Pablo A. Muñoz-Gallego

Mobile banking rollout in emerging markets: evidence from Brazil

Purpose – The aim of this paper is to investigate the perceived obstacles to the adoption of mobile banking services among Brazilian internet users and search for patterns according to socio‐demographics variables.Design/methodology/approach – Data were collected through an online survey involving the internet banking customers of a major Brazilian bank. A total of 3,585 usable cases were collected from customers who do not use any kind of mobile devices (cell phones, PDAs or Smartphones) to access electronic banking services. The main reasons for rejecting the service were explored using multidimensional scaling, while chi‐square tests were used to assess differences between socio‐demographic variables.Findings – The results indicate that the majority of respondents do not use any kind of mobile banking service. Perception of cost, risk, low perceived relative advantage and complexity were revealed to be the main reasons behind the reluctance to use the service. The influence of other background factors ...

Role of entrepreneurship and market orientation in firms' success

Purpose – This article aims to offer empirical evidence pertaining to the relationship among entrepreneurship, market orientation and business performance within the context of disadvantaged socio‐economic regions of the European Union.Design/methodology/approach – Two groups of hypotheses investigate the relationship between entrepreneurship and market orientation and the joint effect of these dimensions on performance. All questions are approached using survey data from 183 firms located in the Castilla y Leon region, Spain.Findings – A strong relationship exists between entrepreneurship and market orientation. Although these orientations may be implemented separately, firms emphasise entrepreneurship when they are market‐oriented. Therefore, the strong relationship and complementarities between entrepreneurship and market orientation reduce the effort involved in the joint adoption of both orientations. Both orientations also demonstrate a strong relationship with performance, such that each contribute...

Assessment of potential retail segmentation variables An approach based on a subjective MCI resource allocation model

Abstract The application of a multiplicative competitive interaction (MCI) resource allocation model to assess potential segmentation variables in terms of their capacity to homogenise consumers’ patronage preferences is proposed. The method consists of grouping the potential customers by the variable in question, determining the shopping profile of each resulting segment, and comparing the results to identify insightful relationships between the variable and the shoppers’ retail selection criteria. An empirical test of the procedure in the context of the grocery retail market is subsequently presented and confirms the importance of evaluating easy-measurable demographic and socioeconomic variables as orientative indicators of shopping behaviour.

Organizational and Environmental Factors as Moderators of the Relationship between Multidimensional Innovation and Performance

Abstract Primary objectives: This article provides empirical evidence regarding the moderating role of organizational and environmental factors in the relationship between innovation and business performance. Research design and methods: Specifically, it analyses the relationship between different types of innovation and performance and establishes two blocks of hypotheses regarding the possible moderating effects of business factors (e.g., firm size with regard to structure, market orientation with respect to the organizational culture), and the business environment, relative to the sector and competition. The empirical analysis includes 440 Spanish companies and encompasses four sectors of activity: Industry, construction, agriculture, and services. Results and conclusions: Marketing, management, and product innovation actions provide the best performance for companies. Such results are moderated by organizational and environmental factors. The role of market orientation and environmental dynamism are specially significant on relationship. Originality/value: Previous literature on moderates of the innovation–performance relationship is limited. This research contribute on several aspects: (1) Determine the size and market orientation act as moderators of the relationship; (2) differentiate whether the individual moderators differently affect any particular act of innovation (management, organization, marketing, product or production processes); (3) distinguish between various types of business performance indicators and grouping them according to their effectiveness, efficiency or adaptability.

On the Consequences of Market Orientation Across Varied Environmental Dynamism and Competitive Intensity Levels

Many firms attempt to develop market‐oriented attitudes and behaviors because of their presumably positive consequences for performance. A market orientation can provide the cultural basis for successful differentiation strategies focused on customer satisfaction. However, inconclusive evidence regarding the relationship between market orientation and performance demands an analysis of possible moderators. This paper therefore analyzes the moderating role of environmental characteristics in the market orientation–performance relationship. Heterogeneous methodologies and measures could explain some diversity in empirical results. Moreover, both the market orientation–performance relationship and the moderating effects of environment dynamism, turbulence, hostility, and complexity may depend on more general characteristics of the environment. A complete diagnostic of the moderating effect of the environment must analyze phenomena in different socioeconomic and political–regulatory contexts. Therefore, the authors (1) analyze the moderating role of environmental dynamism and competitive intensity; (2) consider a broad range of performance measures, distinguished as effectiveness, efficiency, and adaptability measures and as financial and operational measures; and (3) focus on a priority 1 region of the uropean nion, characterized by small and medium‐sized enterprises that face a global competitive scenario from a disadvantaged local environment. The empirical results support the positive relationship between market orientation and performance and indicate the relationship is inhibited by competitive intensity, which contrasts with existing arguments and empirical results.

