Search results
1 – 10 of 50Paul Levy, Joe Morecroft and Mona Rashidirad
Based on the case study of an SME company in the United Kingdom (which we will call SweetStar Cloud), this paper examines the attempts of the company to achieve significant…
Abstract
Based on the case study of an SME company in the United Kingdom (which we will call SweetStar Cloud), this paper examines the attempts of the company to achieve significant strategic change. The company is attempting to move from being a tradition managed service provider of information services towards becoming a significant influencer in the market for digital services in the UK. As part of a knowledge transfer partnership (KTP), a local UK University has been closely involved in developing this new strategic direction and it is well poised to present and analyse the story. From the use of tried and tested strategic tools, including Porter's generic strategies and segmentation and targeting, the company has also embraced digital-specific approaches for developing partnerships with clients, developing pilot projects and experimenting with its use of social media. At the heart of this research is an analysis of the move from push marketing towards models of attraction. This paper aims to explore how traditional strategic tools are still applicable in the digital era alongside new tactical approaches in the digital sector. This aim has led to an approach to business that is responsible, in terms of moving away from a traditional push-selling model to one of partnership with customers at a strategic level. Strategy in dynamic markets often highlights responsiveness as a key success factor. The ability to respond (a response-ability) requires more agile companies. As SweetStar Cloud has developed its strategy, it has focused in achieving this more effective ability to respond through a more collaborative approach. In this sense, agile response-ability converges with business responsibility, as new abilities in communication, cooperation and trust development become key.
Details
Keywords
Christopher Nyanga, Jaloni Pansiri and Delly Chatibura
The purpose of this paper is to demonstrate the relevance of business intelligence (BI) in businesses in general and tourism firms in particular. BI has been hailed as an…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to demonstrate the relevance of business intelligence (BI) in businesses in general and tourism firms in particular. BI has been hailed as an innovation that can propel businesses that adopt the system to high productivity and efficiency. This paper confirms that view but further adds that BI also enhances a business’s competitiveness.
Design/methodology/approach
This paper reviews literature on the use of BI in tourism. Although current literature is largely fragmented, focusing on BI, the tourism industry and the notion of competitiveness separately, this paper makes an attempt to bring the three sub-themes in the same study and highlights their interconnectedness. The study adopts two environmental analysis models to better analyze this matter. First is the environmental analysis model as based on Downes’s modification of Porter’s five forces framework. The second model used is the resource-based view approach to business environmental analysis.
Findings
This paper affirms that the tourism industry is one of those industries that continue to benefit from the advantages that come with the adoption of a BI system. Literature shows that the tourism industry was one of those that first adopted BI in order to benefit from the benefits that come with its adoption. Such advantages include flexible and user friendly tourists’ data capture, storage, retrieval, processing and analytical capabilities.
Research limitations/implications
This was a largely literature review-based study. There is, therefore, room for strengthening its findings by conducting field work and mixed methods research for more robust results.
Practical implications
This study will surely benefit the tourism industry and business in general from its highly favorable conclusions to the benefits that come with the adoption of a BI system. It can also be used as a reference in to the tourism field, especially aggregating important concepts and literature that can help future practical studies.
Social implications
Society will also benefit from this study in terms of the new knowledge that has been generated. Members of society will then be in a position to demand products and services that are a result of innovation and informed decision making.
Originality/value
Although this paper is largely based on literature, the conclusions reached are those of the authors. A close assessment of the literature in BI and the tourism industry was done, resulting in the conclusions reached by the authors.
Details
Keywords
This study aims to present a step-by-step implementation of the culturo–techno-contextual approach (CTCA) in a university classroom to teach industry and competitive analysis in…
Abstract
Purpose
This study aims to present a step-by-step implementation of the culturo–techno-contextual approach (CTCA) in a university classroom to teach industry and competitive analysis in the Ghanaian undergraduate entrepreneurship development curriculum. It further investigates the efficacy of the CTCA in breaking difficulties related to the study of industry and competitive analysis as a difficult concept in the Ghanaian entrepreneurship development curriculum. In doing this, the CTCA is compared with the lecture method.
Design/methodology/approach
The study adopts a quantitative approach. A quasi-experimental design is employed to gather data from 215 level 400 (4th-year undergraduate students) entrepreneurship development students at a Ghanaian public university. The experimental group was taught with CTCA, while the control group used the lecture method. The data was collected using the industry and competitive analysis achievement test (ICAAT). As random assignment to experimental and control groups were not possible, the data were subjected to an analysis of covariance approach with pre-test scores added as a covariate.
