| 1. |
- Aagerup, Ulf, 1969-, et al.
(författare)
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Building a warm and competent B2B brand personality
- 2022
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Ingår i: European Journal of Marketing. - Bingley : Emerald Group Publishing Limited. - 0309-0566 .- 1758-7123. ; 56:13, s. 167-193
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Purpose This study aims to investigate how business-to-business (B2B) companies build brand personality via the products they provide and via their interactions with customers. Design/methodology/approach A multiple case study, which spans 10 years, investigates via interviews, observations, workshops and document analysis how two fast-growing B2B companies selling industrial equipment to manufacturers build brand personality. Findings The studied companies concentrate on different brand personality dimensions depending on the activities in which they engage. By focusing on brand competence in the realm of the actual product and brand warmth in the realm of the augmented product, the companies manage to create a complete and consistent brand personality. Research limitations/implications The research approach provides in-depth knowledge on how the companies build brands for a specific type of B2B product. However, the article's perspective is limited to that of management and therefore does not take customer reactions into account. Practical implications The study describes how firms can build strong B2B brands by emphasizing competence in product design and R&D and warmth in activities related to sales and customer service. Originality/value The study introduces a conceptually consistent view of brand personality in the form of warm and competent brands to the B2B marketing literature. It builds on and contributes to the emerging research on B2B brand personality. By relating the companies' brand-building activities to the type of products they sell, this study illustrates how context affects B2B brand building, and by integrating brand personality theory with product levels and marketing philosophy, it extends previous theory on B2B branding.
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| 2. |
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| 3. |
- Amos, Gideon Jojo, 1968-, et al.
(författare)
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In search of competitiveness through innovation-driven CSR initiatives in Multinational Enterprise subsidiaries in developing countries
- 2017
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Ingår i: Journal of Developing Country Studies. - New York : International Institute for Science, Technology & Education. - 2224-607X .- 2225-0565. ; 7:2, s. 161-173
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Purpose – The objective of the present study is to investigate opportunities for integrating innovation and CSR in the context of firms’ activities. This is explored by investigating the extent to which innovation may complement CSR activities of MNE subsidiaries in developing-countries.Method/approach – This paper employs literature study to describe how innovation complements CSR in the search for competitiveness at the level of the firm. In doing so, the competitiveness of firms, which is often driven by the demands for responsible behaviour and innovativeness, is derived from studying the extant literature. By drawing from multiple theoretical lenses (i.e., legitimacy theory, stakeholder theory, CSR literature, firms’ reputation, and innovativeness), we aim at evaluating their collective impact on firms’ competitiveness.Findings - The model suggests that firm’s contextual capabilities (e.g. legitimacy, innovation, and stakeholders) can define its CSR activities (e.g. CSR ethical, CSR social, and CSR environmental). The cumulative effects of these, define firm’s reputation, which eventually, produces firm’s own competitiveness. The study has argued that there is more to firms’ stakeholders than ordinary resources required in furtherance of firms’ economic objectives. It therefore follows that stakeholders’ potential to constitute a pool of resources and capabilities that the firm can blend with to realize its strategic objectives ought to be stressed. Consequently, markets and for that matter firms, are subject to CSR and innovation demands through, for example, more socially responsible productive behaviour. This requires that MNE subsidiaries in developing-countries connect different strategies towards improving their own competitiveness. This may be accomplished through, re-packaging CSR into bundles of interrelated activities, collaborating with stakeholders to jointly create and deliver social and economic values, and integrating CSR into productive activities that may lead to bundles of products to suit local market conditions.© www.iiste.org
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| 4. |
- Amos, Gideon Jojo, 1968-
(författare)
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(Investigating) MNCs' CSR-related behaviour and impacts in institutionally and culturally distant markets : African developing-countries in focus
- 2018
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Doktorsavhandling (övrigt vetenskapligt/konstnärligt)abstract
- The overall purpose of this thesis is to explore why and how institutional distance and contextual differences influence MNCs’ CSR-related behavior in African developing-countries. In order to achieve the purpose stated above, the thesis seeks to answer the overarching research question: How do institutional distance and contextual differences influence MNCs’ CSR-related behavior in African developing countries? To answer the research question this thesis employed an interpretive methodological approach in order to increase my understanding of the CSR phenomenon in a specific contextual environment characterized by different institutional distance through different theoretical and empirical perspectives (Guba and Lincoln, 1994; Lincoln and Guba, 2000). The thesis consists of two qualitative case studies, a systematic literature review, a conceptual paper focused on analyzing distance and MNC foreign subsidiaries’ CSR-related behaviour, and a longitudinal content analysis of annual CSR reports.The thesis found that the most prevalent CSR themes addressed in journal articles focused on developing-countries have been social issues, followed by environmental issues as a distant second, with ethics-related issues receiving the least attention. The findings further indicate that CSR rhetoric plays a more positive and significant role than so far explored in CSR research, as it incentivises the host-communities to push for the fulfilment of their CSR expectations or CSR initiatives proposed by the mining companies. Soft’ regulations to which members of industry associations voluntarily adhere mitigate the absence of enforcement of more stringent hard regulations by the state for companies. In doing business in distant or different institutional contexts, institutional duality of MNC subsidiaries renders business activities complex and even conflicting when it comes to seeking internal and external legitimacy. This finding and the proposed model extend Hillman and Wan’s (2005) argument of the existence of ‘institutional duality’ of MNC subsidiaries. The 60-item disclosure index is in itself a contribution to research as it provides a measure of ‘disclosure quality’ in relation to the disclosures of CSR-related performance information and CSR-related governance information.The main theoretical contribution of the thesis is that CSR expectations in developing-countries are distinct and may be more important to know how these empirical realities are taken into account when firms with their origin in developed-countries internationalize and enter markets in developing-countries. Second, an extended model is proposed which illustrates the roles of organizational fields, institutional pressures, legitimating environments, and legitimating strategies for MNC subsidiaries’ voluntary disclosure of CSR performance information. The overall contribution of the thesis is that it deepens our understanding of the CSR phenomenon, and of the role of host-communities and MNC subsidiaries’ managers from the context of developing-countries.© Gideon Jojo Amos
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| 5. |
- Andersson, Svante, 1962-, et al.
