Effective forms of market orientation across the business cycle:a longitudinal analysis of business-to-business firms

Macroeconomic developments, such as the business cycle, have a remarkable influence on firms and their performance. In business-to-business (B-to-B) markets characterized by a strong emphasis on long-term customer relationships, market orientation (MO) provides a particularly important safeguard for firms against fluctuating market forces. Using panel data from an economic upturn and downturn, we examine the effectiveness of different forms of MO (i.e., customer orientation, competitor orientation, interfunctional coordination, and their combinations) on firm performance in B-to-B firms. Our findings suggest that the impact of MO increases especially during a downturn, with interfunctional coordination clearly boosting firm performance and, conversely, competitor orientation becoming even detrimental. The findings further indicate that both the role of MO and its most effective forms vary across industry sectors, MO having a particularly strong impact on performance among B-to-B service firms. The findings of our study provide guidelines for executives to better manage performance across the business cycle and tailor their investments in MO more effectively, according to the firm's specific industry sector.

The role of national culture in advertising's sensitivity to business cycles:an investigation across continents

The authors conduct a systematic investigation into the cyclical sensitivity of advertising expenditures in 37 countries, covering four key media: magazines, newspapers, radio, and television. They show that advertising is considerably more sensitive to business-cycle fluctuations than the economy as a whole. Advertising behaves less cyclically in countries high in long-term orientation and power distance, but it is more cyclical in countries high in uncertainty avoidance. Furthermore, advertising is more sensitive to the business cycle in countries characterized by significant stock market pressure and few foreign-owned multinational corporations. The authors provide initial evidence on the long-term social and managerial losses incurred when companies tie ad spending too tightly to business cycles. Countries in which advertising behaves more cyclically exhibit slower growth of the advertising industry. Moreover, private-label growth is higher in countries characterized by more cyclical advertising spending, implying significant losses for brand manufacturers. Finally, an examination of 26 global companies shows that stock price performance is lower for companies that exhibit stronger procyclical advertising spending patterns.

Market orientation, innovation capability and business performance:insights from the global financial crisis

Purpose - The paper aims to examine the role of market orientation (MO) and innovation capability in determining business performance during an economic upturn and downturn. Design/methodology/approach - The data comprise two national-level surveys conducted in Finland in 2008, representing an economic boom, and in 2010 when the global economic crisis had hit the Finnish market. Partial least square path analysis is used to test the potential mediating effect of innovation capability on the relationship between MO and business performance during economic boom and bust. Findings - The results show that innovation capability fully mediates the performance effects of a MO during an economic upturn, whereas the mediation is only partial during a downturn. Innovation capability also mediates the relationship between a customer orientation and business performance during an upturn, whereas the mediating effect culminates in a competitor orientation during a downturn. Thus, the role of innovation capability as a mediator between the individual market-orientation components varies along the business cycle. Originality/value - This paper is one of the first studies that empirically examine the impact of the economic cycle on the relationship between strategic marketing concepts, such as MO or innovation capability, and the firm's business performance.

Development and application of an electronic-manufacturing selection framework for SMEs

With a wide diversity of available technologies, it is extremely problematic for SMEs to identify, plan, prioritize and use the correct strategy. Electronic-manufacturing has been evolving for some time, but currently an effective planning framework to assist managers with implementing electronic-manufacturing planning is still lacking. A framework, built around three elements: the Balanced Scorecard, Quality Function Deployment and Value Chain Analysis, is proposed here to assist SMEs in managing complexity in e-manufacturing planning. A case study, carried out in Singapore, demonstrates the practicality and utility of the framework in the context of a real business environment. © World Scientific Publishing Company.

Why are aggregate equity payouts pro-cyclical?

We use two general equilibrium models to explain why changes in the external economic environment result in pro-cyclical aggregate dividend payout behavior. Both models that we consider endogenize low elasticity of investment. The first model incorporates capital adjustment costs, while the second one assumes that risk-averse managers maximize their own objective function rather than shareholder wealth. We show that, while both models generate pro-cyclical aggregate dividends, a feature consistent with the observed business-cycle pattern of payouts from well-diversified portfolios, the second model provides a more likely explanation for this effect. Our findings emphasize the importance of incorporating agency conflicts when considering the relationship between the external economic environment and the financial behavior of businesses.

Aggregate dividends and consumption smoothing

We show that net equity payouts from the corporate sector play a crucial role in helping individuals manage their consumption path across the business cycle. In particular, we show that, as investors' desire to smooth consumption increases, optimal aggregate dividends become both more volatile and more counter-cyclical to help counterbalance pro-cyclical labor income. These findings are robust to whether or not agency conflicts exist in the economy.

