Isaac K. Ngugi

Relational capabilities for value co‐creation and innovation in SMEs

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to examine the relational capabilities developed by small and medium‐sized suppliers in relationships with larger customers and to explore the influences of these relational capabilities on value co‐creation and innovation.Design/methodology/approach – The paper presents a framework to evaluate the types of relational capabilities developed by small and medium‐sized suppliers that enable them to manage in relationships with larger customers in the context of changing relationship requirements in the organic food sector. The methodology employed involves in‐depth case studies of small and medium‐sized UK organic food suppliers working in relationships with large retail supermarket customers.Findings – The findings suggest that the identified set of relational capabilities may be employed by small and medium‐sized suppliers to enable them to inform and support innovation and the implementation of initiatives to create value in the eyes of their current and potential cu...

The role of internal branding in nonprofit brand management: an empirical investigation

Internal branding refers to an organization’s attempts to persuade its staff to buy-in to the organization’s brand value and transform it into a reality. Drawing from self-determination theory and leadership theory, we seek to develop a deeper understanding of the process of internal branding in the nonprofit sector. More specifically, we propose and examine the mediating effects of the staff’s emotional brand attachment, staff service involvement, and the moderating effect of charismatic leadership on the brand orientation behavior–organizational performance relationship using data obtained from the representatives of 301 nonprofit organizations in the United Kingdom. On a general level, the findings suggest that staff emotional brand attachment and staff service involvement are linked to brand orientation and organizational performance. Moreover, charismatic leadership increases the strength of this linkage. All of these findings extend the literature on internal branding.

Co-creating Value in the Dyadic Relationships of Small and Large Firms in the Agri-food Sector

Abstract Given the increasing interest in the process of how value is co-created through interaction in business relationships, this paper examines the areas of collaboration, value co-creation practices and the respective co-created value in the dyadic relationships. Multiple case studies design involving in-depth interviews were undertaken with small and medium-sized suppliers (SMEs) of organic food in South West England with the dyadic relationship being the unit of analysis. The findings suggest that SME suppliers and their larger customers collaborate in many areas including: innovation, corporate social responsibility, planning and interactive learning. The collaboration led to co-creation of monetary and non-monetary values. This research advances the extant literature on value co-creation in business relationships by examining this complex phenomenon in the context of small and large firms’ dyads in the organic food sector. It is novel in identifying the linkage of the co-created value to the respective value co-creation practices and collaborative areas.

Case Study 9: M-Pesa: A Renowned Disruptive Innovation from Kenya

This case study describes the developments and success of M-Pesa. M-Pesa is the first banking app for mobile phones to be produced in the developing world. It was designed by Safaricom Limited Company in Kenya. The product has received global attention due to its uniqueness, innovativeness, rapid adoption, and the impact it has made to a large population, mostly people who are poor (bottom of pyramid). M-Pesa has many uses, including: transfer of money from person to person, buying airtime, paying utility bills and keeping the money in the M-Pesa account for future use. The product connected a population which was hitherto disconnected from accessing financial services. M-Pesa has contributed significantly to financial profits for the company as well as to societal value in the country. As an early mover in mobile banking in Kenya, Safaricom partnered with other businesses thereby broadening its agent network before competitors came into the scene. M-Pesa is a disruptive innovation. It created a new market and value network, disrupting the existing ones and becoming a major competitor against the established market leaders and alliances in the financial services sector in Kenya.

Teaching Note: Case 9: M-PESA: A Renowned Disruptive Innovation from Kenya

This case study describes the developments and success of M-Pesa. M-Pesa is the first banking app for mobile phones to be developed in the developing world. It was designed by Safaricom limited Company in Kenya The product has received global attention due to its uniqueness, innovativeness, rapid adoption, and the impact it has made to a large population, mostly people who are poor (bottom of pyramid). M-Pesa has many uses, including: transfer of money from person to person, buying airtime, paying utility bills and keeping the money in the M-Pesa account for future use. The product connected a population which was hitherto disconnected from accessing financial services. As an early mover in mobile banking in Kenya, Safaricom limited company partnered with other businesses thereby broadening its agent network before competitors came into the scene. M-Pesa is a disruptive innovation, having created a new market and value network and disrupting the existing ones and becoming a major competitor against the established market leaders and alliances in the financial services sector in Kenya.

Proactive Entrepreneurial Behaviour, Market Orientation, and Innovation Outcomes:A Study of Small- and Medium-sized Manufacturing Firms in the UK

Drawing from resource-based theory, the authors aim to study how and under what conditions small- and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) capitalise on their proactive entrepreneurial behaviour (PEB) to achieve new product development (NPD) performance.,The authors’ data were drawn from a cross-sectional questionnaire survey of 401 UK-based SMEs in the manufacturing sector.,The authors identify an upward curvilinear relationship between PEB and NPD performance. Taking a step further, the authors propose and confirm that this curvilinear association arises from, in part, SMEs’ innovation capability, which in turn translates into NPD performance. The authors also find that this upward curvilinear relationship between PEB and innovation capability flips to a downward curvilinear relationship when firms pursue a customer and competitor orientation.,This paper looks beyond the linear relationship that exists among entrepreneurial behaviour, market orientation and innovation outcomes.