John Lipinski

The role of the marketing function in small and medium sized enterprises

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to examine marketing in small and medium‐sized enterprises (SMEs), its role as a driver of competitive advantage, and, therefore, its importance to the firm.Design/methodology/approach – The study is conducted with 100 SMEs located in the mid‐Atlantic region of the United States.Findings – The marketing function is not as well developed or influential in SMEs as it is in large corporations. Two environmental factors, type of market (consumer) and firm orientation (hierarchal), facilitate marketings influence within a firm.Research limitations/implications – Analyses conducted and conclusions reached in this research are based on a very limited sample of SMEs located in one region of one country. Broader sampling would help in generalization of the findings.Practical implications – The results of this study are particularly troubling because marketing resources are one driver of competitive advantage. For marketing to increase in influence, individuals trained in mar...

Cliques, Rumors, and Gossip by the Water Cooler: Female Bullying in the Workplace

Aggression in the workplace has developed as a topic of interest to many in the past decade. Although aggression has been traditionally distinguished in the theoretical and empirical literature as sexual aggression (harassment) and nonsexual aggression, in this manuscript the authors will argue that there are also unique characteristics as well as effects upon recipients of a particular kind of nonsexual aggression: workplace bullying. In particular, a specific type of bullying primarily used by women, relational aggression, will be reviewed and recommendations for managers in addressing relational aggression and bullying in the workplace will be offered.

A Preliminary Study of Bully and Victim Behavior in Old-for-Grade Students: Another Potential Hidden Cost of Grade Retention or Delayed School Entry

Mounting evidence suggests that being an old-for-grade student, as a result of grade retention or delayed school entry, is related to negative outcomes across various domains of functioning. No known study has examined the relations between old-for-grade status and specific childhood/adolescent bully and victim behaviors. The first purpose of this preliminary study was to determine whether old-for-grade students engage in significantly more relational bullying, verbal bullying, and physical bullying compared with age-appropriate-for-grade peers. The second purpose was to establish whether old-for-grade students are more likely to play passive or aggressive/provocative victim roles compared with age-appropriate-for-grade students. A total of 16 public and private school teachers completed a bullying behavior questionnaire regarding each of their students. The authors analyzed data from 276 students; of these, 67 were old-for-grade students and 209 were age-appropriate-for-grade students. Findings suggest that old-for-grade status is related to significantly more bullying behavior and victim behavior compared with age-appropriate-for-grade peers. In addition, the authors discuss the critical implications of these research findings.

Bullying and Substance Use in Children and Adolescents

Both substance use and bullying tend to be pervasive and potentially dangerous problems that are experienced by children and adolescents. However, little is known about the connection, if any, between these two behaviors. In this paper, the hypothesized relationship between substance use and bullying are discussed as well as possible risk and protective factors. Also, future directions of research are proposed as both researchers and schools try to better understand both bullying and substance use in child and adolescent populations.

R&D Alliances and the Effect of Experience on Innovation A Focus on the Semiconductor Industry

Past success and failure shapes the future decisions of an organization. Recent research shows that experience with previous strategic alliances is an important determinant for new alliances. However, the benefits of past experience depreciate rapidly, and the total number of long-dated experiences does not appear to be a major source of success in dynamic industries. The authors extend Sampsons work to the semiconductor industry to determine the effect of experience on these firms. This article offers an interesting extension to previous studies on experience effects and shows that experience does matter in amount and recency.

Relational, social, and overt aggression among aggressive and nonaggressive female adolescents

In this study, researchers wished to further study the differentiation among forms of aggression in a diverse sample of adolescent females. Specifically, the self-reported use of relational, social, and direct verbal and physical aggression was measured in Caucasian and non-Caucasian typically developing versus overtly aggressive adolescent females. No statistically significant differences were found between typically developing and overtly aggressive adolescent female samples in the use of social or relational aggression; however, overtly aggressive adolescents reported using direct verbal or physical aggression significantly more than typically developing adolescents. Caucasian adolescents reported using significantly more relationally aggressive behaviors than non-Caucasian adolescents. No statistically significant differences were found in socially aggressive behaviors between Caucasian and non-Caucasian adolescent female samples. Implications for these findings are discussed.

A Cross-Cultural Investigation of Relational and Social Aggression in Female College Students from Puerto Rico and the United States

Researchers compared scores on a self-report measure of relational and social aggression using 2 groups, European American female university students (M = 20.23 years, SD = 3.88) from the mid-Atlantic region of the United States and Hispanic females from Puerto Rico (M = 19.34 years, SD = 1.26). Results indicate that cultural differences were evident in the use of relational and social aggression. The exclusively Hispanic Puerto Rican sample reported being more socially aggressive than the European American, mid-Atlantic sample. In contrast, the European American sample identified as being more relationally aggressive in their relationships than the Hispanic Puerto Rican sample. This distinction allows us to consider potential cultural differences in interpersonal relations in college-age females.

Brand communities: influencing organisations’ identities and their perception of the business environment

Companies strive to be in step with the marketplace. An organisations identity shapes how it perceives the business environment and affects its market orientation. As media and entertainment choices multiply and evolve, it becomes more complex for companies to easily reach a broad audience. One solution to this problem is for companies to interact more directly with brand communities; specialised, non-geographically bound communities based on a structured set of social relations among admirers of a brand. Integrating and interacting with brand communities and allowing them to influence an organisations identity will help companies to become more market-oriented and influence their perception of the business environment to more accurately reflect actual market conditions.

Teachers’, LGBTQ Students’, and Student Allies’ Perceptions of Bullying of Sexually-Diverse Youth

ABSTRACT In this study, educators, LGBTQ (gay, lesbian, bisexual, transgender, or questioning their sexuality) students, and their allies in a southwestern Pennsylvania sample reported their perceptions of bullying of LGBTQ youth and school climate and awareness of anti-bullying laws and policies within their school systems. Results indicate differences in students’ and educators’ perceptions of the frequency of bullying of LGBTQ students and support for LGBTQ students. LGBTQ students report significantly more bullying of LGBTQ students than their straight allies as well as educators for all forms of bullying assessed. Additionally, educators perceive higher levels of support for students from school personnel and students than reported by students. The importance of educator understanding and intervention in the bullying experiences of LGBTQ students is discussed.

LGBTQ and Heterosexual Adolescents’ Use of Indirect Forms of Aggression

ABSTRACT In this study, researchers investigated whether lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and questioning (LGBTQ) adolescents use indirect aggression and exhibit prosocial behavior in their relationships at rates comparable to their heterosexual peers. In a sample of 666 college students (median age = 19.5 years), LGBTQ adolescents (N = 22) used relationally and socially aggressive behaviors at a level consistent with their heterosexual peers. This suggests that sexual orientation identification does not appear to differentially affect the use of indirectly aggressive behaviors during social interactions. There were also no differences in self-reported interpersonally mature behaviors (e.g., use of prosocial skills) exhibited by heterosexual and LGBTQ adolescents in this sample, which indicates that sexual and gender identity were also unrelated to the use of prosocial behaviors.