(författare)
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Building Brand Personality in a Business-to-Business Context – the Case of Born Globals
- 2018
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Konferensbidrag (refereegranskat)abstract
- Branding has for a long time been in focus in strategic decision making for firms in a business-to-consumer context. Brands has been used as a tool to differentiate products and position firms’ offers towards competitors. In a business-to business context branding has not been in focus in the same way. Strategic decisions have more dealt with technology innovation and market expansions. In recent times, a greater interest for brand building in a business to business (B2B) context has emerged, both in practice and academia, especially for globally active B2B firms that strive to create a unified look of their products and firms. The hard global competition has made it difficult to compete on product quality alone, services around the product and intangible features has been important parts of B2B firms’ offers. The B2B firms’ more complex offers can be incorporated under a common brand that differentiates the firms’ offer from competitors. Although that the practical importance of B2B branding has been acknowledge lately, research dealing with B2B branding is still relatively limited. Most studies on B2B branding attempt to describe what brands are, how they affect companies, or vice versa. Research on the process of B2B brand building is however scarce. Also, when B2B brands are in focus of a study, it is usually their tangible characteristics that are examined. In B2C brand literature, intangible aspects and, the metaphor to see the brand as a person is widely discussed (Aaker, 1997). However, there is very little research on brand as a person element in the B2B context. Brand personality is normally defined as the human characteristics associated with a brand, More research into the brand personality building processes in a B2B context are therefore needed. Following the above discussion this study’s aim is to investigate how brand personality is built in B2B companies.A qualitative approach has been adopted to enable us to investigate, in-depth, an under-researched area (Ghauri and Gronhaug, 2010; and Yin, 1989) The key factor underpinning the selection of the two cases was conceptual relevance rather than representative grounds, so we used theoretical sampling (Miles and Huberman 1994). We combined secondary data research and field interviews and workshops with the CEOs in the case firms. The researchers constructed an interview-guide based on earlier literature and discussion in a workshop. Our aim and research question served as the basic structure for data analysis. The study contributes to the literature by integrating theory on brand building from the marketing fields with the research dealing with the born global phenomenon discussed in the international entrepreneurship field.
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| 6. |
- Andersson, Svante, 1962-, et al.
(författare)
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Customer Value Creation in Mature Born Globals
- 2017
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Konferensbidrag (refereegranskat)abstract
- INTRODUCTIONResearch on firms that already from their inception see the whole world as a market and/or the whole world as a source to access resources, so called born globals (Andersson & Wictor, 2003, Knight & Cavusgil, 2004; Cavusgil & Knight, 2015), has been growing during the last decades (Servantie, 2016). Born globals are an especially interesting group of firms to study, in regard of value creation, as they have been able to create competitive offers fulfilling the needs of customers on global markets. The distinguishing feature of born globals is their international behaviour at birth and soon thereafter. The firms’ behaviour is initiated by the entrepreneurs’ and management’s global mindset and the commitment of resources leading to international growth (Andersson, 2000; Knight & Causgil, 2004). Born globals is, by definition, a born global firm “forever”, as has been characterized by their early years. We argue that the early years make these firms a special type of firms that will influence their further international development. Firms with a long-term focus on the domestic market must unlearn routines rooted in the domestic context before new, internationally oriented routines can be learned. An early entrance to international markets forces born globals to adopt to new contexts and create new knowledge that leads to new routines and creates a culture in the firms to adapt to new international opportunities (Andersson & Evers, 2015; Autio et al ., 2000, Cavusgil & Knight, 2004).There has been extensive research on born globals’ internationalization dealing with which markets, and market channels firms should choose to grow internationally. There has also been extensive research dealing with antecedents and factors influencing these choices. The focus on born global research has also been on the very early stages in the internationalization process. Few studies have captured the long-term behaviour and growth of born globals (2008; Gabrielsson and Gabrielsson, 2013, Melen Hånell, Nordman and Sharma, 2014). A question that has been very little addressed is: what happens to born global firms when they grow up (Cavusgil & Knight, 2015)? In this study we define this grown up born global firms as mature born globals (c. f. Hagen & Zuchella, 2014, maturing born global firms). To succeed with a continued international expansion, the born global firms need to increase sales on international markets. The underlying reason for success on international markets and continuous growth is that the mature born global firms have an offer that gives higher value to the customer than their competitors. However customer value is not explicitly treated in internationalization theories (Axinn & Matthyssen, 2002). To our knowledge there has not been any research that has, in- depth, explored how mature born globals create value for customers to create international growth. In line with the above discussion, the aim of this study is to investigate how mature born global firms create value for customers to create international growth.METHODA qualitative approach has been adopted to enable us to investigate, in-depth, an under-researched area (Ghauri and Gronhaug, 2010; and Yin, 1989) “how born global firms create value for customers to create international growth”. In all, the study was conducted with five companies. The key factor underpinning the selection of the five cases was conceptual relevance rather than representative grounds, so we used theoretical sampling (Miles and Huberman 1994). We conducted a review of annual reports, other secondary documentation, and the websites of the case firms. We combined secondary data research and field interviews and workshops with the CEOs in the case firms. The researchers constructed an interview-guide based on earlier literature and discussion on a works-shop. Interviews were carried out with the five CEOs and transcribed. Data analysis included several steps. The information from the interviews, and other sources served as descriptive narratives, which helped us process the large volume of data (Mintzberg and McHugh 1985). This process enabled the unique patterns of each case to emerge before cross-case comparison (Eisenhardt 1989; Yin 1994) was undertaken. Our aim and research question served as the basic structure for data analysis.CONCLUSIONSWe conclude that a strong focus on customer value creation was in focus. To create customer value a combination of proactive and reactive market orientation was implemented built on a competitive offer that was hard to replicate. Depending on the characteristics of the buyer-seller relationship different tools were used to build relationship value. The revenue earned is invested in further international growth, by investing in market driving activities, and entrepreneurial alertness to act on upcoming opportunities was crucial. This study contributes to the international entrepreneurship field by explicitly including marketing literature and empirically investigating how value is created to achieve international growth in born globals. This study also contributes to the industrial marketing field by developing a model that shows how born global firms create value for international customers to generate international growth in a B2B context.
