Lale Gumusluoglu

Segmenting food markets - the role of ethnocentrism and lifestyle in understanding purchasing intentions

Previous research on ethnocentrism and lifestyle has focused on attitudinal segmentation. However, consumer attitudes may not always be consistent with the actual purchasing decision. Since behavioural intentions are more proximal predictors of behaviours than attitudes, segmenting markets using purchasing intentions might be more appropriate. The purpose of this study is to use purchasing intention to examine whether lifestyle and ethnocentrism can be useful indicators in segmenting foreign and domestic food markets. Data were collected from 1856 households in Turkey. Ethnocentrism, lifestyle (with its dimensions of fashion consciousness, cost consciousness, health consciousness, and craftsmanship) and demographics proved to be valid instruments in segmenting domestic and foreign food markets. The findings have implications both for foreign marketers who operate in or plan to enter the emerging Turkish food industry, and for domestic operators.

The Bright and Dark Sides of Leadership: Transformational vs. Non-Transformational Leadership in a Non-Western Context

The present study aims to explore positive and negative leadership behaviours (i.e. transformational and non-transformational leadership) in a non-Western ‘change and transformation’ context through qualitative methods. Thirty-one semi-structured interviews were conducted with knowledge workers in Turkey. In addition to the original dimensions found in the literature, four categories of transformational leadership emerged: benevolent paternalism, implementation of the vision, employee participation and teamwork, and proactive behaviour. Among these categories, benevolent paternalism was identified to be the most frequently mentioned aspect of transformational leadership in the Turkish context, which implies that cultural context may influence the form and enactment of transformational leadership. Regarding non-transformational leadership, five categories emerged: destructive, closed, passive/ineffective, active-failed and a miscellaneous category. Among these, destructive leadership that includes authoritarian elements was identified as the most frequently mentioned form of non-transformational leadership. These findings imply that non-transformational leadership comes in many forms, supporting the numerous constructs on the destructive/unethical–ineffective/incompetent continuum found in the negative leadership literature. The findings are discussed with reference to the literature and to social change in Turkey.

Moderating Effects of Climate and External Support on Transformational Leadership and Technological Innovation: An Investigation in Creative Ventures in Turkey

The purpose of this study was to investigate the influence of transformational leadership on technological innovation at the organizational level. Specifically, it was proposed that transformational leadership would have a positive effect on organizational innovation. Furthermore, this effect was proposed to be moderated by an innovation-supporting climate and support received from external organizations. These relationships were tested on 163 R&D personnel and managers of 43 micro- and small-sized Turkish entrepreneurial software development companies. The results confirmed the positive impact of transformational leadership on organizational innovation, which was measured with a market-oriented criterion developed specifically for developing countries and newly developing industries. Furthermore, the relationship between transformational leadership and organizational innovation was stronger when external support was at high levels than when there was no external support. The moderating effect of an innovation-supporting climate was not significant. Managerial implications as well as policy recommendations are provided, for micro and small-sized enterprises in particular

A Multilevel Examination of Benevolent Leadership and Innovative Behavior in R&D Contexts: A Social Identity Approach

Studies of innovation have emphasized the importance of leadership for individual or team innovative behaviors, but have largely ignored cross-team innovative behaviors. Enhancing innovative behaviors across teams is particularly vital for organizations relying on large-scale, complex, and multiteam projects to compete in a dynamic environment. We extend the innovation literature by introducing benevolent leadership as an antecedent to innovative behavior within and across teams. We examine identification to the team and department as mediators based on social identity theory in a sample of 397 R&D employees (consisting of 68 teams). First, individuals reported that benevolent R&D leaders facilitate innovative behavior within their teams when employees are highly identified with these teams. Second, on average, teams reported that benevolent R&D leaders enhance their teams’ innovative behavior across the boundaries when these teams are highly identified with the R&D department. Finally, in contrast to social identity theory’s expectations, individuals reported that benevolent R&D leaders facilitate their innovative behaviors with other teams when employees are highly identified with their teams. The theoretical and practical implications of our findings along with suggestions for future research are discussed.

How to Address the Turkish Paradox of Innovation to Build a Competitive Economy

The ability to innovate has become a crucial prerequisite of strong organizations as well as economies. Theoretical and empirical evidence demonstrates that developing countries with effective innovation policies and well-functioning national innovation systems are better positioned to close the development gap and improve their competitiveness. Turkey started discussing the innovation subject from the policy perspective in the mid-1990s, during the same time as the EU, where—at that time—a wide-ranging debate was stimulated by the “Green Paper on Innovation,” and the government defined its main objective in this topic as “the establishment of the National Innovation System that would enable systematic operation of the whole institutions and mechanisms required to carry out scientific and technological research and development activities and to transform the results of those activities into economic and social benefit.” However, until today, this goal has not been fully achieved and the innovation performance remained below the desired level. Although innovation performance is low, demand for innovative products/services, one of the prime drivers of innovation, is very high in Turkey. Departing from this paradox, this chapter discusses how to increase the innovative capabilities of the Turkish firms in favor of a competitive economy.