John F. Riggs, Scott Widmier and Richard E. Plank
The purpose of this research is to develop a taxonomy of the impact of sales process regulations, guidance statements and laws (henceforth, referred to as “regulations”) on sales…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this research is to develop a taxonomy of the impact of sales process regulations, guidance statements and laws (henceforth, referred to as “regulations”) on sales behaviours within the pharmaceutical industry, particularly as it relates to those within the USA.
Design/methodology/approach
Given the large number of regulations, guidance statements and laws and sales behaviours that comprise the domain of this study, this research uses a “multicenter, parallel-arm clinical trial data gathering method”. This approach aggregated or “stacked” the responses from three individual questionnaires; 7,493 total observations generated by 381 respondents were analyzed.
Findings
The analysis produced a six-cluster solution of regulations, guidance statements and laws indicating distinct taxonomic structures of items that affect selling activities.
Research limitations/implications
The research was conducted with a single firm in the USA. Therefore, results may not be applicable to other geographical areas, firms and industries.
Practical Implications
The knowledge of which behaviours are perceived by the salespeople to be impacted by what regulations, guidance statements and laws provides managers with a useful tool to sort their own companies’ regulations on the basis of the classification scheme.
Originality/value
This paper provides a novel taxonomic approach to organize sales activities affected by regulations, guidance statements and laws which provides a look at the unintended consequences of the item not compliance. Additionally, it uses a research methodology relatively unknown to social science inquiry.
Details
Keywords
Charles B. Ragland, Lance Eliot Brouthers and Scott M. Widmier
– The purpose of this paper is to use a theoretical framework (institutional theory) to predict international market selection (IMS) for the direct selling industry.
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to use a theoretical framework (institutional theory) to predict international market selection (IMS) for the direct selling industry.
Design/methodology/approach
The authors use independent variables taken from institutional theory to predict IMS for the direct selling industry, allowing the authors to show the relationship between institutional theory – defined independent variables and the relative attractiveness of international markets. The model is applied to a broad sample of 51 developed and emerging nations that comprise 91 percent of worldwide GDP.
Findings
The authors found that the hypotheses were confirmed. Institutional theory – defined independent variables did a good job of predicting the relative attractiveness of international markets.
Research limitations/implications
The authors used cross sectional country level data to validate their model. One major implication: institutional theory appears to do an excellent job of predicting IMS in contrast to geographic proximity or cultural similarity for the direct selling industry.
Practical implications
Managers should consider formal and informal aspects of the institutional environment, when selecting new international markets.
Originality/Value
In contrast to most IMS papers, the authors apply a theory to predict IMS outcomes, helping to provide greater potential generalizability. The authors show that selected dimensions of institutional theory do a good job of predicting IMS for the direct selling industry. Future efforts may wish to apply institutional theory to new IMS contexts. The authors conclude with managerial implications.
Details
Keywords
Timothy J. Wilkinson, Anna McAlister and Scott Widmier
The purpose of this paper is to offer an assessment of the international direct marketing environment.
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to offer an assessment of the international direct marketing environment.
Design/methodology/approach
This paper uses political, economic, social, and technological (PEST) analysis to investigate the business environment of international direct marketing. This framework is commonly used as a way of assessing the context of international marketing.
Findings
Globalization, technological innovation, and the spread of free‐market governance have created new and interesting opportunities for managers who decide to use direct marketing to sell their products overseas.
Practical implications
For managers considering international direct marketing, a careful assessment of market prospects and a thoughtful evaluation of the PEST environment should maximize potential opportunities while minimizing the risks associated with foreign markets.
Originality/value
This paper provides an overview of the international direct marketing environment and can, therefore, be used by practioners in their efforts to shapes direct marketing strategy.
Details
Keywords
The purpose of this paper is to fill the following research gaps. First, few studies have examined isomorphic behavior of multinational corporations (MNCs) with respect to foreign…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to fill the following research gaps. First, few studies have examined isomorphic behavior of multinational corporations (MNCs) with respect to foreign subsidiary staffing. Second, the adoption by an MNC of its internally preferable practices, which is referred to as internal mimetic behavior, has been less extensively investigated when compared with the imitation of practices adopted by a large number of peer firms. Lastly, factors that facilitate internal mimetic behavior have not been extensively explored.
Design/methodology/approach
This study hypothesizes that internal mimetic behavior is affected by both formal and informal institutional distance. The hypotheses are tested using the panel data set that consists of 3,981 foreign subsidiaries of Japanese MNCs.
