Robert E. Carter

The Impact of Organizational Orientations on Medium and Small Firm Performance: A Resource‐Based Perspective

Recent studies suggest that market, entrepreneurial, and learning orientations individually improve firm performance. In this study, we suggest that each of the orientations can enhance company success, but the potential of each orientation should not be viewed in isolation. Instead, we draw on the resource‐based view of the firm, looking at these three orientations as capabilities of small and medium‐sized enterprises (SMEs). The analysis was carried out on a sample of 164 SMEs. The results indicate that market, entrepreneurial, and learning orientations jointly give rise to positional advantage, which, in turn, is positively related to the performance of the firm.

Impact of Quality Management on Hospital Performance: An Empirical Investigation

Understanding the impact of quality management approaches on organization performance is essential in the healthcare arena. Prior research, however, is inconsistent in regard to the link between various quality management practices and firm performance. That is, some researchers find a strong link between quality management and firm performance, while others do not. The authors believe the use of causal models and an expansive view of quality management may help to bridge these opposing viewpoints or perspectives. To that end, the current research “decomposes” the construct of quality management into two subdimensions of quality practices and quality context, providing a richer conceptualization and understanding of the overall construct. Additionally, they employ structural equation modeling to evaluate the causal sequence showing that both quality practices and quality context are distinct model components concurrently operating through the endogenous construct of quality management to positively impact hospital performance. The implications for hospital managers and executives are clear: in order to improve hospital performance, the scope of the organizations quality activities need to be very broad and encompassing. Last, the authors assess the potential moderating effects of environmental uncertainty and hospital size on the quality management-performance relationship.

The Impact of Perceived Service Quality on MBA Student Satisfaction and Recommendations: Do Expectations Matter?

Delivering a high level of service quality is critically important as a means of generating and maintaining loyal customers. That is, exceptional levels of service quality lead to satisfied customers that may recommend the product or service to their friends. However, there is no consensus on the moderating impact that consumer expectations may exhibit on this relationship. Rather, there are two theoretical and empirically supported streams of research. Parasuraman et al. (1988, 1994) find that consumer expectations are important, while Cronin and Taylor (1992, 1994) come to the opposite conclusion. This research attempts to partially resolve this discrepancy by testing the impact of students expectations on the focal relationship between service quality and recommendations, in the context of an MBA program.

Will consumers pay a premium for ethical information

Purpose - The purpose of this paper is to identify the factors that may influence a consumer to pay a premium for a product or service communicating ethical information. Design/methodology/approach - A survey was administered to 77 subjects and a conceptual model of five specific inter-related constructs was tested using LISREL. Findings - There is a sequence of events that leads consumers to be willing to pay a premium for a product communicating ethical information. This sequence starts with the need for information which, in turn, leads to socially responsible behavior and social sacrifice and, finally, to the intention to pay a premium. Importantly, this sequence is positively moderated by monetary resources available to spend in the category. Research limitations/implications - To increase generalizability, this study should be replicated among other sample compositions and for additional products and/or services. Practical implications - The research details the multi-step consumer decision-making process that marketers need to understand in order to market a premium priced product that delivers a social benefit. Originality/value - Socially responsible behavior is not sufficient by itself for a consumer to pay a premium for a product communicating ethical information. Rather, socially responsible behavior leads to a willingness to make a sacrifice which then leads to intentions to pay a premium price.

Effect of salespeople's acquisition–retention trade-off on performance

This research examines the impact of the acquisition–retention resource allocation at the individual salesperson level – that is, the proportion of their time dedicated to acquisition versus retention activities – on their sales performance. We extend prior research that investigates the acquisition–retention trade-off below (i.e., customer value approach) or above (i.e., firm portfolio approach) the salespersons perspective by also incorporating many ‘within-firm’ factors that are critical to capturing the contingent nature of the allocation decision. The results suggest that firms can double their sales gains by implementing a trade-off strategy that customizes the acquisition allocation at the salesperson level. Using matched triadic data gathered from 227 salespersons, 106 supervisors and the sellers database, the authors find an inverted U-shaped linkage between the proportion of time allocated to acquisition activities and sales performance. Moderation analyses show that salespeoples optimal acquisition allocation depends on their knowledge breadth and job commitment, their supervisors experience and job commitment and the quantity and quality of the prospects in their relationship portfolio.

Using student-choice behaviour to estimate tuition elasticity in higher education

Abstract Prior research on student response to changes in university prices (tuition) finds that demand is inelastic. We present results, based on separate models for 11 colleges (n = 5606) at a major US university, that run counter to published findings. We discuss fundamental differences between our methods and those used in (most) previous research to explain our findings. Rather than use market level data, we model individual student-choice behaviour and derive market level implications via upward aggregation. Our modelling uses discrete-choice experiments in which choice sets are customised in real-time to reflect each respondents true consideration set of schools as well as to capture elements of inter-university competition. Published research using market-level data, though appropriate for national policy debates, is not necessarily useful for governance decisions at the university level. We illustrate using tuition elasticities estimated by college and further show that elastic demand can have deleterious effects on the quality of an incoming class even when demand for seats far outstrips supply.

Faculty Scholarship Has a Profound Positive Association with Student Evaluations of Teaching--Except When It Doesn't.

Conventional wisdom holds that research-productive faculty are also the finest instructors. But, is this commonly held belief correct? In the current study, the notion that faculty scholarship exhibits a positive association with teaching evaluations is investigated. Reflecting the data structure of faculty nested within university, the current study uses hierarchical linear modeling, and finds that scholarship displays a positive correspondence with teaching evaluations, but only for male faculty publishing in elite or top-tier marketing journals. Although this linkage is only found under specific conditions, it stands in contrast to much of the extant literature, which reports little to no correlation between research and teaching evaluations. In addition, significant control variables and interactions, at both the faculty level (i.e., gender, faculty title) and university level (i.e., tuition, entry GPA, flagship university), are identified. In total, the findings suggest that while there is an association between elite publications and student evaluations, the primacy of research in the academy may, nonetheless, not always be in the best interest of students.

The Impact of Entrepreneurial Orientation, Technological Capability, and Consumer Attitude on Firm Performance: A Multi-Theory Perspective: JOURNAL OF SMALL BUSINESS MANAGEMENT

Despite the maturing entrepreneurial orientation literature, limited advance has occurred in the theoretical aspect of entrepreneurial orientation–firm performance relationship, and wide‐ranging empirical investigations are few. The authors address these concerns by testing a comprehensive model and by extending the theoretical boundary. Specifically, drawing on dynamic capability theory, core competence perspective, and consumer theories, we argue that technological capability is central for growth and financial performance of an entrepreneurially oriented firm. We introduce a construct called consumer attitude dynamism. We reason that this variable influences the growth of entrepreneurial firms. Our theory and empirical results primarily contribute to the entrepreneurship literature.

Will I Hit My Year-End Numbers? A Brand-Performance Forecasting Model: The Case for Benchmarking Sales and Advertising Spending

ABSTRACT This study investigated the sales and advertising “build” curves for 15 consumer packaged-goods (CPG) categories, for both new products and established brands. Build curves reflect cumulative sales at any given time period divided by the 52-week sales. The author identified commonalities across category in the sales and advertising build curves. The goal: to develop benchmarks that brand managers can employ to assess how their brands are performing. Further, the author believes, these benchmarks are the basis for developing a simple and direct means of forecasting year-end sales based on actual sales over an interim time period.