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1 – 10 of 95Dalila Brown, Pantea Foroudi and Khalid Hafeez
This paper aims to explore the relationship between corporate cultural/intangible assets and marketing capabilities by examining managers’ and entrepreneurs’ perceptions in a…
Abstract
Purpose
This paper aims to explore the relationship between corporate cultural/intangible assets and marketing capabilities by examining managers’ and entrepreneurs’ perceptions in a retail setting.
Design/methodology/approach
Nineteen face-to-face interviews were conducted with UK small and medium sized enterprise (SMEs) managers and entrepreneurs to identify six sub-capabilities that form marketing capability. The authors further validated the relationship between marketing sub-capabilities and its antecedent tangible and intangible assets. The qualitative approach used provided a deeper insight into the motivations, perceptions and associations of the stakeholders behind these intangible concepts, and their relationships with their customers.
Findings
The research identified that there is a strong relationship between tangible and intangible assets, their components and the following capabilities: corporate/brand identity management, market sensing, customer relationship, social media/communication, design/innovation management and performance management. In addition, companies need to understand clearly what tangible and intangible assets comprise these capabilities. Where performance management is one of the key internal capabilities, companies must highlight the importance of strong cultural assets that substantially contribute to a company’s performance.
Originality/value
Previous work on dynamic capability analysis is too generic, predominantly relating to the manufacturing sector, and/or focussing on using a single case study example. This study extends the concept of marketing capability in a retail setting by identifying six sub-capabilities and describing the relationship of each with tangible and intangible assets. Through extensive qualitative analysis, the authors provide evidence that by fully exploiting their embedded culture and other intangible components, companies can more favourably engage with their customers to attain a sustainable competitive advantage.
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Nuno Arroteia and Khalid Hafeez
This paper investigates how entrepreneurs in an emerging economy in Latin America bundle resources to develop capabilities related to entering new markets whilst creating value…
Abstract
Purpose
This paper investigates how entrepreneurs in an emerging economy in Latin America bundle resources to develop capabilities related to entering new markets whilst creating value for their firms. In particular, the paper explores how individual resources (experiential knowledge and social networks) impact on entrepreneurs' capabilities to exploit new market opportunities.
Design/methodology/approach
The paper employs a case study approach to investigate five cases of entrepreneurs driving technology-based businesses in Brazil. Effectuation theory is used as a lens to ascertain how resources impact on the decision-making capabilities of the entrepreneurs and firms. The research adopts a longitudinal approach, capturing data from thirty interviewees over a period corresponding to domestic and international market entry of these TechnoLatinas ' businesses.
Findings
This paper builds on previous resource-based view (RBV) studies by supplementing evidence that individual and firm-level resources determine the development of capabilities to exploit new market opportunities for new firms. The presence of experiential knowledge (in particular, business planning, market analysis and experimentation) and social networks (individual resources) drives to a mix of causal and effectual heuristics; however, in the presence of firm-level resources (human and financial capital), new entrepreneurs tend to shift towards a stronger causal orientation.
Research limitations/implications
The case companies are high technology, knowledge-intensive Brazilian start-up firms sharing a similar institutional setting. Further research should include a more diverse range of cases including other sectors and other countries in Latin America adopting quantitative design to confirm and generalise these findings.
Practical implications
For policymakers and practitioners, this research provides guidelines on how entrepreneurs' know-how and social networks can be enhanced by providing access to the international market to speed up the growth of a new firm. For entrepreneurship educators, this research explains how effectual orientation (EO) or causal orientation (CO) influences the entrepreneur to exploit the available resources to maximise the growth of businesses in the international market.
Originality/value
The resource-based literature usually ignores the challenges faced by new resource-constrained firms and the individual-level resources of the entrepreneurs. This research contributes to the RBV, entrepreneurship and internationalisation debate by identifying the interplay between RBV and effectuation theory, particularly by bringing forward the impact of individual resources and capabilities of entrepreneurs to make the decision to enter a new market. Moreover, by using the effectuation theory, the research contributes to a better understanding of how resources are managed to create value and growth in new firms.
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Visal Moosa, Abdul Hafeez Khalid and Ahmed Mohamed
This study aims to illustrate an overarching picture of the knowledge base on change management, including contributing authors, institutions and countries. The study also aims to…
Abstract
Purpose
This study aims to illustrate an overarching picture of the knowledge base on change management, including contributing authors, institutions and countries. The study also aims to elicit the intellectual structure of the knowledge base using science mapping.