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| 7. |
- Andersson, Svante, 1962-, et al.
(författare)
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How do mature born globals create customer value to achieve international growth?
- 2020
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Ingår i: International Marketing Review. - Bingley : Emerald Group Publishing Limited. - 0265-1335 .- 1758-6763. ; 37:2, s. 185-211
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Purpose – This study aims to investigate how mature born global firms create value for customers to achieve continued international growth.Design/methodology/approach – The study employs a case study approach to investigate the underresearched area of how mature born globals create value for customers and, by doing so, contribute to their continued international growth. This in-depth examination of how three born globals developed over time uses interviews, observation and secondary data.Findings – The findings indicate that the entrepreneurs of born global firms, that continued to grow, created a culture in the early stages that supported value creation for foreign customers. These firms have built a competitive position by developing international niche products. They have also implemented a combination of proactive and reactive market orientation to facilitate the creation and delivery of value to customers. To maintain growth, they further invest the revenues earned on additional international marketing activities and continuously enhance their focal products.Research limitations/implications – The study relies on three cases. We therefore recommend that future studies extend the scope of the research to several companies in various industries and countries, in which the theoretical arguments can be applied. In addition, further studies that test the propositions developed in this study, in different contexts, are highly recommended.Practical implications – To gain international growth, managers should create an organizational culture that facilitates satisfying international customer needs. Firms should continuously invest in sales and market development (e.g. social media marketing, personal selling) and undertake technology development of niche rather than new products. To achieve international growth, managers need to standardize part of the offer to achieve economies of scale and adapt the other part to international customers’ needs.Originality/value – Research on born globals has focused on the early stages of their internationalization processes, while largely neglecting the later stages (mature born globals) or the factors that lead to continued international growth. To address this gap, this study explores what happens when born globals ‘grow up’. This study contributes to the literature by capturing the factors and processes underlying how mature born globals create value for customers, for international growth. In particular, the study shows that the culture and strategies developed in the born globals’ early stages also lead to international growth in later stages. The mature born globals have also invested in niche products, brand building, and effective market channels and adopted a combination of proactive and reactive market orientations.
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| 8. |
- Andersson, Svante, 1962-, et al.
(författare)
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International Growth in Born Globals – Continued Growth through Networking on Institutionally Distant Markets
- 2015
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Ingår i: Handbook On International Alliance and Network Research. - Cheltenham : Edward Elgar Publishing. - 9781783475476 - 9781783475483 ; , s. 139-154
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Bokkapitel (refereegranskat)abstract
- The aim of this chapter is to shed light on how a born global can obtain continued growth internationally, in institutionally distant markets. We are seeking a deeper understanding of international growth for born global enterprises by combining theories of networks and institutional perspective. We discuss how institutional distance affects the internationalization processes in born globals. We seek to highlight why and how a born global firm does enter different markets. In this respect, born globals from developed countries and those from emerging markets are compared, leading us to derive some propositions from our discussions.Finally some suggestions for future research are presented.
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| 9. |
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| 10. |
- Awuah, Gabriel Baffour
(författare)
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A professional services firm's competence development
- 2007
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Ingår i: Industrial Marketing Management. - New York : Elsevier. - 0019-8501 .- 1873-2062. ; 36:8, s. 1068-1081
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- The conceptualization of a firm's competence development has undergone some developments, as seen from the extant literature. However, studies or explanations of a firm's competence development over time seem to concentrate on firms that manufacture physical goods. The literature is devoid of studies on the competence development of professional services firms (PSFs). With two in-depth case studies, this paper seeks to shed light on factors that impinge on PSFs' competence development over time. An important finding of this study is that all the two PSFs' competence development over time has been influenced, in large measure, by their close and regular interaction with their respective immediate customers as well as with some significant third parties in their network of exchange relationships, where the actors mutually adapt to each other and also learn from each other. Evidences in all the two cases show that each of the firms has won and kept important customers that give them the most and frequent assignments per year, thanks to the factors that have affected their competence to meet customers' demand over time.
