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1 – 10 of over 1000Charmaine Glavas, Shane Mathews and Rebekah Russell-Bennett
Technology has profoundly transformed the international business environment, particularly regarding the flow of information and the way in which knowledge is acquired and shared…
Abstract
Purpose
Technology has profoundly transformed the international business environment, particularly regarding the flow of information and the way in which knowledge is acquired and shared. Yet, the extent of this transformation is still underappreciated. The purpose of this paper is to examine how small and medium-sized enterprise (SME) owner/founders acquire and utilize knowledge for internationalization via internet-enabled platforms.
Design/methodology/approach
The empirical analysis draws on multiple case study methodology to examine 13 Australian SME owner/founders and the knowledge they acquire from utilization of internet-enabled platforms.
Findings
The analysis reveals four differing types of internet-enabled experiences: “technical internet-enabled experiences,” “operational internet-enabled experiences,” “functional internet-enabled experiences,” and “immersive internet-enabled experiences.” The findings indicate that internet-enabled experiences can generate both explicit and tacit forms of knowledge for the pre, early and later phases of internationalization.
Practical implications
The findings provide a structured approach by allowing SMEs to “plot” themselves against the classification of internet-enabled experiences to denote their level of technological involvement, and for discerning the types of knowledge that can be acquired. The findings are particularly helpful for owner/founders, highlighting that internet-enabled platforms are affecting the ways in which knowledge can be acquired and applied to international businesses processes.
Originality/value
The findings extend the conventional notion of knowledge acquisition for international business by highlighting how information and knowledge can be acquired via internet-enabled platforms. The findings lay the necessary groundwork for building an evidence base and theoretically extending the concept of knowledge acquisition via internet-enabled platforms.
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The purpose of this study is to examine critical determinants of US consumers' intentions to use mobile shopping services and to provide implications for retailers and mobile…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this study is to examine critical determinants of US consumers' intentions to use mobile shopping services and to provide implications for retailers and mobile marketers in order to offer mobile shopping services that meet consumers' quality expectations.
Design/methodology/approach
A sample of 400 mobile services users drawn from a purchased consumer panel participated in an online survey. The Unified Theory of Acceptance and Use of Technology (UTAUT) model was adapted and incorporated with attitude and hedonic performance expectancy. Two steps of structural equation modeling were used to validate the measurement model and test the hypothesized relationships.
Findings
The study found that utilitarian and hedonic performance expectancy, social influence, and facilitating conditions are critical determinants of US consumers' intentions to use mobile shopping services. Effort expectancy is a driving factor affecting utilitarian and hedonic performance expectancy of mobile shopping services. Further, the study found that the hedonic or entertainment aspect of mobile shopping services is the most critical driver of US consumers' intentions to use mobile shopping services.
Originality/value
The results of the study provide implications for retailers and mobile marketers in designing mobile shopping services based on an understanding of consumers' perceptions of new shopping capabilities.
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Business‐to‐business international Internet marketing is one of the key drivers in sustaining an organisation’s competitive advantage. The challenge for organisations today is to…
Abstract
Business‐to‐business international Internet marketing is one of the key drivers in sustaining an organisation’s competitive advantage. The challenge for organisations today is to understand the factors that play a critical role in utilising Internet capabilities and their implications on business strategic objectives to enable them to compete successfully in the electronic age. Proposes 33 critical factors classified into five categories and validated empirically through a sample of 123 UK companies. Discusses the significance, importance and implications for each category and makes recommendations.
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Evangelia Siachou, Ioanna Papasolomou, Eleni Trichina and Alkis Thrassou
This paper aims to systematically review and evaluate extant literature on knowledge acquisition and transfer in international small-to-medium enterprises (SMEs) and to identify…
Abstract
Purpose
This paper aims to systematically review and evaluate extant literature on knowledge acquisition and transfer in international small-to-medium enterprises (SMEs) and to identify the requisite types of knowledge acquired and transferred in this context. The research further determines the mechanisms enabling SMEs to process this knowledge, unpacks the benefits of both knowledge acquisition and transfer for international SMEs and links them to the market success.
Design/methodology/approach
The research has conducted a comprehensive systematic review of existing literature on market knowledge acquisition and its transfer, in the context of international SMEs, utilizing peer-reviewed articles published in top tier journals without any custom range of time.
