Pradeep Gopalakrishna

Critical factors for successful ERP implementation: exploratory findings from four case studies

As more and more organizations move from functional to process-based IT infrastructure, ERP systems are becoming one of todays most widespread IT solutions. However, not all firms have been successful in their ERP implementations. Using a case study methodology grounded in business process change theory, this research tries to understand the factors that lead to the success or failure of ERP projects. The results from our comparative case study of 4 firms that implemented an ERP system suggest that a cautious, evolutionary, bureaucratic implementation process backed with careful change management, network relationships, and cultural readiness have a positive impact on several ERP implementations. Understanding such effects will enable managers to be more proactive and better prepared for ERP implementation. Managerial implications of the findings and future research directions are discussed.

Transitioning from Traditional to Digital Content: An Examination of Opinion Leadership and Word-of-Mouth Communication across Various Media Platforms

This study demonstrates that online product user reviews create opportunities for customer involvement with product and brand. It focuses on the resultant benefits to the firm, such as the attraction of valuable opinion leaders to the brand, positive word-of-mouth (WOM) communication about the brand, and brand preference. We examine subscribers of a leading paid subscription Web site and print magazine, as well as product review contributors, all customers of a major consumer product rating media organization. Results indicate a strong relationship between online contributors and opinion leadership, and increased WOM and brand preference for Web site subscribers.

A Cross-National Comparison of Scandinavian Value Orientations

Abstract Using the Schwartz (1992) list of (56) values and scales, this empirical study examined differences in personal value orientations among young Scandinavian females. The study used convenience samples and a group survey method to collect data on personal values from female university students in three major cities, namely, Oslo, Gothenburg and Copenhagen. The results revealed that value segmentation could be used to understand both differences and similarities across countries in the Scandinavian region, which presumably are considered homogeneous. Further, the authors suggest that important personal values can be used as promotional appeals. Finally, implications are drawn for cross-cultural marketing research and identification of promotional appeals.

Understanding virtual value chains in a retail environment: a case study of Wal-Mart

With the advent of the internet and explosion of e commerce across borders in the 21st century, global firms will adapt their value chain philosophies to capitalise on cost efficiencies and strengthen their sustainable competitive advantage. This case study illustrates the application of Rayport and Svioklas three-stage Virtual Value Chain (VVC) philosophy to Wal-Mart, the worlds largest retailer. Value chains using information technology allow managers and suppliers/vendors to track operations more effectively, with a holistic and integrated approach to managing information seamlessly. The focus of the VVC in the new economy is on information, unlike physical supply chain management where the focus was on inventory management. This paper applies the three stages of the VVC to Wal-Mart, including visibility – entailing tracking of physical operations via information; mirroring capability – substituting virtual activities for physical ones in the marketspace realm, and creation of new customer relationships using information. In particular, the authors focus upon the name of the game in supply chain management for the 21st century – collaboration among channel partners, information sharing and improved efficiencies in the value chain delivery network. Finally, this paper examines Wal-Marts physical value chain activities and the emerging VVC, as the company considers expansion globally into emerging markets.

Emphasis or Balance

Abstract A sample of 162 Indian manufacturing and service companies were used to examine different forms of market orientation and the impact of these forms on organizational performance. A cluster-analysis identified four distinct clusters: “undeveloped,” “customer-focused,” “competitor-focused,” and “comprehensive.” The performance of these clusters differed significantly across growth in overall revenue, ability to retain customers, success of new products/services, controlling operational expenses, and return on capital. Implications of these findings for firms competing in Indias post-economic liberalization milieu are discussed.

The impact of an international field study on students’ learning and consumer ethnocentrism

Utilising the consumers’ ethnocentric tendencies scale (Shimp and Sharma, 1987), undergraduate US business students participating in an international field study course were measured on their consumer ethnocentric tendencies before and after travel to Europe. Contrary to past research, this exploratory study suggests that students became slightly more ethnocentric regarding their attitudes towards foreign-made products after the travel experience. However, measures of student attitudes towards study abroad and learning outcomes were quite positive, indicating that a short international field study is a valuable experience for students who might not otherwise have the option to travel abroad.

