Michael Etgar and Paul Shrivastava
Although inflation has abated somewhat in the United States, its specter still looms on the horizon. Indeed, inflation is expected to remain endemic to most advanced nations in…
Abstract
Although inflation has abated somewhat in the United States, its specter still looms on the horizon. Indeed, inflation is expected to remain endemic to most advanced nations in the coming years. Perhaps no industry is as affected by inflation as retailing. In order to cope, retailers need to understand the changes in the behavior of their consumers, suppliers, and competitors and must formulate constructive strategies to respond to these.
The purpose of this article is to present and analyze the responses of high‐tech firms to the crisis of 2000‐2003 when demand declined rapidly.
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this article is to present and analyze the responses of high‐tech firms to the crisis of 2000‐2003 when demand declined rapidly.
Design/methodology/approach
A group of industry experts from the industry in Israel were interviewed about the practices adopted by firms as a result of the crisis. The responses were used to categorize several distinct strategic responses. The analysis was done for firms in all the three stages of high‐tech firms' lifecycle – seed, mezzanine and full production.
Findings
The article identifies three major managerial business orientations (MBO's) – financial, technological and marketing. High‐tech firms responded to the crisis by changing their MBO's from financial or technical to market oriented. Those firms in the full production stage that have embraced a market orientation before the crisis responded by adopting the more advanced strategic marketing orientation.
Research limitations/implications
This study was carried out towards the end of the crisis cycle. It is important to find out the dynamics of the reported change – whether it has been retained also after the industry started to improve from 2004 onwards. The study should be also replicated in additional countries besides the one in which it was performed.
Practical implications
This study contributes to the general knowledge about behavior of firms facing a major crisis especially in a new and fast developing industry that has not experienced such crises before. It also shows the value of marketing managerial orientation vis‐´‐vis other managerial business orientations. Managers in other industries that may face rapid crisis like change in business conditions should learn how to get ready and set up relevant defense strategies.
Originality/value
The data, approach and analysis are original to this paper. It introduces to managers, in technically‐based industries, the notion of competing managerial business orientations and points out that the prevailing emphasis on financial and technological orientation may fail in times of crisis. It concludes that such firms should adopt the marketing orientation right from their initiation because this ensures survival in times of crises. The paper should be also of value to researchers interested in studying how firms react in times of crises and in analyzing survival strategies.
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This study aims to explore the relationship between the perceived quality of services provided by specialist physicians and patients' attitudinal responses along cognitive…
Abstract
Purpose
This study aims to explore the relationship between the perceived quality of services provided by specialist physicians and patients' attitudinal responses along cognitive, emotive and conative levels.
Design/methodology/approach
The SERVQUAL model was used to evaluate the quality of the medical services. The data were collected in a survey of medium‐level executives enrolled in professional MBA and executive BA programs in Israel.
Findings
The study shows that patients' evaluations regarding service quality do affect significantly their attitudinal responses. It has also found out that service dimensions relating to anxiety reduction and the desires to reduce perceived risk, namely the Assurance and the Reliability dimensions are the most important for patients in these kinds of service encounters.
Practical implications
The study should encourage service managers of health care‐providing organizations to use these results to ensure higher patient satisfaction. These results indicate that, in these kinds of medical service encounters, physicians should explicitly recognize the role of service quality perceptions for anxiety reduction and incorporate as many anxiety‐reducing cues as possible in the environment of such interactions.
Originality/value
The research reinforces the importance of patients' perceptions of service quality in medical encounters. The study shows that such perceptions are relevant for patients in medical service encounters of the intermediate type where such patients are treated by specialist physicians. It shows that such perceptions affect the levels of patients' satisfaction from such encounters at both the cognitive and affective levels. They also affect their intentions to act following such encounters in the short, intermediate and long time spans.
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Stephen L. Vargo, Robert F. Lusch, Melissa Archpru Akaka and Yi He
Michael Etgar and Dalia Rachman‐Moore
The purpose of this paper is to examine the effects of international expansion on the sales volumes of large‐scale retailers.
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to examine the effects of international expansion on the sales volumes of large‐scale retailers.
Design/methodology/approach
Sales data of 200 largest retailers from around the world reported in the 2004 Deloitte “Global Retail Power” survey were analyzed with regression analyses.
Findings
It was found that: even though internationalization makes a positive contribution to retailers' sales volumes its impact is small; this effect is not impacted by the moderating factor of the degree of retailer specialization along product lines; while another moderating factor, namely the identity of the retailer's country of origin, does make a difference.
Research limitations/implications
The research methodology and the nature of the data precluded the use of more “soft” measures such as measures of managerial cognitions, perceptions and attitudes to analyze their impact on the effectiveness of internationalization for retailers. The research used cross‐sectional data and further research should compare results in additional time points to capture the possible dynamic changes in this industry.
Practical implications
Retailers seeking to expand their sales volumes should not rely too much on internationalization but consider also other strategic options. They should therefore analyze carefully whether large investments in overseas operations are justified. This is particularly relevant for US retailers.
Originality/value
This paper focuses on the issue of internationalization as a viable retail strategy to achieve larger sales volumes. The study reaches its conclusions on the basis of an analysis of data from a large population of diverse, domestic‐only and international retailers from around the world from different sectors and countries of origin, who – the international retailers – operate in different countries.
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Mushtaq Luqmani, Ghazi M. Habib and Sami Kassem
This articles provides a managerial framework to examine and analyse factors that may influence government decision making in less developed countries. In order to market…
Abstract
This articles provides a managerial framework to examine and analyse factors that may influence government decision making in less developed countries. In order to market successfully to these buyers, a series of hurdles has to be cleared. These include meeting eligibility, following procedures, establishing critical linkages, developing competitive offers and exerting appropriate influence. International firms can enhance their success and profits by taking a serious, long‐term approach to these markets.
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The growth in the number of marketing firms emphasising international perspectives in both their philosophy and scope of operations points to the need for additional studies…
Abstract
The growth in the number of marketing firms emphasising international perspectives in both their philosophy and scope of operations points to the need for additional studies focused on marketing practices in other nations. A knowledge of the nature of the relationship between marketing structure, marketing practices, and the environment in which the marketing institution operates is essential. This article reports on a research study which assesses the relationship between the size of household appliance distributors in Nigeria, and the economic, technological, and socio‐cultural environment. It also examines how the existing relationship could explain the marketing practices.
Nicholas C. Williamson and Daniel C. Bello
The instability of the relationships which Export Management Companies have with their Manufacturer‐Suppliers is, perhaps, the most pressing problem which the EMCs have in their…
Abstract
The instability of the relationships which Export Management Companies have with their Manufacturer‐Suppliers is, perhaps, the most pressing problem which the EMCs have in their long‐term development as viable export marketing channel entities. Three different variables were empirically tested as possibly affecting the stability of EMC/M‐S relationships: (1) the “operating arrangement” which the EMC has with the M‐S; (2) whether or not the EMC “takes title” to products which it markets abroad; and (3) the size of a given M‐S's export sales generated by the EMC. All three variables were shown to affect the stability of the EMC/M‐S dyadic relationship.