Findings
The results show that the experimental group significantly outperformed the control group. The results further indicate the efficacy of CTCA in improving undergraduate students’ performance in complex concepts of entrepreneurship.
Originality/value
Researchers usually test alternative teaching methods to break down barriers to study difficulties. The study’s uniqueness stems from the CTCA’s ground-breaking application to the study of entrepreneurship development in a Ghanaian public university.
Details
Keywords
Ashish Kumar, Shikha Sharma, Ritu Vashistha, Vikas Srivastava, Mosab I. Tabash, Ziaul Haque Munim and Andrea Paltrinieri
International Journal of Emerging Markets (IJoEM) is a leading journal that publishes high-quality research focused on emerging markets. In 2020, IJoEM celebrated its fifteenth…
Abstract
Purpose
International Journal of Emerging Markets (IJoEM) is a leading journal that publishes high-quality research focused on emerging markets. In 2020, IJoEM celebrated its fifteenth anniversary, and the objective of this paper is to conduct a retrospective analysis to commensurate IJoEM's milestone.
Design/methodology/approach
Data used in this study were extracted using the Scopus database. Bibliometric analysis, using several indicators, is adopted to reveal the major trends and themes of a journal. Mapping of bibliographic data is carried using VOSviewer.
Findings
Study findings indicate that IJoEM has been growing for publications and citations since its inception. Four significant research directions emerged, i.e. consumer behaviour, financial markets, financial institutions and corporate governance and strategic dimensions based on cluster analysis of IJoEM's publications. The identified future research directions are focused on emergent investments opportunities, trends in behavioural finance, emerging role technology-financial companies, changing trends in corporate governance and the rising importance of strategic management in emerging markets.
Originality/value
To the best of the authors' knowledge, this is the first study to conduct a comprehensive bibliometric analysis of IJoEM. The study presents the key themes and trends emerging from a leading journal considered a high-quality research journal for research on emerging markets by academicians, scholars and practitioners.
Details
Keywords
Silvia Ferraz Nogueira De Tommaso and Vanessa Pinsky
This study aims to investigate how Suzano implemented shared value (SV) strategies to reconcile profitability and social welfare by joining innovation and sustainability.
Abstract
Purpose
This study aims to investigate how Suzano implemented shared value (SV) strategies to reconcile profitability and social welfare by joining innovation and sustainability.
Design/methodology/approach
The authors use an exploratory, descriptive qualitative approach using the interactive qualitative analysis (IQA) method. IQA procedures and protocols were operationalized to get to Suzano's SV system. Primary data were collected through in-depth interviews. Content analyses were conducted with the support of Atlas.ti software.
Findings
The most relevant findings of this research are (1) Suzano developed a unique strategy to spread collaborative and innovation mindset throughout the organization called “innovability”; (2) Suzano's effort to understand local community's demands and a collaborative work raised the companies' profitability and enabled prosperity for the community; (3) the IQA procedures and protocols enabled the development of a Suzano's SV system, composed of nine elements and their relationships. They are purpose-driven leadership, materiality matrix, social welfare, profitability, ecosystem, business results, social results, impact and sustainable economic development, (4) purpose-driven leadership is the system's driver.
Research limitations/implications
This study was limited to studying the implementation of the SV as a strategy to reconcile profitability and welfare. Despite the findings about the company's conflicts with local communities and the strategy with small family producers, other studies could evaluate the strategy of different stakeholders, such as the supply chain since Suzano is one of the leading companies of paper sales in Brazil.
Practical implications
By using IQA protocols and the nine elements of this study, other researchers may replicate it to investigate the adoption of SV strategies in other organizations. The SV system developed in this study may be used by business leaders to disseminate the SV policies and practices in their organization.
Social implications
The company adopts the three forms of SV -reconceiving products and markets, redefining productivity in the value chain and developing clusters with the local community-as strategies for sustainable and collaborative management. Suzano was led to get involved with the problems and conflicts' root causes. By doing so, the company unlocked innovation as a driver to achieve sustainable and responsible management. For them, innovation is in service of sustainability, creating innovability. Both concepts are part of the whole organization culture and practice. Innovability is Suzano's essence, and SV strategies are the means to scale it.
