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The purpose of this paper is to provide a nuanced understanding of international marketing agility by connecting organizational capability literature with that of standardization and adaptation. The focus of the research is to clarify whether managing the tension between product standardization and service customization generates an extra premium in international markets.

Two disaggregated Chinese data sets, the Annual Survey of Industrial Enterprises and the China Customs Database, are used for developing an econometric model. Export quality improvement is the outcome variable in reflecting the effect of international marketing agility on performance.

International marketing agility is reached through upstream FDI intensity, particularly in the context of service FDI. Manufacturing sectors with higher service intensity have more agility, being more likely to generate export quality.

This study makes three theoretical contributions by clarifying the concept of international marketing agility as an organizational capability generated by manufacturing standardization and service customization; investigating the influence of upstream FDI intensity for export quality while taking into account the industry contexts; and obtaining an enhanced understanding of the service intensity of manufacturing firms on export quality.

The authors offer a nuanced and contextualized understanding of international marketing agility and explore the complex relationships between FDI, service intensity and export quality.

The purpose of this paper is to consolidate the servitization knowledge base from an organizational change perspective, identifying developed, developing and undeveloped topics to provide a platform that directs future research.

This paper addresses three objectives: it comprehensively examines organizational change management literature for selection of a theoretical framework; it classifies extant studies within the framework through a systemic literature review; and it analyses 232 selected papers and proposes a research agenda.

Analysis suggests increasing global awareness of the importance of services to manufacturers. However, some topics, especially related to servitization transformation, remain undeveloped.

Although the authors tried to include all publications relevant to servitization, some might not have been captured. Evaluation and interpretation relied on the research team and subsequent research workshops.

One of the most significant challenges for practitioners of servitization is how to transform a manufacturing organization to exploit the opportunity. This paper consolidates literature regarding servitization, identifying progress concerning key research topics and contributing a platform for future research. The goal is to inform research to result eventually in a roadmap for practitioners seeking to servitize.

Although extant reviews of servitization identify themes that are examined well, they struggle to identify unanswered questions. This paper addresses this gap by focusing on servitization as a process of organizational change.

The unobserved benefits of digital technologies are described as digital dark matter. Product service systems (PSSs) are bundles of products and services that deliver value in use, which is unobserved but generates benefits. This paper aims to empirically quantify digital dark matter within PSSs and correlates that measure with national competitiveness.

A novel methodology establishes the link between customer needs and a product and digital service portfolio offered across ten developed economies. The case context is the music industry where product and services are often substitutes – a cannibalistic PSS. Consumer information is obtained from a unique database of more than 18,000 consumer surveys. Consumer demand for digital formats is modelled and predicted through logistic regressions.

The work provides inverse estimations for digital dark matter within PSSs by calculating the gap between supply and demand for digital offers – described as the business model challenge. The USA has the lowest business model challenge; the home of major companies developing digital technologies. Digital dark matter is shown to be positively correlated with national competitiveness and manufacturing competitiveness indices.

The success of a cannibalistic PSS requires good understanding of market demand. Governments embarking on soft innovation policies might incentivise the development of service-orientated business models based on digital technologies.

Work expands theory on the concept of digital dark matter to the PSS literature. Empirically, a novel method is proposed to measure digital dark matter.

The need for a holistic framework for studying organisational transformation towards Servitization is implicit. This is particularly relevant as Servitization demands consideration of both business model and organisational change. The purpose of this paper is, therefore, to provide an integrative framework that systematically captures and evaluate existing literature on Servitization.

The aim of the paper has been achieved through three main objectives; comprehensively examine the literature in organisational change management that would assist with the selection of the most effective evaluation framework, classify previous studies against the proposed framework through a systematic literature review methodology and analyse the selected papers and propose research questions/propositions based on the identified gaps.

Results indicate that there are two somewhat macro opportunities for the Servitization community, namely, stronger infusion of generic theory into the Servitization debate and exploring Servitization in action through the lens of the theoretical framework.

The findings of the paper demonstrate the gaps in the Servitization literature, which indeed require further theoretical/empirical research.

It is discussed the usefulness and practicality of viewing research contributions that are setting out to be either “descriptive” or “prescriptive”. Consequently, the authors have proposed several avenues for future research based on these two viewpoints.

This paper highlights the challenges and key arguments for digital copyright protection legislation for creative industries.

This briefing is prepared by independent academics who place the arguments in context based upon literature and market data.

Many of the arguments used against copyright protection laws draw upon flawed analysis. Artistic creators should be treated fairly and their work should be afforded the same protection as other property.

Digital legislation warrants review, but not for the frequently cited reasons of “stifling innovation” or “restriction” of others using the work. Rather, artists need better protection for their work and fairer treatment with regards their property rights.

The paper provides context and practical insights into the data used to influence policy decision makers, providing a stronger case for legislative review.

The purpose of this paper is to understand how firms manage their product and service offerings, integrating supply chain management (SCM) and demand chain management (DCM) strategies. Adding services to the product portfolio of a firm may bring benefits to an organisation, but requires a reconsideration of the supply chain management approach.

A survey is used to collect data, with valid questionnaires obtained for 4,227 UK-based respondents. Empirical analysis utilises structural equation modelling (SEM).

The paper proposes that a combination of management approaches is required by firms which add services to their portfolio of traditional product offerings. A supply chain management approach may be suitable for traditional product offerings. The management of the services value chain, where the customers' role as value creator is a central feature of the construct, is better served by integration of the market orientation of DCM.

