Dr Peter Stokes, Dr Neil Moore, Dr Simon Brooks and Paul Caulfield and Jessica Wells
The purpose of this paper is to review the differing structural constraints between corporates and small to medium‐sized enterprises (SMEs) in the area of measuring marketing…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to review the differing structural constraints between corporates and small to medium‐sized enterprises (SMEs) in the area of measuring marketing effectiveness and, using the premise that an imperfect measure is better than none, demonstrate a practitioner‐developed tool for “judging” marketing mix effectiveness through a case study from the automotive sector.
Design/methodology/approach
The paper uses literature review, SME practitioner experience and a case study from the global automotive sector.
Findings
There is no single “magic bullet” metric for measuring marketing effectiveness. Whilst multiple metrics might therefore be used, SMEs’ variances from corporates can render this approach “too difficult”. This can lead to SMEs managing their marketing without adequate planning/control, relying instead on anecdotes/myths. The case‐examined practitioner tool assumes an incomplete measurement system is better than none and that the most pragmatic start‐point is the marketing mix itself. It is demonstrated to deliver positive outcomes in a number of areas.
Research limitations/implications
Owing to the volume of research data on measuring marketing effectiveness, the authors have focused on those metrics that they have observed more commonly in use in UK businesses. The research into the practitioner tool is based on its observed outcomes with 28 UK SMEs since 2005 and highlights a single implementation with an automotive sector firm.
Practical implications
The practitioner tool offers a pragmatic starting‐point in an SME environment where there might otherwise be no rational measurement of marketing effectiveness (in whole or in part) at all.
Originality/value
The paper's contribution is to question the applicability of current academic thought in the context of certain business situations, whilst offering an illustrative example of a pragmatic solution for SME practitioners. It is posited that by making use of this solution, SME owner/managers would be better equipped to understand the strategic linkages between marketing mix elements, customer groups and the outcomes of past marketing actions, leading to a more considered approach to future marketing decisions in line with business objectives.
Details
Keywords
Caroline Ann Rowland and Roger David Hall
The purpose of this paper is to explore the contribution of appraisal systems to sustainable organizational effectiveness. It argues that competitive advantage is increasingly…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to explore the contribution of appraisal systems to sustainable organizational effectiveness. It argues that competitive advantage is increasingly reliant on discretionary effort. As the emphasis of appraisal has shifted from a developmental to a performance focus, perceived unfairness in both procedures and outcomes threatens to undermine commitment and, therefore, sustainable performance.
Design/methodology/approach
Drawing on a range of theoretical frameworks, current practices and experiences are examined and future trends considered. Empirical research includes a ten-year study of practising managers and ethnography, questionnaires and interviews in two large organizations.
Findings
Appraisal frequently creates actual and perceived injustice in terms of both procedures and rewards. It also generates tensions between managing performance and encouraging engagement.
Research limitations/implications
This study indicates that further research in other sectors will contribute to the development of greater understanding of sustainable strategic approaches to HRM.
Practical implications
Emphasis on performance in appraisal devalues developmental aspects and sometimes affects employee well-being. Separation of the two through mentorship schemes may help to address the paradox, whereby the performance management element of appraisal undermines rather than enhances organizational effectiveness.
Originality/value
The conventional wisdom of the appraisal culture is challenged. We argue it is essential to expand the discourse between performance, justice and ethical value systems if sustainable competitive advantage and well-being are to be achieved.
Details
Keywords
– The purpose of this paper is to integrate the context of sustainability in a framework for greater corporate accountability.
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to integrate the context of sustainability in a framework for greater corporate accountability.
Design/methodology/approach
Applied conceptual research.
Findings
This literature review shows that current corporate accountability frameworks forces companies to focus on a narrow source for value creation based on imperfect economic theories inadequate response to societal issues and misleading measurement systems. The current conceptual accountability frameworks are dramatically inadequate in the context of escalating sustainability issues and needs of both society and business. The business responses, through corporate social responsibility (CSR) initiatives, voluntary sustainability reports and industry standards are only a poor attempt to address the fundamental sustainable development challenges. Economic theory has defined externalities as residual to the market and as market failure requiring government intervention.
Practical implications
This paper proposes a direct valuation and formal accounting of externalities on the corporate balance sheet, with an offsetting appraisal of the social licence to operate for the corporation, thus creating a meaningful and integrated basis for accountability.
Originality/value
The current definition and understanding of corporate accountability is challenged. The paper presents a broad grounding in relevant literature for change to the current corporate accountability framework. The main contribution of this paper towards theory development is that meaningful corporate accountability framework in the context of sustainability can connect social progress to the economic value of the firm's strategy.
Details
Keywords
Corporations and businesses have been a major influence on society since before the industrial revolution, but academic focus on corporate responsibilities is a recent phenomenon…
Abstract
Purpose
Corporations and businesses have been a major influence on society since before the industrial revolution, but academic focus on corporate responsibilities is a recent phenomenon which focuses predominantly on globalised multi-national corporations of the late twentieth century. The purpose of this paper is to consider the evolution of the corporate responsibility and community involvement tracing the development of corporate behaviours in the UK from medieval guilds to the modern form of corporation seen at the end of the last century.
Design/methodology/approach
The analysis considers the institutional forces which have shaped responsible business behaviours in a context of changing power and influence.
Findings
Drawing on Weber's notion of the ideal-type, this paper demonstrates that many “modern” corporate social responsibility (CSR) concepts such as codes of conduct, stakeholder consultation, and corporate donations have considerable heritage.
Originality/value
This paper develops an important precedent by examining the evolution of CSR and other aspects of corporate engagement. It develops a long-term instrumental context for corporate donations, whilst revealing that practices such as employee volunteering are considerably more recent, and less institutionally developed.
