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1 – 10 of over 2000N. Saccani, L. Songini and P. Gaiardelli
To analyse the role of after‐sales services in manufacturing contexts, and the related after‐sales performance measurement systems.
Abstract
Purpose
To analyse the role of after‐sales services in manufacturing contexts, and the related after‐sales performance measurement systems.
Design/methodology/approach
An exploratory case study research was performed in the automotive, household appliance, IT and consumer electronics industries. The sample is made up of 48 firms with after‐sales operations in Italy.
Findings
The role attributed to after‐sales activities in the IT and consumer electronics and household appliance industries shows an orientation to improve company image, customer satisfaction and retention (marketing focus). A different situation characterises the companies studied in the automotive industry. In most firms, however, measurement systems are quite simple and short‐term oriented, especially in the IT and consumer electronics and household appliance industries. The measurement of non‐financial performance emphasises effectiveness rather than efficiency, and the automotive industry, on the whole, presents more advanced measurement systems, together with more integrated strategic management of after‐sales. The household appliance industry, on the other hand, due to the significant presence of SMEs, is characterised by less sophisticated performance measurement systems.
Originality/value
Provides a representation of current empirical practices in after‐sales role and performance measurement, a topic insufficiently covered by conceptual and empirical research.
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Meryem Uluskan and Ezgi Pınar Oda
The purpose of this study is to analyze door-panel alignment defects seen in built-in ovens manufactured in one household appliances company's plant. Alignment defects in oven…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this study is to analyze door-panel alignment defects seen in built-in ovens manufactured in one household appliances company's plant. Alignment defects in oven door panel substantially affect aesthetics of the product which is an important aspect in driving customer preference and satisfaction. Therefore, this study aimed to increase the initial 3.1 sigma level of oven-manufacturing process to at least 4 sigma level by decreasing a particular door-panel alignment defect, which constituted 67.7 percent of the overall alignment defects.
Design/methodology/approach
The goals were achieved through a structured Six Sigma implementation with lean element by utilizing various Six Sigma tools such as workflow, Pareto-analysis, measurement system analyses, control-charts, process capability analysis, cause-and effect-diagram and hypotheses tests. A non–value-added step was also eliminated through the lean approach.
Findings
Through Six Sigma implementation, the initial 3.1 sigma process performance level has been increased to 4.4 sigma level leading to substantial decrease in alignment defects.
Originality/value
In the quality management literature, not many papers directly deal with aesthetics and appearance problems of the products especially in the household appliances industry. Moreover, hypothesis testing is not frequently used in Six Sigma implementations in the literature. In addition to limited usage of hypothesis testing, very few studies conducted a thorough measurement system analysis. Considering these gaps in the Six Sigma literature, this study fills an important gap in research by implementing a detailed Six Sigma study, enhanced with hypothesis testing and a thorough measurement system analysis, on the aesthetics and appearance of the product.
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This paper aims to describe the ways to market electrical and electronic household appliances to the teenagers market.
Abstract
Purpose
This paper aims to describe the ways to market electrical and electronic household appliances to the teenagers market.
Design/methodology/approach
The paper reviews the debate and key statistical insights on Malaysian teenagers are described to show the overview of the current scenario in Malaysia. Various marketing strategies are suggested to market electrical and electronic household appliances to the teenagers market.
Findings
The paper finds that there is a need to listen to the needs and wants of these teenagers. Marketers are then able to direct their marketing strategies to fulfill the needs and wants of these teenagers segment.
Research limitations/implications
Results are limited to practitioners involved in the electrical and electronic household appliances industries only.
Practical implications
Managerial implications suggest several strategies to market electrical and electronic household appliances to these teenagers, with a great emphasis on the impact of technological means towards the teenagers market.
Originality/value
New technological approaches are proposed as a means to market electrical and electronic household appliances to the teenagers market. Previously, the importance of teenagers' influence on the purchase of electrical and electronic household appliances has been largely ignored due to an underestimate of these young consumers' power.
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Lena L. Kronemeyer, Raik Draeger and Martin G. Moehrle
Identifying ideas for frugal innovations could substantially support engineers and managers in their work. Patents may be a promising source of ideas for frugal innovations. The…
Abstract
Purpose
Identifying ideas for frugal innovations could substantially support engineers and managers in their work. Patents may be a promising source of ideas for frugal innovations. The purpose of this paper is to show how patents of this kind can be identified.
