Search

PurposeDemand for fake physical and digital products is a global phenomenon with substantive detrimental effects on companies and consumers. This raises various questions and issues, such as whether there are generalizable explanations of purchase intentions.Design/methodology/approachThis research is based on consumer samples from three different countries. This paper develops and tests a model based on the theory of planned behavior (TPB) to explain both the demand for counterfeits and digital piracy. Respondents were questioned about physical products (e.g. clothing, accessories) from well-known brands and digital products (e.g. software, music).FindingsSocially oriented motives such as embarrassment potential, ethical concerns and social norms explain the intention to purchase fake physical and digital products, while personally oriented motives (e.g. self-identity) have indirect effects but not a direct impact on purchase intention.Research limitations/implicationsAs our results show, we find evidence for a general model – contributing and supporting our first and primary research goal of providing a theoretically robust model that bridges the gap between two streams of literature.Practical implicationsThe fact that drivers of buying counterfeit physical and digital goods are similar across countries provides justification for companies and international organizations to bundle their efforts and thus leverage them more strongly on a global scale.Originality/valueWe provide a basis for consolidating future research on demand for counterfeits and pirated goods because underlying factors driving demand are similar across the three countries studied herein.

Purpose By drawing on various theoretical approaches and a gender perspective, this paper aims to examine business model (BM) experimentation as a step towards BM experimentation capabilities as an outcome and, as such, a key antecedent to firm performance. Design/methodology/approach In this paper, using a unique data set of 444 European small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), the authors draw on various theoretical perspectives to devise a structural equation model that examines BM experimentation as a step towards business model innovation (BMI) as an outcome and, as such, a key antecedent to firm performance. Potential differences are examined between female-owned and non-female-owned businesses with regard to hypothesized relations. Findings Multi-group analysis results reveal that drivers of BM experimentation and the paths linking BM experimentation to overall firm performance are different for female owners in comparison to male owners. Research limitations/implications Theoretical and practical implications are various. For SME entrepreneurs, experimenting with their BMs does lead to improved performance. Practical implications Theoretical and practical implications are various. For SME entrepreneurs, experimenting with their BMs does lead to improved performance. Originality/value Despite the increasing number of papers focussing on the relationship between BM and firm performance, the focus on female entrepreneurship, gender differences and BMI, more specifically the process of BMI as BM experimentation, is relatively rare.

Almost any firm faces a change during its life that requires a redefinition of the business model to be more innovative, namely business model innovation (BMI) that designs an architecture to create, capture and deliver value to customers in the marketplace and society. These changes are a great opportunity to improve revenue and costs, but the associated organizational complexity also has drawbacks, due to the set of interrelationships and linkages within the firm. This situation could be even more relevant for firms that implement Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP), due to the complexity of the software and also the difficult implementation process in the organization. In order to fill this gap, this study analyses 104 firms that have implemented ERP and deal simultaneously with BMI. The research objective is therefore to test the role of organizational complexity between ERP and BMI. Specifically, the aim is to test the mediating role of organizational complexity between ERP and BMI. Our findings reveal that organizational complexity mediates between ERP and BMI. Important implications for researchers and managers are provided to optimize ERP implementation so as to obtain a higher return on the costs and revenue associated with BMI.

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to focus on the implementation process of enterprise resource planning (ERP), the evolution of business model innovation (BMI) and the organizational outcome. This research analyses how ERP and BMI are related and, in turn, what is the final the impact on organizational performance.Design/methodology/approachThe sample consisted on 104 organizations from different industries, all of which used an ERP software. A structural equation model was used to test the six hypotheses.FindingsThe results indicate that the BMI constructs considered (i.e. value-generation and organizational complexity) mediate the impact of the ERP constructs (organizational adaptation and organizational resistance), in organizational performance. Successful ERP implementation is not an end itself for this companies, but merely a path and a process for improving the business model with the aim improving performance in the marketplace.Research limitations/implicationsThis study offers a new outlook on how a company should leverage the ERP adaptation, and any resistance in the organization to innovating in the business model. This study is rooted in the evolutionary perspective of BMI, but it also integrates into an overall model other points of view such as the rational positioning view and cognitive view.Practical implicationsOrganizations must understand the ERP flows in depth, each ERP flow is the work result of a multitude of companies over several years. All departments, and in particular the research and development department must participate actively in the ERP implementation. Organised complexity means opportunities for success in the market. Organizations must train their departments in ERP and not just teach them how the ERP works. ERP implementation needs consider improvements to the business model and ultimately the performance, but not separately.Originality/valueBMI has received contributions from several domains such as entrepreneurship, management organization and strategic management among others. Nonetheless, the role of ERP in BMI is far from being understood and the few contributions focus only on technologyper se. To the best of our knowledge this is the first study that has explored the connections of ERP and BMI and in turn the final outcome in organizational performance.