Findings
The search strategy resulted in 37 reviewed academic articles, whose analysis identifies and elucidates on the best practices of knowledge acquisition and transfer in the context of international SMEs; the type of the knowledge acquired and transferred; the form and mechanism of the intersection of these processes; and the benefits gained. The findings, crucially, also identify and illuminate extant research gaps and insufficiencies and develop a comprehensive research agenda for the way forward.
Originality/value
The present study offers a uniquely comprehensive perspective on a topic of diachronic and, currently, rising significance to scholars and practitioners alike. Transcending its descriptive value, though, it further identifies extant knowledge deficiencies, it distils and consolidates critical knowledge and prescribes avenues for research towards the growth and development of international SMEs and born globals.
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This paper seeks to provide a framework for understanding the role and contributions of virtual trade fairs in developing relationships. Using a relationship communication model…
Abstract
Purpose
This paper seeks to provide a framework for understanding the role and contributions of virtual trade fairs in developing relationships. Using a relationship communication model, the paper aims to explore the determinants of value creation through virtual trade fairs, emphasising the impact of advanced information and communication technologies on contemporary marketing.
Design/methodology/approach
The paper is a conceptual work which derives research propositions from an extended literature review.
Findings
The paper provides a rationale for factors that determine value creation through virtual trade fairs. The exhibitor firm's understanding of the importance of information, network orientation, capability of customer integration, and relationship attributes are proposed as influences on the effectiveness of virtual trade fairs.
Research limitations/implications
The research has limitations that are due to the exploratory nature of the work. The paper suggests opportunities for further research, particularly approaches to developing measures of effectiveness for virtual trade fairs and for developing integration and interdependencies with other communication instruments.
Practical implications
Referring to existing arguments about the pros and cons of virtual trade fairs, the paper provides a deeper understanding of the content and effectiveness of virtual trade fairs.
Originality/value
The paper sheds light on a phenomenon that, despite its increasing acceptance among practitioners, remains unexplored by marketing research. By providing a better understanding of virtual trade fairs, the paper enriches research on trade fair issues.
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Internet‐based robotic systems have received much attention in recent years. A number of design issues are essential for designing this new type of robotic systems. This paper…
Abstract
Internet‐based robotic systems have received much attention in recent years. A number of design issues are essential for designing this new type of robotic systems. This paper addresses the Internet time delay, the user interface design and concurrent user access for an Internet‐enabled arm robot. The implementation and application of the Internet‐enabled arm robot in an open control laboratory has been illustrated as a case study.
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Marzanna Katarzyna Witek-Hajduk, Anna Małgorzata Grudecka and Anna Napiórkowska
The aim of this paper is to identify ways and motives of application of e-commerce in the foreign expansion of small and medium enterprises (SMEs) fashion brands.
Abstract
Purpose
The aim of this paper is to identify ways and motives of application of e-commerce in the foreign expansion of small and medium enterprises (SMEs) fashion brands.
Design/methodology/approach
A multiple case study was used as the research method. Data were obtained from primarily in-depth interviews with managers of four Polish SMEs –fashion brands owners, whose products are sold in the foreign markets using e-commerce, and secondary sources.
Findings
Through this study the authors identified both strategic-proactive and market-reactive motives of e-commerce applications in SMEs’ fashion brands in the internet-enabled foreign expansion and three different models of usage of e-commerce in the foreign expansion of SMEs.
Research limitations/implications
The research was based on the multiple case study of only Polish SMEs in the fashion industry. The conclusions of this study can be applied by fashion companies in their internet-based foreign expansion.
Originality/value
This study contributes to the existing body of literature on the internationalization process of SMEs, and particularly on the application of cross-border e-commerce in the foreign internet-enabled expansion of fashion SMEs by identifying three various models of applying e-commerce, in the internet-enabled foreign expansion and their both proactive and reactive motives.
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Zhe Zhang and Chenyan Gu
Suning Group launched Suning.com when its chain stores were developing at the highest speed, realizing the transformation to an Internet retailer. Suning continued to follow the…
Abstract
Suning Group launched Suning.com when its chain stores were developing at the highest speed, realizing the transformation to an Internet retailer. Suning continued to follow the growth strategy of “Technological transformation and Smart Services”, and was renamed Suning Commerce Co. Ltd. It launched a business model of “e-commerce + stores + retail service providers”. Riding on the brand new O2O business model, Suning is thinking and practicing from simple donation to actual implementation, from constructing public welfare network to extending CSR ecosystem in a bid to advance towards deeper and more extensive Internet economy, and to create greater social value.