Exploring the role of market learning capability in competitive strategy

It has been argued that a firm's capacity to learn from its market is a source of both innovation and competitive advantage. However, past research has failed to conceptualize market-focused learning activity as a capability having the potential to contribute to competitive advantage. Prior innovation research has been biased toward technological innovation. However, there is evidence to suggest that both technological and non-technological innovations contribute to competitive advantage reflecting the need for a broader conceptualization of the innovation construct. Past research has also overlooked the critical role of entrepreneurship in the capability building process. Competitive advantage has been predominantly measured in terms of financial indicators of performance. In general, the literature reflects the need for comprehensive measures of organizational innovation and competitive advantage. This paper examines the role of market-focused learning capability in organizational innovation-based competitive strategy. The paper contributes to the strategic marketing theory by developing and refining measures of entrepreneurship, market-focused learning capability, organizational innovation and sustained competitive advantage, testing relationships among these constructs.

Segmenting the market of West Australian senior tourists using an artificial neural network

Measuring perceptions of customers can be a major problem for marketers of tourism and travel services. Much of the problem is to determine which attributes carry most weight in the purchasing decision. Older travellers weigh many travel features before making their travel decisions. This paper presents a descriptive analysis of neural network methodology and provides a research technique that assesses the weighting of different attributes and uses an unsupervised neural network model to describe a consumer-product relationship. The development of this rich class of models was inspired by the neural architecture of the human brain. These models mathematically emulate the neurophysical structure and decision making of the human brain, and, from a statistical perspective, are closely related to generalised linear models. Artificial neural networks or neural networks are, however, nonlinear and do not require the same restrictive assumptions about the relationship between the independent variables and dependent variables. Using neural networks is one way to determine what trade-offs older travellers make as they decide their travel plans. The sample of this study is from a syndicated data source of 200 valid cases from Western Australia. From senior groups, active learner, relaxed family body, careful participants and elementary vacation were identified and discussed. (C) 2003 Published by Elsevier Science Ltd.

Muslims and the Australian labour market, 1980-2001

The unemployment of Muslims in Australia was 28 and 25 per cent compared to the national total of around nine per cent in 1986 and 1996 respectively (Australian Bureau of Statistics). This article conceptually analyses the disadvantaged position of the Muslims in the Australian labour market from 1980 to 2001 within a framework of 'structural racism'. It studies the Muslims from three perspectives: first, a comparative study of the qualifications and unemployment of the Muslim labour force in relation to the dominant population. Secondly, it examines the extent of this disadvantaged position in comparison with other ethnic minorities within an historical context. Finally, the basis of structural racism is explored to demonstrate how the Muslims have become systematically victimized. The analysis concludes that Muslims are significantly disadvantaged in Australia on the basis of their ethnicity and religion.

Compromisso nacional para aperfei??oar as condi????es de trabalho na cana-de-a????car

O Compromisso Nacional para Aperfei??oar as Condi????es de Trabalho na Cana-de-A????car, firmado pelo Governo Federal e entidades de trabalhadores e empres??rios do setor sucroenerg??tico, ?? resultado de uma experi??ncia in??dita no pa??s de negocia????o tripartite para enfrentar o desafio de melhorar as condi????es de vida e trabalho no cultivo manual da cana-de-a????car. Por meio de uma Mesa de Di??logo, sob a coordena????o da Secretaria-Geral da Presid??ncia da Rep??blica, foi constru??do um acordo hist??rico para valorizar e disseminar as melhores pr??ticas trabalhistas na lavoura da cana, evidenciando a import??ncia do di??logo social na elabora????o das Pol??ticas P??blicas. Atrav??s da ades??o volunt??ria das empresas ao Compromisso, da divulga????o das boas pr??ticas empresariais e do cadastro positivo formado pelo selo ???Empresa Compromissada???, conferido ap??s verifica????o in loco de auditoria independente, a iniciativa induz os demais atores do setor a aderir ao Compromisso e adotar as boas pr??ticas trabalhistas

Resolu????o n?? 7, de 16 de junho de 2014: disciplina os procedimentos a serem adotados para a contrata????o de pessoas f??sicas prestadoras de servi??os t??cnicos profissionais especializados em car??ter eventual, e para a concess??o da Gratifica????o por Encargo de Curso ou Concurso (GECC)

Os procedimentos para a contrata????o de pessoas f??sicas prestadoras de servi??os t??cnicos profissionais especializados em car??ter eventual e para a concess??o da GECC est??o estabelecidos na Resolu????o n?? 7, de 16 de junho de 2014.