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| 11. |
- Awuah, Gabriel Baffour
(författare)
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Analyzing Customer-Orientation Practices of Firms from a Wider Perspective
- 2008
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Ingår i: Journal of Business-to-Business Marketing. - Binghamton, NY : Haworth Press. - 1051-712X .- 1547-0628. ; 15:1, s. 45-72
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- PURPOSE: The purpose of this study is to deepen our understanding of the extent to which a firm's customer orientation practice, and the outcome thereof, is affected by its network of exchange relationships.METHODOLOGY/APPROACH: Building on a network approach, multiple case studies are used to highlight firms' customer-orientation and the effects thereof.FINDINGS: Close, regular and extensive interaction and exchanges with customers and third parties have enabled each of the firms in this study to win and retain important customers over the years.Research Implications/Limitations : Each of the PSFs' (professional services firms) customer orientation, with its concomitant result, has been facilitated by mutual value creation by the sellers and the buyers plus the sellers' exchange relationships with third parties. However, customers' interconnected relationships and a broader quantitative study incorporating several services firms need be explored in further studies.ORIGINALITY/VALUE/CONTRIBUTION: The study provides insights into how a PSF utilizes its own capabilities and complementary capabilities from third parties to create superior value and satisfaction to customers.
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| 12. |
- Awuah, Gabriel Baffour
(författare)
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As I Journey Along : A Ghanaian's Perception Of Life In The Diaspora
- 2005
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Bok (populärvet., debatt m.m.)abstract
- The book gives accounts of the forces that drive many young people to migrate from the less Developed World, especially Ghana, to come and live in the Diaspora. Coming to live, work or pursue some goals in the Diaspora is for many young Ghanaians, for example, the ultimate goal worth striving after. In Ghana and in most Third World Countries, many people's perception of better life in the Diaspora is shared by many parents and some respectable people, a fact that also reinforces the drive to migrate to the Diaspora. That alone can help them develop their potentialities. But the journey is tough, full of adventure for all. How many have experienced the life in the Diaspora and how many feel detached from their place of birth, Ghana, are among the major themes discussed in this book. People that have migrated from their countries to seek fortunes or whatever in the Diaspora, Potential travellers and politicians in poor countries stand to gain from the experiences shared in this book.(Editorial review from Amazon)
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| 13. |
- Awuah, Gabriel Baffour
(författare)
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Development of a Country is a Collective Effort : The Case of Ghana
- 2008
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Bok (övrigt vetenskapligt/konstnärligt)abstract
- Our case country Ghana, like many others in Africa, is characterized by, for example, mass poverty, huge foreign debts, poor socio-economic infrasturcture and entrepreneurial base, inability to meet the challenges of the forces of globalization, and heavy reliance on foreign loans and aid. Often times the development of the country has been the sole responsibility of a single entity, a government or a few ruling elites. It is argued in this book that to overcome the problems mentioned above, involving many actors (e.g. industry, government, universities, and the general public)will produce a collective effort, which will enable the actors to leverage their complementary capabilities to bring about a sustainable economic development. In this book we emphasize areas in which Ghana should invest now in order to effect sustainable development, which will translate into, example, poverty reduction, enabling environment for firms to emerge, grow and be competitive.
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| 14. |
- Awuah, Gabriel Baffour, et al.
(författare)
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Interactive internationalization : the case of Swedish firms
- 2007
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Rapport (övrigt vetenskapligt/konstnärligt)abstract
- The extant literature stresses that having foreign market presence is imperative for most firms these days. However, how firms conceive of which foreign markets to enter, the entry mode to take and the resource commitments to make are not information or decision-making processes solely confined to a firm that internationalizes its activities. The purpose of this study is to provide deeper insights into (1) reasons for a firm to internationalize its business activities and (2) the extent to which an independent actor (s) actively collaborates with the internationalizing firm so as to jointly determine the choice of market, the mode of entry and the level of investment committed in the market to be entered and even after the entry (i.e. the on-going activities). Based on two multiple case studies, one major finding of the study shows that independent actors, with their interconnected networks, have played and are still playing a major role in influencing the internationalization processes of each of the two firms in this study.
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| 15. |
- Awuah, Gabriel Baffour, et al.
(författare)
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Interactive (networked) internationalization : the case of Swedish firms
- 2011
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Ingår i: European Journal of Marketing. - UK : Emerald Group Publishing Limited. - 0309-0566 .- 1758-7123. ; 45:7-8, s. 1112-1129
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Purpose - The purpose of this study is to provide deeper insights into the extent to which an independent actor(s) actively collaborates with the internationalizing firm so as to jointly determine the choice of market, the mode of entry and the level of investment committed in the market to be entered and even after the entry (i.e. the ongoing activities). Design/methodology/approach - Against the previous purpose section, a qualitative research approach is selected to guide the exploratory nature of this study. Thus qualitative data are used to build the two case studies because case studies are generally a more appropriate approach when "how" and "why" questions are being posed and when the investigator has little control over events. Findings - Based on two multiple case studies, one major finding of the study shows that independent actors, with their interconnected networks, have played and are still playing a major role in influencing the internationalization processes of each of the two firms in this study. Originality/value - This is an original paper developed based on two case studies which have not been published in any journal before. The paper highlights the role of external independent actors in internationalization, which is not mentioned at all or stressed in the extant literature.
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| 16. |
- Awuah, Gabriel Baffour, et al.