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to analyze the differences and similarities that arise between manufacturing and service firms with regard to the impact of business model objectives on marketing innovation activities.Design/methodology/approachThis study focuses on business model objectives and marketing innovations activities. As described byOslo Manual, marketing innovations involve changes in product design, promotion, placement and pricing. Relationships between business model objectives and marketing innovations are based on the analysis of 9,525 firms, 5,488 of which are manufacturing companies and 4,037 of which are service companies.FindingsFindings reveal distinctive results in the adoption of marketing innovation, depending on the business model objectives being pursued and the type of companies (manufacture or service) considered.Research limitations/implicationsThis research goes further than prior studies by identifying more precisely the particularities that differentiate the manufacturing and service sectors.Practical implicationsFirm’s age and size are not significant restrictions to introduce new marketing innovations in manufacturing or service sectors. In contrast, the business model objective to enter a new market is a significant driver of marketing innovations in most cases.Originality/valueThe focus on business model objectives and their impact on marketing innovations is novel. In addition, this study focuses on a large-scale sample that allows us to compare differences between manufacturing and service companies.

Sustainability issues are on the rise and companies are pressured to respond [...]

The purpose of this paper is to conduct an umbrella review of systematic literature reviews of sustainable business model innovation. Despite its relative novelty, sustainable business model innovation is a multifaceted phenomenon. Our aim is to capture the different manifestations of sustainable business model innovation and organise their antecedents and outcomes into an integrative framework. The Web of Science database was used to identify existing systematic literature reviews. The final sample for analysis comprised 57 review articles published up to March 2021. The qualitative data analysis software NVivo was used to facilitate the analysis.

Purpose This paper aims to explore how digital technologies have forced small- to medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) to reconsider and experiment with their business models (BMs) and how this contributes to their innovativeness and performance. Design/methodology/approach An empirical study has been conducted on 338 European SMEs actively using social media and big data to innovate their BMs. Four in-depth case studies of companies involved in BM innovation have also been carried out. Findings Findings show that the use of social media and big data in BMI is mainly driven by strategic and innovation-related internal motives. External technology turbulence plays a role too. BMI driven by social media and big data has a positive impact on business performance. Analysis of the case studies shows that BM is driven by big data rather than by social media. Research limitations/implications Research into big data- and social media-driven BMs needs more insight into how components are affected and how SMEs are experimenting with adjusting their BMs, specifically in terms of human and organizational factors. Practical implications Findings of this study can be used by managers and top-level executives to better understand how firms experiment with BMI, what affects business model components and how implementation might affect BMI performance. Originality/value This paper is one of the first research contributions to analyse the impact of digitalization, specifically the impact of social media and big data on a large number of European SMEs.

During the last decades the economy has undergone a huge transformation in terms of telecommunication industry evolution. The use of mobile applications has been generally accepted in society but still little is known about how customers use these applications and how managers can obtain high levels of return on their investments in this domain. The Technology Acceptance Model (TAM) has been used for several years to predict the attitudes and behaviours of consumers of mobile services. However, several authors have recognized the limited applicability when it comes to explaining mobile service acceptance by customers. This paper uses a meta-analytic approach to review the acceptance of mobile services and analyse the relationships between TAM variables and consumer acceptance of mobile services. The authors searched all available academic computer databases to get a deeper understanding of this topic and uncover the most significant drivers of mobile application acceptance by consumers.