Simulation process templates for e-business modelling

This paper argues the use of reusable simulation templates as a tool that can help to predict the effect of e-business introduction on business processes. First, a set of requirements for e-business modelling is introduced and modelling options described. Traditional business process mapping techniques are examined as a way of identifying potential changes. Whilst paper-based process mapping may not highlight significant differences between traditional and e-business processes, simulation does allow the real effects of e-business to be identified. Simulation has the advantage of capturing the dynamic characteristics of the process, thus reflecting more accurately the changes in behaviour. This paper shows the value of using generic process maps as a starting point for collecting the data that is needed to build the simulation and proposes the use of reusable templates/components for the speedier building of e-business simulation models.

The brain in business:the case for organizational cognitive neuroscience?

The application of cognitive neuroscientific techniques to understanding social behaviour has resulted in many discoveries. Yet advocates of the ‘social cognitive neuroscience’ approach maintain that it suffers from a number of limitations. The most notable of these is its distance from any form of real-world applicabity. One solution to this limitation is ‘Organisational Cognitive Neuroscience’ – the study of the cognitive neuroscience of human behaviour in, and in response to, organizations. Given that all of us will spend most of our lives in some sort of work related organisation, organisational cognitive neuroscience allows us to examine the cognitive underpinnings of social behaviour that occurs in what may be our most natural ecology. Here we provide a brief overview of this approach, a definition and also some possible questions that the new approach would be best suited to address.

Understanding the factors affecting e-business adoption and impact on logistics processes

Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to conceptualize e-business adoption and to generate understanding of the range of factors affecting the adoption process. The paper also aims at exploring the perceived impact of e-business adoption on logistics-related processes. Design/methodology/approach: Case study research, by conducting in-depth interviews in eight companies. Findings: E-business adoption is not exclusively a matter of resources. Increased e-business adoption and impact are caused by increased operational compatibility, as well as increased levels of collaboration. In terms of e-business impact this mainly refers to cycle time reductions and quality improvements, rather than direct cost reductions as reported by other authors. Research limitations/implications: The intrinsic weakness of the research method and the way concepts are operationalized limits the ability to generalize findings. Practical implications: Managers should emphasize developing their relationships with theirsuppliers/customers, in an effort to do common e-business investments, and should aim to increase their partners' commitment to the use of these applications. Originality/value: This paper provides empirical evidence from a sector where limited research efforts have taken place. Explanations can be helpful to other researchers involved in the understanding of the adoption of e-business and its impact. © Emerald Group Publishing Limited.

Development of real-time process control systems using formal techniques

A major application of computers has been to control physical processes in which the computer is embedded within some large physical process and is required to control concurrent physical processes. The main difficulty with these systems is their event-driven characteristics, which complicate their modelling and analysis. Although a number of researchers in the process system community have approached the problems of modelling and analysis of such systems, there is still a lack of standardised software development formalisms for the system (controller) development, particular at early stage of the system design cycle. This research forms part of a larger research programme which is concerned with the development of real-time process-control systems in which software is used to control concurrent physical processes. The general objective of the research in this thesis is to investigate the use of formal techniques in the analysis of such systems at their early stages of development, with a particular bias towards an application to high speed machinery. Specifically, the research aims to generate a standardised software development formalism for real-time process-control systems, particularly for software controller synthesis. In this research, a graphical modelling formalism called Sequential Function Chart (SFC), a variant of Grafcet, is examined. SFC, which is defined in the international standard IEC1131 as a graphical description language, has been used widely in industry and has achieved an acceptable level of maturity and acceptance. A comparative study between SFC and Petri nets is presented in this thesis. To overcome identified inaccuracies in the SFC, a formal definition of the firing rules for SFC is given. To provide a framework in which SFC models can be analysed formally, an extended time-related Petri net model for SFC is proposed and the transformation method is defined. The SFC notation lacks a systematic way of synthesising system models from the real world systems. Thus a standardised approach to the development of real-time process control systems is required such that the system (software) functional requirements can be identified, captured, analysed. A rule-based approach and a method called system behaviour driven method (SBDM) are proposed as a development formalism for real-time process-control systems.