(författare)
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Networked (interactive) position : a new view of developing and sustaining competitive advantage
- 2008
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Ingår i: Competitiveness Review. - Bingley : Emerald Group Publishing Limited. - 1059-5422 .- 2051-3143. ; 18:4, s. 333-350
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Purpose – In the extant literature a firm's development of its competitive advantage is seen to be the task of the firm alone. The purpose of this paper is to introduce a new and a broader approach of how competitive advantage can be developed and maintained in today's highly competitive and dynamic markets. To this end, how a firm handles its relationships with significant actors in its network becomes very decisive for the development of its competitive advantage.Design/methodology/approach – Drawing on a network approach, case studies have been used to shed lights on the extent to which the development of competitive advantage of firms affect and are affected by their interaction with some actors in a network of exchange relationships.Findings – An important conclusion of this study is that a firm's highly valued performance, an indication of its strong position or competitive strength, has its roots in its regular and intensive interaction with some significant actors in its network.Research limitations/implications – All firms in this study have demonstrated that competitive advantage can be achieved by building up a strong position through interaction, learning and adaptation with some significant actors in the marketplace. Since the study is based on one setting, extending a similar study to several settings will be very useful.Originality/value – The paper provides insights into how a firm, in the effort to build its competitive advantage, draws on its own capabilities and complementary capabilities of its partners in a network.
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| 17. |
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| 18. |
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| 19. |
- Awuah, Gabriel Baffour, et al.
(författare)
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Potential tourists’ image of a tourist destination : The case of Brazil
- 2011
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Ingår i: Research on Technology, Innovation and Marketing Management 2009‐2011. - Halmstad : Högskolan i Halmstad. ; , s. 135-148
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Bokkapitel (övrigt vetenskapligt/konstnärligt)abstract
- This research deals with the image, which potential tourists may have about a tourist destination.Using a quantitative approach and a marketing and communication perspective, we tried to investigate how Brazil is seen by potential tourists who happened to be European students studying at the Halmstad University, Sweden. The research highlighted six categories, upon which the tourists’ image of Brazil is based, namely hospitality of the population, sexuality, tourism infrastructure, environment, economy, protection and safety. The results show that the image held by the studied target group about Brazil as a tourist destination, is an exotic country with a friendly population with an exuberant nature; the main identity icons are football and carnival events. Entertainment and fun are some other positive attributes mentioned by the respondents. However, violence and fragile security are the main concerns for the respondents.
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| 20. |
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| 21. |
- Awuah, Gabriel Baffour, et al.
(författare)
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Relationships and Networks in the Processes of Establishment of Firms in Transition Economies : Scandinavian Firms in Central and Eastern Europe
- 2008
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Ingår i: International Journal of Strategic Management. - Turlock, CA : International Academy of Business and Economics (IABE). - 1555-2411 .- 2378-8615. ; 8:1, s. 25-44
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- A focus on the particular entry mode a firm uses to enter a new market, rather than on the process of establishment, dominates in extant literature. To fill this void, we apply an establishment process model developed from the network approach to illuminate the web of relationship forms embedded in the establishment process of two Scandinavian firms as they attempt to establish themselves in transition economies. In one case, the results show that Statoil's process of establishment in Estonia was both less time-consuming and less resource-consuming because the firm drew support from significant actors in their network of exchange relationships. In the second case, a lack of home and host country support for Scania in Croatia resulted in an arduous and costly process and less stable position in the market, with the firm's position changing several times as different problems cropped up. In light of the findings from the two cases, theoretical and practical implications for managing the establishment process are discussed.
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| 22. |
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| 23. |
- Awuah, Gabriel Baffour, 1954-, et al.
(författare)
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Small firms' use of their business relationships to cope with increased competition
- 2012
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Ingår i: International Journal of Business Strategy. - : International Academy of Business and Economics. - 1553-9563 .- 2378-8585. ; 12:2, s. 36-47
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- The purpose of the study is to explore the effect of how small firms draw on their limited networks to develop their markets and serve them well, a performance that will guarantee their survival and success. Drawing on a business relationship approach, two case studies have been used to highlight the extent to which exchange relationships have impacted on the performance of the small firms in this study. As an important finding, the study highlights the extent to which regular and intensive interactions between the case companies and the limited actors in their network have enabled each of the case companies to develop their respective niche markets and serve them well, something which also explains their survival and ability to win and retain loyal customers.
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| 24. |
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| 25. |
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| 26. |
- Baffour Awuah, Gabriel, 1954-, et al.
(författare)
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Studying a Firm's Innovations as a Multi-Faceted (Interactive) Socio-Technical Process
- 2015
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Ingår i: Review of Business Research. - Stockton, CA : International Academy of Business and Economics (IABE). - 1546-2609 .- 2378-9670. ; 15:3, s. 37-46
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- The purpose of this paper is to stimulate debate with regards to why firms will commit resources to innovate and the effects of the interactive nature of a firm’s innovation, as the firm engages in collaboration with several others to co-produce value. Methodologically, the study is a review of the existing literature on innovation, looking for an answer to the following. Why and how do a firm and some significant actors in its network engage in innovative activities to co-produce value? The study shows that, from a firm’s perspective, (1) a firm innovates in order to enhance its competitiveness and (2) a firm innovates because it enables it to achieve growth in an increasingly competitive environment. A firm’s innovation should translate into value creation for some stakeholders. (3) Through innovations, a firm co-produces value, mostly, with others in its network. A firm’s internal capacity is complemented by external capacities of some actors in the firm’s network. © 2015 IABE. All Rights Reserved.
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| 27. |
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| 28. |
- Deraz, Hossam, 1971-, et al.