The tale of a Trojan horse or the quest for market access? China and the World Trade Organization

In 2001, China finally joined the WTO. The accession of China was looked forward to by many WTO members and China itself. However, observers had some fears that the Chinese accession would prove to be a Trojan horse, disrupting the working of the WTO. This paper looks into the Chinese accession and its involvement in the WTO Dispute Settlement and argues that these fears seem so far to be unfounded.

Measuring fund performance using multi-factor models: evidence for the Portuguese market

This paper examines the performance of Portuguese equity funds investing in the domestic and in the European Union market, using several unconditional and conditional multi-factor models. In terms of overall performance, we find that National funds are neutral performers, while European Union funds under-perform the market significantly. These results do not seem to be a consequence of management fees. Overall, our findings are supportive of the robustness of conditional multi-factor models. In fact, Portuguese equity funds seem to be relatively more exposed to smallcaps and more value-oriented. Also, they present strong evidence of time-varying betas and, in the case of the European Union funds, of time-varying alphas too. Finally, in terms of market timing, our tests suggest that mutual fund managers in our sample do not exhibit any market timing abilities. Nevertheless, we find some evidence of timevarying conditional market timing abilities but only at the individual fund level.

Performance of european socially responsible funds during market crises: evidence from France

This paper investigates the performance, investment styles andmanagerial abilities of French socially responsible investment (SRI) funds investing in Europe during crisis and non-crisis periods. Our results show that SRI funds significantly underperformcharacteristics-matched conventional funds during non-crisis periods, but match the performance of their peers duringmarket downturns. The underperformance of SRI funds during good economic states is driven by funds that use negative screens, since funds that use only positive screens performsimilarly to conventional funds across differentmarket conditions. SRI and conventional funds showsignificant differences in risk exposures during non-crisis periods but exhibit much more similar investment styles during crises. Furthermore,we find little evidence of significant differences inmanagerial abilities during bad economic states. Yet, during non-crisis periods, SRI and conventional fund managers exhibit significantly different style-timing abilities and these differences are also related to screening strategies.

Options listing and the volatility of the underling asset: a study on the derivative market function

There are basic misunderstandings on derivative markets. Some professionals believe that they are a kind of casinos and have no utility for the investors. This work looks at the effects of options introduction in the Brazilian market, seeking for another benefit for this introduction: changes in the stocks risk leveI. Our results are the same found in the US and other markets: the options introduction reduces the stocks volatility. We also found that there is a slight indication that the volatility becames more stochastic with this alternative.

An optimal level of technology reliance on foreign partners in a global sourcing partnership: components procurement, technology management and market performance

Existing studies on global sourcing strategy have implicitly adopted a cJosed-systems perspective in which sourcing activities are managed within a multinational company across national boundaries. Produd and process innovations and components procurement that are jointly managed by a consortium of cooperating firms have not been examined. In this paper, we empiricallyexamine the issues concerning sourcing partnerships in an open-systems perspective. Findings suggest that even in a sourcing partnership arrangement with a foreign supplier, the principal firm's ability to procure and control the supply of major components has a positive bearing on its market performance.

Market timing e avaliação de desempenho dos fundos brasileiros

Este trabalho avalia o desempenho de fundos de investimento brasileiros pelo seu market timing, ou seja, pela capacidade de os gestores anteciparem diferenças de retorno das ações em relação a um ativo de renda fixa. Utilizam-se testes - paramétrico e não-paramétrico - desenvolvidos por Henriksson e Merton para a análise do desempenho de 243 fundos, no período de setembro de 1998 a outubro de 2003. Encontra-se evidência de habilidade de market timing para uma minoria de gestores de fundos, resultado que aparentemente se deve à maior facilidade de se preverem grandes diferenças de retorno entre o mercado acionário e a taxa de juros livre de risco.