Design/methodology/approach
The authors engaged 1,457 published documents, generated from a SCOPUS search, to analyse research conducted in the area of change management. Bibliometric indicators such as authors, institutions and countries were used in the analysis. Additionally, science mapping analyses such as keyword co-occurrence and co-citation were also performed using VOSviewer.
Findings
The findings indicated that scholarly work in the field of change management is on the rise. Furthermore, while the contribution from different regions of the world was observed, the most impactful scholarly works came from the West and Asia. Finally, it was found that research on change management could be classified into four schools of thought; engineering and information and communication technology (ICT) industry, organisational aspects of change, leadership aspects of change and human aspects of change.
Originality/value
This study contributes to the knowledge base on change management by creating an intellectual landscape of the existing research. The results demonstrated that the existing literature on the topic forms four broad clusters of knowledge and that the ICT industry is the current epicentre of research in this area. These findings could benefit researchers, as well as practitioners in streamlining their actions towards the most relevant and critical areas on the topic of change management.
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Hannan Amoozad Mahdiraji, Khalid Hafeez, Hamidreza Kord and AliAsghar Abbasi Kamardi
This paper analyses the voice of customers (VoCs) using a hybrid clustering multi-criteria decision-making (MCDM) approach. The proposed method serves as an efficient tool for how…
Abstract
Purpose
This paper analyses the voice of customers (VoCs) using a hybrid clustering multi-criteria decision-making (MCDM) approach. The proposed method serves as an efficient tool for how to approach multiple decision-making involving a large set of countrywide customer complaints in the Iranian automotive sector.
Design/methodology/approach
The countrywide data comprising 3,342 customer complaints (VoCs) were gathered. A total of seven determinant complaint criteria were identified in brainstorming sessions with three groups (six each) of experts employing the fuzzy Delphi method. The weights of these criteria were assigned by applying the fuzzy best–worst method (FBWM) to identify the severity of the complaints. Subsequently, the complaints were clustered into five categories with respective customer locations (province), car type and manufacturer using the K-mean method and further prioritised and ranked employing the fuzzy complex proportional assessment of alternatives (FCOPRAS) method.
Findings
The results indicated that the majority of complaints (1,027) from the various regions of the country belonged to one specific model of car made by a particular producer. The analyses revealed that only a few complaints were related to product quality, with the majority related to service and financial processes including delays in automobile delivery, delays in calculating monthly instalments, price variation, failure to provide a registration ( licence) and failure to supply the agreed product. The proposed method is an efficient way to solve large-scale multidimensional problems and provide a robust and reliable set of results.
Practical implications
The proposed method makes it much easier for management to deal with complaints by significantly reducing their number. The highest-ranked complaints from customers of the car industry in Iran are those related to delivery time, price alternations, customer service support and quality issues. Surveying the list of complaints shows that paying attention to the four most voiced complaints can reduce them more than 54%. Management can make appropriate strategies to improve the production quality as well as business processes, thus producing a significant number of customer complaints.
Originality/value
This paper proposes a comprehensive approach to critically analyse the VoCs by combining qualitative and decision-making approaches including K-mean, FCOPRAS, fuzzy Delphi and FBWM. This is the first paper that analyses the VoCs in the automotive sector in a developing country’s context involving large-scale decision-making problem-solving.
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Pantea Foroudi, Khalid Hafeez and Mohammad M. Foroudi
This paper aims to examine the impact of corporate logos on corporate image and reputation in creating competitive advantage in the context of Persia and Mexico as emerging…
Abstract
Purpose
This paper aims to examine the impact of corporate logos on corporate image and reputation in creating competitive advantage in the context of Persia and Mexico as emerging markets. The paper provides an extensive links between corporate logo and its dimension and internal stakeholders’ attitudes towards advertisement, familiarity and recognisability as intermediaries to corporate image and reputation.
Design/methodology/approach
A qualitative exploratory approach was undertaken, comprising 12 face-to-face interviews and 14 skype in-depth interviews with graphic designers, design, communication and marketing consultant in Mexico and Persia based on attribution theory.
Findings
The study posits that the more favorable the name, colour, typeface and design of the company logo, the more favorable the attitude Mexican consumers have towards the corporate logo, corporate image and reputation. However, in comparison for Persia these factors have less effect on customers’ judgment and behaviour, towards the corporate logo, corporate image and reputation. The research findings suggest that the selection of colour in a corporate logo is related to its marketing objectives, cultural values, desired customer relationship levels with the organisation and organisation’s corporate communications.
