Lourdes Fernandez, Elizabeth Kate Gandy, Heidi Y. Lawrence, Preet Bassi, Ernst Piercy, Debbie Sobotka, Marc Austin and Debra Lattanzi Shutika
The purpose of this paper is to offer guidelines and recommendations for launching and running sustainable programs involving partnerships between industries and universities…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to offer guidelines and recommendations for launching and running sustainable programs involving partnerships between industries and universities. Teaching technical writing and communication to fire and emergency services personnel is a task that requires forethought and intricate planning. The Advanced Technical Writing Certificate provided jointly by the Center for Public Safety Excellence and George Mason University balances the unique workplace needs of fire service professionals while working to ensure a high level of transfer and information retention.
Design/methodology/approach
This study will describe how the authors have developed and run a successful course series. The methods used to structure the courses are explained in detail, alongside the pedagogical theories that shaped information delivery. This paper offers a detailed guide to program development and implementation.
Findings
Providing a uniquely collaborative online environment and designing each module with the purpose of knowledge transfer have created an effective method by which advanced principles can be taught to working professionals in a relatively short period of time. By collaborating with subject matter experts and focusing on the utility of the material, the authors were able to create a highly effective course that served the needs of first responders.
Practical implications
Using the steps detailed in the article, programs like this could be replicated, allowing greater access to workplace learners of all kinds and a pathway to sustainable programs like these in universities. The research also details the importance of an adaptive course that continues to grow and improve.
Originality/value
By modeling the course and making use of experts, students are capable of learning complex topics with ease in a short amount of time.
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David W. Cravens, Nigel F. Piercy and Ashley Prentice
Successful companies encounter unique competitive challenges. However, there are several product strategy initiatives that are relevant to all organizations seeking to develop…
Abstract
Successful companies encounter unique competitive challenges. However, there are several product strategy initiatives that are relevant to all organizations seeking to develop market‐driven strategies. Key initiatives include the leveraging the business design, recognizing the growth mandate, developing market vision, achieving a capabilities/value match, exploring strategic relationships, building strong brands, brand leveraging, and recognizing the advantages of proactive cannibalization. We propose a product strategy agenda for review by executives in identifying which initiatives should be assessed relative to the needs of their organization.
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The purpose of this study was to contribute to the current discussion on digitization in companies’ marketing from a customer relationship management (CRM) perspective by…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this study was to contribute to the current discussion on digitization in companies’ marketing from a customer relationship management (CRM) perspective by examining the role and objectives of CRM and the exploitation of social media to serve the objectives of CRM in contemporary business-to-business (B2B) companies.
Design/methodology/approach
The data are collected through semi-structured themed interviews with key marketing/sales managers from three B2B firms.
Findings
CRM seems to be moving closer to the company’s core activity and becoming everybody’s business to a greater extent than ever before, but its main goal, to enhance customer relationships, will not necessarily change. Understanding the customer is vital and requires different functions to cooperate closely to ensure the firm has the best possible understanding of its customers. Public social media tools played almost no part in CRM, but closed social media systems might have potential in the future.
Research limitations/implications
The chosen research approach limits the generalization of the results.
Practical implications
It seems likely that firms will benefit from a collaborative working style over the traditional silo approaches. For B2B firms, public social media does not seems to be the most suitable source to serve CRM but private social media channels might have potential in the future.
Originality/value
The lack of empirical examination of the change from company ecosystem to customer ecosystem from a CRM perspective, and the lack of research on social media for CRM in the B2B context, determines the purpose of this study. Furthermore, digitization is a rather new and unstructured phenomenon and many companies are still considering how to reconcile to it.
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Bang Nguyen and Dilip S. Mutum
The purpose of this paper is to provide academics and practitioners working with customer relationship management (CRM) with a review of key topics, such as advances in CRM, the…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to provide academics and practitioners working with customer relationship management (CRM) with a review of key topics, such as advances in CRM, the shifting role of consumers, issues with conceptualisation and consumer exploitation. The authors further integrate concepts of fairness, trust and paradoxes of one‐to‐one marketing, which are little researched within customer management. As a result, the authors suggest eight propositions for improving the CRM scheme.
Design/methodology/approach
This paper reviews extant literatures in CRM, with a particular emphasis on the pitfalls of CRM.
Findings
The authors find that the risks of depleting customer trust as they perceive themselves being exploited by firm's CRM offerings should be openly discussed, as it poses a significant threat to the CRM scheme if it is overly used and misused.
Practical implications
It is proposed that the concept of dual value‐creation and win‐win relationships are fundamental to successful implementation. However, the danger of implementing CRM in such a way as to lead customers to believe that they are worse off requires more research. Managers must therefore define their CRM, understand their pitfalls and look at where their CRM is headed.
Social implications
Advances in CRM must consider issues of fairness, transparency, honesty, trust and with the emergence of social media, understand how CRM will adapt and immerse itself in such a future.
Originality/value
In total, eight propositions are made about CRM's successes, advances, pitfalls and futures. A focus is on the fairness of CRM and a new definition is offered.
