Search results
1 – 10 of over 120000Bikram Jit Singh Mann and Mandeep Kaur
The paper aims to analyze and compare the branding strategies used in the three sectors namely FMCG, services and durables.
Abstract
Purpose
The paper aims to analyze and compare the branding strategies used in the three sectors namely FMCG, services and durables.
Design/methodology/approach
Based on the literature review, a more comprehensive list of branding strategies is proposed. A content analysis of 600 randomly selected brands, 200 from each sector, is performed. The branding strategies used in the three sectors are explained and MANOVA is conducted to test the hypotheses about differences in the branding strategies across the three sectors.
Findings
The results reveal that the branding strategies vary across the three sectors. Single corporate brand strategy is predominantly used for durables and credence services. On the other hand, in case of FMCG and experience services, individual brand type endorsed by the corporate brand type is the most frequently used branding strategy. Thus, there is a trend towards corporate branding as corporate brand type is popular in all the sectors. Also, other than the single corporate brand strategy, as in case of durables and credence services, single brand type strategy is rarely used. For FMCG brands and experience services brands, companies are trying to leverage brand equity of two or more brand types.
Practical implications
The paper offers insights for designing branding strategies when branding a product/service. Brand managers may rely on corporate brand type when risk associated with a purchase is high, as in case of durables and credence services. However, when the risk associated is low, as in case of FMCG and experience services, individual brand type may be preferred, but at the same time, it should be endorsed by corporate brand type.
Originality/value
This study adds value to the growing body of literature on branding strategies by identifying a more comprehensive and simplistic list of branding strategies which is a major contribution of the paper. Further, this is one of a very few empirical studies on branding strategies and is a pioneering attempt to evaluate the branding strategies in the FMCG vis‐à‐vis services vis‐à‐vis durables sectors. It empirically substantiates that the three sectors are heterogeneous among themselves and homogeneous within themselves with respect to their branding strategies.
Details
Keywords
Stephen Lee and Simon Stevenson
The question as to whether it is better to diversify a real estate portfolio within a property type across the regions or within a region across the property types is one of…
Abstract
Purpose
The question as to whether it is better to diversify a real estate portfolio within a property type across the regions or within a region across the property types is one of continuing interest for academics and practitioners alike. However, this study is somewhat different from the usual sector/regional analysis in that this study is designed to investigate whether a real estate fund manager can obtain a statistically significant improvement in risk/return performance from extending out of a London based portfolio into firstly the rest of the South East of England and then into the remainder of the UK, or whether the manger would be better off staying within London and diversifying across the various property types.
Design/methodology/approach
In order to examine these issues we form a number of portfolios that can be directly compared to a number of benchmark portfolios, as well as to each other. Then using the statistical tests developed by Gibbons et al. and Jobson and Korkie, we investigate whether the benefits that accrue from the differing diversification strategies are statistically significant or not.
Findings
The results show that staying within only one sector and one region (London) is undesirable in terms of risk and return compared with all three benchmark portfolios considered here. Secondly diversification on a naïve basis, or in an optimal fashion, leads to significant improvements in performance, irrespective of whether it is across different property types within London or within the same sector across the regions. Finally the results indicate that staying within London and diversifying across the various property types may offer performance comparable with regional diversification, although this conclusion largely depends on the time period and the fund manager's ability to diversify efficiently.
Originality/value
The results suggest that diversification almost always offers increased performance. Indeed a little diversification can quickly lead to levels of performance that is superior to number of benchmarks as well as performance insignificantly different from that of the most diversified portfolio that could be constructed! Consequently fund managers should be encouraged to diversify, be it across the regions or across the sectors of the UK.
Details
Keywords
Silveli Cristo-Andrade and Mário José Franco
Based on firms’ need to remain competitive and dynamic in a scenario of constant change, the purpose of this paper is to compare the actors involved in cooperation for innovation…
Abstract
Purpose
Based on firms’ need to remain competitive and dynamic in a scenario of constant change, the purpose of this paper is to compare the actors involved in cooperation for innovation between Brazilian small- and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) and large firms (LFs), and also in two industries/sectors, manufacturing and services.
Design/methodology/approach
To achieve this objective, the database chosen was PINTEC, with data available from 1998 to 2014. The statistical analyses performed were binary logistic regression, descriptive statistics of the variables, correlation matrix and the difference of means.
Findings
The empirical evidence show that the firm’s characteristics (SME or LF) favour the use of one type of cooperation for innovation or another, highlighting SMEs’ proximity to their clients and LFs’ structures, tending to belong to business groups and having links to training centres and technical assistance networks.
