Volume 15 Number 02
Advertising resources in oil rich Arab Gulf states - implications for international marketers
Leon Barkho
Marketing and advertising researchers are at odds on whether standardized advertising messages and tools can be used across cultures. The dispute has heightened with the advent of globalization in which national boundaries become blurred. But if globalization has managed to cross geographical frontiers, its role in merging cultures and traditions is less discernible particularly in conservative societies like the oil-rich Arab Gulf states where massive oil revenues are fuelling consumerism leading to a surge in advertising budgets. The flow of petrodollars is bringing about dramatic transformations in these societies and their media landscape. This paper provides an overview of these transformations and their impact on advertising. It argues that despite globalization, the countries still exhibit distinct cultural, religious and traditional values as well as demographic features that are important to consider by international marketers, advertisers and agency managers targeting or working in these countries.
Key Words: Advertising, culture, media, oil prices
The effect of changing firm characteristics on capacity to restructure
James Routledge and David Gadenne
This paper examines whether changes in financial characteristics over the time prior to a firm entering insolvency administration will affect its reorganisation prospects. Prior research shows that an insolvent firm’s ability to rectify the mismatch between currently available liquid assets and current financial obligations is critical to the reorganisation outcome. Accordingly, a multivariate analysis of financial characteristics which reflect the firm’s ability to address this mismatch is presented. The results show that changes in operating performance and liquidity prior to a firm entering insolvency administration have a bearing on administration outcomes.
Key Words: Financial distress, insolvency administration, financial characteristics, capacity to restructure, cluster analysis.
The interplay between accountability and management control patterns in public sector outsourcing
Venkateshwaran Narayanan, Herbert. P. Schoch and Graeme. L. Harrison
This paper aims to examine the dynamic relationship between informal controls and formal control in the context of public sector outsourcing and explores whether informal controls have a role to play in public sector outsourcing and what implications this has for the role of trust and accountability of the public service. This paper uses two case studies to examine these questions and concludes that while it is necessary for formal controls to dominate the selection stages of outsourcing for accountability and transparency reasons, informal or looser controls can play an important role in the implementation of the outsourcing relationship.
Key Words: Management control, control of public sector outsourcing relationships, public sector accountability, trust and accountability, market, bureaucracy and trust based control, case study research
ADRS, differentiated levels of corporate governance at the São Paulo stock exchange and the performance of publicly traded Brazilian companies
Valdir de Jesus Lameira, Walter L. Ness, Jr.
We investigate whether improvement in Brazilian corporate governance practices is related to better performance of companies measured in its diverse dimensions. Dummy variables were used to identify firms with level 2 or 3 ADR programs and to represent participation in level 2 or the “new market” level of differentiated practices of corporate governance established by the São Paulo Stock Exchange. Significant statistical relationships were obtained for both dummy variables in relation to the performance measures, suggesting that the adhesion to programs which require improved corporate governance practices is associated with corporate performance.
Key Words: Corporate governance, performance, ADRs, São Paulo Stock Exchange, New Market, and publicly traded Brazilian companies.
Effects of Service Quality and Shared Value on Trust and Commitment: An Empirical Study of 3Cs Product Customers in Taiwan
Wen-Jang (Kenny) Jih, Su-Fang Lee, Yuan-Cheng Tsai
The convergence of computer, communications, and consumer electronics (3Cs) technologies, catalysed by advancement of protocol standards, has forced three previously separate retailing industries to integrate their business operations, such as consolidation of retail outlets. This provides an unprecedented level of convenience for consumers to work, shop, and network with each other. To survive in this highly competitive market, companies in the 3Cs retail industry in Taiwan are adopting innovative marketing strategies and aggressive promotion campaigns to strengthen their customer relationships. From the consumer point of view, lying at the core of customer relationship management are such notions as commitment, trust, and value. This study examines the effect of service quality on customers’ trust in and relationship commitment toward the service-providing company. The role of shared value as a mediating factor is also examined. Three findings are revealed: (1) Service quality significantly impacts trust and trust significantly impacts relationship commitment; (2) Service quality impacts relationship commitment indirectly through trust; and (3) Shared value significantly impacts both trust and relationship commitment.
Key Words: Service Quality, Shared Value, Relationship Commitment, Trust, Consumer Behaviour, 3C Products Retailing
How Different Governance Structures Influence E-Marketplaces and Purchasing Performance Over Time
Sora Kang, Hee-Dong Yang, Sun-Dong Kwo and Chris Rowley
Materials used by businesses for both production (direct) and accompanying administrative or operational (indirect) activities can be purchased via both offline and also online methods, such as electronic marketplaces (e-Marketplaces). Our paper examines the performance of such online e-Marketplaces under different types of governance structure (market or relational) and over time. This examination allows us to understand better the dynamic relationship between governance and purchasing performance. This provides important results for management in a variety of locations and over different times and stages of operations.
Key Words: e-Marketplace, Governance, Performance, Supply Externality, System Integration, Longitudinal Study.