Details
Keywords
Bernd Britzelmaier, Andreas Doll, Michael Häberle and Patrick Kraus
The purpose of this paper is to study the remuneration of management in the financial crisis. What are the key elements of management payment at the Euro Stoxx 50 companies, does…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to study the remuneration of management in the financial crisis. What are the key elements of management payment at the Euro Stoxx 50 companies, does management remuneration comprise long-term incentives in order to overcome principal-agent conflicts and how did the financial crisis affect management payment in terms of payment elements and size?
Design/methodology/approach
Based on the Euro Stoxx 50 financial reports of the fiscal year 2009 and other documents elements and size of management payment are being analysed.
Findings
Management payment has been affected by financial crisis. Among the Euro Stoxx 50 companies management remuneration is quite heterogeneous.
Practical implications
There is still a lack of use of appropriate metrics. There are doubts whether measures like TSR really can align manager's decisions to a sustainable, long-term orientated strategy.
Originality/value
The paper gives an insight view in management remuneration at the Euro Stoxx 50 companies.
Details
Keywords
Qiang Wu, Qile He and Yanqing Duan
Differences in corporate commitments to sustainability have attracted increasing attentions of both researchers and practitioners. However, reasons behind such differences still…
Abstract
Purpose
Differences in corporate commitments to sustainability have attracted increasing attentions of both researchers and practitioners. However, reasons behind such differences still lack a generic theorization. We propose that one source of these differences lies in the development and application of what we refer to as dynamic capabilities for corporate sustainability within the firm. Drawing on the dynamic capabilities view, the objective of this paper is to examine the fundamental role of dynamic capabilities in corporate sustainable development.
Design/methodology/approach
The research developed a framework of dynamic capabilities for corporate sustainability and used the approach of content analysis to verify the framework based on the CSR reports of UK leading companies.
Findings
The research demonstrates that the dynamic capabilities for corporate sustainability enable firms to monitor the emerging sustainability needs of various stakeholders, seize sustainable development opportunities from the rapidly changing stakeholders’ expectations, and reconfigure existing functional capabilities for corporate sustainability.
Practical implications
The framework of dynamic capabilities for corporate sustainability developed in this paper may be used by practitioners to better understand firms’ status in the corporate sustainable development, identify areas of improvement, and more effectively overcome emerging sustainability challenges.
Originality/value
This study makes an early attempt to extend the dynamic capabilities perspective to the area of corporate sustainable development.
Details
Keywords
The issue of women’s under-representation in male-dominated occupations has been a topic of research for the last few decades. The extant literature has identified gender…
Abstract
The issue of women’s under-representation in male-dominated occupations has been a topic of research for the last few decades. The extant literature has identified gender differences and social and structural discrimination based on a theoretical lens and sensitising concepts around which career barriers were experienced by women within a developed nation’s context (Eaton et al., 2020; French & Strachan, 2009; Hernandez & Ritchie, 2015; Miner et al., 2018). While there has been research on women in transport in developed countries, there has been little research on women employees’ career experiences within Indian Railways. To address this gap, this chapter explores the career barriers of women employed in male-dominated occupations within Indian Railways, in relation to gendered cultural norms. In-depth semi-structured interviews have been undertaken to understand the lived experiences of women employees. Thematic analysis was used for data analysis. The findings highlight the interplay of barriers such as gender roles, limited empowerment and occupational segregation, working conditions, lack of role models and mentors, backlash by men, queen-bee behaviour, beta career priorities and restricted informal networks that collectively restrict women in achieving senior level positions in such occupations.
The theme of this year's conference on economic crime was hidden wealth in general — not necessarily dressed up as money laundering. Therefore the question becomes how is wealth…
Abstract
The theme of this year's conference on economic crime was hidden wealth in general — not necessarily dressed up as money laundering. Therefore the question becomes how is wealth ‘hidden’ rather than laundered — how can we best identify these funds — and are we politically willing to go after them and at what ‘costs’ to society in terms of dollars, but more importantly in terms of privacy and confidentiality considerations?
This paper explores the experiences of women in Saudi Arabia who have been managed by other women, and examines how junior women perceive senior women's role in advancing their…
Abstract
Purpose
This paper explores the experiences of women in Saudi Arabia who have been managed by other women, and examines how junior women perceive senior women's role in advancing their career.
Design/methodology/approach
The paper is based on qualitative data gathered using in-depth semi-structured interviews undertaken with 30 women working in Saudi public organisations.
Findings
This study's findings shows that the hierarchical relationships between women and their woman manager are complex due to a multifaceted web of contextual factors including sociocultural values, family values, religious beliefs and organisational cultures and structures. These factors shape the quality of relationships between senior women and their women subordinates. Also, this study reveals that there is solidarity and ‘sisterly’ relationship between women in the workplace that plays a role in facilitating women's career development and advancement. In addition, this study shows that despite senior women's having supported other women's career advancement, this support tended to be conditional and limited. This can have an influence on women-to-women work relationships, where such relationships can be described as being disconnected and fragile. Furthermore, the study depict that there is evidence of the existence of ‘Queen Bee’-like senior women who distance themselves from other women and block their career advancement. The Queen Bee phenomena can actually become a form of hierarchy that mimics the patriarchal structure and excludes women from serving at top management levels.
Originality/value
This paper provides an in-depth understanding of the hierarchical relationships between women in the workplace and how these relationships have an influence on women's career advancement. Therefore, the paper makes a valuable contribution to the scarce knowledge that currently exists within the field of management research in relation to women's career development – and the advancement of such research within the Arab Middle Eastern context. Also, the findings of this study could potentially inform practitioners and HR department personnel within organisations about the connections between women's hierarchical workplace relationships and women's career development and advancement.