the assumption that linking a commercial organisation's product with a non‐profit organisation enhances the product's appeal and provides differentiation from rival offers. The purpose of this paper is to examine the efficacy of this premise.

In‐depth qualitative research was conducted to explore the construction of consumer value in affinity credit cards, followed by large‐scale quantitative research to assess the prevalence of the perceptions and behaviour patterns identified.

Linked products offer a range of individual and group benefits, both functional and symbolic. However, the value placed on these benefit categories varied according to the type of affinity group.

Whilst encompassing a wide range of affinity categories, all of the affinity credit cards were issued by one financial services organisation. Variation is therefore possible between the benefits offered by other financial services organisations operating affinity schemes.

The findings demonstrate the need to identify the value perceived by different groups of consumers of affinity products and to tailor affinity products to the type of affinity organisation with which they are linked.

A key strength is the research's access to card holders from a wide spectrum of affinity categories. This has proved elusive in prior research. The paper challenges the assumption that linking a product to a non‐profit organisation enhances its appeal and provides a basis for differentiation. The efficacy of this premise depends on the type of cause or affinity group, with the value placed on benefit categories varying accordingly.

Based on appraisal theory and social response theory, this study aims to explore the mechanism of AI failure types on consumer recovery expectation from the perspective of service failure assessment and validate the moderate role of anthropomorphism level.

Three scenario-based experiments were conducted to validate the research model. First, to test the effect of robot service failure types on customer recovery expectation; second, to further test the mediating role of perceived controllability, perceived stability and perceived severity; finally, to verify the moderating effect of anthropomorphic level.

Non-functional failures reduce consumer recovery expectation compared to functional failures; perceived controllability and perceived severity play a mediating role in the impact of service failure types on recovery expectation; the influence of service failure types on perceived controllability and perceived severity is moderated by the anthropomorphism level.

The findings enrich the influence mechanism and boundary conditions of service failure types, and have implications for online enterprise follow-up service recovery and improvement of anthropomorphic design.

Organizations are increasingly using cross‐ functional teams to address broad‐scale organizational problems, and the potential of such teams is undeniable. Bringing a cross‐functional perspective to organizational problems help build understanding, problem‐solving capabilities, co‐ordination, communication and, ultimately, improved quality and productivity. While the benefits are many, this study highlights the challenges. Over one‐half of the participants viewed their cross‐functional team’s work as unsuccessful, and these same individuals felt less optimistic about cross‐functional teams than they had before participating in one. While it is apparent that organizational leaders, are enthusiastically embracing team efforts, calls for additional analysis to explore the unique challenges of cross‐functional teams so organizations can consistently benefit from their efforts. Examines those factors that contributed to the success of the teams in this study and offers recommendations for working with cross‐functional teams.

This paper aims to re‐examine the portfolio risk/return performance of “conventional” sector/regional classifications with one based on socio‐economic criteria.

Applying the mean absolute deviation (MAD) portfolio optimisation method, this study revisits sector versus regional diversification within the UK using the Investment Property Databank (IPD) annual data over the period 1981‐2007. A modern functional classification, with data from the 2001 Census, is used to retest the proposition that such groupings may offer superior diversification benefits.

In line with previous research, sectors dominate regions, however defined, and should be the first level of analysis when developing an optimised portfolio diversification strategy. When the performance of functional groups is compared with “conventional” administrative regions results show that such groupings can provide greater risk reduction. The underlying characteristics of these functional groups may be more insightful and acceptable to real estate portfolio managers in considering assets that a portfolio might contain.

Real estate markets are thought to be dynamic, in that their form and content can change dramatically even over quite short periods. This paper shows it is actually rather unlikely that matching changes in the structures of real estate investment portfolios will be observed, even over extended time periods, except at their margins. Although efficient frontiers move across the MAD risk/return space, the relative positions of the sectors and regions hardly change at all in pure analytical terms. In particular, the use of functional groupings, which reflect the greatly changed economic landscape in Britain over some 20 years, do not presage any great change in the pattern of institutional real estate investment, nor even a very obvious improvement in the portfolio performance.

Matrix management is a type of organizational structure that has been evolved in recent years. This paper describes the characteristic features of this type of organization, and examines some of the management problems that have arisen in its application.

This study aims to investigate if different types of negative electronic word-of-mouth (eWOM) have various negative effects on the attitude of the consumer toward a product (Laptop) and whether this newfound attitude remains unaffected by the subsequent influence of positive eWOM.

A quantitative study in Germany was conducted. In the two-part experimental setting, first, a factorial repeated-measures between-subjects design was used in which the types of negative eWOM have been manipulated. The second part is characterized by a mixed between–within subjects design to test the durability of attitudinal changes.

The results demonstrate that destructive and ethical eWOM only provoke a small decline in consumer attitude compared to functional product criticism. Furthermore, the examination shows that renewed positive eWOM can improve the attitude, whereas ethical criticism is the most difficult to correct.

The study views negative eWOM differentiated. Researchers could adopt this approach by analyzing online communication more precisely. Ambivalent relationships between negative eWOM and their outcomes can be explained.

The findings lessen the fear of permanent loss of brand reputation caused by negative reviews. The harmful effects on the attitude can be compensated through targeted marketing management actions. The study shows which content companies need to focus on.

Previous literature has predominantly overlooked the complex nature of negative eWOM. Therefore, the study provides first empirical results about the divergent effect of different content types of negative eWOM on consumer attitude toward a product. Additionally, the durability of consumer negativity could be measured over time.