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The paper aims to examine competitive strategies used by several small ski brands manufacturing in the USA. The motivation is to explain, while there are no major manufacturers in the USA, why many smaller manufacturers produce locally despite higher labor costs.

The paper first describes mid-volume, mid-complexity manufacturing. It then describes customization and innovation. Descriptions of the ski industry, ski manufacturing and customization and innovation, especially among smaller ski manufacturers, then follow. Publicly available information is the examined to understand the competitive strategy of firms in this sector. This is followed by interviews with principals at several smaller manufacturers.

The findings show that small firms do use innovation and customization strategies and are able to compete while producing their product within the USA.

The interview method limits the ability to perform rigorous statistical analysis. Results in this sector may not carry over to other sectors of similar size and complexity.

The findings give an example of the ability of manufacturing to remain in higher labor cost countries if customization and innovation are significant market drivers.

The health of manufacturing in Western Europe and North America is currently of significant political interest. Companies and government entities may consider what actions they can take to encourage innovation-driven markets.

The paper provides an explanation for the success of small firms manufacturing mid-volume and complexity products in higher labor cost countries. As innovation and customization are found to be major drivers, this can inform manufacturers in other segments where the products and market share characteristics with those found in higher-end downhill skis.

The paper aims to examine the location of manufacturing for the major ski brands. The motivation is to explain, while there are no major manufacturers in the USA, the major European manufactures do produce locally even though their labor costs are even higher than those in the USA.

The paper first describes mid-volume, mid-complexity manufacturing. It then describes the ski industry and ski manufacturing. It then proposes several factors that could drive the choice of ski manufacturing location. It then reports interviews with several top managers at major manufacturers and suppliers.

The findings show that development time and innovation are major drivers in the European market. The desire to lead the market with innovative products precludes the use of manufacturing in Asia, where production and delivery times would be longer.

The findings give an example of the ability of manufacturing to remain in higher labor cost countries if development speed and innovation are significant market drivers.

The health of manufacturing in Western Europe and North America is currently of significant political interest. Companies and government entities may consider what actions they can take to encourage innovation-driven markets.

The paper provides an explanation for a significant portion of the manufacturing of a mid-volume and complexity product remaining in higher labor cost countries. As innovation and development speed are found to be major drivers, this can inform manufacturers in other segments where the products and market share characteristics with those found in higher-end downhill skis.

The purpose of this paper is to provide an organizing lens for viewing the distinct contributions to knowledge production from those research communities addressing the impact of competitive strategy on company performance in general, and the influence of cost leadership and differentiation strategy on organizational performance in detail.

The research methodology was based on the PRISMA review, and thematic analysis based on an iterative process of open coding was analyzed and then the sample was analyzed by illustrating the research title, objectives, method, data analysis, sample size, variables and country.

The main factor that influenced the competitive strategy is strategic growth; strategic growth has a significant influence on competitive strategy. Furthermore, competitive strategy will boost firm network, performance measurement and organization behavior. In the same way, the internal goal factor will enhance organizational effectiveness. Also, a differentiation strategy will support management practice factors, strategic positions, product price, product characteristics and company performance.

This study contributes to the literature by identifying a framework of competitive strategy factors, company performance factors, cost leadership strategy factors, differentiation strategy factors and competitive strategy with global market factors. This study provides a complete picture and description of the resulting body knowledge in competitive strategy and organizational performance.

There is strong consensus that the Internet has the potential to positively impact firms, and SMEs in particular; however, not all firms have realized benefits from adoption. The present study extends research in the area by addressing the need to examine the “chain” of variables explaining Internet adoption. We do this by exploring SME owner/manager Internet-related usefulness and ease-of-use cognitions and intention to use the Internet for supplier information management. We also explore the influence of behavioral norms and two broader strategic perspectives, market and learning orientation, on the Internet-related cognitions. Findings have implications for researchers and practitioners by identifying factors that contribute to effectively leveraging the Internet in an important area for SMEs.

The purpose of this paper is to use a blended learning environment to introduce principals in small businesses to the benefits of electronic commerce, while avoiding many of the barriers identified in recent research.

The paper reports results from field tests of the Virtual Product Development Workshop (VPDW) approach to introducing leaders of small businesses to the benefits and practical issues involved in adding e‐commerce capabilities to their firms.