Service Quality Perceptions, Online Visibility, and Business Performance in Rural Lodging Establishments

In the tourism industry, most customer feedback and searches for relevant information take place online. Therefore, it is important to improve understanding of the business consequences of both customers’ online comments and businesses’ online visibility. For this study, the authors collected comments and visibility data (advertising expenditures) from a leading rural tourism infomediary website, related to 408 French rural lodging establishments. A complementary survey provided information about the lodging establishments’ performance (reputation and profitability). The results reveal that tourists’ positive perceptions of global service quality, as reflected in their comments, depend on their dual perceptions of the lodging and the surroundings. In turn, positive global service quality perceptions and visibility on an infomediary website positively affect business performance. These findings have implications for tourism scholars, as well as for establishment owners trying to track the factors that affect tourists’ evaluations of their service provision.

Role of collaboration in innovation success: differences for large and small businesses

This article analyses the role of collaboration in the contribution of innovation to business performance. Moreover, the analysis considers business size as a key control variable to understand the moderating role of collaboration in innovation success. A survey administered to Spanish firms from industrial, building, agriculture, and trade-service sectors measured two levels of innovation, incremental and radical, and two dimensions of collaboration, channel and consulting advice. The findings show that the probability of success increases when firms use collaboration to support innovation efforts. In addition, small businesses take more advantage of channel collaboration, whereas large businesses rely more on consulting advice-based collaboration. These findings suggest that the convenience of different collaboration approaches depend on business size. Also small and large firms differ on the way they might get additional advantages from alternative ways of collaboration. Therefore, the main contribution is the understanding of how innovation success depends on the interaction between the collaboration approach and business size.

ENTREPRENEURSHIP AND MARKET ORIENTATION AS DETERMINANTS OF INNOVATION: THE ROLE OF BUSINESS SIZE

In an important effort to understand what enhances innovation, the extent to which innovative actions rest on organisational values, beliefs and interests is particularly crucial. This study analyses the impact of organisational culture — specifically, the firms entrepreneurial and market orientation — on different innovation dimensions. It also considers the role of business size in the relationship between organisational culture and innovation. An empirical study with a sample of 440 variously sized enterprises from five industrial sectors in Spain demonstrates the relationship between market orientation and entrepreneurship and innovation. Business size does not cause the relationship, though it moderates the relationship regarding management and marketing innovations.

e-Service Quality: The Internet Bank Case

The perceived quality has been described as a major determinant of the consumer satisfaction, but only a few works have been applied to eBank. In this work we have integrated the perceived utility construct from Technology Acceptance Models (TAM) with perceived quality from SERVQUAL literature. A specific scale has been developed and applied to an online survey at a major Portuguese eBank. 754 valid observations had been collected and structural equation modelling methodology was used. Perceived quality has been formalized as a second order construct and the results shows that it is composed by products and services, convenience and trust in the information. The majority of clients are young men, who have experience with this kind of service and that the perceived quality has a relevant positive impact on satisfaction.

Connections between entrepreneurial orientation, marketing capability and business performance perception: empirical evidence from micro and small business retailers

A literatura academica atual apresenta progresso no entendimento do desenvolvimento de estrategias das empresas, quanto ao aprimoramento das competencias e recursos, para enfrentar a concorrencia e a turbulencia do ambiente competitivo. Neste trabalho sao examinados os relacionamentos dos construtos orientacao empreendedora (NAMAN; SLEVIN, 1993) e capacidade de marketing (VORHIES; HARKER, 2000) no desempenho empresarial (GONZALES-BENITO; GONZALES-BENITO; MUNOZ-GALLEGO, 2009) percebido pelos gestores, focando as pequenas empresas varejistas. Foram avaliadas as evidencias empiricas de modelos propostos na literatura para orientacao empreendedora, capacidade de marketing, desempenho empresarial e o papel dos seus relacionamentos sob os efeitos moderadores do tipo da empresa, local da sua instalacao e a idade desde a sua fundacao. Os dados foram coletados em uma amostra transversal nao probabilistica de 262 empresas do comercio e de servico, localizadas no Estado de Mato Grosso do Sul. As hipoteses foram testadas por meio das abordagens estatisticas da analise fatorial exploratoria e da modelagem das equacoes estruturais, empregando-se a estimacao da maxima verossimilhanca e indices de ajuste do modelo conceitual. A verificacao dos dados empiricos proporciona evidencias para a confirmacao dos modelos teoricos adotados, favorecendo a inferencia de que as pequenas empresas varejistas alcancam maior desempenho empresarial, quanto maior a intensidade da orientacao empreendedora e da capacidade de marketing. As evidencias empiricas suportam que nao existem diferencas significativas nas praticas da orientacao empreendedora e da capacidade de marketing entre as empresas do tipo micro ou pequena. No entanto, foram observadas praticas diferentes entre estes dois construtos para as empresas quanto a sua localizacao, idade e setor empresarial. No que se refere as implicacoes gerenciais, decorrentes dos resultados deste artigo, leva a sugestao que os empresarios varejistas adotem uma postura mais empreendedora, no conhecimento das acoes estrategicas dos concorrentes e no entendimento dos desejos e necessidades dos consumidores, como na intensificacao das ferramentas de marketing para a obtencao de maior desempenho empresarial. Destaca-se a originalidade deste estudo ao suprir as possiveis lacunas de poucos estudos empiricos relacionados as acoes estrategicas e o desempenho empresarial das pequenas empresas varejistas, disponiveis na literatura nacional e internacional.