Originality/value
The originality of the paper relies on the method and techniques used to gather and analyze primary data, in which the unit of analysis (Suzano's SV strategy) was considered a system. Major findings were validated with research participants. By using IQA protocols and the nine elements of this study, other researchers may replicate it to investigate the adoption of SV strategies in other organizations.
Details
Keywords
In Paris, in 2015, 195 countries agreed to limit the emission of CO2. The German Energiewende is an example of the types of regulatory changes that countries will need to enact to…
Abstract
Purpose
In Paris, in 2015, 195 countries agreed to limit the emission of CO2. The German Energiewende is an example of the types of regulatory changes that countries will need to enact to meet their Paris commitments. The Energiewende saw the German Government forcefully shift the energy base from non-renewable to renewable sources to reduce CO2 emissions, and the effect of this was to reduce the market value of some German energy firms by as much as 70%. This paper aims to consider the strategic options available to energy incumbents facing the sort of regulatory challenges implied by the Paris agreement.
Design/methodology/approach
This paper is a literature review and a thought experiment, in which, 12 fields of strategy research are reviewed, and using the insights obtained from these fields, four strategic options are proposed for the energy incumbents, namely, “fight,” “flight,” “fit” and “follow.” Each strategy is introduced and evaluated, and, by looking at examples from other industries, the viability of that strategy for the energy industry is concluded.
Findings
Of the four strategies identified – that is, fight (lobbying), flight (internationalization or diversification), follow (imitation) or fit (adopt a core competencies perspective that re-imagines the firm) – it was concluded that only the last is feasible. The present review, and the application of the discussion to the energy industry, suggests that “fight” is viable only in the short term as a delaying strategy; “flight” is a value-destroying strategy, and, therefore not a real option for the energy industry; “follow” will lead the energy incumbents to lose their current positions of power; and only “fit” will allow the energy incumbents to remain viable in the long term.
Research limitations/implications
All research has its limitations. The main limitation of this research is the fact that this study is a thought experiment based on a literature review. The suggested strategies are forward-looking, but are based on historical examples, and are intended to guide the energy incumbents, even when they are based on non-energy examples. The reader should view this paper in that light.
Practical implications
The practical implication of this research is that, of the 12 fields of strategy that it reviews, there is only one feasible strategy for the energy incumbents looking to survive the sorts of regulatory challenges implied by the Energiewende and the Paris agreement. The research suggests that many/most/all of the energy incumbents will, at first, choose a “fight” strategy, but in the long term only those that choose for a “fit” strategy will survive the sort of disruptions implied by these regulatory changes.
Social implications
The social implications of this research are that many/most/all firms in the affected industry will go through a predictable process, of first resisting the change, before eventually supporting it; that “flight” is not a viable strategy; and that radical innovation rarely comes from incumbents. Policymakers should be aware of these facts when not only working with incumbents to develop the regulations necessary to meet the Paris climate commitments but also looking at the impacts of regulation and when trying to “pick winners.”
Originality/value
The paper reviews the existing literature, and the review is not new. The application to a specific industry and the advice gleaned from this for managers and policymakers is new and of high value.
Details
Keywords
The purpose of this paper is to investigate the relative contribution of tangible resource (TR) and intangible resource (IR), and capabilities on firm performance based on the…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to investigate the relative contribution of tangible resource (TR) and intangible resource (IR), and capabilities on firm performance based on the measures of market share, sales turnover and profitability.
Design/methodology/approach
A cross-sectional survey research design was used in the study. The modified version of Galbreath and Galvin’s (2008) resource-performance questionnaire which included a total number of 45 questions was applied on 243 Turkish firms operating in different industries. The data collected were analysed by hierarchical regression analysis.
Findings
The findings revealed that IRs and capabilities contributed more greatly to firm performance compared to TRs. However, in contrast to the proposition of resource-based theory that views capabilities as the most important skills that underpin the development and deployment of both TR and IR, capabilities offered rather limited additional explanatory power to the prediction of firm performance only with respect to profitability against the combined effects of TR and IR.
Originality/value
The vast majority of the empirical resource-based view (RBV) research concentrates on developed countries and very little is known about results outside of this domain. This study employs Turkish business databases to assess the relative importance of TR and IR and capabilities on performance differences among firms in Turkey which was the 17th largest economy in the world trade in 2016. Second, in the RBV literature, limited research tests the contribution of capabilities to firm success after simultaneously accounting for the effects of other resources (namely, TR and IR) available to the firm. Finally, this research offers practical contributions to executives and managers who have to make adequate decisions for firm survival and growth in the competitive business arena.