The paper finds that the benefits to smaller business of e‐commerce are real. Even so, senior staff in smaller firms have been reluctant to invest the time and resources needed to develop e‐commerce activities tailored to their firms' strengths and needs. A training approach blending online preparation and physical participation is found to be more effective than either approach alone. This paper allows senior staff participation in tailored e‐commerce design with a lower time and monetary commitment than other sources of individualized support.

While the participants in the field tests represented small business from throughout Europe, there was little participation from outside Europe.

The approach described provides a route to exposing senior staff in small businesses to opportunities and solutions for e‐commerce implementation. The VPDW approach allows customized advice at a lower cost and using less time than other sources providing firm specific advice.

The paper provides guidelines to running a successful VPDW. Recommendations address the kick‐off, introductions, context and content, participants' experience, and the closing. Actual participant comments from the tests are included.

This study explores the association between individual investor information demand and two measures of market uncertainty – aggregate market uncertainty and disaggregate industry-specific market uncertainty. It extends the literature by being the first to empirically examine investor information demand and disaggregate market uncertainty.

This paper constructs a measure of information search by using the Google Search Volume Index and computes measures of aggregate and disaggregate market uncertainty using institutional investors' trading data from Ancerno Ltd. The relation between market uncertainty, as measured by trading disagreements among institutional investors, and information search is analyzed using an OLS (Ordinary Least Squares) regression model.

This paper finds that individual investor information demand is significantly and positively correlated with aggregate market uncertainty but not associated with disaggregated industry uncertainty. The findings suggest that individual investors may not fully incorporate all relevant uncertainty information and that ambiguity-related market pricing anomalies may be more associated with disaggregate market uncertainty.

This study presents an examination of aggregate and disaggregate measures of market uncertainty and individual investor demand for information, shedding light on the efficiency of the market in incorporating information. A limitation of our study is that our data for market uncertainty is based on investor trading disagreement from Ancerno, Ltd. which is only available till 2011. However, we believe the implications are generalizable to the current time period.

This study provides the first concurrent empirical assessment of investor information search and aggregate and disaggregate market uncertainty. Prior research has separately examined information demand in these two types of market uncertainty. Thus, this study provides information to investors regarding the importance of assessing disaggregate component measures of the market.

This paper is the first to empirically examine investor information search and disaggregate market uncertainty. It also employs a unique data set and method to determine disaggregate, and aggregate, market uncertainty.

This paper aims to contribute to the discussion on the executives’ team and firm performance by investigating the relationships between executives’ compensation, management gender diversity and firm financial performance in growth enterprises market (GEM) listed firms in China.

Data are collected from 461 companies listed on GEM boards during the period from the year 2016 to 2018. Specifically, executives’ compensation and female executives are set as the independent variables, and the proxy selected of corporate performance is Tobin’s Q ratio.

The results show that the correlation between corporate performance and executive cash payment is not significant, while executives’ equity-based compensation shows a significant positive correlation with firm performance. In addition, the participation of female executives is negatively associated with firm performance.

The results have practical implications for governments, policymakers and regulatory authorities, by indicating the importance of women to corporate success. In particular, the findings of this paper emphasize the specific background of GEM in China and provide empirical support for the value of women’s participation in corporate governance. In addition, the finding on the relationship between executive compensation and corporate performance of GEM listed companies provides guidance for the establishment of a performance compensation system of GEM listed companies in China.

This paper provides new evidence for the current literature of executive team and corporate performance. This is the first paper to adopt triangulation in theories from different disciplines including optimal contractual approach, managerial power approach as new perspectives of agency theory, upper echelons theory, motivational-hygiene theory and women leadership style theory. The results will contribute to provide guidance for enterprises to formulate an efficient compensation system and build a reasonable senior management team structure.

This paper investigates school library services in the digital age for students with dyslexia and explores the impact of current library services on students’ learning.

A qualitative study with semi-structured interviews was designed according to the LAFE (Look and listen, Assistance and accessibility, Format and fit, and Environment) framework for learners with dyslexia and the 5E instructional model and conducted with 11 school librarians.

Results indicated that participants lacked knowledge of dyslexia for appropriate library services. Awareness, IT skills, school administration, funding and parental attitudes would influence the library’s tailored services to dyslexic children, despite the rich resources in these participants’ libraries, including paperbacks, digital resources and electronic devices. Adaptations are necessary to provide accessible services, especially by applying digital technologies, and school libraries can positively impact students’ reading interests, promote knowledge inquiry and strengthen information literacy skills.

While students with dyslexia spend significant time in schools, limited studies focus on school library services in the digital age, especially in Asia. This study fills the gap by systematically exploring the issue with the 5E instructional model.