An investigation into commitment in non-Western industrial marketing relationships

This paper reports an investigation into the antecedents of commitment in non-Western industrial marketing relationships. The authors draw the antecedents from extant literature and posit that commitment is related to trust (integrity and reliability), communication quality, conflict, and similarity (social, ethnic, and economic). It is further argued that trust mediates the effects of communication, conflict, and similarity on commitment. As an extension, the authors examine the moderating effects of normative contracts (an implicit understanding of roles and responsibilities) on the construct interrelationships. The hypotheses are tested using data collected from approximately 150 industrial marketing relationships sampled from overseas Chinese firms. The results generally support the authors' framework; however, the mediating hypotheses are not supported. There is evidence of systematic differences in the effects of the studied antecedents on commitment and trust. Furthermore, a multigroup analysis provides evidence of significant moderating effects due to contracting mode. The study provides new insights into the theory and practice of industrial marketing. (C) 2003 Elsevier Science Inc. All rights reserved.

Balancing the number and size of sites: An economic approach to the optimal design of cluster samples

The design of randomized controlled trials entails decisions that have economic as well as statistical implications. In particular, the choice of an individual or cluster randomization design may affect the cost of achieving the desired level of power, other things being equal. Furthermore, if cluster randomization is chosen, the researcher must decide how to balance the number of clusters, or sites, and the size of each site. This article investigates these interrelated statistical and economic issues. Its principal purpose is to elucidate the statistical and economic trade-offs to assist researchers to employ randomized controlled trials that have desired economic, as well as statistical, properties. (C) 2003 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Caf?? com debate: os novos instrumentos da pol??tica industrial e tecnol??gica

A apresenta????o abordas os temas do desenvolvimento industrial e tecnol??gico brasileiro, bem como sua competitividade comercial no exterior

Colet??nea de pol??ticas p??blicas: volume 2: a pol??tica industrial no Brasil, 1985-1992: pol??ticos, burocratas e interesses organizados no processo de policy-making

O principal objetivo deste livro ?? constituir uma fonte de pesquisa para o estudo do processo de produ????o e implementa????o de pol??ticas p??blicas. Por meio de textos selecionados, analisa-se o pr??prio conceito de pol??ticas p??blicas, discute-se as defini????es utilizadas para distinguir suas diversas fases e apresenta-se algumas das principais correntes te??ricas de an??lise sobre o processo de pol??ticas p??blicas.

MOND virial theorem applied to a galaxy cluster

Large values for the mass-to-light ratio (ϒ) in self-gravitating systems is one of the most important evidences of dark matter. We propose a expression for the mass-to-light ratio in spherical systems using MOND. Results for the COMA cluster reveal that a modification of the gravity, as proposed by MOND, can reduce significantly this value.

O discurso e a ação : análise do processo de mudança no sistema de controle gerencial em uma organização industrial brasileira sob a ótica da teoria institucional

O objetivo desse estudo foi investigar o processo de mudança no sistema de controle gerencial (SCG), analisando a alteração das práticas de controle gerencial na estrutura desse sistema, sob a ótica da teoria institucional. A questão de pesquisa é: como ocorre o processo de mudança no SCG em uma organização industrial brasileira? Para tanto, optou-se por uma abordagem qualitativa do tipo descritiva, num estudo de caso único, utilizando como métodos de coleta de dados entrevistas individuais não estruturadas e semiestruturadas com 11 gestores e usuários do SCG, observação não participante e levantamento documental. A coleta dos dados ocorreu entre agosto/2014 e março/2015. Como método de análise e interpretação de dados foram utilizados elementos da análise do discurso (AD). Os principais referenciais teóricos foram os trabalhos de Meyer e Rowan (1977), Dimaggio e Powel (1983, 1991, 2007), Scott (1995, 2008a, 2008b) e Machado-da- Silva e Vizeu (2007) sobre a teoria institucional; Huy (2001), Beekman, Chenhall e Euske (2007) e Machado-da-Silva, Fonseca e Crubellate (2010) referente ao processo de mudança; e Malmi e Brown (2008) e Simons (1995) referente ao SCG; destacando a aplicação empírica dos modelos teóricos de Malmi e Brown (2008), Simons (1995) e Huy (2001). Na análise dos dados, foi identificado o desenho e o uso do SCG, relatando como está transcorrendo a alteração de suas práticas de controle gerencial, identificando os fatores de estímulo e resistência à institucionalização dessas práticas e quais os atores organizacionais que estão atuando como agentes da mudança. Por fim, foram identificados os aspectos discursivos recorrentes que permeiam o discurso da empresa pesquisada, alinhados ao processo de mudança no SCG. Como contribuições, foi demonstrada a influência dos fatores isomórficos na escolha das práticas de controle gerencial, a evidência de que o SCG é socialmente construído, as implicações da centralização do poder e da ausência de estratégias para o SCG, evidências de que o processo de mudança no SCG não é meramente mecânico ou automatizado e ainda, que o discurso da mudança pode permear a organização sem que a ação seja concretizada, revelando um descompasso entre o discurso e a ação

