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1 – 10 of over 89000Brian Murphy, Paul Maguiness, Chris Pescott, Soren Wislang, Jingwu Ma and Rongmei Wang
To measure marketing performance in a holistic sense.
Abstract
Purpose
To measure marketing performance in a holistic sense.
Design/methodology/approach
To augment the prevailing customer relationship marketing paradigm, a holistic stakeholder relationship marketing paradigm is proposed in which holistic marketing performance is reflected in the delivery of long‐term economic, social, and environmental value to customer, employee, supplier, community, and shareholder stakeholders of a business in order to enhance sustainable financial performance. Present stakeholder attitudes are measured in a stakeholder performance appraisal within a stakeholder relationship marketing model, as timely, early warning signals of future stakeholder behaviour and concomitant future business performance.
Findings
Stakeholder performance appraisal results to date indicate that a holistic stakeholder relationship marketing orientation that incorporates triple bottom line philosophy significantly enhances business financial performance beyond that achieved by a customer relationship marketing orientation.
Research limitations/implications
The stakeholder performance appraisal has been applied to only 33 businesses to date providing scope for wider application of this measurement system to demonstrate its practical usefulness in measuring holistic marketing performance and future financial performance.
Practical implications
The stakeholder performance appraisal provides a perceptual overview of holistic marketing performance and concomitant business financial performance from stakeholders in terms of quantitative ratings of economic, social and environmental performance, and qualitative strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats. These data enable a business to plan stakeholder relationship marketing strategies to enhance performance and to predict future financial performance.
Originality/value
The stakeholder relationship marketing model and the stakeholder performance appraisal are new, unique, managerially useful additions to existing stakeholder models and metrics.
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This chapter adds to emerging research exploring the construct of joy by drawing attention to the value of more loving stakeholder relationships. Relationship management research…
Abstract
This chapter adds to emerging research exploring the construct of joy by drawing attention to the value of more loving stakeholder relationships. Relationship management research has focussed attention on the antecedents, outcomes and quality of an organization's relationships with various publics and stakeholders and has examined strategies that can nurture these relationships. However, not much of this research has addressed intimacy and passion in these relationships.
Accordingly, this chapter draws on the theory of brand love developed in relationship marketing research and the theory of love from psychological research to build a theoretical framework of organization–stakeholder love (OSL) that can be applied to organizational relationships with publics and stakeholders. An OSL framework switches emphasis from how organizations can attract stakeholder affection (e.g., love) towards organizations to how organizations can and should love their stakeholders. The proposition put forward in this chapter is that OSL can and should become a driving force behind organizations' interactions with stakeholders, thus contributing to ethical public relations practices.
OSL is important because it has the potential to contribute to addressing public relations' image problems (e.g., relating to terms such as spin and corporate greenwashing); it offers a new love orientation that guides organizations towards a focus on the primacy of stakeholder needs and values, which in turn may shape the way organizations initiate and manage relationships with stakeholders. This chapter concludes with practical ways to implement OSL and a research agenda suggesting ways OSL may open up new research opportunities in public relations.
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The argument that applications of social network research tools and theories to stakeholder research will advance our understanding of how organizations should and do interact…
Abstract
The argument that applications of social network research tools and theories to stakeholder research will advance our understanding of how organizations should and do interact with their stakeholders and how stakeholders influence organizations has been well known for over 15 years. However, the integration of social network analysis and stakeholder research has been limited to date. To motivate stakeholder network research, I illustrate the similarities and complementarities between these research streams, arguing that the social network perspective tackles weaknesses in stakeholder models supporting the creation of more fruitful models of organization–stakeholder environments. I illustrate how stakeholder power and legitimacy, and focal organization obligations can be better modeled theoretically and measured empirically using social network concepts and techniques.
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Stakeholders often engage in actions aimed at either benefitting or punishing firms for their behaviour. Such behaviours can have very serious implications for various types of…
Abstract
Stakeholders often engage in actions aimed at either benefitting or punishing firms for their behaviour. Such behaviours can have very serious implications for various types of firm performance, including financial performance. Though one might expect that the investigation of possible precursors of such “stakeholder action” would be a priority of researchers in stakeholder theory, to date research within the stakeholder literature directed towards understanding stakeholder behaviour has been somewhat scarce. In this chapter, I present common themes and assumptions that prevail in the existing research on stakeholder action, identify certain important questions concerning such assumptions and suggest avenues for future research on stakeholder behaviour.