(författare)
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Assessing the Value of Social Network Sites’ Advertisements
- 2015
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Ingår i: Proceedings of the Third International Conference on E-Technologies and Business on the Web, Paris, France 2015. - Paris : Society of Digital Information and Wireless Communications (SDIWC). - 9781941968086 ; , s. 89-101
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Konferensbidrag (refereegranskat)abstract
- Marketers use social network sites (SNSs) to merchandise their products and services more efficiently. However, the scope of the published studies about assessing social network sites advertisements’ value (SNSAV) is limited. The present study consequently aims to include credibility and interactivity in addition to informativeness and entertainment and irritation values as variables for the assessment of SNSAV, as perceived by SNS users.The data analysis supports the central concepts of this study that informativeness, credibility, interactivity and entertainment values are the main variables of assessing SNSAV, while irritation value has no significant effect on the assessment of SNSAV. Moreover, according to the beta coefficient, informativeness and entertainment values, in conjunction with credibility and interactivity values, have different effects on consumers’ assessment of SNSAV compared to the results of the previous studies.This study is successful in terms of introducing advertisements’ credibility and interactivity as crucial variables in the assessment of SNSAV. It is also successful with regard to offering a new construct model for assessing SNSAV based on four main dimensions: informativeness, entertainment and credibility and interactivity values. According to the data analysis, interactivity value has the highest significant effect with regard to the assessment of SNSAs.
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| 29. |
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| 30. |
- Deraz, Hossam, 1971-
(författare)
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Social Networking Sites – Consumers’ assessment of the value of advertisements (Extended Model)
- 2018
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Doktorsavhandling (övrigt vetenskapligt/konstnärligt)abstract
- In light of the identified shortcomings in the earlier studies of consumers’ assessment of advertisement value on social networking sites, and the relative importance of explaining advertisement value, the overall purpose of this dissertation is to develop and empirically test a conceptual framework that can advance knowledge and increase our understanding of how online consumers assess the value of advertisements on social networking sites. In reference to this purpose, this doctoral dissertation has sought to answer the following overarching research question: What are the relevant variables that predict online consumers’ assessment of advertisement value on social networking sites, and how do these variables affect their assessment?To achieve the purpose of this study and to answer its overarching research question, a mixed method approach was used, adapting both quantitative and qualitative methods. A sequential explanatory strategy using mixed methods was the primary approach used to explain and interpret the quantitative results, by collecting and analyzing follow-up qualitative data. Consequently, this study started by doing a systematic literature review to identify the related factors, followed by a conceptual study to provide an extended conceptual framework that connected consumer beliefs to their sources of gratifications from using SNSs. That conceptual framework was partially examined in three survey papers to test the effects of its five belief factors (information value, entertainment value, irritation value, interactivity value, and credibility value) on assesments of advertisement value on SNSs. The three survey papers found that these five belief factors have significant effects on assessments of advertisement value on social networking sites. However, those effects varied according to consumers’ cultural backgrounds. The three survey papers were then followed by a qualitative focus group study to give a deeper explanation, and to discover the underlying reasons behind consumers’ assessment of advertisement value. That focus group study confirmed the role of culture in assessing the value of advertisements, and it gave deeper explanations behind the reasons for that variance in assessments of advertisement value within the context of social networking sites from one research population to another. In general, this study contributes to the understanding of consumers’ assessments of advertisements on social networking sites. It offers a new approach by connecting consumers’ gratifications from using social networking sites to their assessment of advertisement value. In turn, it helps to reflect a number of valuable insights that can be utilized by both researchers and marketers in order to understand how the addressed factors enhance consumers’ assessments by testing the contribution of credibility, interactivity value, social influence, pre-purchase search motivation, and cultural backgrounds, in addition to previously tested variables: information value, entertainment value, and irritation value.
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| 31. |
- Deraz, Hossam, 1971-, et al.
(författare)
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The assessments of social networking advertisements; as perceived by brand communities consumers
- 2015
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Ingår i: International Journal of Current Research. - Villupuram : T. Manikandan. - 0975-833X. ; 7:8, s. 19787-19796
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Despite the extensive research in the context of brand communities on social networking sites (SNSs), the theoretical foundations underlying consumers’ assessment of advertisements on SNSs’ brand communities was not yet explored. The present study consequently aimed to explore how SNSs’ brand communities’ consumers assess social networks’ advertisements (SNAs). Regression analysis was used to identify the best fit model, and the most effective predictors on the assessment of SNAs. From the collected data, four dimensions had positive significant effects on the consumers’ assessment (informativeness, entertainment value, credibility value and interactivity value), while the fifth dimension (irritation value) had a significant negative effect. The results of this study had some contradictions with some results on previous studies, and confirmed other results. Moreover, the researchers used the descriptive analysis to gain deeper understanding of how the brand communities’ consumers (BCCs) on SNSs assess SNAs, and to identify the main characteristics of the BCCs on SNSs.
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| 32. |
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| 33. |
- Iddris, Faisal, 1977-
(författare)
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Innovation Capability within a Supply Chain Context
- 2018
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Doktorsavhandling (övrigt vetenskapligt/konstnärligt)abstract
- A firm’s supply chain faces challenges relating to reducing operational cost while at the same time producing innovative products and services to meet consumers’ current and potential demand. One important phenomenon in the field of innovation research is the concept of innovation capability. The purpose of this thesis is to empirically explore innovation capability as a firm interacts with its supply chain members. In order to achieve the above stated purpose, the thesis attempted to answer the overarching research question: How does a focal firm’s interaction with its supply chain members affect its innovation capability?To answer the research question, a multiple method approach was adopted. This consists of two qualitative case studies, conceptual analysis, a quantitative study of a sample of 117 managers and systematic literature review (SLR). First; we used the systematic literature review (SLR) method to identify important innovation capability factors and theories applied in innovation capability studies. Second, multiple case studies were used to further investigate innovation capability in a supply chain context. Third, quantitative survey-method was used to explore innovation capability measures in the context of the supply chain.Five individual papers are presented in this thesis. The findings are summarised and presented in the cover (“kappa”) of the thesis. The findings revealed that focal firms’ innovation capability was influenced as a result of a focal firm’s interaction with its supply chain members. In addition, technological embeddedness influences innovation capability of the focal firms.
