Gestão do marketing de relacionamento: um estudo em empresas hoteleiras de Natal - RN

The present study it analyzes the Management of the Marketing of strategy Relationship as distinguishing for the host s companies of the city of Natal - RN. To carry through this analysis interviews with managers had been carried through, as well as the direct comment of processes, documents, actions and strategies developed for the hotels, with intention to know the level of perception and valuation of the relationship with customers, to verify resources and technologies used in the Management of the Relationship Marketing, identification, segmentation and differentiation of customers, personalization of products and services, and results of the emphasis in the relationship with customers for the host s companies. The research can be classified as exploratory - descriptive, and its universe is limited to the city of Natal, having enclosed hotels that have carried through tourist activity in 2005 and 2006. Still on the criteria of election of the sample, the study it investigated host s companies who if fit in the category superior luxury, or either, five stars, pertaining the national nets and international. How much to the treatment and analysis of the data the was made to leave of the theoretical support of the authors who work the thematic one and of the analysis of the interviews with managers, documents and processes observed for the researcher in the studied hotels. The research sample that the interviewed ones understand the importance to work the Management of the Marketing of Relationship in the host s companies me intention to get sustainable competitive advantage. One still evidenced that the searched hotels make use of strategies and instruments of Management of the Marketing of Relationship, however without an ample theoretical knowledge and yes only as base in the experience of the managers and spread processes already, generating one moment competitive advantage and not relationships of long duration

Gestão do marketing de relacionamento: um estudo em empresas hoteleiras de Natal - RN

The present study it analyzes the Management of the Marketing of strategy Relationship as distinguishing for the host s companies of the city of Natal - RN. To carry through this analysis interviews with managers had been carried through, as well as the direct comment of processes, documents, actions and strategies developed for the hotels, with intention to know the level of perception and valuation of the relationship with customers, to verify resources and technologies used in the Management of the Relationship Marketing, identification, segmentation and differentiation of customers, personalization of products and services, and results of the emphasis in the relationship with customers for the host s companies. The research can be classified as exploratory - descriptive, and its universe is limited to the city of Natal, having enclosed hotels that have carried through tourist activity in 2005 and 2006. Still on the criteria of election of the sample, the study it investigated host s companies who if fit in the category superior luxury, or either, five stars, pertaining the national nets and international. How much to the treatment and analysis of the data the was made to leave of the theoretical support of the authors who work the thematic one and of the analysis of the interviews with managers, documents and processes observed for the researcher in the studied hotels. The research sample that the interviewed ones understand the importance to work the Management of the Marketing of Relationship in the host s companies me intention to get sustainable competitive advantage. One still evidenced that the searched hotels make use of strategies and instruments of Management of the Marketing of Relationship, however without an ample theoretical knowledge and yes only as base in the experience of the managers and spread processes already, generating one moment competitive advantage and not relationships of long duration

Gestão do marketing de relacionamento: um estudo em empresas hoteleiras de Natal - RN

The present study it analyzes the Management of the Marketing of strategy Relationship as distinguishing for the host s companies of the city of Natal - RN. To carry through this analysis interviews with managers had been carried through, as well as the direct comment of processes, documents, actions and strategies developed for the hotels, with intention to know the level of perception and valuation of the relationship with customers, to verify resources and technologies used in the Management of the Relationship Marketing, identification, segmentation and differentiation of customers, personalization of products and services, and results of the emphasis in the relationship with customers for the host s companies. The research can be classified as exploratory - descriptive, and its universe is limited to the city of Natal, having enclosed hotels that have carried through tourist activity in 2005 and 2006. Still on the criteria of election of the sample, the study it investigated host s companies who if fit in the category superior luxury, or either, five stars, pertaining the national nets and international. How much to the treatment and analysis of the data the was made to leave of the theoretical support of the authors who work the thematic one and of the analysis of the interviews with managers, documents and processes observed for the researcher in the studied hotels. The research sample that the interviewed ones understand the importance to work the Management of the Marketing of Relationship in the host s companies me intention to get sustainable competitive advantage. One still evidenced that the searched hotels make use of strategies and instruments of Management of the Marketing of Relationship, however without an ample theoretical knowledge and yes only as base in the experience of the managers and spread processes already, generating one moment competitive advantage and not relationships of long duration