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David W. Cravens, Nigel F. Piercy and George S. Low
Innovation is central to modern competition and yet many executives are wary of the risks of cannibalisation of their existing product and service sales through inappropriate…
Abstract
Innovation is central to modern competition and yet many executives are wary of the risks of cannibalisation of their existing product and service sales through inappropriate innovation. However, the impact of discontinuous technological change is fundamental, and the risks to established companies from not innovating to compete with disruptive technologies are substantial. Many of the arguments which tended towards avoiding cannibalisation are increasingly invalid as a basis for strategic decisions. We propose a framework of proactive cannibalisation that responds to changing customer value, as part of the process for building appropriate innovation strategies for the new competitive and technological environment faced by companies. We provide a framework for managers to evaluate the drivers of successful innovations in developing their strategies.
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Bodo B. Schlegelmilch, Adamantios Diamantopoulos and S. Anne Moore
Analyses the state of the management consultancy industry inBritain, from both a supply and a demand perspective. Aims to helppotential clients evaluate and select consultants; to…
Abstract
Analyses the state of the management consultancy industry in Britain, from both a supply and a demand perspective. Aims to help potential clients evaluate and select consultants; to keep academics in business‐related subjects abreast of developments in the field; and to identify growth areas into which consultants might elect to move. Outlines available consulting specialisms, identifies key players in each, and profiles a typical management consultant.
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Vinh Q. La, Paul G. Patterson and Chris W. Styles
To highlight the relative importance of service‐specific export performance drivers that help successful exporting.
Abstract
Purpose
To highlight the relative importance of service‐specific export performance drivers that help successful exporting.
Design/methodology/approach
A gap between the antecedents of manufacturing and service firms was identified via an extensive review on the export performance as well as services literature. Taking the resource‐based view and the contingency approach, a series of research propositions relating to the determinants of export performance among service firms are developed.
Findings
This paper suggests that traditional export performance models, developed for and tested with manufacturing firms, cannot be assumed to apply equally well in service settings. Further, service specific export theory needs to adopt a contingency approach which in turn provides insightful and value‐added research for academics and practitioners in the services exporting sector.
Originality value
The paper provides recognition of the relative importance of the different export performance and value drivers; value propositions can be more effectively designed in order to gain competitive advantage.
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The academic marketing literature reflects remarkably little effort to conceptualize total quality orientation, which is key to understanding customer satisfaction. The author…
Abstract
The academic marketing literature reflects remarkably little effort to conceptualize total quality orientation, which is key to understanding customer satisfaction. The author synthesizes extant knowledge on the subject and provides a foundation for future research by delineating the domain of the total quality orientation construct and providing an operational definition. The author draws on academic and practitioner writings from multiple disciplines, and 50 in‐depth interviews with corporate executives in a broad spectrum of manufacturing and service organizations.
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Ann Fairhurst, Myron Gable and Roger Dickinson
While numerous classifications have been proposed to differentiate goods from services, equivalent research on classification systems that could be used both for goods and…
Abstract
While numerous classifications have been proposed to differentiate goods from services, equivalent research on classification systems that could be used both for goods and services has not been explored. Today, in many instances, consumers can select either a physical good or a service to fulfill their needs. Consequently, marketers of services may gain strategic insights by investigating the similarities between goods and services as well as differences. Presents a unified taxonomy that classifies services into convenience, preference, shopping and specialty categories according to customer perceptions of perceived risk, purchase effort and involvement. For this study, 168 subjects evaluated eight services that represented the four categories. Results indicate that this classification system may be as useful in categorizing services as it has been for categorizing goods. Findings suggest that examining services from a consumer point of view offers alternative strategies for the service provider. The level of risk, purchase effort and involvement varies among types of services, not just between services and goods. Therefore, service managers are advised to examine their service from a consumer perspective to identify potential competitors and design effective marketing strategy.
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Yudi Fernando, Wen Xin Wah and Muhammad Shabir Shaharudin
– The purpose of this paper is to investigate different types of innovations and their effects on eco-innovation practices by firms practicing green technology in Malaysia.
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to investigate different types of innovations and their effects on eco-innovation practices by firms practicing green technology in Malaysia.
Design/methodology/approach
This paper collected data via postal and online surveys. The population frame for this study was obtained from the External Trade Development Corporation directory 2010 and the MyHijau Directory published in 2013. Surveys were distributed to the top management of green technology companies.
Findings
Based on the reflections from the managers who participated in the survey, this study found that environmental compliance has become a critical issue and lack of enforcement can no longer be ignored. Despite that fact that eco-innovation inspection activities to comply with environmental regulations are carried out periodically by the studied firms, the challenges in deploying the latest green technologies and their potential benefits have remain evident. Often, a shortage of resources has restricted firms in setting up in-house research and development units.
Practical implications
The findings of this study lead to the suggestion that firms practicing green technology should engage in an information-sharing culture with key suppliers regarding the latest know-how and technological developments. Among the recommendations are that firms should engage employees, customers, suppliers and competitors through co-production. This engagement will help improve product marketability, lean production processes and the design of desired green products.
Originality/value
This study investigated the level of eco-innovation practices for each dimension of its construct and compared that level to the different stages of firm innovation. The results will fill in the gaps in the literature because previous studies only focused on theory testing and modelling of eco-innovation from a multidisciplinary approach.