Originality/value
Corporate logo has received little attention in marketing literature and rarely researched in the context of emerging market. This is the first research of its kind to find the effect of the compound logo in emerging markets of Persia and Mexico. Therefore, this research makes significant contribution towards the corporate visual identity literature by developing of the sphere of influence of the corporate logo and its antecedents and consequences (corporate image and corporate reputation).
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Khalid Hafeez, Fathalla M. Alghatas, Pantea Foroudi, Bang Nguyen and Suraksha Gupta
The purpose of this paper is to examine how entrepreneurs engage in a virtual community of practice (VCoP) to share knowledge. Intensity of engagement is taken as a proxy to…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to examine how entrepreneurs engage in a virtual community of practice (VCoP) to share knowledge. Intensity of engagement is taken as a proxy to measure the strength of knowledge sharing.
Design/methodology/approach
The archival data spanning over a three-year period from “Start-up-Nation©” (a VCoP purposefully setup for entrepreneurs) are used for analysis. A set of indices are introduced to measure participants’ intensity of engagement in terms of message length, message frequency and reciprocity in the knowledge sharing process. Content analysis is employed to test a sample of “highly engaged”, “moderately engaged”, “low engaged” and “not engaged” discussion topics as part of the online discourse.
Findings
The authors find that entrepreneurs normally use short (fewer than 100 words) or medium (fewer than 250 words) message size to contribute to the discussions. In addition, the authors find that senior members and discussion moderators play important roles in igniting the “reciprocity” behaviour in stimulating the interest of the community with the topic discussion. The authors also find that highly engaged topics usually lead to further discussion threads.
Originality/value
This is the first study of its kind to explore how entrepreneurs engage in a VCoP to share their knowledge and experiences. The set of measurement indices tested here provide a tool for the owner, designer and moderator of the VCoP to measure the utility of their website in terms of its members’ participation. In addition, the set of textual and subjective interventions identified here enables the moderator (administrator) of a VCoP to design effective interventions to facilitate online discourse and augments the knowledge sharing process amongst its community members.
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Hannan Amoozad Mahdiraji, Khalid Hafeez, Ali Asghar Abbasi Kamardi and Jose Arturo Garza-Reyes
This paper proposes a multi-layer hybrid decision-making approach to evaluate the capability alternatives for developing a collaborative network to operate in the international…
Abstract
Purpose
This paper proposes a multi-layer hybrid decision-making approach to evaluate the capability alternatives for developing a collaborative network to operate in the international market.
Design/methodology/approach
The present study is contextualised in the Iranian pistachio export industry. An extensive review of the state-of-the-art literature on supplier collaboration was conducted to identify key capabilities that are essential to establish a collaborative network. The set of defined capabilities were then optimised through interviews with 14 experts from the relevant industry, academics and export authorities. A combination of the fuzzy Delphi method and the best–worst method (BWM) approach was, respectively, used to reduce the number of capability alternatives and assign priority weights to these alternatives. Subsequently, a weighted aggregated sum product assessment method (WASPAS) was employed to rank and evaluate the ability to creating a collaborative network for the export of pistachio.
Findings
From the extant literature review, 18 capabilities for the formation of coordination networks in the international markets were identified. Then, the prominent indicators in forming a global network were extracted. After ranking the top pistachio export countries/regions to formalise an efficient collaborative network, it was revealed that although Iran exports approximately 30% of the global market, it falls behind the USA and European Union. The competitors have scored higher in critical criteria, including “trust and commitment”, “strategy and management”, “managerial control and standardization” and “financial resources”.
Originality/value
The proposed hybrid approach encompassing fuzzy Delphi–BWM–WASPAS offers to solve the capability evaluation and selection as well as ranking the possible alternative to formalise a collaborative network in an integrated fashion. This combination of methods is capable to first identify the most important factors, then measuring their importance and eventually rank the possible alternatives. The suggested framework provides an approach to deal with the uncertainty of global collaborative network formation.
