Medición del valor de marca desde un enfoque formativo

Companies need to measure brand equity to make the best tactical and strategic decisions related to this intangible asset. Therefore, this paper develops a measure of brand equity using a formative approach. Unlike previous research, this study proposes a second-order formative model and empirically validates this in two countries, Spain and the United Kingdom. With this aim, in addition to carrying out an individual analysis for each country, the measurement invariance is assessed following the recent procedure suggested by Diamantopoulos and Papadopoulos (2010). Results show that brand equity construct is characterised by some variations in its composition in the countries analysed.

Price of unsustainability. Economic impacts of climate change

Global problems, rapid and massive regional changes in the 21st century call for genuine long-term, awareness, planning and well focused actions from both national governments and international organizations. This book wishes to contribute to building an innovative path of strategic views in handling the diverse challenges, and more emphatically, the economic impacts of climate change. Although the contributors of this volume represent several approaches, they all rely on some common grounds such as the costbenefit analysis of mitigation and adaptation, and on the need to present an in-depth theoretical and practical dimension. The research accounted for in this book tried to integrate and confront various types of economics approaches and methods, as well as knowledge from game theory to country surveys, from agricultural adaptation to weather bonds, from green tax to historical experience of human adaptation. The various themes and points of views do deserve the attention of the serious academic reader interested in the economics of climate change. We hope to enhance the spread of good solutions resulting from world wide disputes and tested strategic decisions. WAKE UP! It is not just the polar bears' habitat that is endangered, but the entire human form of life.

How market information is transformed into marketing knowledge?

In the future, competitors will have more and more opportunities to buy the same information; therefore the companies’ competitiveness will not primarily depend on how much information they possess, but rather on how they can “translate” it to their own language. This study aims to examine those factors that have the most significant impact on the degree to which market studies are utilised by companies. Most of the work in this area has studied the use of information in strategic decisions a priori. This paper — while reflecting on the findings of research on organisational theories of information processing — aims to bridge this gap. It proposes and tests a new conceptual framework that examines the use of managerial market research information in decision-making and knowledge creation within one single model. Collected survey data, including all the top-income business enterprises in Hungary indicate that market research findings are efficiently incorporated into the marketing information system only if the marketing manager has trust in the researcher, and believes that the market study is of high quality. Decision-makers are more likely to learn from market studies facilitating the resolution of some specific problem than descriptive studies of a more general nature.

Domináns vállalat versenyképességének hatása az ellátási láncban (Effects of competitiveness of the dominant company in the supply chain)

Beszállító, gyártó és vevő vállalatok alkotnak egy ellátási láncot. Optimális esetben a vállalatok integrált rendszerben működnek, az együttműködés bizal mi alapon nyugszik, így a közös stratégiai döntések révén versenyképes lesz a lánc. Az ellátási láncban lehet egy kulcsfontosságú vállalat, amelyik domináns hatalmi pozícióval rendelkezik. A kutatás célja, hogy feltárja a hatalommal rendelkező vállalat szerepét a partnercégek és az ellátási lánc versenyképességének alakulásában. A szakirodalom alapján a hipotézis feltételezi, hogy van kapcsolat a versenyképesség és a domináns vállalat szerepvállalása között. A szerzők elemzése primer kutatáson alapul, a kérdőív válaszait SPSS statisztikai kiértékeléssel végezték. Az eredmények azt mutatták, hogy a domináns vállalat versenyképességétől valóban függ a partnercégek versenyképessége. Szignifikáns kapcsolat megléte bizonyítja a hipotézist. A vizsgálatok kiemelik, hogy a verseny már egy szinttel feljebb, az ellátási lánc szintjén értelmezhető: globális ellátási láncok versenyeznek egymással. _____ Supplier, producer and buyer companies make up a supply chain. In an optimal case the companies are integrated, partnership rests on trust which results in common strategic decisions leading to competitiveness. Each supply chain has a key company with dominant power position. The objective of the research is to analyse how the company with power affects competitiveness of partner firms and the supply chain as a whole. Based on theories hypothesis assumes a link between competitiveness and power position and its influence. Methodology of the analysis is based on primary research; the authors used SPSS statistical analysis to evaluate the answers of questionnaire. Findings include that partner firms’ competitiveness rely on competitiveness of the company with dominant power position. Significant connections prove that the hypothesis is true. Results show that competitiveness is being moved up to supply chain level. Global supply chains compete with each other.

