The purpose of this paper is to apply a fuzzy LinPreRa cognitive map to evaluate the interaction and importance of factors affecting the development of strategic alliance…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to apply a fuzzy LinPreRa cognitive map to evaluate the interaction and importance of factors affecting the development of strategic alliance partnerships between the outlying island duty-free shops and existing collaboration firms in duty-free shops. Meanwhile, the key factors should be considered in establishing strategic alliance partnerships while analyzing and comparing the perspectives of owners for outlying island duty-free shop and partner vendors of collaborating firms along with differences of influencing key factors on partnership quality.
Design/methodology/approach
This study incorporates a fuzzy linguistic preference relation analytical network process (fuzzy LinPreRa ANP) in the fuzzy cognitive map (FCM) method to formulate a fuzzy LinPreRa cognitive map to evaluate the interactions and importance of key factors and the conditions of interactive impacts during the establishment of strategic alliance partnerships. The authors use the outlying island duty-free shops in Taiwan as the empirical subject to illustrate how the fuzzy LinPreRa cognitive map is applied. In-depth, interviews and questionnaire surveys are conducted to collect and evaluate respondents concerning key factors affecting strategic alliance partnerships establishment.
Findings
The following three findings based on the results of empirical analysis: first, the administrative behavioral patterns of managers for strategic alliance partnerships encompass shared values and goal coherence, while the associative statements are located on the first layer of fuzzy LinPreRa cognitive map core associations, which illustrates that businesses attach great importance to conceptual ideas. Second, integrity and reputations of both parties are the governing mechanism of strategic alliance partnerships, influencing mutual reputation. Third, the relationship of strategic alliance partnerships refers to the profit opportunities of both parties and their ability to respond to the market, including future development, regional indicators, marketing capabilities, brand multiplicity and customer retention. However, it can be inferred that such associative factors are located in the outer layer or belong to noncore associations, which means that both parties’ abilities to respond to market reactions are weakened.
Practical implications
This study provides valuable relationship managerial strategies to maintain long-term partnerships for outlying island duty-free shops and their alliance collaborating firms including strengthened relationships of both parties’ managers to achieve common values and consistent objectives; improved beneficial value of both parties in strategic alliance partnerships; continued close communications to enhance the quality of strategic alliance partnerships; and establishment of personnel training mechanisms and strict formulation of management rules for strategic alliance partnerships.
Originality/value
The main valuable contributions are included the fuzzy LinPreRa cognitive map by combining two different decision methods including FCM and fuzzy LinPreRa ANP is proposed to help decision makers to improve the evaluation quality and calculation efficiency for critical elements’ interaction and importance; the fuzzy LinPreRa cognitive map can clarify considering significant factors when maintaining strategic alliance partnerships and further provide valuable relationship managerial strategies to maintain long-term relationships for duty-free shop owners and their alliance collaborating firms.
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Yi-Sheng Wang, Wei-Long Lee and Tsuen-Ho Hsu
The purpose of this paper is to explore in depth the special context and unique life experience of the online role-playing game and to provide insights regarding an interpretation…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to explore in depth the special context and unique life experience of the online role-playing game and to provide insights regarding an interpretation of the situational context model.
Design/methodology/approach
This study uses netnography, online interviews, and the physical travel of researchers to the field for field participation and observations. The combination of netnography and online interviews combines online and offline studies to achieve more consistency in the data collection, analysis, and other processes. In-person participation in observations makes the research more realistic. The combination of these qualitative methods is helpful in achieving a more comprehensive and accurate research process.
Findings
The findings of the study can be classified into a three-stage situational context approach, which is presented in the form of propositions. Finally, the insight of the situational context model was developed.
Research limitations/implications
This study only focussed on office workers and students in online role-playing game. Therefore, the samples should be extended to other massively multiplayer online games, including different nationalities and professions for comparative analysis and related studies. Through the expansion of the sample size, a representative and stable cyber model can be established.
Originality/value
The theoretical contribution of this study is to establish an interpretation of the situational context model and eight related propositions. The study revealed the mystery of female online role-playing games.
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When the consumer purchases a product, his/her preference of the product attributes is a subjective judgment. The values assigned in the questionnaire in which the respondents…
Abstract
When the consumer purchases a product, his/her preference of the product attributes is a subjective judgment. The values assigned in the questionnaire in which the respondents indicated their preferences often contain fuzziness and imprecision. Based on Fishbein's multiple‐attribute utility model, this paper uses the fuzzy‐set theory to build upon the Fuzzy Multi‐Attribute Utility Model (FMAUM). Furthermore, the FMAUM is used to analyze the purchasing behavior of automobile buyers in Taiwan. The results showed that the attributes which the consumers were concerned with were different under different purchasing situations (having a car already vs not having a car). U.S. automobile markets can use this FMAUM to determine which attributes consumers prefer or which attributes produce a clearer cognition, and emphasize those attributes in their advertisements. In addition, by using this model, marketers can determine the attributes consumers preferred most in one particular market and use this information as a guideline when they enter into that market.
