Melanie P. Lorenz

Service excellence in the light of cultural diversity: the impact of metacognitive cultural intelligence

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to understand when, how, and why service employees adapt the service encounter to meet the values and expectations of culturally disparate customers. Design/methodology/approach The authors tested the hypothesized framework utilizing a scenario-based experimental study. In total, a sample of 296 prospective restaurant service employees were asked to evaluate their willingness to adapt their behavior when faced with cultural differences as well as out group status. Furthermore, respondents were asked to assess their level of metacognitive cultural intelligence. Findings The authors found that both perceived cultural differences and out group status positively affect the service employee’s willingness to adapt their behavior. Further, cultural intelligence (CQ) positively moderates one of those two direct relationships. Originality/value The authors extend the literature on the service-adjustment process, as well as the managerial implications of service adjustment. The study is among the first to introduce the role of the service employees’ CQ in adaptation to an intercultural service encounter.

A quest for global entrepreneurs: the importance of cultural intelligence on commitment to entrepreneurial education

This article extends the management construct of cultural intelligence (CQ) to the entrepreneurship literature by examining CQ in the context of commitment to entrepreneurial education as a proxy for entrepreneurial intentions. Using a convenience sample of students enrolled in an entrepreneurship class, we investigated the relationships of international experience, CQ and commitment to entrepreneurial education. Our findings suggest international experience is positively related to CQ (H1) and CQ is positively related to commitment to entrepreneurial education (H2). Additionally, CQ mediates the relationship between international experience and commitment (H3). This research demonstrates the usefulness of CQ within the entrepreneurial context in the expanding global economy. Discussion and areas for future research focus on further testing of the proposed relationships in other entrepreneurial populations. Also, implications for entrepreneurial training and education related to increasing CQ through study and travel/living/working abroad should be explored.

Do Owners and Managers Really Differ?: An Examination of Satisfaction with Overall Firm Performance in Small and Medium-Sized Enterprises

This study examines the determinants of satisfaction with overall firm performance by owner- and non-owner-managers of SMEs. It is expected that owners of SMEs will develop contracts for non-owner-managers or monitoring practices that align the interests of agents and principals. As a result of interest alignment, the relationships between entrepreneurial orientation, views on intangible resources, focus on performance metrics and satisfaction with overall financial performance should be similar for owner- and non-owner-managers of SMEs. The study results show differences in risk-taking behaviour and views of resource development between owner-managers and non-owner-managers. However, a strong relationship between short-term performance and overall satisfaction with financial performance existed in the sample of both owner-managers and non-owner-managers.

Distance is a Janus: an exploratory study of offshored innovation

A dilemma exists in that many view offshoring as a tradeoff between cost efficiency and innovation. The purpose of this paper is to reconcile this dilemma by showing how and why offshoring to institutionally distant host countries may result in innovation. The authors introduce an institutional lens in order to understand how offshoring to institutionally distant locales affects innovation outcomes of multinational enterprises. This lens is aimed to provide an analytical tool that is less coarse and less overwhelmingly focused on institutional distance (ID) as a harsh and certain harbinger of reduced innovation performance.,The authors use primary data from the Offshoring Research Network as well as secondary data from the Frasier Institute on Economic Freedom, and Hofstede’s cultural value survey to empirically assess the distinct effects of distance on innovation at the firm level.,The authors have developed a model of distance and innovation which goes beyond the traditional assumption of distance as overwhelmingly negative. Whereas in some cases, the positive effect of formal and informal distances outweigh the negative effects stimulating innovation; in other cases, the negative effects of distance hamper innovation. Finally, some elements of distance may not have an impact on innovation outcomes at all.,While previous research stresses the negative effects of distance in general, the authors provide an ID model which, in the context of offshoring, takes into account potential positive, negative, or no effects.,The study presents global supply chain managers with a reference framework for making strategic offshoring relationships decisions.,By unbundling the inherently confounding formative construction of distance measures, eschewing the reflexive assumption that distance is always negative, and mapping theories specific to the application of distinct institutional logics to specific value-enhancing business activities (i.e. innovation), this study offers a more accurate and complete institutional picture that helps reconcile institutional theory with an empirical record that often fails to find what it predicts.

An Exploration of Frequent Service Failures in the Brazilian Airline Industry

ABSTRACT This study explores how customer evaluations of service failures and failure recurrence impact negative emotions and intent to complain. A survey of 589 Brazilian airline passengers demonstrates the meditational effect of negative emotions such that customers who perceive failures as severe and/or preventable by the airline develop more negative emotions, which subsequently increases intent to complain. We also demonstrate the moderating role of failure recurrence such that failure recurrence reduces the effect of failure severity on negative emotions. Our findings have important implications for managers and airlines in order to mitigate negative outcomes following a service failure.