Design/methodology/approach
Prior work has developed a generic process model to identify frugal patent candidates. They use semantic analysis and a frugal thesaurus for searching and characterizing frugal patent candidates. The question is, whether and how this process model can be applied to a different industry successfully? The field of small household appliances is selected as a testbed because it is known for including frugal innovations while having a different business model than the industrial field in which the thesaurus was developed.
Findings
Applying the process model leads to a number of 22 strongly frugal patent candidates, which are manually evaluated based on three frugal characteristics. Due to this analysis, a high fraction of the candidates could be identified as frugal patents, which validates the process model. In addition, this paper outlines several options for enhancing the process model, e.g. by separating between a frugal search and a frugal evaluation thesaurus.
Originality/value
The process model to identify frugal patent candidates can be used by engineers and technology managers to find ideas for frugal innovations. This paper not only shows its applicability in the industry of small household appliances but gives the basis for its successful transfer to other industries.
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Jinyu Yang, Shanshan Zhang, Zhiqiang Wang and Xiande Zhao
The purpose of this paper is to investigate how supplier concentration influences a buyer firm's R&D intensity. This study proposes a mediation and moderation model to test this…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to investigate how supplier concentration influences a buyer firm's R&D intensity. This study proposes a mediation and moderation model to test this relationship in the Chinese household appliance industry. Specifically, this study tests the mediation effect of operational slack on the relationship between supplier concentration and R&D intensity and the moderation effect of financial constraints on this relationship.
Design/methodology/approach
Drawing upon real options theory and resource dependence theory, the proposed relationships are tested with the Chinese household appliance market using financial data from listed companies over a ten-year span from 2012 to 2021. Fixed effects (within-group) panel regression models are used to test the hypotheses. In addition, the authors use the bias-corrected bootstrap method to test the mediation effect.
Findings
The authors find that supplier concentration negatively affects a buyer firm's R&D intensity and that internal operational slack mediates this relationship. Interestingly, financial constraints from the external financing organization weaken the negative relationship between the buyer firm's supplier concentration and R&D intensity.
Originality/value
Based on the argument of real options theory and resource dependence theory, this study provides novel insights into the issue of how concentration on several major suppliers may reduce buyer firms' R&D intensity. First, this study introduces operational slack as a form of internal uncertainty that mediates the supplier concentration–R&D intensity relationship. Second, this study suggests that the effect of supplier concentration on R&D intensity is contingent upon firms' financial constraints from external financial organizations, disclosing a synergetic interactive effect of supplier concentration and financial constraints on firms' R&D activities. Third, this study is conducted in the unique institutional context of China, providing meaningful insights into the relationship between supplier concentration and R&D intensity.
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Provides marketers with both a broad‐based and an industry‐specific understanding of the marketing implications of GATT. First presents background information regarding GATT…
Abstract
Provides marketers with both a broad‐based and an industry‐specific understanding of the marketing implications of GATT. First presents background information regarding GATT, followed by an overview of the key provisions of the agreement. Provides an analysis of a number of consumer product industries to help assess the potential industry‐specific impact of GATT on the “offensive” and “defensive” marketing strategies which are described in the study.
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Binh Nguyen Thi and Hien Nguyen Thi Thu
In an era of global competition, firms need to collaborate for long-term benefits. Researchers have investigated the linkages between supply chain collaboration (SCC), customer…
Abstract
Purpose
In an era of global competition, firms need to collaborate for long-term benefits. Researchers have investigated the linkages between supply chain collaboration (SCC), customer satisfaction and loyalty. However, little attention has been paid to these linkages in the home electronics sector. This study attempts to investigate the impacts of SCC on firms' competitive advantage, customer satisfaction and customer loyalty in the home electronics sector of Vietnam.
Design/methodology/approach
Besides aggregation of literature review, the authors conducted an experimental study with a sample of 300 customers who bought household electronic appliances in the first six months of 2021 in Hanoi city, Vietnam. In this study, structural equation modelling (SEM) was used to analyse the hypotheses.
Findings
The findings indicate that SCC has a positive impact on competitive advantage, increasing customer satisfaction and loyalty in the home electronics sector. Evidence also revealed that competitive advantage can be enhanced through information sharing, decision synchronisation and incentive alignment.
