GESTÃO DO CONHECIMENTO: UM ESTUDO SOBRE A RELAÇÃO ENTRE A LIDERANÇA TRANSFORMACIONAL, A CONVERSÃO DO CONHECIMENTO E A EFICÁCIA ORGANIZACIONAL

Este estudo teve como objetivo principal analisar a relação entre a Liderança Transformacional, a Conversão do Conhecimento e a Eficácia Organizacional. Foram considerados como pressupostos teóricos conceitos consolidados sobre os temas desta relação, além de recentes pesquisas já realizadas em outros países e contextos organizacionais. Com base nisto identificou-se potencial estudo de um modelo que relacionasse estes três conceitos. Para tal considera-se que as organizações que buscam atingir Vantagem Competitiva e incorporam a Knowledge-Based View possam conquistar diferenciação frente a seus concorrentes. Nesse contexto o conhecimento ganha maior destaque e papel protagonista nestas organizações. Dessa forma criar conhecimento através de seus colaboradores, passa a ser um dos desafios dessas organizações ao passo que sugere melhoria de seus indicadores Econômicos, Sociais, Sistêmicos e Políticos, o que se define por Eficácia Organizacional. Portanto os modos de conversão do conhecimento nas organizações, demonstram relevância, uma vez que se cria e se converte conhecimentos através da interação entre o conhecimento existente de seus colaboradores. Essa conversão do conhecimento ou modelo SECI possui quatro modos que são a Socialização, Externalização, Combinação e Internalização. Nessa perspectiva a liderança nas organizações apresenta-se como um elemento capaz de influenciar seus colaboradores, propiciando maior dinâmica ao modelo SECI de conversão do conhecimento. Se identifica então na liderança do tipo Transformacional, características que possam influenciar colaboradores e entende-se que esta relação entre a Liderança Transformacional e a Conversão do Conhecimento possa ter influência positiva nos indicadores da Eficácia Organizacional. Dessa forma esta pesquisa buscou analisar um modelo que explorasse essa relação entre a liderança do tipo Transformacional, a Conversão do Conhecimento (SECI) e a Eficácia Organizacional. Esta pesquisa teve o caráter quantitativo com coleta de dados através do método survey, obtendo um total de 230 respondentes válidos de diferentes organizações. O instrumento de coleta de dados foi composto por afirmativas relativas ao modelo de relação pesquisado com um total de 44 itens. O perfil de respondentes concentrou-se entre 30 e 39 anos de idade, com a predominância de organizações privadas e de departamentos de TI/Telecom, Docência e Recursos Humanos respectivamente. O tratamento dos dados foi através da Análise Fatorial Exploratória e Modelagem de Equações Estruturais via Partial Least Square Path Modeling (PLS-PM). Como resultado da análise desta pesquisa, as hipóteses puderam ser confirmadas, concluindo que a Liderança Transformacional apresenta influência positiva nos modos de Conversão do Conhecimento e que; a Conversão do Conhecimento influencia positivamente na Eficácia Organizacional. Ainda, concluiu-se que a percepção entre os respondentes não apresenta resultado diferente sobre o modelo desta pesquisa entre quem possui ou não função de liderança.

What Counts Versus What Can Be Counted : The Complex Interplay of Market Orientation and Marketing Performance Measurement

Market orientation (MO) and marketing performance measurement (MPM) are two of the most widespread strategic marketing concepts among practitioners. However, some have questioned the benefits of extensive investments in MO and MPM. More importantly, little is known about which combinations of MO and MPM are optimal in ensuring high business performance. To address this research gap, the authors analyze a unique data set of 628 firms with a novel method of configurational analysis: fuzzy-set qualitative comparative analysis. In line with prior research, the authors find that MO is an important determinant of business performance. However, to reap its benefits, managers need to complement it with appropriate MPM, the level and focus of which vary across firms. For example, whereas large firms and market leaders generally benefit from comprehensive MPM, small firms may benefit from measuring marketing performance only selectively or by focusing on particular dimensions of marketing performance. The study also finds that many of the highest-performing firms do not follow any of the particular best practices identified.

