Jeryl L. Shepherd and Brian P. Mathews
Employee commitment has been extensively researched by academics. Theories about commitment towards the organisation have enjoyed much interest. The concept is a central part of…
Abstract
Employee commitment has been extensively researched by academics. Theories about commitment towards the organisation have enjoyed much interest. The concept is a central part of HR models. Research to date, however, has not examined the extent to which such “academic” perspectives are compatible with the views of practitioners. Hence, this research establishes practitioner’s understanding of employee commitment in a variety of UK private sector organisations. The findings of a national survey, distributed to 300 HRM managers (response rate 32 per cent), indicate a wide recognition of the desirability and benefits of commitment, but clear disparity between the way academics and practitioners conceptualise and measure it. Despite the variety of formal measuring tools available, organisational monitoring of commitment can be described as ad hoc and subjective. We conclude that the subjective approach adopted by practitioners could inform the approaches of academics just as the structured “objective” approaches of academics should inform practitioners.
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Lourdes Perez, Jeryl Whitelock and Juan Florin
The aim of this paper is to gain a better understanding of how small technology start‐ups learn about a key customer in the context of B2B relationships, and to propose a model of…
Abstract
Purpose
The aim of this paper is to gain a better understanding of how small technology start‐ups learn about a key customer in the context of B2B relationships, and to propose a model of interfirm learning with customers.
Design/methodology/approach
Using a qualitative case‐based approach, the authors immerse themselves in the development of three learning alliances between technology startups and industry leaders, two successes and one failure, to gain an in‐depth understanding of the dynamics involved. Data were collected on both sides of the alliance dyad.
Findings
The paper delineates four learning cycles: alliance inception, joint‐learning, specialization and discovery. These learning cycles constitute sequences of increasing understanding, cooperation, and higher order learning between the partners; evolving from an exchange of existing knowledge to the joint development of new knowledge.
Originality/value
This study contributes to an integration of the alliance and marketing literatures by offering empirical evidence of a different type of alliance, namely the reciprocal learning alliance. It also contributes to broadening our understanding of market orientation in inter‐organizational settings. In the context of business‐to‐business relationships, the study has identified four critical dimensions of learning alliance success, and proposed how they could be measured: Learn about customers; Interact with customers; Customer‐specific investments; and Co‐develop breakthrough innovations. Finally, the study demonstrates the significant role played by “committed champions”.
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Morven G. McEachern, Monika J.A. Schröder, Joyce Willock, Jeryl Whitelock and Roger Mason
This paper aims to explore ethical purchasing behaviours and attitudes, relating to the Royal Society for Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (RSPCA) and their brand‐extension…
Abstract
Purpose
This paper aims to explore ethical purchasing behaviours and attitudes, relating to the Royal Society for Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (RSPCA) and their brand‐extension “Freedom Food”.
Design/methodology/approach
A mixed methodology was adopted. This involved both in‐depth interviews with 30 consumers and a postal survey of 1,000 consumers. Beliefs, attitudes, normative and control issues were measured within the context of the theory of planned behaviour (TPB). Structural equation modelling was used to explore a series of dependence relationships simultaneously.
Findings
Overall, consumers' moral obligations towards food‐animals as well as consumer location are confirmed as influencing ethical brand choice. Both variables provide additional predictive capability improvements, raising the percentage of explained variance by 28 per cent to 80 per cent. The RSPCA's brand extension is clearly successful in terms of the positive, association value between the parent brand and the extended brand. However, market opportunities to increase market potential exist. These opportunities are discussed.
Originality/value
Despite the plethora of brand extensions amongst conventional fast‐moving consumer goods, the success of the brand extension concept remains unexplored amongst ethical products. Similarly, within the ethical consumption literature the majority of ethical research focuses either on environmental issues or Fair Trade purchasing behaviour, with much less attention given to societal concern for animal welfare. Additional originality is gained by exploring consumer purchase activities of “Freedom Food” branded meat by adopting the TPB as a theoretical framework.