Findings
This study finds that as the formal institutional distance between the host country and the home country increases, MNCs are more likely to adopt internal mimetic behavior. Furthermore, it demonstrates that as the informal institutional distance increases, the likelihood that MNCs adopt internal mimetic behavior decreases.
Practical implications
This study suggests that MNCs need to consider the consequences of internal mimetic behavior when they adopt it without having economic rationale. It also suggests that when uncertainty can be mitigated, MNCs should avoid internal mimetic behavior.
Originality/value
This study fills the aforementioned research gaps by examining what factors facilitate internal mimetic behavior. It suggests that both economic rationale and isomorphic behavior need to be considered to advance an understanding of foreign subsidiary staffing.
Details
Keywords
The purpose of this paper is to explore determinants that affect foreign subsidiary staffing policies by employing institutional theory as a theoretical foundation.
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to explore determinants that affect foreign subsidiary staffing policies by employing institutional theory as a theoretical foundation.
Design/methodology/approach
Hypotheses are developed regarding determinants of the ratio of parent country nationals (PCNs) to foreign subsidiary employees. To examine the hypotheses, Tobit regressions are run using a sample of 1,998 foreign subsidiaries of Japanese manufacturers in 40 countries.
Findings
The PCN ratio of foreign subsidiaries is positively associated with the parent firm's taken‐for‐granted PCN ratio and the PCN ratio adopted by other Japanese firms in the same cognitive category. In addition, the positive relationship between the PCN ratio adopted by other Japanese firms in the same cognitive category and the PCN ratio of foreign subsidiaries is moderated by the international experience of the parent firm, such that the positive relationship is weaker as the parent firm accumulates international experience.
Originality/value
The study described in this paper incorporates a sociological perspective into a framework that explains foreign subsidiary staffing decisions. In addition, it shows that under conditions of uncertainty, foreign firms adopt a normatively rational staffing policy, although this does not necessarily guarantee economic rationality.
Details
Keywords
Amanda Wolek Rocha, Jefferson M. Monticelli and Jorge Renato Verschoore
Our paper examines how formal institutional agents influence the legitimacy of companies in a highly regulated industry. We focus on the Brazilian personal protective equipment…
Abstract
Purpose
Our paper examines how formal institutional agents influence the legitimacy of companies in a highly regulated industry. We focus on the Brazilian personal protective equipment (PPE) industry because its characteristics are particularly suited to this investigation. Companies are subject to isomorphic pressures imposed by regulatory demands they must comply with for successful market entry, and the institutional environment plays a significant role in shaping organizations’ strategic decision-making. However, customer purchasing decisions are often influenced by price rather than by an organization’s performance in pre-certification testing.
Design/methodology/approach
We conducted a case study, holding 13 semi-structured interviews with key stakeholders, including PPE manufacturers, their suppliers and customers, representatives from formal institutional agents, industry experts and consultants.
Findings
Our findings highlight the role of formal institutional agents in creating and implementing the rules of the institutional environment. However, we found that the regulatory framework alone has insufficient credibility to establish legitimacy for PPE manufacturers from the perspective of their consumers. This is in part because of weak regulatory oversight, manifested as the absence of enforcement through post-certification inspections, which is possibly due to mimetic isomorphism.
Originality/value
Our study contributes to the field of organizational legitimacy by analyzing and offering insights into the role of formal institutional agents in a regulated industry. In the empirical field, it helps organizations to understand how institutions impact customers’ perception of legitimacy in the market, paradoxically, by showing that sometimes the impact is negligible.
Details
Keywords
Yam B. Limbu, C. Jayachandran, Barry J. Babin and Robin T. Peterson
Previous studies that examined the role of empathy and nonverbal immediacy on business-to-business (B2B) salesperson performance is limited in scope and yielded inconclusive…
Abstract
Purpose
Previous studies that examined the role of empathy and nonverbal immediacy on business-to-business (B2B) salesperson performance is limited in scope and yielded inconclusive evidence. Grounded in Plank and Greene’s (1996) framework of salesperson effectiveness, this paper aims to empirically investigate the mediating role of adaptive selling behavior through which empathy and nonverbal immediacy influence sales force performance and the form of empathy (cognitive or affective) that has the most beneficial role in improving relationship (versus outcome) salesperson performance.
Design/methodology/approach
Using cross-sectional data that were collected from 422 pharmaceutical sales representatives, this study used structural equation modeling to test the hypothesized relationships.
Findings
Adaptive selling behavior mediates the effect of perspective taking empathy and empathic concern on relationship performance. However, the impact of empathy on outcome performance is not significant through adaptive selling behavior, but perspective taking empathy has a direct influence on outcome performance. Contrary to expectations, nonverbal immediacy is not mediated by adaptive selling behavior but has a direct and positive impact on relationship performance.
