Michael R. Mullen

Structural equation modelling: guidelines for determining model fit

The following paper presents current thinking and research on fit indices for structural equation modelling. The paper presents a selection of fit indices that are widely regarded as the most informative indices available to researchers. As well as outlining each of these indices, guidelines are presented on their use. The paper also provides reporting strategies of these indices and concludes with a discussion on the future of fit indices.

Research Methods in the Leading Small Business-Entrepreneurship Journals: A Critical Review with Recommendations for Future Research

Small business and entrepreneurship scholars have made significant progress toward advancing the field and gaining recognition as an important domain of scientific inquiry. However, the authors suggest that a strong methodological foundation built on state‐of‐the‐art research technologies is necessary to support further paradigmatic growth and maturation. Using Chandler and Lyons study as a benchmark for research methods through the 1990s, the study critiques research methodologies used by small business and entrepreneurship researchers over the ensuing years. The analysis includes all 665 papers published between 2001 and February of 2008 in the Journal of Small Business Management, Journal of Business Venturing, and Entrepreneurship Theory and Practice. The research outlines key methodological issues, assesses recent methodological practice, identifies current trends, and offers recommendations for researchers in adopting existing and emerging research technologies.

The servicescape as an antecedent to service quality and behavioral intentions

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to examine whether the servicescape should be subsumed as a dimension within service quality conceptualizations or whether it is a unique construct in itself which precedes service quality evaluations and behavioral intentions. The authors both propose and operationalize this model and in doing so make a theoretical contribution by demonstrating how a delineation between these two constructs is necessary in order for theory to progress in this area. Design/methodology/approach – A total of 355 customers were intercepted as they exited a retail store and surveyed using a structured questionnaire. The data were then analyzed using structural equation modeling to test the research hypotheses. Findings – This paper finds that it is more appropriate to model the servicescape as a separate construct which precedes service quality thus highlighting a need for a demarcation to be made between these important constructs. In addition, the authors find that design is a signific...

Individualism and collectivism: toward a strategy for testing measurement equivalence across culturally diverse groups

Examines critically the bulk of cross‐cultural research involving the constructs of individualism and collectivism. Highlights some of the main conceptual and methodological shortcomings in the use of these constructs and the need for refinement and synthesis in definition and measurement. Suggests a research strategy that integrates previous empirical findings in a theory‐driven approach. Proposes multiple group confirmatory factor analysis as a technique for confirming a 2‐2 factor structure for individualism and collectivism and for testing the equivalence of their measures across culturally diverse groups.

International market segmentation: : economics, national culture and time

Purpose – This paper aims to investigate the influence of economic and cultural factors, separately and combined, on international country segments and to reveal the stability of factors and country segments over time. Design/methodology/approach – Principal component analysis is used to develop three economic factors and two cultural factors borrowed from the World Value Survey. Cluster analysis is used to form country clusters based on the economic and cultural factors, separately, and then combined, to detect whether both economics and culture need to be included as bases for macro-country segmentation. Further, the authors look at these issues across time, the beginning of the decade (1990) and then at the end of the decade (1999). Findings – Results support the hypotheses that economics and culture are both necessary for country-level segmentation but reject the hypothesis of cultural convergence as a consequence of technological development and industrialization. The authors confirm that cultural va...

Evaluating Model Fit:a Synthesis of the Structural Equation Modelling Literature

The following paper presents current thinking and research on fit indices for structural equation modelling. The paper presents a selection of fit indices that are widely regarded as the most informative indices available to researchers. As well as outlining each of these indices, guidelines are presented on their use. The paper also provides reporting strategies of these indices and concludes with a discussion on the future of fit indices.

Effects of International Trade and Economic Development on Quality of Life

The authors integrate theories from macromarketing, economics, and sociology to develop a conceptual model assessing the effects of international trade and economic development on physical quality of life (PQOL), individual freedom, and the environment (carbon dioxide [CO2] emissions and environmental performance). The study introduces new measures of individual freedom and environmental performance to the macromarketing literature. Research hypotheses are tested on time-lagged data from 104 countries using structural equation modeling. Results suggest that international trade is associated with economic growth that enhances the well-being of people and their ‘‘visible’’ natural environment but with a deleterious impact on global warming through increased CO2 emissions. Increases in PQOL and individual freedom are associated with lower CO2 emissions and improved environmental performance. These findings have important implications for public policy makers, marketing academics, and practitioners.

Extending and Comparing Cavusgil's Overall Market Opportunity Indexes

The imperatives of globalization are clear across many industries: firms must look to expand into international markets to survive and thrive. This study complements and extends a growing body of work developing and using overall market opportunity indexes (OMOIs) based on Cavusgil (1997) to rank the attractiveness of potential foreign markets. The index developed in this paper assesses countries’ market potential beyond the traditional measures of market size and economic development by also including political risk, economic freedom, telecommunications as well as physical infrastructure and geographic distance. We provide a current analysis of market attractiveness and opportunity for the largest set of countries indexed and ranked to date, including 24 countries not in previous OMOI studies. The validity of the OMOI is also so assessed for the first time by comparing the ranking of market opportunity to actual subsequent trade flows from the US. Furthermore, we compare the dimensions, variables, samples and results from three of Cavusgil and colleagues previous studies and the two conducted herein. The choice of sample and, to a lesser degree, weights are shown to directly affect the OMOIs and rankings. The modified OMOI is shown to be a flexible, valid and fairly stable tool for preliminary analysis of foreign market opportunity.

Time-Lagged Effects of Exporting and Importing on Economic Development: Replication and Extension of Mullen's (1993) Model

A new model of how exporting and importing affect two dimensions of economic development was recently developed and empirically tested by Mullen (1993) with cross-sectional data. This study replicates and extends the model and analysis in several important ways. To broaden the conceptual scope, additional theoretical approaches are discussed and incorporated into the model. Then an empirical evaluation is made using new data with time-lagged export and import variables. The results support the belief that international trade affects both dimensions of economic development positively. Although the results are most pronounced with a five-year lag, the study shows that trade not only raises the aggregate economic activity of nations, but also helps satisfy basic human needs.

The Effects of International Trade on Economic Growth and Meeting Basic Human Needs

Abstract This research measures the influence of international marketing, in the form of exporting and importing on economic growth and meeting basic human needs. The conceptual model examines the effects of three categories of trade (agricultural products, raw materials, and manufacturing goods) on economic growth and meeting basic human needs. The analysis uses structural equation models with time-lagged independent variables, multiple indicators of the dependent variables, and newly-developed multivariate outlier analysis techniques. This study contributes to the marketing literature by empirically evaluating macro-level effects of international marketing, i.e., exporting and importing, and by testing the predictive validity of competing theories from sociology, economics, and marketing. The findings have practical implications for public policy officials, marketing managers, and future research.