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The purpose of this paper is to present an adaptation of a program that is at the intersection of two dynamic force fields. The first relates to imperatives impinging upon and inherent in higher education. The second ties to the concept of ecosystems as spaces for aligning actors and resources to create value.

Tables I-III present pre-test and post-test means and p-values for the paired sample t-tests for the measures.

As expected, post-test means are consistently significantly higher (or lower depending on item wording) for a shift in beliefs away from self-censoring and prejudging ideas during ideation and more toward greater openness in the ideation process.

The paper examines the outcome of an educational program.

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 the current study was to assess the impact of information technology on strategic flexibility for small- and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs). Results of the study show that under conditions of low environmental dynamism, IT capabilities are associated with greater reactive strategic flexibility. Specifically, IT capabilities enabling the management of internal activities was significant. Under conditions of high environmental dynamism, IT capabilities are associated with greater proactive strategic flexibility. Specifically, IT capabilities enabling the management of competitor information was significant. Managerial as well as future research implications are discussed.

The purpose of this study is to examine antecedents of the under researched area of customer feedback in a retail context with feedback defined as positive and negative comments as well as suggestions for product/service improvements. A market-oriented firm listens to customers and puts their feedback into practice. Research on customer engagement, which includes customer feedback, has recently surged. The preponderance of feedback research to date has been focused on customer complaint behavior which is negatively valenced. Much less attention has been paid to customer feedback (including sharing positive information, thoughts and suggestions for new ideas, in addition to negative information) even though it has great value for companies. This research addresses this gap by integrating literature on customer orientation and engagement and relationship marketing antecedents (social benefits) and outcomes (commitment) to better understand what retailers can do to encourage customer feedback through relationships with frontline employees.

This study employs a cross-sectional, single retailer approach surveying 864 customers who have varying relationships to a coffee house.

Conditional process analysis was used to test the hypothesized mediating and moderating relationships. Results were consistent with predictions, showing that retail employee customer-oriented behavior is mediated by customer social benefit perceptions to influence feedback. Further, social benefit perceptions will interact with the level of customer continuance commitment to impact feedback. Specifically, the impact of social benefits will be stronger when commitment to the retailer is higher.

This research has academic and practical implications by increasing our understanding of an underrepresented and valuable aspect of engagement – customer feedback. Specifically, it addresses a key marketing research priority set forth in a 2010 JSR special issue, calling for more work contributing to this topic. Also, this research implies managers have the ability to influence the amount of feedback that they receive by encouraging certain employee behaviors.

This study involved a nation‐wide sample of industrial customers of heavy equipment manufacturers. The results suggest that brand equity and trust are consistently the most important antecedents to both behavioral and attitudinal forms of customer loyalty. There is also evidence that the models underlying the formation of behavioral versus attitudinal forms of customer loyalty may vary across research settings. The results suggest that industrial equipment marketers may consider moving beyond a focus on satisfaction in relationship marketing strategies toward integrated strategies that foster brand equity and trust in their customer base as well.

Describes the experiences of an American professor who taught a graduate course in cross‐cultural management at a Portuguese university. Outlines the overall experience before detailing several pedagogic issues which were unforeseen/problematic. Proposes ten axioms to guide similar future internal exchange experiences. Emphasizes four areas of difficulty, preparation, expectations, conduct and relationships.

This study aims to examine the role of organisational dynamic capabilities (strategic flexibility and employee empowerment) in mediating the relationship between management control systems (MCSs), in particular the interactive and diagnostic approaches to using controls, with organisational change and performance.

Data were collected based on a mail survey of public sector organisations in Australia and analysed using structural equation modelling (SEM).

The findings indicate that strategic flexibility and employee empowerment mediate the association between the interactive approach to MCSs with organisational performance, and strategic flexibility mediates the relationship between the interactive approach to MCSs with organisational change.

The study’s findings inform public sector practitioners as to how to enact change within and enhance the performance of public sector organisations. Specifically, managers are advised to focus on the use of interactive controls and the development of two dynamic organisational capabilities, strategic flexibility and employee empowerment.

The study provides an initial empirical insight into the relation between controls and dynamic capabilities and their role in enacting change and performance within the public sector. The findings suggest that the achievement of new public management ideals is reliant upon the organisational environment, with change and performance facilitated by the interactive use of controls and strategic flexibility and employee empowerment.

Relationship marketing is now commonly acknowledged as an alternative marketing paradigm. However, despite the use of the relationship metaphor in marketing contexts for many years, recently there have been criticisms of this cross‐fertilization of theory into consumer marketing contexts. The objectives of this paper are twofold. First, it attempts to explore and elucidate how consumers' assessments of the extent of intimacy between themselves and their service providers affect their interpretation of relational ties. A second aim is that it will generate insights into consumer attitudes towards relationship marketing.

Taking an exploratory approach and using qualitative methods to allow for depth of research, this paper uses 30 semi‐structured interviews with consumers to investigate the role of intimacy in service relationships.

The findings reveal five forms of intimacy; no relationship, social intimacy, physical intimacy, emotional/psychological intimacy and sexual intimacy.

This is a qualitative study, now that some insight of the relevance of intimacy in relationship marketing has been gained, testing a model of the framework using quantitative analysis in order to make wider assertions would be beneficial.

This paper demonstrates that organizations need to be able to facilitate multiple approaches to customers. They need to be able to allow customers to engage with them, should the customers wish to do so but also allow the customers to opt out of relational interactions.

Scant research has explored the role of intimacy in service relationships; this study addresses that gap in the literature.

This research investigates three major research questions. First, how does brand alliance type, defined by a partner's location and brand quality, affect consumers' emotional value perceptions of higher education brand alliances for dual-degree programs? Second, does perceived brand fit mediate the relationship between brand alliance type and emotional value perceptions? Third, do individual differences in world-mindedness moderate the influence of brand alliance type on emotional value perceptions?

In total, two experiments are performed. Experiment one examines the effect of brand alliance type, at varying combinations of partner brand quality and partner location (domestic or foreign), on consumers' emotional value perceptions. Experiment two examines the moderating role of world-mindedness in the relationship between brand alliance type and consumers' emotional value perceptions.

Results provide evidence that consumers' perception of brand fit mediates the relationship between brand alliance type and consumers' emotional value perceptions of the alliance. Results also indicate that world-mindedness moderates the relationship between brand alliance type and emotional value perceptions.

This research extends the previous literature on higher education dual-degree brand alliances and introduces world-mindedness as an important consumer-based characteristic to consider in this line of research. It answers calls for more research on higher education branding and calls for research into the potential mediating role and importance of brand fit. It provides several theoretical and managerial implications relevant to the higher education brand alliances, particularly in dual-degree programs.