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Nuno Arroteia and Khalid Hafeez
This chapter explores how the recognition of opportunities regarding developing technology and entering a new market is influenced by the systemic effect of social forces. These…
Abstract
This chapter explores how the recognition of opportunities regarding developing technology and entering a new market is influenced by the systemic effect of social forces. These include institutions, social networks and the entrepreneur’s cognitive frames. This study adopts a longitudinal perspective by capturing and analysing the phenomenon in two moments: first, when the businesses started to operate domestically and second, when they began to internationalise. The cases of five Brazilian technology firms are analysed. The findings reveal the systemic and mutually reinforcing effect of these social forces on the recognition of opportunities. The entrepreneurs’ cognitive frames were particularly vital in recognising opportunities to enter the Brazilian market. The institutional support provided by universities along with government mechanisms and entrepreneurs’ social networks were essential to accrue experiential and non-experiential knowledge of international markets, therefore contributing to the recognition of international opportunities. The temporal perspective employed in this research assists the understanding of how historical events shape entrepreneurs’ capabilities to recognise and change company discourse to pursue the recognition of international opportunities. The results provide guidelines for researchers, practitioners and policy-makers, particularly in the emerging economies in Latin America, to support the growth and flourishing of entrepreneurial ventures through pursuing international opportunities.
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Khalid Hafeez and Essmail Ali Essmail
This paper seeks to introduce an integrated framework to determine the relationships between organisation core competences and associated personal competencies.
Abstract
Purpose
This paper seeks to introduce an integrated framework to determine the relationships between organisation core competences and associated personal competencies.
Design/methodology/approach
At first organisation core competences are determined by conducting internal and external benchmarking exercises, respectively, employing the “collectiveness” and “uniqueness” measures using key capabilities as a basis. Subsequently a pair‐wise comparison using the Analytic Hierarchy Process (AHP) is conducted to assess related personal competencies using the Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development list of competencies. The paper shows how these individual competencies are crucial to the overall organisational core competences. The framework is tested for a construction company, where five management directors are interviewed to develop an overall picture regarding the strengths and weaknesses of the company's key capabilities.
Findings
Overall the results show that, despite being a construction company, the composition of its organisational capabilities is dominantly governed by intangible assets’ contributions. The AHP prioritisation analysis confirmed that with regard to Innovative solutions, organisational core competence, Customer focus, and Team orientation are the most related personal competencies.
Originality/value
This paper makes an original contribution in the core competence literature by showing how to evaluate individual competencies that are essential to the construction of the organisational core competence. The use of AHP facilitates consistent data by screening out any subjective anomalies. The outcome of this exercise can help management prioritise the most related personal competencies needed for developing its organisational core competences and to undertake crucial business functions.
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Khalid Hafeez and Izidean Aburawi
Effective human resource planning allows management to recruit, develop and deploy the right people at the right place at the right time, to meet organizational internal and…
Abstract
Purpose
Effective human resource planning allows management to recruit, develop and deploy the right people at the right place at the right time, to meet organizational internal and external service level commitments. Firms are constantly looking out for strategies to cope with skill shortages that are particularly acute in the “knowledge intense” industries due to high staff turnover. The purpose of this paper is to describe how system dynamics modeling allows management to plan to hire and develop right level of skills and competencies in the organizational inventory to meet desired service level targets.
Design/methodology/approach
An integrated system dynamics framework is used to develop various feedbacks and feed forward paths in the context of competence planning and development. The model is mapped onto an overseas process industry company's recruitment and attrition situations and tested using real data.
Findings
Strategies for human resource planning are developed by conducting time‐based dynamic analysis. Optimum design guidelines are provided to reduce the unwanted scenario of competence surplus and/or shortage, and therefore, to reduce disparity in between service level needs and availability of right competencies.
Research limitations/implications
System dynamics type of modeling is usually suited for medium to long range timescale (two to five years scenarios). There is a need for the model to be tested in a high turnover industry such as IT to test its efficacy in short‐term time scale, where shortage in required talent is more acute. Also this model is tested for measuring the generic skill‐sets in here. There is a need to test the model for a mixture of generic and specialized skills‐set in a specific business operation.
Practical implications
The authors anticipate that system dynamics modeling would help the decision makers and HR professionals to devise medium to long‐term human resource planning strategies to anticipate and meet the service level expectations from the internal and external customers.
Social implications
Such planning exercise will avoid the situation of customer dissatisfaction due to right competence shortages. Also this will reduce the staff surplus scenario that usually leads to knee‐jerk reaction to lay‐off unwanted skills, which is usually a costly exercise and impacts negatively on staff morale.
Originality/value
Use of the systems dynamics model introduced here is a novel way to analyze human resource planning function to meet the target service level demands. The idea that an organization can estimate the service level requirements for medium to long‐term situations, and conduct what‐if scenarios in a dynamic sense, can provide valuable information in strategic planning purposes.
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