Business Commons^™

The Ethnographic Method In Csr Research: The Role And Importance Of Methodological Fit, A. Erin Bass, Ivana Milosevec

Marketing and Management Faculty Publications

Corporate social responsibility (CSR) research has burgeoned in the past several decades. Despite significant advances, our review of the literature reveals a problematic gap: We know little about how culture, practices, and interactions shape CSR. On further investigation, we discover that limited research utilizes ethnography to understand CSR, which may provide some explanation for this gap. Thus, the purpose of this article is to illustrate the utility of ethnography for advancing business and society research via a multistage framework that demonstrates how three different types of ethnography may be applied to the exploration of CSR. We specifically focus on the …

Value Creation And Value Capture In The Automotive Industry: Empirical Evidence From Czechia, Petr Pavlinek, Jan Ženka

Geography and Geology Faculty Publications

This article investigates how distinct tiers of firms contribute to value creation and value capture in the automotive industry. We employ firm-level indicators to evaluate the value creation and capture of distinct supplier tiers in the Czech automotive industry, while considering differences between foreign-owned and domestic firms. Our analysis suggests that the economic effects of the automotive industry largely depend on its capital intensity and that mostly foreign-owned higher tier firms generate and capture greater value than lower tier firms, which include the vast majority of domestic suppliers.

Tons: A Guide To Teaching On-Line Sales Courses, Cindy B. Rippé, Suri Weisfeld-Spolter, Shannon Cummins, Barbara Dastoor

Marketing & Entrepreneurship Faculty Publications

Purpose of the Study: This study describes a creative solution to teaching on-line sales(TONS). On-line education is increasingly in demand; yet, many sales instructors are unsure of how to transfer this interactive, skills-based course from face-to-face to an on-line format. The on-line course is described in detail, with weekly topics, assignments, rubrics, and teaching materials available. The skills-based active learning format develops student knowledge and know-how while building to a final project. Importantly, the technological and time considerations for instructors are kept to a minimum.

Method/Design and Sample: This study tests the use of the on-line TONS teaching …

Using Sales Competition Videos In A Principles Of Marketing Class To Improve Interest In A Sales Career, Shannon Cummins, Terry Loe, James W. Peltier

Marketing & Entrepreneurship Faculty Publications

Purpose of the Study: This study describes an easily conducted teaching innovation to enhance introductory marketing students’ perception of sales and selling. Sales jobs are plentiful; yet, many marketing students do not pursue sales courses or sales careers. Our purpose is to describe a classroom intervention that improves students’ intent to pursue a sales career.

Method/Design and Sample: This study tests the classroom inclusion of an actual student sales competition video from the National Collegiate Sales Competition (NCSC) to provide visual as well as verbal learning stimuli. Following a 45 minute lecture on sales, students were exposed to …

The Technology Effect: How Perceptions Of Technology Drive Excessive Optimism, Brent B. Clark, Christopher Robert, Stephen A. Hampton

Marketing and Management Faculty Publications

Purpose: We propose that constant exposure to advances in technology has resulted in an implicit association between technology and success that has conditioned decision makers to be overly optimistic about the potential for technology to drive successful outcomes. Three studies examine this phenomenon and explore the boundaries of this “technology effect.”

Design/Methodology/Approach: In Study 1, participants (N = 147) made simulated investment decisions where the information about technology was systematically varied. In Study 2 (N = 143), participants made decisions in a resource dilemma where technology was implicated in determining the amount of a resource available for harvest. Study 3 …

Customer Service Through Incoterms, Josh Nichol-Caddy

White Papers

Settling for the "one size, fits all" shipping solutions typically offered by large logistics companies, small businesses miss out on customer service options that could help differentiate their products. This paper defines the terms and conditions of all the options Incoterms present.

Five Key Ways To Pitch Your Idea To Investors, Wei Jing

White Papers

Here are five key ways by which a startup can effectively pitch their ideas, focusing specifically on communicating financial information.

Eight Techniques For Favorable Negotiation Outcomes, Richard B. Uhing

White Papers

Before entering into negotiation, planning is essential. The person with the right mindset is more in control and will achieve the better outcome. These techniques will help you and your business negotiate successfully.

Job Shop Misconceptions: Making The Case For Lean, Renee Held

White Papers

In today's competitive business environment, a focus on continuous improvement through Lean can make a big difference in the financial success and growth of a business.

Is The Woman-Owned Federal Contracting Program A Good Choice For Your Business?, Mary L. Graff

White Papers

Set asides narrow the playing field and increase your chance of winning contracts. A contracting specialist explains the federal government set-aside program for woman-owned businesses and explores the advantages and disadvantages.

Perceptions Of Cause-Related Marketing Tactics, Robert Bernier

White Papers

Study of small business owners in Nebraska reveals reluctance to make judgements about tactics intended to manipulate customers and more certainty about genuine charitable actions.

Want To Sell To The Government? Do Your Market Research!, Veronica Doga

White Papers

How many times have you heard that government buys everything you can think of? In general, it is true. And, means a huge opportunity for small businesses.

Linkages And Spillovers In Global Production Networks: Firm-Level Analysis Of The Czech Automotive Industry, Petr Pavlinek, Pavla Žížalová

Geography and Geology Faculty Publications

The aim of this article is to analyze the linkages between and spillovers from foreign-owned (foreign) to domestic-owned (domestic) firms in the Czech automotive industry. Theoretically and conceptually, our research draws on two strands of literature: spillovers, linkages and effects of foreign direct investment on domestic firms and regional economic development; and literature on global production networks, global value chains and industrial upgrading. Empirical analysis is based upon unique data collected by the authors through a questionnaire completed by 317 foreign and domestic firms in 2009 and on-site interviews with 100 firms conducted between 2009 and 2011. Data analysis has …

Evaluating Information Technology (It) Integration Risk Prior To Mergers And Acquisitions (M&A), Deepak Khazanchi, Vipin Arora

Information Systems and Quantitative Analysis Faculty Publications

Corporate mergers and acquisitions (M&A) are considered significant, from both a strategic and an economic point of view, across almost all sectors of the economy.¹ M&A is a complex process involving risk that ranges from financial and legal matters to sales and marketing challenges and everything in between. Despite well-established benefits of strategically driven expansion and integration of businesses through M&A, the consolidated organization exposes itself to a number of anticipated, unknown and unintended risk factors. The risk concerns the overall organizational integration of some or all of the previously distinct and interdependent assets, structures, business processes, technologies, systems, …

Improving Collaborative Convergence Through Distributed And Parallel Sorting, Christopher B. R. Diller, Joel H. Helquist, John Kruse

Management Faculty Publications

This paper examines a convergence process of organizing ideas that are generated during collaborative idea generation activities. The method presented reduces the impact of organizing brainstorming ideas on individual participants by dividing the convergence activity into smaller, discrete tasks that can be completed individually, and in parallel, by the participants. The entire pool of brainstorming ideas is subdivided into smaller pools and each participant is then tasked with organizing one of the subsets of ideas. The results show that by dividing up the overall activity into subtasks, the subjects experienced a more favorable environment. Furthermore, the subjects were able to …