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Jane Cote and Claire Kamm Latham
Building on prior research linking stakeholder relationship quality with financial performance, we explore interorganizational engagement from a bilateral perspective, more fully…
Abstract
Building on prior research linking stakeholder relationship quality with financial performance, we explore interorganizational engagement from a bilateral perspective, more fully representing the dynamics within an alliance. Interorganizational relationship quality and stakeholder management theory in healthcare and in accounting research provide the foundation for these insights.
While the study's findings demonstrate consistent views regarding the importance of relationship management and patient care, the two stakeholder groups hold divergent perspectives on how to accomplish these goals. Insurance executives take a population perspective, whereas physician practices focus their decision making at the patient level. The relative power and size between stakeholders was instrumental in how insurers chose to develop relationships with individual physician practices. These findings provide the nucleus for understanding reported frictions.
Bao Ngoc Nguyen, Kerry London and Peng Zhang
This paper aims to report a comprehensive analysis of literature on stakeholder relationships towards identifying patterns of relationships within the off-site construction…
Abstract
Purpose
This paper aims to report a comprehensive analysis of literature on stakeholder relationships towards identifying patterns of relationships within the off-site construction context.
Design/methodology/approach
Key scholarly databases were accessed and after a filtering process, 74 relevant papers were retrieved for analysis. The papers were analysed using qualitative content analysis and scientometric techniques through the application of software Leximancer and VOSviewer.
Findings
Research synthesis methods used in the present study generate compatible results. Through text mining analysis, the key themes identified in the off-site construction stakeholder relationships literature included “collaboration”, “building information modelling”, “social network analysis”, supply chain. As a finding by scientometric analysis, collaboration, BIM, supply chain management, housing and social network analysis were the most frequently entered keywords context of off-site construction. Regarding authorship pattern, the whole network of collaboration was fragmented into multiple isolated clusters, implying that the authors had tendency to cooperate in small groups.
Practical implications
The paper can bring together an important area of research not previously studied in detail. It will primarily assist academics in the first instance; however, the research leads to important findings that will ultimately assist policymakers and practitioners better understand factors affecting stakeholder relationships and in particular network thinking and collaborative mind-sets.
Originality/value
The review contributes a needed systematic and theoretical foundation for future stakeholder relationship studies and practices in off-site construction sector. It provides the basis for future studies and is a seminal analysis of stakeholder management and off-site construction. The scientometric methodology offers scholars a different approach to analysing and visualising literature reviews.
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Ilke Oruc and Muammer Sarikaya
This study aims at presenting a normative approach in adaptation of the ethics of care approach and stakeholder theory. Therefore, it seeks to present a point‐of‐view regarding…
Abstract
Purpose
This study aims at presenting a normative approach in adaptation of the ethics of care approach and stakeholder theory. Therefore, it seeks to present a point‐of‐view regarding the related issues.
Design/methodology/approach
The study focuses on a theory‐based integration process, since it is designed on a normative basis and the current studies dealing with “ethic of care theory” still have some problems in practical terms.
Findings
It is observed that ethics of care and stakeholder theory are getting more and more interrelated due to established networks and available common points. As a subfield of feminist ethic, ethics of care can be used to clarify moral principles lying behind these relationships. From another point of view, the discussion regarding the feminization of business enterprises focuses on the idea that such discussions involving the principles lying behind feminist ethics can provide an advantage for the companies in terms of competition. In addition, ethics of care is expected to contribute to stakeholder theory to a great extent.
Research limitations/implications
The related literature includes a rather limited number of studies conducted on this research topic. The available research explains some relationships on a normative basis. Therefore, the current study is expected to contribute to the expansion of such research in the field.
Practical implications
Despite the presence of studies in the field, there is still a limitation in putting the findings of studies into practice. Since the country where the current study is conducted still suffers from ambiguities regarding the definitions of concepts and it is very difficult to find business enterprises appreciating feminist values, although they are taught to adopt philanthropy applications, the study is limited to a normative point‐of‐view regarding the issues.
Originality/value
The scope of the study is expected to contribute to a great extent to the integration of feminist ethic and stakeholder theory. Similarly, it will encourage further studies on the issue.