Details
Keywords
Qiuju Yin, Chenxi Guo, Chao Dong and Tianmei Wang
The paper aims to explore the effect of problem-based learning (PBL) embedding degree and education level on individual perception, as well as the moderating effect of nationality.
Abstract
Purpose
The paper aims to explore the effect of problem-based learning (PBL) embedding degree and education level on individual perception, as well as the moderating effect of nationality.
Design/methodology/approach
The paper first conceptualizes PBL embedding degree which means the extent of applying PBL. It takes an empirical study on an international MBA class in one of the first-class universities in China. An investigation is taken with the designed “PBL-based Cognitive Perception Scale” and an Ordered Probit Model is constructed.
Findings
The findings of this study are as follows: PBL embedding degree has a significant effect on the cognitive perception of student, which varies in different dimensions; the educational level of international student positively affects the cognitive perception toward PBL; and nationality may moderate the relationship between the PBL embedding degree and individual perception.
Originality/value
The paper replenishes the investigation and application of Bloom’s Taxonomy of Learning. By conceptualizing PBL embedding degree, the paper extends the research perspectives of PBL and proposes a subjective method on the evaluation of PBL. The paper also may provide a guidance for PBL curriculum design with sustainable development of education.
Details
Keywords
Emanuele Lettieri, Laura Marone, Nicola Spezia, Ilenia Gheno, Cinzia Mambretti and Giuseppe Andreoni
This study aims to offer novel insights on how industrial marketing might contribute to bringing innovations to market in the peculiar case of health care. This study aims at…
Abstract
Purpose
This study aims to offer novel insights on how industrial marketing might contribute to bringing innovations to market in the peculiar case of health care. This study aims at shedding first light on how the alignment between dissemination and exploitation activities might contribute to bringing to market innovations developed by public–private partnerships funded by the European Commission (EC).
Design/methodology/approach
The theoretical development comes from an inductive research design based on the 42-month pan-European H2020 research project NESTORE aimed at developing an integrated portfolio of innovations for the healthy aging of European citizens.
Findings
This study advances the theory and practice of industrial marketing in health care by conceptualizing an actionable method to align dissemination and exploitation activities within EC-funded projects, facilitating that innovations will go to market. The method is composed of five phases. First, an external analysis to define market opportunities and users’/stakeholders’ needs. Second, an internal analysis to identify the most promising exploitable outputs. Third, scenarios crystallization to define the most suitable scenarios (business models) to bring the selected exploitable outputs to market. Fourth, exploitation and dissemination alignment through the identification and involvement of the most relevant stakeholders. Fifth, scenario refinement and business plan.
Originality/value
This study is relevant because many EC-funded projects still fail to move innovations from labs to market, thus limiting the benefits for the European citizens and the competitiveness of Europe with respect to the USA and China. Although this relevance, past studies overlooked the peculiar context of EC-funded innovation projects, privileging pharmaceutical and biomedical companies. This study advance theory and practice of industrial marketing in health care.
Details
Keywords
The purpose of this paper is to present a framework of ideation pathways that organically extend the current stock of knowledge to generate new and useful knowledge. Although…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to present a framework of ideation pathways that organically extend the current stock of knowledge to generate new and useful knowledge. Although detailed, granular guidance is available in the strategy literature on all aspects of empirically testing theory, the other key aspect of theory development – theory generation – remains relatively neglected. The framework developed in this paper addresses this gap by proposing pathways for how new theory can be generated.
Design/methodology/approach
Grounded in two foundational principles in epistemology, the Genetic Argument and the open-endedness of knowledge, I offer a framework of distinct pathways that systematically lead to the creation of new knowledge.
Findings
Existing knowledge can be deepened (through introspection), broadened (through leverage) and rejuvenated (through innovation). These ideation pathways can unlock the vast, hidden potential of current knowledge in strategy.
Research limitations/implications
The novelty and doability of the framework can potentially inspire research on a broad, community-wide basis, engaging PhD students and management faculty, improving knowledge, democratizing scholarship and deepening the societal footprint of strategy research.
Originality/value
Knowledge is open-ended. The more we know, the more we appreciate how much we don’t know. But the lack of clear guidance on rigorous pathways along which new knowledge that advances both theory and practice can be created from prior knowledge has stymied strategy research. The paper’s framework systematically pulls together for the first time the disparate elements of transforming past learning into new knowledge in a coherent epistemological whole.
Details