Residents’ perceptions of tourism impacts in Guimarães (Portugal): a cluster analysis

In this investigation, a cluster analysis was used to separate Guimara˜es (Portugal) residents into clusters according to their perceptions of the impacts of tourism development. This approach is uncommonly applied to Portugal data and is even rarer for world heritage sites. The world heritage designation is believed to make an area more attractive to tourists. The clustering procedure analysed 400 data observations from a Guimara˜es resident survey and revealed the existence of three clusters: the Sceptics, the Moderately Optimistic and the Enthusiasts. The results were consistent with the empirical literature’s results, with the emergent nature of the destination found to be relevant. The fact that tourism is relatively recent in this destination has its major reflex in the devaluation by most of the residents of the negative impacts of tourism development.

Certification and integration of management systems: the experience of Portuguese small and medium enterprises

The purpose of this study was to characterize the situation of Portuguese Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) concerning the certification of their Quality Management Systems (QMS), Environmental Management Systems (EMS) and Occupational Health and Safety Management Systems (OHSMS), in their individually form, to identify benefits, drawbacks and difficulties associated with the certification process and to characterize the level of integration that has been achieved. This research was based on a survey carried out by the research team; it was administered to 46 Portuguese SMEs. Our sample comprised 20 firms (43%) from the Trade/Services activity sector, 17 (37%) from the Industrial sector, 5 (11%) from the Electricity/Telecommunications sector and 4 (9%) from the Construction area. All SMEs surveyed were certified according to the ISO 9001 (100%), a quarter of firms were certified according to the ISO 14001 (26.1%) and a few certified by OHSAS 18001 (15.2%). We undertook a multivariate cluster analysis, which enabled grouping variables into homogeneous groups or one or more common characteristics of the SMEs participating in the study. Results show that the main benefits that Portuguese SMEs have gained from the referred certifications have been, among others, an improvement of both their internal organization and external image. We also present the main difficulties in achieving certification. Overall, 7 of the Portuguese SMEs examined indicated that the main benefits of the IMS implementation management included costs reduction, increased employee training and easier compliance of legislation. The respective drawbacks and difficulties are also presented. Finally, we presented the main integrated items in the certified Portuguese SMEs we examined.

Guimarães residents’ perceptions towards tourism impacts: a cluster analysis

The present study was designed to assess and segment local residents with respect to their perceived impacts of Guimarães tourism development. The residents of this municipality (located in the northern part of Portugal) are quite strong in their support to tourism. However, they do not keep a homogeneous perception of tourism impacts. A clusters analysis using data from a survey of 400 Guimarães residents’ has revealed the existence of three clusters, according the different degrees of perceived tourism impacts: the Skeptics - moderate in relation to the benefits (averages range from 2.89-3.74) and the ones more concerned with its costs (averages range from 2.86-3.74); the Moderately optimistic - very optimistic about the benefits of tourism (averages range from 3.74-4.51) and conscious of the costs (averages range from 2.71-3.49); the Enthusiasts - very optimistic about tourism benefits (averages range from 2.92-4.52) and little worried about its costs (averages range from 1.78-3.26). Following the data from the survey, the findings are discussed and a few conclusions are extracted.