Patterns in the lottery game

The present study is based on the analysis and results of a close to 5 years’ study in the frame which we used a “Lottery Game” in the "Decision Making Skills" subject taught at Corvinus Business School, Corvinus University of Budapest. In the frame of the "game", the students (Hungarians (n=231) and foreigners (n=267) alike) have to mark 6 numbers on a 7x7 lottery ticket. The winner is the student whose numbers differ the most from those of all the other students’. Upon analyzing the results (irrespectively of nationality) the authors have noted something notable: the winning combinations - rather than being located randomly on the ticket, characteristically resemble a geometric form. In our study we wanted to detect the relevance of geometry in this kind of choices. It is hypothesized that in such games (lottery type, related to numeric combination choice), where the players decide upon their strategy (choice of numbers) by also taking into consideration others’ expected choices, the winning strategy is characteristically some consciously chosen scheme or pattern as opposed to a random one. The study presents the results of the available samples (Hungarian students: n=231, foreign students: n=267), the winning combinations, the most often designated numbers, as well as the least “popular” numbers and their presentation on a "heat map". In the case of the majority of the winning tickets we found the use of conscious strategic choice to be more useful. These conscious strategic decisions were reflected in identifiable geometric forms. Based on the results, we hypothesize that in the "hidden lottery" game – in contrast with random choice – the most effective strategy of choice is the conscious ordered one in which the player marks the numbers on the lottery ticket in some modified geometric pattern. The goal of the paper is to propose further research on the field.

Market definition in industrial high-technology markets

This dissertation analyzes how marketers define markets in technology-based industries. One of the most important strategic decisions marketers face is determining the optimal market for their products. Market definition is critical in dynamic high technology markets characterized by high levels of market and technological uncertainty. Building on literature from marketing and related disciplines, this research is the first in-depth study of market definition in industrial markets. Using a national, probability sample stratified by firm size, 1,000 marketing executives in nine industries (automation, biotechnology, computers, medical equipment and instrumentation, pharmaceuticals, photonics, software, subassemblies and components, and telecommunications) were surveyed via a mail questionnaire. A 20.8% net response rate yielding 203 surveys was achieved. The market structure-conduct-performance (SCP) paradigm from industrial organization provided a conceptual basis for testing a causal market definition model via LISREL. A latent exogenous variable (competitive intensity) and four latent endogenous variables (marketing orientation, technological orientation, market definition criteria, and market definition success) were used to develop and test hypothesized relationships among constructs. Research questions relating to market redefinition, market definition characteristics, and internal (within the firm) and external (competitive) market definition were also investigated. Market definition success was found to be positively associated with a marketing orientation and the use of market definition criteria. Technological orientation was not significantly related to market definition success. Customer needs were the key market definition characteristic to high-tech firms (technology, competition, customer groups, and products were also important). Market redefinition based on changing customer needs was the most effective of seven strategies tested. A majority of firms regularly defined their market at the corporate and product-line level within the firm. From a competitive perspective, industry, industry sector, and product-market definitions were used most frequently.

Adaptation in knowledge-based teams: An examination of team composition, leader sensegiving, and cognitive, behavioral, and motivational mechanisms

Organizations are increasingly relying on teams to do the work that has traditionally been done by individuals. At the same time, the environments in which these organizations and teams operate have been becoming progressively more complex and uncertain. These trends raise important questions about the factors that enable teams to adapt. In response to these questions, the current study sought to identify the cognitive, behavioral, and motivational processes and emergent states that promote a team's adaptation to unforeseen changes and novel events, and the team compositional characteristics and leadership processes that enabled these processes and emergent states. Two hundred twenty two undergraduate students from a large Southeastern University composed 74 3-person teams, and participated in a computerized decision-making simulation where each team formed the governing body (i.e., Mayor's cabinet) for two separate simulated cities, and made strategic decisions about city operations. Participants were randomly assigned to one of three roles, distributing expertise and creating mutual interdependence. External team leader sensegiving was manipulated through video recorded communications from an external team leader. Results indicate that team cognitive ability, achievement striving, and psychological collectivism, as well as external team leader sensegiving, were all related to the similarity and quality of team members' strategy-focused mental models (cognitive emergent states), and to the amount of information sharing among members (behavioral process). In turn, teams with more similar and higher quality mental models, and who shared greater levels of information, were found to have a greater ability to react and adapt to environmental changes, and to have greater levels of decision-making effectiveness. Results indicate a pattern of relationships consistent with hypotheses, and have important implications for organizations and knowledge-based teams charged with management responsibilities. Organizations should staff teams with the compositional characteristics that enable the development of similar and high quality mental models, and that promote information sharing among teammates. Similarly, organizations which train and develop leaders to engage in sensegiving behaviors enable team adaptability and promote enhanced decision-making effectiveness when faced with unforeseen changes and novel situations.

