Search results

Based on theories related to coopetition, the purpose of this paper is to examine the patterns of business-to-business digital referrals inscribed in businesses’ digital content.

A complete industry-wise digital data set is formed by extracting digital referrals in all the content pages. The authors outline how digital referrals are strategically used among peer businesses in the peer-to-peer digital network and in the augmented digital network, taking into consideration geographical framing and physical distance.

The authors reveal how geographical framing and physical distance influence peer-to-peer referral patterns in the digital space. Quite counter-intuitively, businesses are more likely to give digital referrals for peers residing in the same region, as well as for peers located in closer proximity. Further, results from the augmented digital network show that peer businesses in closer proximity exhibit greater strategic similarity in their digital referring strategy.

The findings extend the understanding of business-to-business coopetition to the digital space and suggest that geographical framing and physical distance can induce reciprocated relationships between peers by offering each other digital referrals.

The findings shed light on the formation of a business-to-business digital coopetition strategy using digital referral marketing.

This study highlights the impact of digital referrals in business-to-business relationship management, especially in the digital coopetition context.

The purpose of this paper is to investigate the relationships between the magnitude of job offshoring and organizational contingencies, including total number of employees, multinationality, business diversification, and relevancy of business activities.

Previous studies on job offshoring were restricted in descriptive and prescriptive understanding of the phenomena. Utilizing secondary data, this paper provides empirical findings on the magnitude of job offshoring from an organizational contingency perspective.

The results indicate that larger and multinational firms tend to offshore a larger number of jobs, and less diversified firms tend to offshore a higher ratio of jobs. Also, firms that offshore their core business activities are more likely to move a higher ratio of jobs to offshore destinations.

This paper reveals some of the key organizational factors that account for the magnitude of job offshoring within American firms.

The findings offer insights in what the government, the society, the workforce need to prepare for future changes and the globalization of business.

The paper offers empirical explanations of the magnitude of job offshoring. Various governmental, private, and international institutions may rely on the findings in making political, commercial, and social policies and decisions.

This paper seeks to provide taxonomy and assessment methodologies for executives of global conglomerates with a selection of variables which can help them evaluate outsourcing decisions.

A range of established theories, which addressed outsourcing decisions, are identified. The major determinants of global outsourcing were then formulated into an integrated model. Each of the variables identified was validated using multiple theories. Finally, a weighted score index was used to demonstrate how the variables can be used to evaluate outsourcing decisions.

It provides an overview of outsourcing theories about the variety of major reasons and their associated determinants as well as attributes that are relevant to decision‐makers. It showed that the individual theories can be integrated into a global taxonomy. This taxonomy can be assessed using a weighted‐index because the inputs and computation processes contain realistic qualitative and quantitative information.

It is an assessment methodology that requires input and judgment from a variety of experts. Persons having such expertise may be fairly costly and difficult to find.

A very simple, yet comprehensive, and useful taxonomy for executives making outsourcing decisions. The assessment index is a proven methodology that is used by business consultants for a variety of related applications involving decision choices.

This paper fulfills the need for a more comprehensive view and a systematic approach to the assessment of outsourcing decisions. The index of attributes identified and the evaluation technique proposed are a practical approach.

The purpose of this paper is to explore the relationship between competitive strategy, total quality management (TQM), and continuous improvement of international project management (CIIPM).

Based on a literature review, a theoretical model and five hypotheses are developed. A cross‐sectional data set collected from 268 international project managers based in four countries is used to test the theoretical model.

The results from the statistical analysis suggest that competitive strategy does not directly influence the CIIPM performance, but it influences through the mediation of TQM practices. The results also suggest that “human resource‐based” TQM elements have stronger influence toward CIIPM performance than “technology‐based” TQM elements.

The study used four TQM variables, which originated from the MBNQA (1995) framework. Although the four variables are robust and sufficiently represent the TQM dimension, the multi‐dimensional nature of TQM practice can be investigated further. Further, the study only utilized a single variable of CIIPM in investigating international project management performance. As future TQM and international project management practices go through evolutions, additional elements may be incorporated into the three‐domain contingency model.

The study results suggest that the TQM elements fully mediate the relationship between competitive strategy and CIIPM. This implies that organizations need an innovative management methodology, such as the TQM practice, in order to achieve competitive strategy materializing towards international project management performance. Further, the findings suggest that it is the soft TQM elements (i.e. top management's leadership, compensation, training and empowerment) that impact the CIIPM more significantly.