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Guido Grunwald, Jürgen Schwill and Anne-Marie Sassenberg
Partnerships for sustainability involve the cooperation of several direct and indirect stakeholders. Direct stakeholders are project partners who can include sponsoring brands…
Abstract
Partnerships for sustainability involve the cooperation of several direct and indirect stakeholders. Direct stakeholders are project partners who can include sponsoring brands, manufacturers or retailers; and sponsored sports clubs or social institutions, and indirect stakeholders relate to potential customers, the general public and government agencies. The knowledge and competencies of direct and indirect stakeholders are integrated to ensure common project-based sustainability and individual goals. This integration is essentially facilitated by image transfer and self-identification effects, which strengthen stakeholder commitment and trust, and ultimately contributing to a higher relationship quality. However, sustainability partnerships experience several challenges. The challenges lie in selecting suitable partners; formulating partner requirements; determining partner contributions; evaluating and controlling partner integration and, further, enhancing cooperation and relationship quality among selected partners. To attend to these challenges requires a holistic and systematic process for stakeholder integration in sustainability projects. In this chapter, a process model for stakeholder integration for sustainability projects is developed based on the relevant theoretical and empirical research on relationship and sustainability marketing. In particular, the possibilities of digital integration are taken into account in the process. The model can be used to manage co-creation partnerships for sustainability including the selection, evaluation and controlling of stakeholder relationships to derive strategies and measures to improve relationship quality.
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Felicity Kelliher, Elaine Aylward and Patrick Lynch
This study tracked rural network activity among regional stakeholders, including government supported agencies, educational institutes, indigenous business representatives…
Abstract
Purpose
This study tracked rural network activity among regional stakeholders, including government supported agencies, educational institutes, indigenous business representatives, economic support organizations and rural community groups. It explored the relationships that exist between regional stakeholders in a collaborative rural network environment, offering insights into the relationship dynamic between stakeholder organizations.
Methodology/approach
A longitudinal case study method was utilized to identify the component elements of regional stakeholder network engagement.
Findings
Communication, resource sharing and prolonged social interaction were found to be key elements in promoting stakeholder trust. Furthermore, proactive stakeholders improve commitment to network relationships over time. A cyclical flow of these criteria is necessary for congruent understanding to develop between the stakeholders resulting in collaborative network engagement.
Research limitations
Limitations include stakeholder willingness to participate in the research study, potential participant and researcher bias and the possibility that certain features may be particular to the observed network.
Practical/social implications
The current research demonstrated that stakeholder engagement cannot be assumed in a rural network environment, thus the implementation of the network paradigm into national strategic plans for rural regional development is recommended.
Originality/value
This research contributes to the under-developed area of regional stakeholder network engagement and provides a basis from which to consider the relationships that exist between regional stakeholders in a rural network. A key outcome is the development of a Framework of Regional Stakeholder Network Engagement, which offers insight into how committed network relationships evolve and highlight the factors that promote and hinder sustainable regional stakeholder engagement.
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Scanning both the academic and popular business literature of the last 40 years puzzles the alert reader. The variety of prescriptions of how to be successful (effective…
Abstract
Scanning both the academic and popular business literature of the last 40 years puzzles the alert reader. The variety of prescriptions of how to be successful (effective, performing, etc.) 1 Organizational performance, organizational success and organizational effectiveness will be used interchangeably throughout this paper.1 in business is hardly comprehensible: “Being close to the customer,” Total Quality Management, corporate social responsibility, shareholder value maximization, efficient consumer response, management reward systems or employee involvement programs are but a few of the slogans introduced as means to increase organizational effectiveness. Management scholars have made little effort to integrate the various performance-enhancing strategies or to assess them in an orderly manner.
This study classifies organizational strategies by the importance each strategy attaches to different constituencies in the firm’s environment. A number of researchers divide an organization’s environment into various constituency groups and argue that these groups constitute – as providers and recipients of resources – the basis for organizational survival and well-being. Some theoretical schools argue for the foremost importance of responsiveness to certain constituencies while stakeholder theory calls for a – situation-contingent – balance in these responsiveness levels. Given that maximum responsiveness levels to different groups may be limited by an organization’s resource endowment or even counterbalanced, the need exists for a concurrent assessment of these competing claims by jointly evaluating the effect of the respective behaviors towards constituencies on performance. Thus, this study investigates the competing merits of implementing alternative business philosophies (e.g. balanced versus focused responsiveness to constituencies). Such a concurrent assessment provides a “critical test” of multiple, opposing theories rather than testing the merits of one theory (Carlsmith, Ellsworth & Aronson, 1976).
In the high tolerance level applied for this study (be among the top 80% of the industry) only a handful of organizations managed to sustain such a balanced strategy over the whole observation period. Continuously monitoring stakeholder demands and crafting suitable responsiveness strategies must therefore be a focus of successful business strategies. While such behavior may not be a sufficient explanation for organizational success, it certainly is a necessary one.