Strategy for Hospitality Businesses in the Developing World

The purpose of this paper is to present an alternate framework for evaluating strategic decisions of hospitality businesses in developing nations, particularly small- and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs). While strategy literature is extensive and diverse, it remains focused on developed nation contexts. By default, so is the case with hospitality strategy literature. This has created a paucity of research for hospitality businesses in developing nations; these businesses are largely SMEs in dynamic environments seldom similar to the ones in developed nations. Therefore, the proposed framework emphasizes the role of environment, and its relationship to strategic choice, resource allocation, and strategy evaluation. A set of research questions is also proposed.

The survival and stock performance of emerging country firms in the United States

Many firms from emerging markets flocked to developed countries at high cost with hopes of acquiring strategic assets that are difficult to obtain in home countries. Adequate research has focused on the motivations and strategies of emerging country firms' (ECFs') internationalization, while limited studies have explored their survival in advanced economies years after their venturing abroad. Due to the imprinting effect of home country institutions that inhibit their development outside their home market, ECFs are inclined to hire executives with international background and affiliate to world-wide organizations for the purpose of linking up with the global market, embracing multiple perspectives for strategic decisions, and absorbing the knowledge of foreign markets. However, the effects of such orientation on survival are under limited exploration. Motivated by the discussion above, I explore ECFs' survival and stock performance in a developed country (U.S.). Applying population ecology, signaling theory and institutional theory, the dissertation investigates the characteristics of ECFs that survived in the developed country (U.S.), tests the impacts of global orientation on their survival, and examines how global-oriented activities (i.e. joining United Nations Global Compact) affect their stock performance. The dissertation is structured in the form of three empirical essays. The first essay explores and compares different characteristics of ECFs and developed country firms (DCFs) that managed to survive in the U.S. The second essay proposes the concept of global orientation, and tests its influences on ECFs' survival. Employing signaling theory and institutional theory, the third essay investigates stock market reactions to announcements of United Nation Global Compact (UNGC) participation. The dissertation serves to explore the survival of ECFs in the developed country (U.S.) by comparison with DCFs, enriching traditional theories by testing non-traditional arguments in the context of ECFs' foreign operation, and better informing practitioners operating ECFs about ways of surviving in developed countries and improving stockholders' confidence in their future growth.

Essays in Industrial Organization

This dissertation extends the empirical industrial organization literature with two essays on strategic decisions of firms in imperfectly competitive markets and one essay on how inertia in consumer choice can result in significant welfare losses. Using data from the airline industry I study a well-known puzzle in the literature whereby incumbent firms decrease fares when Southwest Airlines emerges as a potential entrant, but is not (yet) competing directly. In the first essay I describe this so-called Southwest Effect and use reduced-form analysis to offer possible explanations for why firms may choose to forgo profits today rather than wait until Southwest operates the route. The analysis suggests that incumbent firms are attempting to signal to Southwest that entry is unprofitable so as to deter its entry. The second essay develops this theme by extending a classic model from the IO literature, limit pricing, to a dynamic setting. Calibrations indicate the price cuts observed in the data can be captured by a dynamic limit pricing model. The third essay looks at another concentrated industry, mobile telecoms, and studies how inertia in choice (be it inattention or switching costs) can lead to consumers being on poorly matched cellphone plans and how a simple policy proposal can have a considerable effect on welfare.

Biological Impacts and Uses of Black Bass Competitive Fishing Tournaments on Large Lake Systems

Recreational fisheries in North America are valued between $47.3 billion and $56.8 billion. Fisheries managers must make strategic decisions based on sound science and knowledge of population ecology, to effectively conserve populations. Competitive fishing, in the form of tournaments, has become an important part of recreational fisheries, and is common on large waterbodies including the Great Lakes. Black Bass, Micropterus spp., are top predators and among the most sought after species in competitive catch-and-release tournaments. This study investigated catch-and-release tournaments as an assessment tool through mark-recapture for Largemouth Bass (>305mm) populations in the Tri Lakes, and Bay of Quinte, part of the eastern basin of Lake Ontario. The population in the Tri Lakes (1999-2002) was estimated to be stable between 21,928-29,780, and the population in the Bay of Quinte (2012-2015) was estimated to be between 31,825-54,029 fish. Survival in the Tri Lakes varied throughout the study period, from 31%-54%; while survival in the Bay of Quinte remained stable at 63%. Differences in survival may be due to differences in fishing pressure, as 34-46% of the Largemouth Bass population on the Tri Lakes is harvested annually and only 19% of catch was attributed to tournament angling. Many biological issues still surround catch-and-release tournaments, particularly concerning displacement from initial capture sites. In the past, the majority of studies have focused on small inland lakes and coastal areas, displacing bass relatively short distances. My study displaced Largemouth and Smallmouth Bass up to 100km, and found very low rates of return; only 1 of 18 Largemouth Bass returned 15 km and 1 of 18 Smallmouth Bass returned 135 km. Both species remained near the release sites for an average of approximately 2 weeks prior to dispersing. Tournament organizers should consider the use of satellite release locations to facilitate dispersal and prevent stockpiling at the release site. Catch-and-release tournaments proved to be a valuable tool in assessing population variables and the effects of long distance displacement through the use of mark recapture and acoustic telemetry on large lake systems.