The degree of overlap (i.e., fit) between product development organizations' resources and the product development projects pursued has powerful performance implications. Drawing on organizational learning theory and the resource-based view, this research conceptualizes and empirically tests the interrelationships between the levels of fit, innovativeness, speed to market, and financial new product performance. After reviewing the research literature relevant to resource fit and new product performance, the level of innovativeness is posited to be an important moderating and mediating factor, which is validated by analysis of data gathered from 279 product developing firms. Technological fit has a negative direct effect on both technological and market innovativeness, while the use of existing marketing resources (i.e., a high degree of marketing fit) positively impacts technological innovativeness. This suggests, consistent with findings from market orientation research, that a deep, long-held customer understanding can promote technological innovativeness. The moderating hypotheses proposed are also well supported: First, a high degree of marketing fit has a more positive impact on performance for market innovative products (e.g., products which address a new target market or use a nontraditional channel for the firm). Drawing on a deep customer understanding is more critical to performance for market innovative products. Conversely, the benefits of marketing fit are limited where market innovativeness is lacking. Interestingly, the counterpart moderating role of technological innovativeness on technological fit's performance effect is not significant; the level of technological innovativeness does not significantly impact the performance impact of technological fit. There are also significant moderating effects across dimensions. Our results show that the financial benefit of using existing marketing resources is lessened for technologically innovative products. Technological innovations necessitate drastic adaptation of marketing resources (i.e., channel and brand); firms drawing only on existing marketing resources for a technologically innovative new product will incur reduced profit. Similarly, the positive implications of using existing technological resources are limited for products which are highly market innovative. Generally, resource fit is seen to have an (oft-overlooked) dark side in product development, though several of our findings suggest that marketing resources are more flexible than are technological resources.

Provider IT services has grown substantially, since the advent of IT. However, research on it has been limited and mainly qualitative. A recurring provider problem was identified: a lack of attention to the performance of the IT they provide. Due to uncertainty or change in the client environment, the fit between capabilities and organizational structure of outsourcing providers must be balanced. Here we present the results of an exploratory quantitative empirical study among outsourcing experts involved with three different types of IT outsourcing providers: domestic, offshore, and global. We developed instruments that measured some core concepts such as outsourcing capabilities, organizational structure dimensions, and performance monitoring. We then used these in analyzing data gathered from three different types of IT outsourcing providers. We found that service providers who establish a fit between their outsourcing capabilities and their customers' organizational structures are less susceptible to problems resulting from unexpected change in the clients' environment. Our results therefore extended our understanding of how critical determinants in provider organizations are related to continuous quality monitoring of their performance.

Inertia reflects a firm’s inability to change or innovate and may be fostered by many sources. Though researchers have focused on internal inertia factors, we examine inertia factors within a firm’s customer base: switching costs, customer preference stability, and network externalities. New products at 279 firms are examined to assess the role of these demand-side inertia factors in determining innovativeness and, ultimately, financial performance. The inertia factors are hypothesized to have differential innovativeness effects for early and late entrants. Overall, demand-side factors affect innovativeness positively, contrasting with firm-based factors (e.g., routines or assets), which typically inhibit innovativeness. Consumer preference stability is the only factor negatively related to innovativeness, though only for early entrants. Network externalities and switching costs increase innovativeness (particularly for early entrants). Demand-side inertia factors are critical determinants of innovativeness and may now be placed within the previously internally focused set of factors engendering early mover advantage.

Summary Firms frequently make quality claims when launching new products in the market. However, little is known about the interaction effects that occur between the media (online/offline channels of distribution) and the message (making/not making quality claims) when new products are launched. By sampling 568 online and offline customers of ICT products, we demonstrate that using quality claims is advisable only in the online context. Specifically, ICT products are perceived less complex and more trustworthy when quality claims are advertised online. In addition, perceived complexity and perceived risk are higher in the offline context than in the online context when product quality claims are used. Therefore, firms should be aware of which quality claims they introduce on their websites so as not to interfere with the product launch. This study adds to the body of research on Internet advertising and innovative products. This study is also useful for marketers who wish to improve the advertising efficiency (in terms of content and media) of innovative and complex products to consumers.