Factors affecting end-user computing sophistication in small business

This thesis describes research on End-User Computing (EUC) in small business in an environment where no Information System (IS) support and expertise are available. The research aims to identify the factors that contribute to EUC Sophistication and understand the extent small firms are capable of developing their own applications. The intention is to assist small firms to adopt EUC, encourage better utilisation of their IT resources and gain the benefits associated with computerisation. The factors examined are derived inductively from previous studies where a model is developed to map these factors with the degree of sophistication associated with IT and EUC. This study attempts to combine the predictive power of quantitative research through surveys with the explanatory power of qualitative research through action-oriented case study. Following critical examination of the literature, a survey of IT Adoption and EUC was conducted. Instruments were then developed to measure EUC and IT Sophistication indexes based on sophistication constructs adapted from previous studies using data from the survey. This is followed by an in-depth action case study involving two small firms to investigate the EUC phenomenon in its real life context. The accumulated findings from these mixed research strategies are used to form the final model of EUC Sophistication in small business. Results of the study suggest both EUC Sophistication and the Presence of EUC in small business are affected by Management Support and Behaviour towards EUC. Additionally EUC Sophistication is also affected by the presence of an EUC Champion. Results are also consistent with respect to the independence between IT Sophistication and EUC Sophistication. The main research contributions include an accumulated knowledge of EUC in small business, the Model of EUC Sophistication, an instrument to measure EUC Sophistication Index for small firms, and a contribution to research methods in IS.

Business cycles, long waves, and company langevity in Birmingham area metal industries 1780-1980

This doctoral thesis originates from an observational incongruence between the perennial aims and aspirations of economic endeavour and actually recorded outcomes, which frequently seem contrary to those intended and of a recurrent, cyclical type. The research hypothesizes parallel movement between unstable business environments through time, as expressed by periodically fluctuating levels of economic activity, and the precipitation rates of industrial production companies. A major problem arose from the need to provide theoretical and empirical cohesion from the conflicting, partial and fragmented interpretations of several hundred historians and economists, without which the research question would remain unanswerable. An attempt to discover a master cycle, or superimposition theorem, failed, but was replaced by minute analysis of both the concept of cycles and their underlying data-bases. A novel technique of congregational analysis emerged, resulting in an integrated matrix of numerical history. Two centuries of industrial revolution history in England and Wales was then explored and recomposed for the first time in a single account of change, thereby providing a factual basis for the matrix. The accompanying history of the Birmingham area provided the context of research into the failure rates and longevities of firms in the city's staple metal industries. Sample specific results are obtained for company longevities in the Birmingham area. Some novel presentational forms are deployed for results of a postal questionnaire to surviving firms. Practical demonstration of the new index of national economic activity (INEA) in relation to company insolvencies leads to conclusions and suggestions for further applications of research into the tempo of change, substantial Appendices support the thesis and provide a compendium of information covering immediately contiguous domains.

The brain in business:neuromarketing and organisational cognitive neuroscience

The application of cognitive neuroscientific techniques to understanding social behaviour has resulted in many discoveries. Yet advocates of the ‘social cognitive neuroscience’ approach maintain that it suffers from a number of limitations. The most notable of these is its distance from any form of real-world applicabity. One solution to this limitation is ‘Organisational Cognitive Neuroscience’— the study of the cognitive neuroscience of human behaviour in, and in response to, organizations, which are arguably our most natural contemporary ecology. Here we provide a brief overview of this approach, a definition and also some examples of questions that the approach would be best suited to address. Furthemore, we consider neuromarketing as a subfield of organizational cognitive neuroscience, arguing that such a relationship clarifies the role of scholarly marketing research in the area, and provides a welcome emphasis on theoretical rigour.

The management of foreign exchange exposure on business contracts overseas

This thesis is a piece of applied research. It is the result of a joint project between the University of Aston Interdisciplinary Higher Degrees Scheme and International Aeradio plc (IAL). It considers the structure and organisation of overseas business and the effects that exchange rate movements have on financial performance. It looks in detail at a series of overseas contracts and factors which affect the monitoring and performance of those contracts. From this initial research is developed a series of conceptual models which attempt to capture the effects of foreign exchange rate movements on contract costing, the monitoring of performance on overseas contracts and a measure of company wide exposure. These models are then considered in the context of real IAL generated data and circumstances. The work is finally considered in the context of a survey of other companies with a similar mode of undertaking overseas business with the aim of placing the work in a general context.

Trade balance and real exchange rate:new evidence from Mauritius-UK trade

Two main questions are addressed here: is there a long-run relationship between trade balance and real exchange rate for the bilateral trade between Mauritius and UK? Does a J-curve exist for this bilateral trade? Our findings suggest that the real exchange rate is cointegrated with the trade balance and we find evidence of a J-curve effect. We also find bidirectional causality between the trade balance and the real exchange rate in the long-run. The real exchange rate also causes the trade balance in the short-run. In an out-of-sample forecasting experiment, we also find that real exchange rate contains useful information that can explain future movements in the trade balance.