Integrating group Delphi, fuzzy logic and expert systems for marketing strategy development:the hybridisation and its effectiveness

A hybrid approach for integrating group Delphi, fuzzy logic and expert systems for developing marketing strategies is proposed in this paper. Within this approach, the group Delphi method is employed to help groups of managers undertake SWOT analysis. Fuzzy logic is applied to fuzzify the results of SWOT analysis. Expert systems are utilised to formulate marketing strategies based upon the fuzzified strategic inputs. In addition, guidelines are also provided to help users link the hybrid approach with managerial judgement and intuition. The effectiveness of the hybrid approach has been validated with MBA and MA marketing students. It is concluded that the hybrid approach is more effective in terms of decision confidence, group consensus, helping to understand strategic factors, helping strategic thinking, and coupling analysis with judgement, etc.

Capabilities for strategic flexibility:a cognitive content framework

Different forms of strategic flexibility allow for reactive adaptation to different changing environments and the proactive driving of change. It is therefore becoming increasingly important for decision makers to not only possess marketing capabilities, but also the capabilities for strategic flexibility in its various forms. However, our knowledge of the relationships between decision makers’ different ways of thinking and their capabilities for strategic flexibility is limited. This limitation is constraining research and understanding. In this article we develop a theoretical cognitive content framework that postulates relationships between different ways of thinking about strategy and different information-processing demands. We then outline how the contrasting beliefs of decision makers may influence their capabilities to generate different hybrid forms of strategic flexibility at the cognitive level. Theoretically, the framework is embedded in resource-based theory, personal construct theory and schema theory. The implications for research and theory are discussed.

Strategic planning differences among multiple stakeholder orientation profiles

Despite being a significant topic in the literature, research into stakeholder interests is at an early stage. Although a company has an orientation to each stakeholder group these orientations exist simultaneously, giving a multiple stakeholder orientation profile (MSOP). We theorize that firms with different MSOPs will approach their strategic planning in different ways. We tested our predictions in UK companies, and found that indeed there are many strategic planning differences among different MSOPs. The most striking differences are in learning and innovative management, but there are also differences in objectives, competitive positioning and sustainable competitive advantage. Implications for theory and practice are presented.

The performance impact of marketing resources

Recently, there has been much interest in the role of marketing resources in contributing to the creation of competitive advantage and subsequently firm performance. Most of this work to date, however, has been conceptual or theoretical in nature, and there has been little empirical research into the nature and impact of marketing resources. Drawing on literature from both the marketing and strategic management disciplines, the authors develop and empirically test scales for measuring marketing resources and assess their impact on performance outcomes. The findings indicate that marketing resources impact on financial performance indirectly through creating customer satisfaction and loyalty and building superior market performance. © 2003 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

An application of strategic group theory to the UK pharmaceuticals industry

Conducts a strategic group mapping exercise by analysing R&D investment, sales/marketing cost and leadership information pertaining to the pharmaceuticals industry. Explains that strategic group mapping assists companies in identifying their principal competitors, and hence supports strategic decision-making, and shows that, in the pharmaceutical industry, R&D spending, the cost of sales and marketing, i.e. detailing, and technological leadership are mobility barriers to companies moving between sectors. Illustrates, in bubble-chart format, strategic groups in the pharmaceutical industry, plotting detailing-costs against the scale of activity in therapeutic areas. Places companies into 12 groups, and profiles the strategy and market-position similarities of the companies in each group. Concludes with three questions for companies to ask when evaluating their own, and their competitors, strategies and returns, and suggests that strategy mapping can be carried out in other industries, provided mobility barriers are identified.