Product quality is a critical competitive issue when launching new products. However, the product quality construct has been measured inconsistently in prior research, with researchers often not considering multiple components of quality. Thus, results may not be comparable across studies, and when dimensions of quality are excluded, relationships found between quality and other constructs may be spurious. As a response, we develop a formative measurement approach to product quality. The components of product quality are not interchangeable in measurement as typical reflective approaches assume. These dimensions make up the quality construct, necessitating a formative measurement approach. Here, this approach is developed and tested, compared with the traditional reflective approach, and its relationships with other constructs evaluated in a model of new product performance. Overall, this formative approach is shown both to be theoretically appropriate and to possess strong measurement properties. This approach has clear implications for research concerning product quality and improving its measurement in the future.

The relationships among speed to market, quality, and costs are important to managers as they attempt to best establish incentives and set goals for new product development teams, allocate resources for new product development, or create positional advantage in the market. The existing literature suggests that the economic consequences of being late to the market are significant, including higher development and manufacturing costs, lower profit margins, and lessening of the firm's market value. Therefore, traditional logic has held that new product development managers need to manage the trade-offs among speed to market, quality, and costs. While both scholars and managers have often acquiesced to performance trade-offs among “faster, better, and cheaper,” this research attempts to improve understanding of the interrelationships between these objectives, and ultimately profit. Based on a survey of 197 managers, faster speed to market is shown to be related to better quality and lower costs; it is not necessary to sacrifice one of these outcomes. Further, the moderating roles of two dimensions of innovativeness (innovativeness to the firm and to the market) are examined on the relationships between speed and quality, as well as speed and profit. Both dimensions of innovativeness positively moderate the relationship between speed to market and quality. For more innovative products (both to the firm and the market), there is a stronger positive relationship between speed and quality than for less innovative products. Further, innovativeness to the firm negatively moderates the relationship between speed and profit. Thus, speed has a less positive impact on profit for highly innovative-to-the-firm products compared with less innovative-to-the-firm products. By being conscious of the projects’ levels of innovativeness (along with prioritizing various performance measures), managers can more rationally decide when to emphasize speed to market based on this study's findings.

PurposeThe purpose of this article is to present a model that compares the switching costs that consumers face when they buy pioneering and follower products.Design/methodology/approachA study of 255 new products indicates that switching costs are actually higher when switching from an existing product to a pioneering product.FindingsThe study shows that people who buy a pioneering product may also face switching costs, if the pioneering product is launched in an existing category where consumers are already familiar with similar products.Research limitations/implicationsThe results help to reinforce the view that first movers have advantages and demonstrate that switching costs do not lead to a higher level of consumer retention.Practical implicationsThis study provides interesting managerial implications on how to launch new products more effectively when they suffer from switching costs..Originality/valueResearchers commonly view switching costs as a barrier to market entry that protects enterprises that launch pioneering products and gives them a competitive advantage over those that launch follower products. The underlying idea is that people only experience switching costs when they change to a different follower product, rather than when they purchase a pioneering product instead of the product that they usually purchase.

PurposeThis study aims to extend the proposal of Holmqvist with regard to organisational processes of learning and their impact on firm performance.Design/methodology/approachBased on a survey of 187 firms, the paper shows that certain organisational processes of learning are related to innovation performance. Further, it investigates the moderating role of product radicalness on such relationships.FindingsBased on a survey of 187 firms, the paper shows that certain organisational processes of learning are related to innovation performance. Further, it investigates the moderating role of product radicalness on such relationships and proves that the other two types of organisational learning processes are not related to innovation performance.Originality/valueThe innovation performance of collaboration between firms has not received a great deal of attention in the literature. This research paper offers some guidelines on how to obtain great advantages from this collaboration.