How does foreign capital participation affect brazilian companies' performance?: investigation of foreign direct investment's impact on host country

In this dissertation, we investigate the effect of foreign capital participations in Brazilians companies’ performance. To carry out this analysis, we constructed two sets of model based on EBITDA margin and return on equity. Panel data analysis is used to examine the relationship between foreign capital ownership and Brazilian firms’ performance. We construct a cross-section time-series sample of companies listed on the BOVESPA index from 2006 to 2010. Empirical results led us to validate two hypotheses. First, foreign capital participations improve companies’ performance up to a certain level of participation. Then, joint controlled or strategic partnership between a Brazilian company and a foreign investor provide high operating performance.

The effects of institutional distance and headquarters’ financial performance on the generation of environmental standards in multinational companies

This article combines institutional and resources’ arguments to show that the institutional distance between the home and the host country, and the headquarters’ financial performance have a relevant impact on the environmental standardization decision in multinational companies. Using a sample of 135 multinational companies in three different industries with headquarters and subsidiaries based in the USA, Canada, Mexico, France, and Spain, we find that a high environmental institutional distance between headquarters’ and subsidiaries’ countries deters the standardization of environmental practices. On the other hand, high-profit headquarters are willing to standardize their environmental practices, rather than taking advantage of countries with lax environmental protection to undertake more pollution-intensive activities. Finally, we show that headquarters’ financial performance also imposes a moderating effect on the relationship between environmental institutional distance between countries and environmental standardization within the multinational company.

Dealing with corruption/bribery in a host country

Multinational business managers and companies with an ethical bent of mind find it difficult to navigate bribery/corruption in a host country which has systemic or large scale corruption and often end up debating such decisions. This paper proposes the ‘stakeholder compliance approach’ as a decision-making guideline to assist the managerial decision making process in such situations.

The impact of political behaviours on internationalisation : the case of Australian companies internationalising to China

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to test a model of cooperation between internationalising businesses and local and host country governments in the context of Australian companies internationalising to China.

Design/methodology/approach – The paper presents a model for the political dimensions of internationalising based on corporate political theory and the cooperative view of management. Data were collected from personal interviews with representatives from 40 Australian organisations with businesses or operations in China. The data were analysed using NVivo.

Findings – Assistance provided by the Australian government was often sought and was perceived to be beneficial. Most participants experienced policies and regulations which affected their entry modes. In ten cases they acted as barriers and significantly influenced entry mode choice. The majority of participants viewed the development of relationships with the Chinese government as important and employed a variety of relationship behaviours. Over half of the participants identified the need to understand and deal with the psychically distant government structures of the Chinese government, namely government intervention in business.

Practical implications – The model links the organisational objectives of businesses internationalising to China, understanding the political/regulatory environment, selecting an entry mode and developing/maintaining a successful business. To achieve these objectives corporate political behaviour must reflect the sovereign powers in place at the time.

Originality/value – The paper presents a model which develops the literature for the political dimensions of internationalisation. It also presents empirical data on the political dimensions of internationalising into China. These findings will assist businesses in understanding political factors when internationalising to China.

Growing research where economies grow: essays on strategy and international expansion of companies from emerging countries

