Geon-Cheol Shin

Impact of the supplier certification program in US firms

Abstract The supplier certification program has been expanding in recent years in US industries, as they attempt to gain a competitive edge in the world market. The supplier certification program seeks to improve quality and on-time delivery, to share technology, to establish a long-term and stable relationship with a few suppliers, and to reduce cost. This study investigates whether the supplier certification program is effective or not. The survey responses from 328 eastern and mid-western manufacturing firms indicate that the program has a significant impact on quality, on-time delivery, cooperation and price.

Impact of Sales Call Adaptiveness and Customer Willingness on Sales Call Length: A Cross-Country Study of India, China, Korea, and Philippines

ABSTRACT In this empirical study across four countries (India, China, Korea, and Philippines), we examine the impact of sales call adaptiveness and customer willingness on sales call length (duration) of salespersons in these four countries. Sales call length as well as sales call quality—although important constructs in sales—are still underresearched in the domain of sales management. Our study in these four emerging markets sheds new light on enhancing sales force effectiveness. Using survey data from 847 salespersons in four countries, we analyze using multivariate analysis, and our results suggest that sales force effectiveness can be enhanced by giving them the autonomy to decide the sales call length based on the prospect quality. We also demonstrate that salespeople indulging in sales-oriented behaviors may be detrimental to the long-term relationship with customers. Emphasis on relational sales approaches would reduce sales practices such as pitching products or services to unwilling customers. Our study also highlights the interactive role of customer willingness and sales adaptiveness. We found several inter-country differences across sales practices in four countries, which have several meaningful managerial implications.

Contribution of philosophy to the advancement of marketing thought

The four papers in this special issue revisit the core concepts and key functions of marketing through philosophy. They examine the discipline as it enters its maturity amidst unprecedented global socioeconomic turmoil. As the certainties of modernity and the individualism of postmodernity melt into the uncharted lands of metamodernity, they offer a kaleidoscopic view of the big issues faced by contemporary societies through a fascinatingly eclectic mix of topics, theoretical frameworks and methodological perspectives. They call for a clean break from amoralism and a wholehearted embracement of our role as facilitators of value coproduction and agents of the ethics of gentleness.

Corporate Strategies and Performances of Korean Firms: The Unified Theory of the Firm Perspective

Abstract A good understanding of the nature of the firm is essential in developing corporate strategies, building corporate competitiveness, and establishing sound economic policy. Several theories have emerged on the nature of the firm: the neo-classical theory of the firm, the principal agency theory, the transaction cost theory, the property rights theory, the resource-based theory and the evolutionary theory. Each of these theories identify some elements that describe the nature of the firm, but no single theory is comprehensive enough to include all elements of the nature of the firm. Economists began to seek a theory capable of describing the nature of the firm within a single, all-encompassing, coherent framework. We propose a unified theory of the firm, which encompasses all elements of the firm. We then evaluate performances of Korean firms from the unified theory of the firm perspective. Empirical evidences are promising in support of the integrative theory of the firm.