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| 34. |
- Iddris, Faisal, 1977-, et al.
(författare)
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The Role of Innovation Capability in Achieving Supply Chain Agility
- 2014
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Ingår i: International Journal of Management and Computing Sciences. - : Sunil Kumar. - 2231-3303. ; 4:2, s. 104-112, s. 18-18
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Innovation capability has been recognized as important approach for organizations to be competitive. The purpose of this study is to understand how innovation capability,with the notion of cloud computing, trust and open innovation affect supplychain agility.The main research question to be addressed is How Does Innovation Capability enabledby cloud computing, trust and open innovation affect supply chain agility of a firm? The methodology used in this study is to review existing literature in innovation capability, cloud computing, trust, open innovation and agility and develop some propositions on how firms can achieve supply chain agility. Some of the expected results from the study are, development and interaction of trust with cloud computing and open innovation is crucial in innovation capability building process. Second, innovation capability building process enabled by cloud computing, trust and open innovation will influence agility of a firm, leading to firm competitiveness
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| 35. |
- Iddris, Faisal, 1977-, et al.
(författare)
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The Role of Innovation Capability on Internationalisation of Low-Tech Manufacturing Firms
- 2018
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Konferensbidrag (refereegranskat)abstract
- Purpose: The purpose of this study is to explore innovation capability and its effect on internationalisation of small low-tech herbal manufacturing firms, thereby also contributing to theory development in the subject area. Design/methodology/approach: A single case study method is adopted to explore the process of innovation capability of low-tech manufacturing for internationalisation process. Findings: Our result indicates that in low-tech herbal manufacturing innovation capability has been crucial for the company’s internationalization. The uniqueness of the products is derived from mutual learning, collaboration, most importantly team work pertaining in the organisation. The findings in this study support the notion that the development of innovation capability in a natural resource-based sector could be pursued as a strategy for internationalisation in countries like Ghana. Research limitations/implications: In this study we attempted to examine low-tech manufacturing firms’ innovation capability and how it affects internationalisation. Our study, like any study, suffers from some limitations. First, the data is based on a single firm. Ideally we would like to include data from few more firms. However, getting data from innovative companies is a difficult task. Future research may consider multiple case studies within the same sector or across different sectors. Originality/Value: Although the research field of innovation capability is growing lately, few attempts have been made to explore innovation capability and its effect on internationalisation process of low-tech manufacturing firms.
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| 36. |
- Luthfa Karim, Sabrina, 1973-
(författare)
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The Uncertainty-Embedded Innovation Process : A study of how uncertainty emerges in the innovation process and of how firms address that to create novelty
- 2017
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Doktorsavhandling (övrigt vetenskapligt/konstnärligt)abstract
- Despite much discussion in the literature of uncertainties in relation to the innovation process, there is little knowledge of how they emerge in this process. This thesis accordingly aims to understand how uncertainty emerges in the innovation process and how firms address that uncertainty to create novelty from the process. Uncertainty is embedded in the innovation process (Jalonen, 2012), which implies that it is not only a factor affecting the innovation process but also an outcome of the process itself. To fulfil the purpose of this study, it is important to understand how the innovation process unfolds over time. It is well established that innovation is a process of recombining resources (Schumpeter, 1934) through the performing and linking of certain activities in sequence (Richardson, 1972; Dubois, 1994; Bankvall, 2011) by various actors (i.e., firms and organizations) in a network context (Håkansson and Olsen, 2012; Lampela, 2012; Love and Roper, 2001; Pittaway et al., 2004; Powell et al., 1996). To fulfil the purpose of this study, the following research question has been asked: How and why do actors undertake and link resource recombination activities in a network context, thereby managing uncertainties in the innovation process?The thesis investigates the innovation process in two companies. One of the companies had completed its innovation journey and the other had almost done so. The discussion gives a detailed account of: the activities these companies performed alone and jointly with their partners in a network context; the resources they exchanged with each other and recombined to bring new solutions to the market; the uncertainties created in the process of recombining the resources; and the activities they undertook in response to address these uncertainties. The innovation process in the case companies is analysed in light of a conceptual model developed here based on Dubois’ (1994) “end product related activity structure model”, Håkansson’s (1987) “ARA model/network model”, and Goldratt’s (1997) “critical chain concept”.This study identifies the conditions under which uncertainties emerged in the innovation process in the studied companies. One of the significant conditions was resource unavailability, which was caused by actors’ reluctance to share resources, prohibition by government policy, and the resources’ own conflicting conditions and internal resistance (Håkansson and Snehota, 1995; Håkansson and Waluszewski, 2002; Waluszewski, 2004). Resource unavailability caused inertial and repetitive activities and delayed the process of producing an outcome, having such an impact on the activities under the condition of path dependency (Arthur, 1994; David, 2000). Another observed condition was the actors’ lack of knowledge of resource combination (Jalonen, 2011).A type of uncertainty that seriously affects the outcome of the innovation process is the activity void, a situation in which no activity is taking place. Activity voids are created from resource unavailability either by an actor’s reluctance to share resources or by the outcome of combining conflicting resource properties.The outcome of the innovation process is therefore affected by the key actor’s attempt to reduce the activity void by making compromises at the three levels, interplay among which construct the process, i.e., actors, resources, and activities. To manage uncertainties, managers make many compromises when they perform and link various activities. Although the underlying motivation for making compromises is rational, it is boundedly rational (Simon, 1957) because by making compromises, managers forego expectations of having all the properties or of being able to plan, undertake, and link activities as intended. This study also reveals that sometimes actors prefer not to make compromises despite knowing that this might cost a great deal. Accordingly, the findings suggest that compromises made within a working relationship allow actors to produce novelty without deviating from the desired path by ensuring access to resources and partners’ abilities. On the contrary, compromises not made in the relationship can threaten actors’ ability to produce the desired novelty, as the exchange of partners’ resources and abilities is hindered in a poor relationship. Compromises made in resource configuration and activities threaten actors’ ability to produce the desired novelty by limiting their choices, while compromises not made in resource configuration and activities allow actors to produce the desired novelty without deviation.