In recent years, emerging countries have assumed an increasingly prominent position in the world economy, as growth has picked up in these countries and slowed in developed economies. Two related phenomena, among others, can be associated with this growth: emerging countries were less affected by the 2008-2009 global economic recession; and they increased their participation in foreign direct investment, both inflows and outflows. This doctoral dissertation contributes to research on firms from emerging countries through four independent papers. The first group of two papers examines firm strategy in recessionary moments and uses Brazil, one of the largest emerging countries, as setting for the investigation. Data were collected through a survey on Brazilian firms referring to the 2008-2009 global recession, and 17 hypotheses were tested using structural equation modeling based on partial least squares. Paper 1 offered an integrative model linking RBV to literatures on entrepreneurship, improvisation, and flexibility to indicate the characteristics and capabilities that allow a firm to have superior performance in recessions. We found that firms that pre-recession have a propensity to recognize opportunities and improvisation capabilities for fast and creative actions have superior performance in recessions. We also found that entrepreneurial orientation and flexibility have indirect effects. Paper 2 built on business cycle literature to study which strategies - pro-cyclical or counter-cyclical – enable superior performance in recessions. We found that while most firms pro-cyclically reduce costs and investments during recessions, a counter-cyclical strategy of investing in opportunities created by changes in the environment enables superior performance. Most successful are firms with a propensity to recognize opportunities, entrepreneurial orientation to invest, and flexibility to efficiently implement these investments. The second group of two papers investigated international expansion of multinational enterprises, particularly the use of distance for their location decisions. Paper 3 proposed a conceptual framework to examine circumstances under which distance is less important for international location decisions, taking the new perspective of economic institutional distance as theoretical foundation. The framework indicated that the general preference for low-distance countries is lower: (1) when the company is state owned, rather than private owned; (2) when its internationalization motives are asset, resource, or efficiency seeking, as opposed to market seeking; and (3) when internationalization occurred after globalization and the advent of new technologies. Paper 4 compared five concurrent perspectives of distance and indicated their suitability to the study of various issues based on industry, ownership, and type, motive, and timing of internationalization. The paper also proposed that distance represents the disadvantages of host countries for international location decisions; as such, it should be used in conjunction with factors that represent host country attractiveness, or advantages as international locations. In conjunction, papers 3 and 4 provided additional, alternative explanations for the mixed empirical results of current research on distance. Moreover, the studies shed light into the discussion of differences between multinational enterprises from emerging countries versus those from advanced countries.

The impact of the language barrier on the management of multinational companies : a case study and survey, based exploration of the impact of the language barrier on the strategies, policies and systems by which multinational companies manage their subsidaries

The thesis begins with a conceptual model of the way that language diversity affects the strategies, organisation and subsidiary control policies of multinational companies. The model is based solely on the researcher'’ personal experience of working in a variety of international management roles, but in Chapter 2 a wide-ranging review of related academic literature finds evidence to support the key ideas. The model is developed as a series of propositions which are tested in a comparative case study, refined and then re-tested in a global survey of multinational subsidiaries. The principal findings of the empirical phases of the thesis endorse the main tenets of the model: - That language difference between parent and subsidiary will impair communication, create mistrust and impede relationship development. - That subsequently the feelings of uncertainty, suspicion and mistrust will influence the decisions taken by the parent company. - They will have heightened sensitivity to language issues and will implement policies to manage language differences. - They will adopt low-risk strategies in host countries where they are concerned about language difference. - They will use organisational and manpower strategies to minimise the consequences and risks of the communications problems with the subsidiary. - As a consequence the level of integration and knowledge flow between parent and subsidiary will be curtailed. - They will adopt styles of control that depend least on their ability to communicate with their subsidiary. Although there is adequate support for all of the above conclusions, on some key points the evidence of the Case Studies and Survey is contradictory. The thesis, therefore, closes with an agenda for further research that would address these inconsistencies.

Racing for radical innovation:how motorsport companies harness network diversity for discontinuous innovation

The motorsport industry is a significant part of the UK economy. According to industry estimates approximately 4,500 companies are involved in the UK Motorsport and Performance Engineering Industry and its wide-ranging support activities. The industry has an annual turnover of £6.0 billion, and contributes £3.6 billion worth of exports. The Motorsport Industry Association estimates that the support side of the sector alone "involving events management, public relations, marketing, sponsorship and a host of other support functions" accounts for approximately £1.7 billion of the yearly industry total. And in terms of employment, UK Motorsport supports 38,500 full and part-time jobs, including 25,000 engineers.