Vi vill, vi kan men hur? : Att använda sig av anpassade verktyg för cheferna inom vård och omsorg för att förmedla sitt ledarskap till sina medarbetare

Vårt syfte med denna studie är att belysa de verktyg som kan erfordras för att enhetschefer ska kunna förmedla sitt ledarskap till sina medarbetare. Detta på grund av att medarbetarna inom kommunen inte är helt belåtna med ledarskapet från kommun eller sina chefer, vilket framgår i den medarbetarundersökning som genomfördes 2014 av kommunen. I samma medarbetarundersökning framkom det likaså att sjukskrivningar bland medarbetarna i kommunen kan beror på ledarskapet. Därför har vi valt att undersöka en del av kommunens enhetschefer och hur de ser på sitt eget ledarskap samt vad de kan göra för att få sina medarbetare att må bättre och förebygga sjukskrivningar. Då tiden inte fanns till att undersöka alla enhetschefer inom den valda kommunen, valdes vård och omsorgsförvaltningens enhetschefer ut för vår egen enkätundersökning. Resultatet av vår enkätundersökning utföll sig på så sätt att enhetscheferna erfordrar mer tid att ägna sig åt sina medarbetare och att administrativt stöd fordras för att underlätta enhetschefernas arbetsmiljö. Om enhetscheferna erhåller mer tid till att spendera med sina medarbetare kan det skapa ett starkare psykologiskt band emellan dem, vilket gör att tilliten från medarbetarna till enhetscheferna stärks. När tilliten stärks vågar medarbetarna vända sig till sina enhetschefer för att berätta hur de mår. Genom att plocka bort de administrativa uppgifterna och i stället ge dem till en assistent får enhetscheferna mer tid till att spendera med sin personal och utifrån detta kan de eventuellt få en översikt av hur verksamheten fungerar. Översikten gör att de kan fatta bättre strategiska beslut för deras verksamhet och medarbetare.

O city marketing em Natal/RN e a construção da imagem da cidade

The growing importance of tourism in overall economic activity worldwide has favored the intensification of competition among cities that seek to create environments attractive to tourists and potential investors. It has been common practice to import characteristics of the business environment in the public management of cities. The city marketing is a key tool used by public leaders to promote a linkage between the tourism image and urban image and involves, in addition to promoting the image of the city, the planning of interventions in urban space, trying to formulate a positive image of the city able to facilitate the deployment of capital. This research seeks to understand the nature of city marketing as part of contemporary urban management and analyzes how is its application in decisions concerning the promotion of tourism in Natal/RN. The approach of this research is qualitative, exploratory and descriptive, in which respondents were the main leaders of two of the official tourism site, the Empresa Potiguar de Promoção Turística and the Secretaria Municipal de Turismo e Desenvolvimento Econômico. It was found that there is a strong articulation of public power with private enterprise in the design and conduct of the actions of urban marketing, that from the survey data show that the behavior of target markets provide guidelines for taking strategic decisions relating to tourism. Sun and sea are some key elements explored to form the image of Natal and to authorize the sale of the city as a tropical paradise. However, there is an increase in the diversification of tourism products, seeking to increase flow to the segments of ecotourism, adventure, business and culture. It s also growing the use of local culture as a tourism product, however, the cultural representation focuses on superficial values and does not bring to light the social and historical richness that the city has. Public authorities use the city marketing strategies as a means able to maximize the attractiveness of Natal urban space to investors, business groups and tourists. It can be observed that urban managers seek solutions that can continuously increase the tours, which often manifests in interventions that focus the tourist areas of the city, in oposition of those who do not contribute to a positive reading of the city, which ultimately generate the worsening of spacial and social inequalities

O contributo da informação por segmentos nos testes de imparidade ao goodwill - Aplicação ao caso da EDP no segmento EDP Renováveis

Mestrado em Contabilidade