Although numerous classical studies are reported in various contexts involving competitive strategy, TQM practice, and project management performance, no existing study focuses on how these three domains are linked together.

This paper aims to investigate Chinese consumers' international outshopping motives from a culture perspective based on Hofstede's four cultural dimensions.

Four international outshopping motives that may affect Chinese consumer's propensity of shopping abroad were empirically investigated based on a sample of 174 Chinese consumers who participated in a mall intercept survey.

The results suggest that Chinese consumers' perceived expressiveness of using foreign products, perceived reliability of foreign retail service, and perceived enjoyment of shopping abroad have positive and significant impacts on their propensity of shopping abroad. In addition, their perceived morality to support domestic industries does not significantly affect their outshopping behavior, although consumer ethnocentrism was regarded as an issue in China.

Outshoppers from China are increasingly found in the stores and malls in Western countries. The findings offer an insightful call for retailers and distributors in the West to understand how to make effective marketing strategies to target Chinese outshoppers and how to predict their behaviors when the global market gradually opens to Chinese consumers.

The identified motives represent a deeper understanding of Chinese consumers and their cultural environment.

Reviews the latest management developments across the globe and pinpoints practical implications from cutting‐edge research and case studies.

This briefing is prepared by an independent writer who adds their own impartial comments and places the articles in context.

When passengers are about to board Belgian carrier Brussels Airlines planes they are faced with an attractive stylized “b” on the tail, made up of 14 large dots. It hasn't always been 14. Back in 2007 the original design had 13 but the company was forced to amend it because of complaints from superstitious passengers, mainly from the USA and Italy.

Provides strategic insights and practical thinking that have influenced some of the world's leading organizations.

Provides strategic insights and practical thinking that can have a broader social impact.

The briefing saves busy executives and researchers hours of reading time by selecting only the very best, most pertinent information and presenting it in a condensed and easy‐to‐digest format.

The purpose of this study is to explore the role of various superstitious beliefs in consumers' information processing and evaluation of brand logos.

When consumers encounter a brand logo without actually experiencing the company's offerings, superstition may be deployed to fill the void of the unknown to evaluate the brand logo and judge the benefits from the offerings represented by the brand. Multiple regression analysis was used to investigate the relationship between consumers' brand logo sensitivity and a number of antecedental superstition beliefs.

The results indicate that consumers' belief in fate has a negative effect on brand logo sensitivity, and consumers' belief in fortune‐tellers, belief in magic and fictional figures, belief in lucky charms, and belief in superstitious rituals have positive effects on brand logo sensitivity, respectively.

From a consumer perspective, the authors' findings reveal that the more positive attitude consumers have towards a company's visual identity system, the more favorable brand image consumers have toward the company and its offerings.

Marketers should study and understand consumer superstition when attempting to build consumer‐friendly, culturally‐robust, and trouble‐free brands in the marketplace. Managerial implications and corporate branding strategies are suggested to avoid branding pitfalls and maximize brand equity in the consumer market.

The study offers a non‐traditional approach to explaining consumer‐based brand image and brand equity.

Although an important facet of modernist architecture in which function plays a prominent role, building flexibility is not entirely a new concept. Its relevance transcends generations, allowing space and structure to evolve through time. This paper investigates the relationship among main building structures, infill elements, and space by studying examples in ancient Chinese architecture. It reveals the role of building owners, users, and craftsmen from a survey of historical documentation. In studying these examples, it is concluded that craftsmen in ancient China were involved not only during the construction phase but throughout the period of use as well. Thus, in select cases, the relationship between craftsmen and owners or users had been preserved for generations. Finally, this paper suggests potential strategies for the building industry and technology in the move towards sustainable development.

The purpose of this study is to solve the key problem of the residual stress of strip in buckling and deviation during the continuous annealing process (CAP).

Considering the one-to-one correspondence between deformation and residual stress, the strip was divided into multiple elements. To obtain the total deformation of each element, the influence model of some factors on the deformation of steel strip element was established. Then, according to the constitutive equation of residual stress and deformation, and the deformation coordination relation between strip elements, a set of calculation model, which is suitable for residual stress of strip during CAP was established, the model precision was verified by finite element method simulation, and the influences on residual stress of strip were also analyzed.

The weighted calculation of comparison between analytical results and simulation shows that the accuracy of the analytical method is within 10 per cent, which fully meets the requirements.

The different residual stress of steel strip can be displayed quickly and intuitively in the synchronous process segment according to this model, which is of great importance to the prevention of strip buckling and deviation.