The Impact of Arab American Ethnic Identity on the Consumption of Culture-Specific Products

ABSTRACT. This research examines the strength of Arab American ethnic identity as well as the degree of socialization with Arab friends and family, on the consumption of culture-specific products such as Middle Eastern food, dress, and entertainment. An online survey was employed to produce a diverse sample from 230 Arab Americans. The results demonstrate that the strength of Arab American ethnic identity positively predicts the consumption of Middle Eastern food, dress, and entertainment and that this effect is amplified through socialization with other Arabs as opposed to socialization with Anglo Americans. At the same time, independent of ethnic identity and socialization, the results demonstrate that Arab Americans are more likely to consume Middle Eastern than Anglo American food but much less likely to consume Middle Eastern than Anglo American dress and entertainment. Accordingly, the present research reveals that ethnic identity and socialization with the same ethnic group are important variables that predict the consumption of culture-specific products but that, independent of those variables, Arab Americans are not nearly as inclined to consume certain culture-specific products such as Middle Eastern dress and entertainment as they are Anglo American dress and entertainment.

Ad Element Liking and Its Relationship to Overall Ad Liking

Abstract This study explored differences in affective response content across three cultures and the role of these responses in predicting overall advertising liking. Based on a field survey, subjects from England, Norway and Spain evaluated cosmetic ads on a series of liking scales. Ad content was coded into elements reflecting product- or ad-related affect based on existing theory on ad evaluation criteria and on the theory of central and peripheral routes to persuasion. This study revealed that it might be difficult to achieve sameness in likeability even for international brands and beauty types. However, quite consistently across cultures, the findings suggest that the same affective processes along a peripheral route influence overall liking across cultures. Implications are drawn for future practice and research.

The Natives are Restless: The Effect of Age And Interativity on Consumer Response to Digital Information Products

New hardware platforms such as the Amazon Kindle™ and Apple’s iPad™ are providing new form factors for consuming information in digital form. In the same way that commerce has been transformed through the Internet, information consumption has seen two major transformations: the transformation of physical media from paper to computer screen as well as the transformation of readers into computer users. One of the key factors at work on consumer response to this transformation may be the potential for interactivity. The effect of interactivity on consumer satisfaction has been documented in web site, advertising and online shopping contexts. However, research regarding interactivity in the context of digital information products is limited. Additionally, education scholars have theorized that “digital natives,” who came of age in the era of proliferation of the World Wide Web, differ from “digital immigrants” in fundamental ways that would impact their response to the consumption of digital information (Prensky, 2005). This paper suggests that the positive effects of interactivity found in the contexts of web sites, advertising, and online shopping may be moderated by whether the consumer is a “digital native” or a “digital immigrant.”

Book Reviews: Business Maharajas by Gita Piramal. New Delhi: Penguin Books, 1996. 474 pp.,

The Indian business milieu is filled with scores of family-owned firms. Prior to the country’s economic liberalization program in 1991, India was more or less a closed economy. The advent of foreign firms since then has brought into sharp focus the lack of a market orientation in many of these firms. The exceptions are the businesses that Gita Piramal describes in her insightful book. The eight business leaders that the book profiles are the patriarchs of family-owned firms that have stood the test of time, made adjustments necessitated by a market economy, and built competitive and successful business empires. The biographies underscore the vision of these men and offer a testament both to their leadership as well as their diplomatic skills as they navigate the minefield of Indian politics. The profiles run the gamut from first-generation founders such as Dhirubhai Ambani to Aditya Vikram Birla, inheritor of immense wealth and power. Indian businessmen are notorious for being tight lipped. This taciturn nature comes from a fear of the tax man, as well as competitors. Piramal, a PhD in business history and a longtime financial journalist, skillfully draws out details of the business leaders by a combination of candid interviews and dogged research. She is not afraid to ask the interviewees tough questions. Thus, for example, she confronts Ambani with the oft-repeated charge against him that he manipulates the political process to secure business favors. Her intrepid nature brings out facts and opinions about these businessmen that are rare. The only fault that one can see is that the prose is sometimes breathless. Born to an impoverished family, Dhirubhai Ambani emigrated to Aden in Africa and worked as a gas station attendant. Even then, he dreamed of owning a large oil company comparable to Burma Shell, the multinational that was Ambani’s employer. His subsequent move to Bombay, India and his success as the founder of the Reliance Group of companies is legion in Indian business circles. Ambani started as a yarn trader and got into Business Maharajas by Gita Piramal. New Delhi: Penguin Books, 1996. 474 pp.,