Research limitations/implications
The theoretical contribution of this study lies in the evidence that types of cooperation for innovation can vary according to firm size and the type of industry/sector, and the practical contribution lies in pointing out the importance of clients for SMEs, and for LFs the importance of business groups, technical assistance and professional training centres. The importance of suppliers in cooperation for innovation stands out in the service sector, and that of clients in the manufacturing sector.
Originality/value
This study shows that the types of cooperation to innovation can vary according to firm size and type of sector, in an emerging market and with low rates of innovation. It is emphasized that most research on the subject has been carried out in developed countries or emerging Asian ones. Therefore, this study is innovative because it shows particularities of the Brazilian market that can subsequently be observed in other emerging markets.
Details
Keywords
The purpose of this research is to investigate the role and importance of the annual report as a source of information about public sector entities.
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this research is to investigate the role and importance of the annual report as a source of information about public sector entities.
Design/methodology/approach
This research uses a survey methodology to access users of public sector annual reports and is innovative because it has directly studied actual users across the entire public sector.
Findings
The findings of this research indicate that the annual report is an important source of information about public sector entities but it is not the most important source of information. This study also found that the annual report is not regarded as equally important across all public sector entity types. Differences in the importance attached to the annual report by different stakeholder groups were also noted.
Research implications/limitations
These findings have important implications for policy makers with respect to the information content of public sector annual reports. In particular the blanket approach to legislative requirements for annual reporting may need to be reviewed in view of the findings of this research that there are differing levels of importance attached to the annual report as an information source by users from different public sector entity types.
Originality/value
The research in this paper is original in that it has, systematically and directly accessed users of public sector annual reports to determine their information sources.
Details
Keywords
Rui Vinhas da Silva, Alexandra Ferreira-Lopes, Helena Carvalho and José Duarte
The net outward investment position (NOIP) indicator is insufficient for the purposes of understanding firms’ internationalization decision-making behaviour. The indicator does…
Abstract
Purpose
The net outward investment position (NOIP) indicator is insufficient for the purposes of understanding firms’ internationalization decision-making behaviour. The indicator does not allow for the withdrawal of insights into the structure of an economy and is a weak predictor of the degree of foreign direct investment. The purpose of this paper is to argue that a typology of firms aggregated according to intrinsic characteristics of those firms is a better predictor of the degree of internationalization of an economy than the NOIP.
Design/methodology/approach
This paper uses a database of 2,133 firms located in Portugal with international operations, made available by AICEP, a government agency. This paper uses multiple correspondence and cluster analyses to build a typology of firms and obtains evidence of common characteristics of the constituent groups.
Findings
This paper identifies a typology of firms characterized by five types differentiated by firm age, length of internationalization process, sector of economic activity, legal status and psychological/cultural proximity. These variables suggest an evolutionary, iterative, self-learning approach to internationalization, which can be better explained by the combined use of the investment development path (IDP) framework, the Uppsala Evolutionary School and Vernon’s product life cycle theory. Additionally, this paper finds that the most striking differences between developed and developing host countries are in terms of the economic sector, legal status of the firm and belonging (or not) to an economic group.
Originality/value
This paper establishes a link between the IDP framework, the Uppsala Evolutionary School and Vernon’s product life cycle theory, using a categorization of firms made according to selected characteristics to understand the internationalization of firms.
Details
Keywords
The purpose of this paper is to review current conceptualisations of social enterprise and present a new theoretical model for social enterprise in the UK.
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to review current conceptualisations of social enterprise and present a new theoretical model for social enterprise in the UK.
Design/methodology/approach
This conceptual paper draws on the rise of social enterprise in the UK context. Social enterprise in the UK emerged around the 1980s, in both political consciousness and as an academic discipline. The paper explores organisational antecedents to develop a conceptual model that prioritises different legal forms of social enterprise in the UK regulatory framework.
Findings
In critiquing policy, practitioner and academic publications, as well as the theoretical models that operationalise social enterprise, there are two observations from the literature this paper examines: first, Theories to date have tended to conceptualise social enterprise as a single hybrid form, neglecting a consideration of the various legal identities, ownership and governance types; second, Theoretical models have tended to overlook the cultural, regional and political-economic histories within their conceptualisations.
Originality/value
The value and originality of this paper lies in offering a new paradigm in the conceptualisation of social enterprise in the UK. This is a new contribution to knowledge that strengthens an understanding of the field. This paper creates the space to broaden and appreciate ideologically and operationally different hybrid business types of social enterprises that include charitable, solidarity and entrepreneurial type social enterprises.
Details
Keywords
The purpose of this paper is to understand the factors influencing leadership development (LD). It responds to the following question: what are the factors influencing the…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to understand the factors influencing leadership development (LD). It responds to the following question: what are the factors influencing the phenomenon of LD in the Syrian context.
