Tommi Tuominen, Natalia Kitaygorodskaya and Petri Helo
The purpose of this paper is to examine the differences between Finnish and Russian, namely Karelian, food industry supply chains. The main objective is to find out the reasons…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to examine the differences between Finnish and Russian, namely Karelian, food industry supply chains. The main objective is to find out the reasons for low productivity in Russian food industry from supply chain management (SCM) point of view.
Design/methodology/approach
Case study method is used to compare the Russian and Finnish food industry supply chains. The comparison is carried out by using SCM scorecard. Furthermore, the comparison is supplemented with the data from non‐structured interviews with Russian food industry company managers. Altogether data from eight food industry companies in the Republic of Karelia, Russia, are gathered and four managers are interviewed. The results of the companies' SCM scorecard analysis are compared to the results of almost 100 Finnish food industry companies.
Findings
The research suggests that based on the SCM scorecard the differences between Finnish and Russian food industry companies' operational methods are modest. The difference in productivity can be rather explained by the differences in operating environment and the level of technology in use. Logistics costs for companies in Russia are estimated to be double compared to Finnish companies. Poor road conditions and underdeveloped 3PL are considered as main reasons of high‐logistics costs.
Research limitations/implications
Considering the relatively low number and small size of the companies interviewed and taken part in the scorecard evaluations, more systematic research in the field is required. In addition, it should be mentioned that all interviewees seemed to be suspicious about intentions of the Finnish interviewer. Two interviewees openly asked if the research was aimed at commercial spying.
Originality/value
Considering the state, size and growth potential of Russian food market, the lack of research in the field is remarkable. This paper aims to bring new valuable information for both practitioners and academics while creating ground for future research in the field.
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Sasu Tuominen, Helen Reijonen, Gábor Nagy, Andrea Buratti and Tommi Laukkanen
The motivation for this study comes from decision making related to strategic marketing orientations in international markets. The authors examine if customer orientation and…
Abstract
Purpose
The motivation for this study comes from decision making related to strategic marketing orientations in international markets. The authors examine if customer orientation and customer relationship orientation perform as two distinct constructs in driving firm innovativeness, and how together they support business growth among export firms. This study aims to suggest a customer-centric strategy for export firms that drive innovativeness and growth.
Design/methodology/approach
An international corporation specialized in company information services provided a list of the contact information of Italian companies. The authors sent an email request to respond to an online survey and received 416 effective responses from firms operating in export markets. The authors propose and empirically test a model in which customer orientation, customer relationship orientation and innovativeness predict business growth. This model controls for the effects of firm size, industry and customer type (B2B vs. B2C).
Findings
The study findings suggest that customer orientation and customer relationship orientation are two distinct strategic orientations driving innovativeness. However, they do not directly affect business growth. Instead, they require the innovativeness of an exporter to materialize as business growth.
Practical implications
The results of the study recommend business strategies focusing not only on customer needs and satisfaction but also on retaining current customers and building customer relationships in international markets. Firms can learn from international customers and develop effective customer-centric strategies to spread the acquired information into the internal decision-making as it contributes to firm innovativeness and business growth in international markets.
Originality/value
This study is one of the pioneering studies combining customer orientation and customer relationship orientation, showing their theoretical and empirical divergence. This study is also among the first which tests how the two strategic orientations together with innovativeness promote business growth among export firms. The authors add understanding of the synergistic effects both of using customer information and developing deeper relationships on firm innovativeness and performance among exporters.
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Helen Reijonen, Szandra Párdányi, Sasu Tuominen, Tommi Laukkanen and Raija Komppula
The purpose of this paper is to examine how SMEs with varying growth intentions differ from each other with regard to market orientation and brand orientation. Both of these…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to examine how SMEs with varying growth intentions differ from each other with regard to market orientation and brand orientation. Both of these strategic orientations are seen to lead to enhanced market performance. Consequently, the authors investigate whether those small firms that regard growth as an important goal have adopted market or brand orientation.
Design/methodology/approach
Responses from 492 SMEs were analysed. They were clustered into four groups according to their growth intentions. These groups included firms that have low growth intention, capital adequacy growth intention, expansion growth intention and high growth intention. ANOVA was used to explore whether these groups differed in their market or brand orientation.
Findings
The results indicate that the higher growth intention group the SME belonged to the more market and brand oriented it is. The biggest differences between the SMEs were found with regards to brand orientation.
Research limitations/implications
The findings suggest that SMEs have acknowledged the positive effect of market and brand orientations on firm growth, thus highlighting the importance of supporting growth-oriented SMEs in their quest to become more market or brand oriented.
Originality/value
The study sheds more light on the little researched themes of market and brand orientations in the context of SMEs. It also offers insights into how growth intentions affect the adoption of different strategic orientations.
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Virpi Pennanen, Markku Tammenmaa, Tommi Reinikainen, Jiansen Zhu and Wei Lin
Owing to the demands of increasing I/O counts and thermal performance BGA (ball grid array) type packaging concepts are rapidly gaining in popularity. Use of various modelling…
Abstract
Owing to the demands of increasing I/O counts and thermal performance BGA (ball grid array) type packaging concepts are rapidly gaining in popularity. Use of various modelling tools is an obvious way to save resources by discarding the most unreliable solutions before wasting testing capacity. A testing procedure was created and then evaluated. Two components were assembled on test boards and the assembled boards were temperature cycled from –40 to +125°C. Parametric 3D FE‐models (finite element) of the components were generated and models were verified. Environmental conditions were added to assess the lifetimes of the assemblies in the targeted environment. Some differences in the TBGAs board level reliability were found. With all contributions of parameters the first failures happened after 1,000 cycles. FE‐modelling combined with accelerated stress testing proved to be an effective tool for test result analysis and for rationalising the test sequences.