The paper addresses a research gap related to the shift in traditional activities carried out by a firm moving from purely product to a product service offer and reconsiders the supply and demand chain management approach. The paper is from a Business to Consumer (B2C) perspective. In this context, the work pioneers analysis into a particular case where a firm's product and service offerings may be substitutes for each other in the eyes of the customer.

The purpose of this paper is to estimate the scale of illegal file‐sharing activity across ten countries and to correlate this activity with country revenues. The work aims to elucidate an under‐explored business model challenge which exists in parallel with a music piracy challenge.

The study data are drawn from a number of sources, including a data set of a survey of more than 44,000 consumers in ten different countries undertaken in 2010. Following analysis, all findings are validated by a panel of industry experts.

Results show that non‐legitimate file‐sharing activity is a heterogeneous issue across countries. The scale of activity varies from 14 per cent in Germany to 44 per cent in Spain, with an average of 28 per cent. File‐sharing activity negatively correlates to music industry revenue per capita. This research finds many consumers are not engaging with online business models. Almost one fourth of the population claim that they do not consume digital music in either legal or illegal forms. This phenomenon is also negatively correlated with sales per capita.

Results support the need for policy makers to introduce strong intellectual property rights (IPR) regulation which reduces file‐sharing activity. The work also identifies a large percentage of non‐participants in the digital market who may be re‐engaged with music through business model innovation.

This research presents a map of the current file‐sharing activity in ten countries using a rich and unique dataset. The work identifies that a country's legal origin correlates to data on file‐sharing activity, with countries from a German legal origin illegally file sharing least. Approximately, half of the survey respondents chose not to answer the question related to file‐sharing activity. Different estimates of the true scale of file‐sharing activity are given based upon three different assumptions of the file sharing activity of non‐respondents to this question. The challenge of engaging consumers in the digital market through different business models is discussed in light of digital music's high velocity environment.

The purpose of this paper is to extend understanding of the success of the six sigma quality management initiative by investigating the effects of six sigma teamwork and statistical process control (SPC) on organizational‐shared vision.

The information used comes from a larger study, the data for which were collected from a random sample of 237 European firms. Of these 237 organizations, 58 have implemented six sigma. Structural equation modelling (SEM) was used to test the hypotheses.

The main findings show that six sigma teamwork and SPC positively affect the development of organizational‐shared vision. A positive but not significant influence is also observed between shared vision and organizational performance.

Positive effects found in this study should be investigated further employing a larger sample of six sigma firms and including other variables such as organizational learning. Further, the effects of these variables on performance should be measured with real results from firms to test possible direct and indirect influence on performance.

The findings of this study offer a justification of six sigma implementation in firms. This study provides the authors with an in‐depth understanding of some structural elements that characterize the six sigma methodology, enabling the authors to provide an explanation for its success.

There is little empirical research on the positive effects of six sigma implementation and even less that explains the success of six sigma initiatives. This paper contributes to filling this gap. It also contributes to emerging literature on how the development of shared vision affects organizational performance.

This study seeks to analyze theoretically and empirically how different intermediate strategic variables related to knowledge (combinative capabilities and absorptive capacity) and strategic flexibility influence the relation between CEOs' social networks and organizational performance. To date, very little research has analyzed the direct and indirect relationships between these variables.

Based on the literature, a theoretical model is developed that shows the interrelations between these variables. The methodology used was LISREL analysis. The model is then tested using data from 203 Spanish organizations.

This investigation shows the influence of CEOs' social networks (larger networks with strong ties) and capabilities (combinative capabilities and absorptive capacity) on the level of strategic flexibility. It then shows the influence of their strategic flexibility level on organizational performance. It adds theoretical and empirical arguments to the importance of CEOs' social networks for the organization.

Today's information and knowledge society requires new CEOs who can confront a reality based on knowledge and foster strategic flexibility to achieve improvements in organizational performance. However, organizations sometimes fail to achieve sustainable competitive advantage due to their limited understanding of the relationships between these strategic variables. This paper develops a complete framework of the capturing of knowledge and information from outside the organization performed by CEOs and the process they use to assimilate, transform and use this knowledge in the organization.

The purpose of this paper is to elucidate the influence that participation in a simulation experience based on the automobile industry has on the entrepreneurial attitude (entrepreneurship attitude orientation) through conflict management learning.

The sample used in this paper consists of 427 advanced undergraduate students majoring in Business Management and Administration, Economics, Tourism and Research, and Marketing. The data are collected by means of a structured questionnaire.

Results show that the simulation experience increases positive results for personal control and self‐esteem indicating that the participants applied the knowledge learned in the simulation improving their perception of control and conflict management approaches.

The paper is focused on a business game based on the automobile industry in order to involve the participants into a realistic business management experience.

Results encourage the incorporation of these simulation tools into educational programs related to entrepreneurship. Business simulations improves conflict management within and between groups, especially in the complementary activities and negotiations with real agents, it also fosters motivation and cooperative attitudes.

This paper contributes to increase knowledge in conflict management for workgroups maintaining intensive and relentless relationships over a relatively long period of time in which the simulation develops. At a more practical level, experience on conflict management generates acceptance of the conflict as a part of the decisions making process, which improves the entrepreneurial attitude for all participants.