Design/methodology/approach
A qualitative research method has been adopted, using face-to-face interviews with leaders in middle and top management.
Findings
The findings revealed that there are two types of factor influencing LD: determinant factors to LD and influencing factors on the application of LD.
Research limitations/implications
Research data has been conducted in an unstable environment because of what is called the Arab Spring, so data were collected only from for-profit sector companies that presented more flexibility for participation than state and non-profit sector organisations.
Practical implications
The paper explored two different types of factors influencing LD: factors influencing the application of LD, and factors determining LD. This helps designers of LD programmes and companies operating in Syrian context to differentiate between these two factors.
Originality/value
The study offers data and interpretation on factors influencing LD in a specific context on which foundation further studies in the Middle Eastern context can be developed.
Details
Keywords
Shoaib Abdul Basit, Thomas Kuhn and Uwe Cantner
Knowledge competencies and (R&D) activities are one of the most important sources of innovation and have been widely discussed in the literature. In comparison, the role of the…
Abstract
Purpose
Knowledge competencies and (R&D) activities are one of the most important sources of innovation and have been widely discussed in the literature. In comparison, the role of the competitive environment for the innovation activities of firms is still open to debate and has not been fully understood yet. Therefore, this paper intends to provide new evidence on the interaction between knowledge competencies and R&D activities of firms on the one side and their competitiveness in the market environment on the other. In particular, the moderating function of market competition is explored. In this respect, the analysis covers the main innovation types as well as both sectors, manufacturing and services.
Design/methodology/approach
The empirical analysis is based on a three years panel dataset of German manufacturing and service firms obtained from Mannheim Innovation Panel (MIP) and Community Innovation Surveys (CISs: 2011, 2013 and 2015). For the estimation, a binary instrumental variable treatment model with Heckman selection method is used. Also, it provides a suitable approach to estimating the binary variables in order to cope with endogeneity concerns.
Findings
The estimation results show that R&D activities and knowledge competencies are positively related to innovation activities of different types conditioned on firms' specific perception of their competitive environment, in terms of outdated products/services as well as strong competition from abroad. Most importantly, the results from the moderation estimation reveal that there is a significant difference between the manufacturing and service sector. Service firms engage more in internal R&D activities on generating product innovations while the manufacturing firms conduct more external R&D on specific types of innovation. Further, the authors find that strong competition from abroad positively and significantly reinforces the effect of knowledge competencies on innovation activities for more types in services than in manufacturing. In contrast, outdated products and services tend to decline the effect of knowledge competencies for some innovation types in both sectors. The authors also observe a positive and significant reinforcement effect on knowledge competencies. However, it is found more beneficial for service firms since they can employ more innovation strategies.
Originality/value
The focus of the study is mainly on the impact of firms' competitive environment on innovation activities in various types through its interaction with knowledge competencies and R&D activities, across manufacturing and service firms.
Details
Keywords
This paper aims to reconsider the role of asset-market participation in Diamond-Dybvig economies, to reconcile the existence of asset markets as a channel for financial…
Abstract
Purpose
This paper aims to reconsider the role of asset-market participation in Diamond-Dybvig economies, to reconcile the existence of asset markets as a channel for financial integration with the distortions that they might impose on the banking system.
Design/methodology/approach
The paper is a two-sector Diamond-Dybvig model of financial intermediation, with comparative advantages in the investment technologies, and introduces the possibility for the depositors to participate in an economy-wide asset market, when they can trade a bond without being observed by their banks.
Findings
The two-sector competitive banking equilibrium with hidden trades is not equivalent to autarky, is the unique Nash equilibrium of a “participation game” and is a constrained efficient.
Originality/value
This paper is the first to characterize the equilibrium of a two-sector Diamond-Dybvig economy with hidden trading in the asset market, and produces novel results, in contrast to the existing literature, with respect to the rationale for the existence of a financial system, its coexistence with asset markets and its efficiency. These conclusions also have important implications in terms of policy, in particular, regarding the case for the introduction of financial regulation.
Details
Keywords
Yvonne Brunetto and Rod Farr‐Wharton
There is an assumption that the implementation of managerialism within public sector organisations has improved the efficiency and effectiveness of their management of processes…
Abstract
There is an assumption that the implementation of managerialism within public sector organisations has improved the efficiency and effectiveness of their management of processes and the outcome achieved. The aim of this pilot study was to compare the impact of changes post managerialism to organisational processes on outcomes for different types of employees. The findings suggest that the implementation of managerialism within the Australian public sector organisation has been significantly different depending on the type of employee examined. The implications for management in general are that most of the outcomes were counterintuitive and further research is required to examine the impact of the implementation of managerialism within different types of public sector organisations.
Details