Chinese host country nationals' willingness to help expatriates:the role of social categorization

In this study, we examine Chinese host country nationals' (HCNs') willingness to offer role information and social support to expatriates from the United States. Using data from 132 Chinese managers, we find that ethnocentrism, interpersonal affect, and guanxi significantly impact HCNs' willingness to offer help to expatriates. Furthermore, we find that the job level of the expatriate has a significant impact on HCNs' willingness to offer role information but not on willingness to offer social support. The results suggest that paying attention to the perceptions and reactions of HCNs toward expatriates is imperative for multinational companies if expatriates are to succeed on their assignments. ©2011 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

The relationship between expatriate job level and host country national categorization:an investigation in the UK

Using data from 493 host country nationals (HCNs) in the UK, we investigated relationships between expatriate gender, national origin, and job level, and HCN characteristics and willingness to help expatriates. Results showed that HCNs from the UK are likely to categorize expatriates as in-group or out-group members based on perceived values similarity, ethnocentrism, and collectivism. This categorization is also likely to affect HCN willingness to provide role information and social support to expatriates. Overall, our results suggest that HCNs would be more likely to provide role-related information to subordinates and peers than supervisors, and social support to male peers regardless of their nationality (i.e. USA vs. India). The analysis contributes to the fields of expatriate management, social categorization, and international human resource management. It also has key messages for multinational companies regarding the development of efficient expatriate management systems. © 2011 Taylor & Francis.

Resources, strategies, location determinants, and host country location choice by emerging market firms

The extant literature had studied the determinants of the firms’ location decisions with help of host country characteristics and distances between home and host countries. Firm resources and its internationalization strategies had found limited attention in this literature. To address this gap, the research question in this dissertation was whether and how firms’ resources and internationalization strategies impacted the international location decisions of emerging market firms. ^ To explore the research question, data were hand-collected from Indian software firms on their location decisions taken between April 2000 and March 2009. To analyze the multi-level longitudinal dataset, hierarchical linear modeling was used. The results showed that the internationalization strategies, namely market-seeking or labor-seeking had direct impact on firms’ location decision. This direct relationship was moderated by firm resource which, in case of Indian software firms, was the appraisal at CMMI level-5. Indian software firms located in developed countries with a market-seeking strategy and in emerging markets with a labor-seeking strategy. However, software firms with resource such as CMMI level-5 appraisal, when in a labor-seeking mode, were more likely to locate in a developed country over emerging market than firms without the appraisal. Software firms with CMMI level-5 appraisal, when in market-seeking mode, were more likely to locate in a developed country over an emerging market than firms without the appraisal. ^ It was concluded that the internationalization strategies and resources of companies predicted their location choices, over and above the variables studied in the theoretical field of location determinants.^

A fresh look at decision making in international investment choices: Firm international coherence and home-host country relatedness

Understanding how decisions for international investments are made and how this affects the overall pattern of investments and firm’s performance is of particular importance both in strategy and international business research. This dissertation introduced first home-host country relatedness (HHCR) as the degree to which countries are efficiently combined within the investment portfolios of firms. It theorized and demonstrated that HHCR will vary with the motivation for investments along at least two key dimensions: the nature of foreign investments and the connectedness of potential host countries to the rest of the world. Drawing on cognitive psychology and decision-making research, it developed a theory of strategic decision making proposing that strategic solutions are chosen close to a convenient anchor. Building on research on memory imprinting, it also proposed that managers tend to rely on older knowledge representation. In the context of international investment decisions, managers use their home countries as an anchor and are more likely to choose as a site for foreign investments host countries that are ‘close’ to the home country. These decisions are also likely to rely more strongly on closeness to time invariant country factors of historic and geographic nature rather than time-variant institutions. Empirical tests using comprehensive investments data by all public multinational companies (MNC) worldwide, or over 15,000 MNCs with over half a million subsidiaries, support the claims. Finally, the dissertation introduced the concept of International Coherence (IC) defined as the degree to which an MNE’s network comprises countries that are related. It was hypothesized that maintaining a high level of coherence is important for firm performance and will enhance it. Also, the presence of international coherence mitigates some of the negative effects of unrelated product diversification. Empirical tests using data on foreign investments of over 20,000 public firms, while also developing a home-host country relatedness index for up to 24,300 home-host pairs, provided support for the theory advanced.