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Tommi Laukkanen, Gábor Nagy, Saku Hirvonen, Helen Reijonen and Mika Pasanen
The present study sheds light on the role of strategic orientations (SOs) in explaining business growth. The purpose of this paper is to examine how different SOs, namely learning…
Abstract
Purpose
The present study sheds light on the role of strategic orientations (SOs) in explaining business growth. The purpose of this paper is to examine how different SOs, namely learning orientation, entrepreneurial orientation, market orientation and brand orientation simultaneously affect business performance measured with brand performance, market performance and business growth in SME context and whether these effects vary across countries.
Design/methodology/approach
An extensive data set of 1,120 effective responses is collected from two European countries, namely Hungary, representing a post socialist rapidly growing market, and Finland with a stable, highly developed and competitive economy. A multigroup moderation analysis is conducted. Confirmatory factor analysis is used in testing measurement invariance, subsequently followed by structural equation modeling procedure used in testing research hypotheses developed on the basis of a literature review.
Findings
The results show that entrepreneurial orientation, market orientation and brand orientation have a positive effect on business growth in SMEs in both Hungary and Finland through brand and market performance. With regard to learning orientation, a positive yet somewhat weak effect on growth is found only in the Hungarian sample. The moderation analysis reveals that country moderates several of the hypothesized paths from SOs to business performance.
Originality/value
Prior studies on SOs have mainly focussed on single orientations at any given time. However, researchers increasingly argue that many firms are better off if they build their strategies on multiple SOs. To the best of the authors’ knowledge, this study is one of the first empirical studies to address multiple (four) SOs in the same research model. Furthermore, little is known about if and how the performance effects of different SOs vary across countries.
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George A. Zsidisin, Lisa M. Ellram, Joseph R. Carter and Joseph L. Cavinato
Purchasing organizations are exposed to risk in their interactions with suppliers, whether it is recognized and managed, addressed in a cursory manner, or altogether ignored. In…
Abstract
Purchasing organizations are exposed to risk in their interactions with suppliers, whether it is recognized and managed, addressed in a cursory manner, or altogether ignored. In order to understand the supply risk that exists, purchasing organizations can proactively assess the probability and impact of supply risk in advance, or reactively discover risk after a detrimental event occurs. The purpose of this study is to explore, analyze, and derive common themes on supply risk assessment techniques. Findings from this research indicate that purchasing organizations can assess supply risk with techniques that focus on addressing supplier quality issues, improving supplier processes, and reducing the likelihood of supply disruptions. From an agency theory perspective, these risk assessment techniques facilitate the obtaining of information by purchasing organizations to verify supplier behaviors, promoting goal congruence between buying and selling firms, and reducing outcome uncertainty associated with inbound supply.
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Seung-Hee Lee and Jane E. Workman
– The purpose of this study was to investigate tendency to gossip, self-monitoring and fashion leadership among young adult consumers in two cultures: US and South Korean.
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this study was to investigate tendency to gossip, self-monitoring and fashion leadership among young adult consumers in two cultures: US and South Korean.
Design/methodology/approach
A survey was conducted using a convenience sample of 690 (278 US; 412 Korean) university students. Data were analyzed using MANOVA, ANOVA, descriptive statistics, χ2 and Cronbach’s alpha reliability.
Findings
Compared with US participants, Korean participants scored higher on tendency to gossip and lower on self-monitoring, the two subscales of self-monitoring (ability to modify self-presentation; sensitivity to the appearance of others), and fashion innovativeness and opinion leadership. In both cultures, fashion leaders scored higher on self-monitoring and tendency to gossip than fashion followers, and high self-monitors scored higher on tendency to gossip than low self-monitors. Results of this research supported Hofstede’s (1980) theory of cultural dimensions as appropriate for examining differences among fashion consumers from different countries.
Research limitations/implications
Results cannot be generalized to other population groups or cultures. Further research should include data from participants in different countries and of different ages thereby contributing to the generalizability of the results.
Practical implications
The findings of this study suggest that gossip, especially in collectivist cultures such as South Korea, can increase brand image and serve as a useful marketing tool. Social media is one way to initialize word-of-mouth communication about a brand.
Originality/value
This is the first study to compare gossip and self-monitoring among fashion consumers in two different cultures.
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Fania Valeria Michelucci and Alberto De Marco
Via embracing the idea that one who directly experiences a problem is keener to develop more innovative solutions, local governments have started to engage smart communities in…
Abstract
Purpose
Via embracing the idea that one who directly experiences a problem is keener to develop more innovative solutions, local governments have started to engage smart communities in the innovation of public services’ delivery. Even if the meaning of “smart community” generally refers to the community participation in the innovation of public services for urban living, local governments have predominantly stimulated the participation of their citizens. But innovative ideas can potentially spring out also from the insiders. The purpose of this paper is to find the managerial and technological issues that public managers have to consider when planning an internal smart community initiative.
Design/methodology/approach
For this purpose, the authors analyse the case study of the Municipality of Turin that developed a participatory smart community project named Innova.TO, through the theoretical lens of sensemaking (Weick, 1979; Weick et al., 2005).
Findings
Results show that there are three main aspects to be considered when implementing smart community initiatives in local governments.
Originality/value
Even if there is the potential, the engagement of public employees in a smart community of innovators is not straightforward, and several complexities may challenge its success. Moreover, real-life examples and empirical studies are still episodic. As a consequence, if it is concretely possible to build a smart community of innovators inside a local government still remains a question, to which this paper aims to respond.