Determining consumer satisfaction and commitment through self-service technology and personal service usage

This paper expands research into self-service technology in the service encounter. Self-service technology is where customers deliver service themselves using some form of a technological interface. There is still a great deal unknown about self-service technology, in particular its impact on consumer satisfaction and consumer commitment. With that in mind, this empirical study explores the relative impact of self-service technology on consumer satisfaction and on a multidimensional measure of consumer commitment containing affective commitment, temporal commitment and instrumental commitment. The results reveal that in a hotel context personal service still remains very important for assessments of satisfaction, and affective and temporal commitment. What is particularly interesting is that self-service technology, while impacting these constructs, also impacts instrumental commitment. This suggests that positive evaluations of self-service technology may tie consumers into relationships with hotels. A discussion and implications for managers are provided on these and other results, and the paper is concluded with further potential research.

Marketing strategy:a history of the next decade

Editorial

An investigation of SMEs’ inter-organisational knowledge transfer needs in Internet marketing

Internet marketing, as a key area of e-commerce, plays an important role in SMEs’ e-commerce success. It is the use of Internet technologies in facilitating and supporting marketing activities. Its implementation and success require expert knowledge and extensive experience. SMEs admit that they are willing to embrace Internet marketing to enhance their business competitiveness, but do not know where to start and suffer from a lack of guidance. Evidence suggests that Internet marketing analysis is one of the most needed areas of training in e-commerce for SMEs. It is therefore evident that SMEs need to acquire Internet marketing knowledge from external sources. However, the majority of the literature fails to study what specific knowledge they need and from whom they should acquire the knowledge. This paper has addressed these issues through a questionnaire survey of UK SMEs in the service sector. It identifies SMEs’ specific transfer needs for Internet marketing knowledge, and discusses strategic issues for improving SMEs’ effectiveness of leveraging knowledge.

The strategic role of relational capabilities in the business-to-business service profit chain

This paper extends the original service profit chain by examining the role of relational capabilities with employees, customers and strategic partners on process and performance outcomes in a business-to-business context. More specifically, we demonstrate how satisfied and loyal employees are better in developing relationships with customers and strategic partners. These relationships enable firms to be more responsive towards customers and become more innovative, which increase customer satisfaction and loyalty and, ultimately, financial performance. Our results provide support for the development of relational capabilities in a business-to-business environment by extending the service profit chain (SPC) model. However, we find that while the development of strong customer relationships contributes to an improved service responsiveness of the firm, strategic partners do not.

"Marketing is all about T-shirts and posters - right?"

Five questions for conducting marketing as a profession that ushers in strategic change

Strategic planning in a decentralised industrial group : a process-action study

The research was carried out within a major public company. It sought to implement an approach to strategic planning which accounted for organisational values as well as employing a holistic value-free analysis of the firm and its environment. To this end, an 'ecological' model of the firm was formulated. A series of value-free strategic policies for its development were generated. These policies were validated by the company's top-management.They compared favourably with their own planning outcomes. The approach appeared to be diagnostically strong but lacked sufficient depth in the context of finding realistic corrective measures. However, feedback from the company showed it to be a useful complementary process to conventional procedures, in providing an explicitly different perspective. The research empirically evaluated the company's value-systems and their influence on strategy. It introduced the idea of an organisational 'self-concept' pre-determining the acceptability of various strategies.The values and the "self-concept' of the company were identified and validated, They appeared to have considerable influence on strategy. In addition, tho company's planning process within the decentralised structure was shown to be sub-optimal. This resulted from the variety of value systems maintained by different parts of the organisation. Proposals attempting to redress this situation were ofJered and several accepted. The study was postured as process-action research and the chosen perspective could be succinctly described as a 'worm's-eye view', akin to that of many real planners operating at some distance from the decision-making body. In this way, the normal strategic functionings of the firm and any changes resulting from the researcher's intervention were observed and recorded. Recurrent difficulties of the planning process resulting from the decentralised structure were identified. The overall procedure suggested as a result of the research aimed to increase the viabiIity of planning and the efficiency of the process. It is considered to be flexible enough to be applicable in a broader context.