Originality/value
This study can be applied to foster a more effective collaboration approach amongst supply chain members in the household electronic appliances sector, which, in turn, will increase competitiveness, customer satisfaction and loyalty.
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G.B. Ihde and H.H. Merkel
One of the significant features of modern economies is the extensive use of technical equipment throughout production and consumption. Defects and malfunctioning of technical…
Abstract
One of the significant features of modern economies is the extensive use of technical equipment throughout production and consumption. Defects and malfunctioning of technical products result in various extra costs in terms of interrupted production as well as lost utility and additional expenses in private households. These consequences of product failures are amplified by the interdependencies within our economic system. Following an initiative by the Federal Association of Logistics Germany (Bundesvereinigung Logistik e.V.) an investigation of spare part logistics systems (SPLSs) in a number of West German industries was just completed. The research concentrated particularly on car, truck, and farming vehicle manufacturing, household appliances, audio and television equipment, and machinery. Our attention was focused on the structure and the functioning of SPLSs, in particular, whether to make or to buy a SPLS, which efficiency standards are employed and what kind of reorganisation had taken place during recent years.
Yi Liu, Lei Tao, Yuan Li and Adel I. El‐Ansary
The purpose of this paper is to explore empirically how a distributor's trust in a supplier and its use of control mechanisms affect the values it gains from the relationship.
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to explore empirically how a distributor's trust in a supplier and its use of control mechanisms affect the values it gains from the relationship.
Design/methodology/approach
Factor analysis and a structural equation model were used to test the framework in a sample of 251 distributors in the household appliances industry in China.
Findings
The findings show that a distributor's honesty trust in a supplier enhances the direct value gained through the use of both contract and relational norms, but hinders and promotes the indirect value gained through the use of contract and relational norms respectively. A distributor's benevolence trust promotes the direct and indirect value gained through the use of relational norms, but impedes the direct value and enhances the indirect value gained through the use of contracts.
Research limitations/implication
A distributor's trust in a supplier may involve competence trust besides honesty trust and benevolence trust. Hence, the framework can be further studied in the situations where the distributor's trust in the supplier's competence is considered. Moreover, the sample of the empirical study only comes from the household appliances industry, and research in future may be extended to include multiple industries.
Practical implications
The paper may help distributors choose and use the proper control mechanism as well as foster a suitable kind of trust in suppliers to realize the objectives of maximizing the relationship value.
Originality/value
The results permit an in‐depth look into the effects of trust and control mechanisms on the relational values in a channel relationship context.
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Xinming Deng, Zhilong Tian, Shuai Fan and Muhammad Abrar
The purpose of this paper is to explore the prediction of competitive response based on the characteristics of market and non‐market actions comprehensively, and develop a…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to explore the prediction of competitive response based on the characteristics of market and non‐market actions comprehensively, and develop a four‐stage decision‐making model of firm's competitive action, which is significant for Chinese practicing managers when formulating and implementing the strategies, and further predicting competitors' strategic choices.
Design/methodology/approach
The research adopted the method of structured content analysis and carried out the survey in Chinese home appliance industry, mainly covering the largest firms, including TCL, Hisense, Changhong, Konka, Haier, and Skyworth. The method of multiple regression analysis was employed to test the hypotheses.
Findings
The results show that in order to comprehensively forecast competitor's responding behaviors, the firms could not only limit their perspective to market field but also pay attention to non‐market. Additionally, in the process of dynamic interaction, the attacking or responding action is not independent and it is related significantly to another three type decisions, which are market and non‐market, strategic and tactic, and collective and individual. Further, the study asserts that, in market field, tactic activity is more likely to trigger competitor's response than strategic one, while in non‐market, the situation is just the opposite. Meanwhile, the study figured out that individual market attack is easier to trigger individual market and non‐market response, as well as collective market response. While for non‐market action, whatever it is individual or collective, both would be easy to provoke competitor's collective response.
Originality/value
The research findings extend the existing competitive interaction theory to non‐market field. When forecasting competitor's choice of the competitive action, the firms could not only limit their perspective to market field but also pay attention to non‐market, attaching importance to certain situation of competitor's taking such non‐market action as corporate philanthropy, etc. to launch an attack or a response for gaining competitive advantage.
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