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1 – 9 of 9Sam Solaimani, Tijl van Eck, Henk Kievit and Kitty Koelemeijer
Lean Startup (LS) has gained considerable traction in the startup scene, especially within digital firms where the concept finds the concept's genesis. However, there are more and…
Abstract
Purpose
Lean Startup (LS) has gained considerable traction in the startup scene, especially within digital firms where the concept finds the concept's genesis. However, there are more and more calls in the entrepreneurship literature to study LS's application beyond the digital context. The purpose of this study is to explore the applicability of LS within the largely under-researched context of non-digital entrepreneurs. To structure the authors' understanding of the participating entrepreneurs' cognitive and behavioural logic, effectuation theory is applied.
Design/methodology/approach
To explore how LS is applied in non-digital settings, this study analyses the LS approach of 15 Dutch brick-and-mortar and click-and-mortar Small to Medium-sized Enterprises (SMEs) and startups.
Findings
This study provides empirical evidence that non-digital entrepreneurs pursue an effectual logic in their LS approach. However, the entrepreneurs' LS approach appeared to be contextualised to the non-digital contexts' inherent constraints and trade-offs. Such contextualisation calls for a particular set of skills and competencies, including applying mixed-methods cross-validation, affinity and passion for craftsmanship and aesthetics, inferring from limited, qualitative, and often skewed data, establishing an empathetic collaborative relationship with customers and suppliers, and leveraging prior market knowledge and experience.
Originality/value
This study advances the current understanding of the LS applicability and gives a more nuanced account of how LS is practised in the context of non-digital firms, the challenges entrepreneurs involved in non-digital firms need to overcome, and the skills and competencies they need to possess. In practical terms, the findings help non-digital entrepreneurs and coaches to be more heedful of the contextual peculiarities when employing LS.
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Vincent Blijleven, Yiwei Gong, Afshin Mehrsai and Kitty Koelemeijer
Following positive results of Lean implementation in manufacturing environments, Lean has become an emerging philosophy for clients and suppliers of information technology (IT…
Abstract
Purpose
Following positive results of Lean implementation in manufacturing environments, Lean has become an emerging philosophy for clients and suppliers of information technology (IT) services. However, how to implement Lean in IT outsourcing relationships has been addressed sparsely in academic literature. The purpose of this paper is to investigate critical success factors (CSFs) for implementing Lean in IT outsourcing relationships. Key findings, implications and avenues for future research are discussed.
Design/methodology/approach
Six IT outsourcing relationships were qualitatively investigated by means of 36 semi-structured interviews. CSFs were identified based on interview transcription analyses, selection techniques and expert reviews.
Findings
In total, 16 CSFs for Lean implementation in IT outsourcing relationships are identified and described.
Practical implications
The CSFs presented in this paper indicate key areas that deserve managerial attention to steer Lean implementation efforts in IT outsourcing relationships in a favorable direction.
Originality/value
This study is the first to describe the phenomenon of “Lean IT outsourcing” and provides researchers and practitioners with a foundation to further examine Lean implementation in IT outsourcing relationships.
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Jos Lemmink, Martin Wetzels and Kitty Koelemeijer
In today's marketplace for fast‐moving consumer goods, many brands exist with similar characteristics. Development and maintenance of product differentiation becomes increasingly…
Abstract
In today's marketplace for fast‐moving consumer goods, many brands exist with similar characteristics. Development and maintenance of product differentiation becomes increasingly difficult to realize for manufacturers. Consequently, non‐price competition particularly by offering high quality customer services, becomes increasingly important as a marketing instrument by producers towards distributors. In this article, an empirical investigation has been conducted into the interrelationships between customer services offered by an international beverage manufacturer and customer sentiments towards partnership and dependence. It appears that despite the well‐established premium brand offered by the manufacturer and the context of a long‐term relationship, customer service significantly affects customer dependence and closeness of the relationship. Furthermore, a high degree of partnership increases customer perceptions of dependence and quality of services. In the long run, manufacturer‐distributor relationships striving for service quality and partnership will benefit from mutual reinforcement.
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Martin Wetzels, Ko de Ruyter, Jos Lemmink and Kitty Koelemeijer
The measurement of perceived service quality using the SERVQUALapproach has been criticized by a number of authors recently. Thiscriticism concerns the conceptual basis of this…
Abstract
The measurement of perceived service quality using the SERVQUAL approach has been criticized by a number of authors recently. This criticism concerns the conceptual basis of this methodology as well as its empirical operationalization. Presents a complementary approach to measuring service quality based on conjoint analysis. Discusses the application of both SERVQUAL and conjoint analysis in the context of measuring customer service quality in international marketing channels and evaluates how the results may lead to a more comprehensive insight into the quality of customer service and provide a basis for segmentation and optimization of customer service.
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Rik Pieters, Kitty Koelemeijer and Henk Roest
When assimilation processes occur, expectations have a directimpact on experiences, and experiences bias the memory for priorexpectations. Reports the results of two studies which…
Abstract
When assimilation processes occur, expectations have a direct impact on experiences, and experiences bias the memory for prior expectations. Reports the results of two studies which examine assimilation processes using path analysis. Formulates implications and recommendations for service management and for research.
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Fuan Li, J.A.F. Nicholls, Nan Zhou, Tomislav Mandokovic and Guijun Zhuang
This paper compares the shopping behavior of Chilean consumers with those in China. Both Chinese and Chilean mall visits are driven, first and foremost, by purchase; however…
Abstract
This paper compares the shopping behavior of Chilean consumers with those in China. Both Chinese and Chilean mall visits are driven, first and foremost, by purchase; however, consumers in Chile tend to be less single minded than their Chinese counterparts. Differences also exist between the two populations in their way of selecting the mall, shopping characteristics, and purchase patterns. Most importantly, Chinese shoppers relied more on their mall visits than Chileans in searching for information and finalizing their purchase decisions; at the same time, they were much more cautious in committing themselves to a purchase.
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