Research limitations/implications
The results of this study have several implications for recruitment, training and assessment of salespeople in a B2B context. Based on the empirical evidence, it is highlighted that firms may use different forms of empathy and nonverbal cues to promote adaptive selling behavior that impact sales force performance (i.e. outcome or relationship).
Originality/value
To the authors’ knowledge, this is the first study which simultaneously examines the mediating role of adaptive selling behavior in the relationship between three antecedent variables that relate to sales force empathy and nonverbal communication (i.e. perspective taking empathy, empathic concern and nonverbal immediacy) and two aspects of B2B sales performance (relationship and outcome).
Details
Keywords
Sven Dahms and Suthikorn Kingkaew
The purpose of this paper is to investigate what role national top management team diversity (TMTD) plays in foreign-owned subsidiary performance. The authors develop a conceptual…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to investigate what role national top management team diversity (TMTD) plays in foreign-owned subsidiary performance. The authors develop a conceptual framework based on the asset bundling model and the neo-configurational perspective to argue that the impact of TMTD on subsidiary performance depends on its conjunction with other assets.
Design/methodology/approach
The authors test our framework on a sample of subsidiaries located in the emerging economies of Thailand and Taiwan. The authors utilise structural equation modelling and fuzzy set qualitative comparative analysis techniques.
Findings
The results indicate that TMTD can contribute and hurt subsidiary performance depending on its bundling with other assets such as organisational network strength, competencies, as well as regional and cultural differences between the home and host country.
Originality/value
This is one of the first studies to empirically test the asset bundling model in the context of national TMTD in foreign-owned subsidiaries using a configurational approach.
Details
Keywords
Charles M. Vance, Yvonne McNulty, Yongsun Paik and Jason D'Mello
The purpose of this paper is to introduce the emerging international career phenomenon of the “expat-preneur,” an individual temporarily living abroad who initiates an…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to introduce the emerging international career phenomenon of the “expat-preneur,” an individual temporarily living abroad who initiates an international new venture (self-employment) opportunity in a host country.
Design/methodology/approach
This analysis is based on the authors’ observance of developing trends that also are showcased in the international management and IHRM literatures.
Findings
Two general types of expat-preneurs are proposed: first, pre-departure expat-preneurs who move abroad with a preconceived entrepreneurial purpose; and second, transitioned expat-preneurs who, only while abroad, recognize and pursue a new venture opportunity, either from the status of self-initiated expatriates (SIEs) looking for local employment or while serving as organization-assigned expatriates and leaving the organization at the end of the assignment or midstream.
Research limitations/implications
Distinctions between expat-preneurs and typical business SIEs are explored, and important contributions that expat-preneurs may provide in strengthening local host country economies are considered. Directions for further systematic and empirical research on the expat-preneur international career phenomenon are discussed.
Practical implications
Important mutually beneficial implications are noted for multinationals in supporting expat-preneurs’ long-term success in host country environments.
Originality/value
This conceptual study provides a valuable recognition and analysis of an important and growing international career category that has received scant attention in the literature. This research has important implications for the understanding of new international career dynamics associated with the growing trend of international entrepreneurship, especially valuable for emerging markets and of interest to multinational firms interested in the movement of their human capital.
Details
Keywords
Basharat Raza, Sylvie St-Onge and Muhammad Ali
Based upon social exchange theory, this study investigates the mediating effect of consumers' trust in banking industry frontline employees on two relationships: (1) the relation…
Abstract
Purpose
Based upon social exchange theory, this study investigates the mediating effect of consumers' trust in banking industry frontline employees on two relationships: (1) the relation between consumers' perceptions of frontline employees' empathy and consumers' perceptions of frontline employees' performance, and (2) the relation between consumers' perception of frontline employees' customer orientation and consumers' perceptions of frontline employees' performance.
Design/methodology/approach
The authors used a time-lag research design to collect data through online questionnaires distributed in two waves. The sample comprises 375 respondents having experience and interaction with banking frontline employees.
Findings
Results confirm the mediating effect of consumers' trust in the banking industry on the relationships between their perceptions of frontline employees' empathy and consumer orientation on the one hand and their perceptions of frontline employees' performance on the other hand.
Practical implications
Results may be helpful to policymakers and managers in the service industries, prompting them to adopt approaches and strategies designed to build strong relationships with consumers, thus increasing consumers' trust and frontline employees' performance.
Originality/value
This study confirms the relevance of social exchange theory in understanding the role of consumers' trust and perceptions of frontline employees' empathy and consumer orientation in understanding their perception of frontline employee performance in the banking industry.