In order to understand why consumers choose certain products over others, marketers study consumer behavior. This concept of involvement is significant in understanding and…
Abstract
In order to understand why consumers choose certain products over others, marketers study consumer behavior. This concept of involvement is significant in understanding and explaining consumer behavior (Bloch 1981; Bloch, 1982; Zaichkowsky, 1985; Celsi and Olson, 1988; Engel, et al., 1990; Assael, 1995). The term became popular in marketing circles through Krugman's research in television advertising and low‐involvement learning in 1965 (Krugman, 1965).
Interest in investigating key supplier relationships from both academic and corporate spheres has increased in recent years. However, it is difficult to develop a sustainable and…
Abstract
Purpose
Interest in investigating key supplier relationships from both academic and corporate spheres has increased in recent years. However, it is difficult to develop a sustainable and effective model for evaluating key supplier relationships because the information available in the practical environment is often uncertain and asymmetric. The purpose of this paper is to identify critical factors concerning key suppliers selection derive from resource-based view and construct a hierarchical evaluation framework which has elements of implied change or transformation of the firm’s resources for operation strategies when evaluating key suppliers relationships. Moreover, the authors propose a fuzzy preference relations (FPR) model, with a hierarchical evaluation framework, to address the imprecise and inconsistent information used by managers to evaluate key supplier relationships and further to select appropriate suppliers.
Design/methodology/approach
The FPR model based on the consistent FPR methodology not only provides an efficient and systematic evaluation for key supplier relationships by using the performance and evaluation scores of each key supplier, but also solves problems arising from the conventional multi-criteria analysis approach. This methodology is faster to execute and enhance the consistency and accuracy with regard to the decision makers’ judgments. To illustrate how the model is created and assessed, the authors use the TFT-LCD TV panel manufacturing industry as an empirical subject.
Findings
The FPR model holds promise for assisting TFT-LCD TV manufacturers in evaluating key supplier relationships with TFT-LCD TV panel suppliers. The findings indicate that first, “the supplier’s product quality” is the most important factor when evaluating key supplier relationships, followed by “selling price set by the supplier” and “specialized supplier development capability”; second, after the 1980s, all suppliers had similar delivery capabilities with only small differences in delivery times, such that the relative importance of “time required for shipments” has become less significant, and customer awareness of the “customer assistance and service” factor has been heightened; third, the provision of excellent product quality and attractive low prices by suppliers requires technical capability, therefore, from the perspectives of industry experts, “specialized supplier development capability” is far more important than “time required for shipments”; and fourth, TFT-LCD TV manufacturers need to focus on their product quality performance continually, and concentrate on applying process technology strategy as well as product and service development strategy to build up “difficult to imitate resources” for competitive advantages.
Originality/value
The main contribution is to provide managers with an efficient and systematic model that can evaluate the performance of key supplier relationships in terms of critical factors derived from resource-based theories. By focussing on employing the proposed model with successful management for key supplier relationships, the authors hope to help buying companies improve the benefits of supplier relationships. Because of the uncertainties and complexities of real strategy making in TFT-LCD TV panel industry, the authors offer a model that implicitly assume that managers can have influences over the strategic direction of their organization.
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Tsuen‐Ho Hsu, Li‐Chu Hung and Jia‐Wei Tang
The purpose of this paper is to evaluate multiple criteria and sub‐criteria of e‐SQ with the interdependence perspective, utilising three phases of measurement for the proposed…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to evaluate multiple criteria and sub‐criteria of e‐SQ with the interdependence perspective, utilising three phases of measurement for the proposed e‐SQ evaluation.
Design/methodology/approach
The paper utilises literature reviews to address the question of interdependence in the context of e‐SQ and constructs an interdependent network structure for e‐SQ evaluation. Then a method and three phases of measurement are proposed that combine the consistent fuzzy preference relations method with the analytic network process (ANP) technique, to evaluate e‐SQ by using senior experts who work at travel web site companies as research participants.
Findings
First, this study discovered the interdependence perspective of criteria and sub‐criteria for e‐SQ evaluation. Second, it was found out that the weights of criteria and sub‐criteria have reverse situations after considering the interdependence perspective. Third, the findings indicate that the interdependence perspective among criteria and sub‐criteria should be taken into consideration, and the authors remind practitioners of the need to implement overall improvements instead of independently addressing each criterion or sub‐criterion of e‐SQ individually.
Originality/value
The authors propose a scientific and systematic method for e‐SQ evaluation that can enable managers of online web sites to determine the important factors, and further to achieve total e‐SQ control management. Moreover the proposed method can deal with imprecise information when evaluating e‐SQ, as well as considering interdependent relationships among factors, and is thus faster and more efficient at addressing the inconsistency problems involved in multiple decision making than conventional methods.