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| 37. |
- Osarenkhoe, Aihie, 1960-, et al.
(författare)
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Network Perspective on Establishement Process in Transition Economies
- 2017
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Ingår i: Global and national business theories and practice. - : EuroMed Press. - 9789963711567 ; , s. 1235-1257
-
Konferensbidrag (refereegranskat)abstract
- This paper contributes to extant literature on market entry strategies in several ways. First, while previous literature focuses either on entry modes or entry timing, comparatively little efforts are made to illuminate the establishment process. Secondly, it addresses emanating impediments and development of supporting relationships with significant actors during the processes of establishment in transition economies. Establishment model, developed from network approach, facilitated the capturing of various supporting relationships that enabled the focal relationships to function properly during the establishment processes in less-structured markets. In-depth interviews were held with key informants in two Scandinavian firms. Findings show that Statoil´s ability to leverage a number of significant actors in its network for support during its establishment in Estonia makes the process less cumbersome and less resource consuming. Lack of home and host country support for Scania resulted in an arduous and costly process, with the firm’s position changing several times as different problems cropped up. In conclusion, relationship orientation requires adaptation by an organization, but more critically by its managers. Lack of cross-cultural relationship skills and orientation could impede a company’s growth in international markets. We call for more research efforts in the area of cultural dimensions of market establishment processes.
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| 38. |
- Osarenkhoe, Aihie, et al.
(författare)
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Networked establishment processes in transition economies
- 2020
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Ingår i: Global Business and Economics Review (GBER). - : InderScience Publishers. - 1097-4954 .- 1745-1329. ; 22:1/2, s. 161-177
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- The purpose of this article is to examine the establishment processes of Scania in Croatia and Statoil in Estonia applying a model developed from the network approach. The findings show that Statoil’s ability to leverage significant actors in its network to support its establishment made the process less cumbersome and less resource-consuming. Scania’s lack of home- and host country support resulted in an arduous and costly process, with Scania’s market position changing several times as different problems cropped up. We also found that relationship orientation requires adaptation by the firm and, more critically, by its managers. A lack of cross-cultural competence is also observed to be an impeding factor in the process.
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| 39. |
- Osarenkhoe, Aihie, 1960-, et al.
(författare)
-
Networked establishment processes in transition economies
- 2020
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Ingår i: Global Business and Economics Review (GBER). - Olney : InderScience Publishers. - 1097-4954 .- 1745-1329. ; 22:1-2, s. 161-177
-
Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- The purpose of this article is to examine the establishment processes of Scania in Croatia and Statoil in Estonia applying a model developed from the network approach. The findings show that Statoil's ability to leverage significant actors in its network to support its establishment made the process less cumbersome and less resource-consuming. Scania's lack of home- and host country support, on the other hand, resulted in an arduous and costly process, with its market position changing several times as different problems cropped up. We also found that relationship orientation requires adaptation by the firm and, more critically, by its managers. A lack of cross-cultural competence is also observed to be an impeding factor in the process. © 2020 Inderscience Enterprises Ltd.
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| 40. |
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| 41. |
- Svensson, Göran, et al.
(författare)
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A comparison of perceived quality in business relationships in Norway and Sweden : Similarities and differences
- 2009
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Ingår i: Baltic Journal of Management. - Bingley : Emerald Group Publishing Limited. - 1746-5265 .- 1746-5273. ; 4:1, s. 7-33
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to compare similarities and differences in perceived quality of business relationships in Norway and Sweden. Design/methodology/approach – The Norwegian and Swedish sampling frames consisted of 600 small- and medium-sized firms in each country. A response rate of 36.5 percent was achieved in Norway and 21 percent in Sweden. Leading executives from both countries were used as key informants because they are the primary decision-makers most knowledgeable about their firm's interactions with suppliers. Findings – The findings indicate that there are a series of significant differences and associations between the perceived quality of business relationships in small and medium-sized firms in Norway and Sweden, though both countries resemble each other in both socio-economic indicators and cultural dimensions. Research limitations/implications – One suggestion for further research is to replicate the study in other industries, business relationships, and countries. Another is to undertake a longitudinal approach of the focal areas of “perceived quality” and “supplier criteria”. Practical implications – This study is of managerial interest, as the framework may be applied by firms to monitor and evaluate ongoing supplier relationships and, in extension, their current customer relationships. It would be of interest to see if similarities exist amongst other cultures of the focal areas, and/or if there are differences across other countries that are decidedly different from those in Norway and Sweden. Originality/value – This paper makes a contribution to inter-organizational theory since it outlines a conceptual framework of focal areas of “perceived quality” and “supplier criteria” for examining business relationships across industries and countries for the benefit of other researchers.
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