Istvan Maklari and Richard Szanto
Marketing management, pricing strategies, zoo management, non-profit organizations.
Abstract
Subject area
Marketing management, pricing strategies, zoo management, non-profit organizations.
Study level/applicability
Difficult. Recommended for courses: marketing, strategy, pricing, customer behaviour, management of non-profit organizations, emerging markets.
Case overview
The case study deals with the pricing dilemma of the Birch House Zoo located in an Eastern European country. The zoo has implemented capital-intensive developments in the recent years its main attraction the Tropic World included. The organization is managed and subsidized by the city where it is situated, yet the City Council lately expressed that they wanted the zoo to be self-financing by the end of 2011 by finding new source of revenue. In 2009, the operational expenses of the zoo exceeded EUR five million; however, the revenues were far bellow this level. The tariff structure did not change in the last 30 years as pricing always had to be adjusted to the local purchasing power; recent developments and new attractions are only partly priced in at the moment. In the light of the special environment in which Birch House Zoo operates, the director has to initiate key actions that could bring the zoo to the level of breakeven in its operations and make it financially independent.
Expected learning outcomes
Ability to create pricing and revenue generating strategies; understanding idiosyncrasies of the management of non-profit organizations regarding this matter; understanding price elasticity issues.
Supplementary materials
Teaching note.
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György Pataki, Richárd Szántó and Réka Matolay
Online CSR communication of top Hungarian companies has been analysed, aiming at the exploration of the internal and external consistency of corporate communication practices.
Abstract
Purpose
Online CSR communication of top Hungarian companies has been analysed, aiming at the exploration of the internal and external consistency of corporate communication practices.
Methodology/approach
Critical discourse analysis was implemented in the research of selected corporate web pages and social media presence of the companies in the sample. Then a comparison of online disclosure and the unethical/illegal activities of selected industries – telecommunication, construction and retail – was made.
Findings
No positive correlation between the culpability and the intensity of online CSR communication was detected. Therefore, it is not confirmed that disclosure of socially responsible activities and principles on the web is a mere corporate lip service. However, in certain highly controversial industries companies intensively communicate about their CSR actions on the one hand, and commit different forms of misconduct on the other.
Research limitations/implications
Our methodology certainly has limitations since we registered only a few forms of unethical behaviour. Additionally, our focus was on large Hungarian companies, therefore the opportunity for generalization is limited.
Practical implications
Our findings show remarkable dissonances in CSR communication and point to a rhetoric-reality gap that needs more attention from practitioners as well.
Originality/value
Applications of critical discourse analysis of online CSR communication is relatively rare, only few studies have been conducted so far to explore potential dissonances and contradictions within online communication and between communication and real activities.
Zita Zoltay Paprika, Agnes Wimmer and Richard Szanto
The purpose of this paper is to explore three key aspects of managerial decision making, namely managerial skills and attitudes, information and performance measurement supporting…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to explore three key aspects of managerial decision making, namely managerial skills and attitudes, information and performance measurement supporting decision making, and companies' approaches to the management of relationship with their stakeholders.
Design/methodology/approach
After giving a broad view of the management practice of the sample, the paper analyzes the differences (by company size, dominant ownership, and performance) of companies according to the routines and attitudes of decision making.
Findings
The findings of the research paper suggest that managerial capabilities and skills, and attitudes toward decision making, the information and performance measurement supporting decision making, and companies' approaches to the management of relationship with their stakeholders have a significant impact on the effectiveness of managerial decision making. All these factors play an important role in the competitiveness of the Hungarian companies.
Research limitations/implications
This research was based on a questionnaire. Further investigations would be necessary to check the results by interviews and case studies.
Practical implications
Beyond summarizing the main experiences, the paper draws up some recommendations for the business community reflecting on the successful companies' practice.
Originality/value
The three factors presented by the paper can constitute a possible framework of managerial decision making in further researches.
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Aim of the present monograph is the economic analysis of the role of MNEs regarding globalisation and digital economy and in parallel there is a reference and examination of some…
Abstract
Aim of the present monograph is the economic analysis of the role of MNEs regarding globalisation and digital economy and in parallel there is a reference and examination of some legal aspects concerning MNEs, cyberspace and e‐commerce as the means of expression of the digital economy. The whole effort of the author is focused on the examination of various aspects of MNEs and their impact upon globalisation and vice versa and how and if we are moving towards a global digital economy.
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Ilkka Tapani Ojansivu and Jan Hermes
Business relationships are considered long-term and stable. Furthermore, over time, business relationships are expected to become and remain “institutionalized”. The undertone is…
Abstract
Purpose
Business relationships are considered long-term and stable. Furthermore, over time, business relationships are expected to become and remain “institutionalized”. The undertone is that this process is deterministic and inevitable. While the authors do not question the long-term nature of business relationships, they argue that the process of “institutionalization” requires more construct clarity. Consequently, they ask the following: What is the source of resilience in business relationships, and how are these relationships maintained over time?
Design/methodology/approach
To unravel these questions, the authors conducted an historical case study of a business relationship between a government buyer and a software seller extending over two decades.
Findings
The authors found that while the network around the business relationship is crumbling and all odds are in favor of relationship dissolution, the active maintenance work of key individuals in the relationship prevented detrimental effects and resulted in not only its continuation but also an increased degree of institutionalization.
Research limitations/implications
The authors contribute to the Industrial Network approach (INA) by providing a non-deterministic approach to the typically taken-for-granted end phase of business relationships.
Practical implications
The findings illustrate that the process of institutionalization is manageable but requires hard work, highlighting managers as the principle vehicle of relationship maintenance.
Originality/value
The authors provide construct clarity around the process of “institutionalization”. In fact, they regard the process as reverse compared to the early interpretation in the INA literature in which a business relationship is assumed to start as a “clean slate” and then begins to represent the industry codes of practice over time. They found that “institutionalization” implies that a business relationship is no longer compared with nor is comparable to the institutional prescriptions; in contrast, the relationship has established its own rules and norms, which have been taken for granted by the buyer and seller organization.