The ability to manage existing assets and capabilities (exploitation) and the development of new capabilities (exploration) are arguably among the most relevant new product success factors. However, while exploitation-related capabilities are based on certainties regarding the efficiency of a company, exploration-related capabilities require the analysis of new technologies and processes. In existing literature, there is a gap concerning the trade-off between the exploitation and exploration of competences. Based on the theoretical background of Resource Based Theory, Dynamic Capabilities Theory and Discovery and Creation Theory, a model is proposed to analyze this gap. In this study, which examines 197 manufacturing organizations, we build on the dualities of the two types of competences and their impact on speed-to-market and market performance. The findings indicate that the choice between exploitation and exploration depends on the goals of new product development. While exploitation increases product objective quality, exploration enhances product innovativeness to the firm. Furthermore, we found that both exploitation and exploration constitute important success factors when it comes to launching new products. Finally, moderate effects of competitive intensity and market turbulence are also examined. High levels of market turbulence improve the results of exploitation, while low levels of competitiveness may encourage exploration.

Research about the critical drivers of new product success is perhaps one of the thorniest issues confronting academic research in the field. Among them, product quality is considered a crucial element to obtain a competitive advantage. However, empirical evidence suggests low returns on product quality investments in new products, and consequent manager claims for an explanation of whether quality investments are fruitful for the firm. Recently, a new research stream has suggested that the role of other complementary products (indirect network externalities) and the critical mass of adopters (direct network externalities) lead to higher market returns than quality itself. Moreover, researchers disagree about the perverse or positive effects that the switching costs associated with the product have on the short- and long-term performance of the firm. In this paper, we propose that, as products and technologies become more interconnected, the associated network effects and switching costs will play an important role with regard to new product performance, both independently and in conjunction with its quality. We empirically test a model that relates product quality, network effects, and switching costs to short-term/long-term new product performance, using data collected from 255 innovative products. The data analysis indicates that network effects, and consumers' switching costs, can modify previous findings with regard to the isolated product quality consequences concerning new product performance. Overall, the results of this study may help firms manage the relationship between quality, network externalities, and switching costs more efficiently, both in the short term and in the long term.

In the last decade a number of conceptualizations of product quality and innovativeness have been suggested, and academics as well as managers have begun to understand that the relationships between quality, innovativeness and new product performance are more complicated than they may initially seem to be. While an innovation-oriented strategy depends on the exploration of new possibilities through search, risk-taking and experimentation, a high quality strategy requires the exploitation of existing certainties through efficiency, standardization and control. In this research, we demonstrate that the interaction effects of quality (objective and subjective) and innovativeness (for the firm and for the customer) on new product performance are different than the isolated impact of these variables. In addition, by focusing on the main and joint impact of these variables on short-term new product performance, we provide valuable recommendations for new product launch decisions. “The pure and simple truth is rarely pure and never simple.”—Oscar Wilde

New product performance is one of the most relevant areas in academic literature because its description has potential implications in companies’ growth and success. In particular, this paper provides a deeper insight into the time horizon and the importance attributed by managers to each performance indicator at project level. Several analytical models prove that (market-based, customer-based and financial-based) performance dimensions vary, depending on the method of construction (through a mean score of performance indicators or using the importance attributed by managers to the various performance indicators) both in the short term and in the long term. The relevance of these findings is discussed, along with their implications for managers when studying product performance determinants.

The aim of this paper is to empirically test not only the direct effects of information and communication technology (ICT) capabilities and integrated information systems (IS) on firm performance, but also the moderating role of IS integration along the supply chain in the relationship between ICT external and capabilities and business performance. Data collected from 102 large Iberian firms from Spain and Portugal are used to test the research model. The hierarchical multiple regression analysis is employed to test the direct effects and the moderating relationships proposed. Results show that external and internal ICT capabilities are important drivers of firm performance, while merely having integrated IS do not lead to better firm performance. In addition, a moderating effect of IS integration in the relationship between ICT capabilities and business performance is found, although this integration only contributes to firm performance when it is directed to connect with suppliers or customers rather than when integrating the whole supply chain.

Social, cultural, political and technological forces have significantly transformed the competitive landscape of the global economy. Amongst these forces, technology has arguably had the most rejuvenating impact on the way international businesses interact with each other and their customer base. End-users are making use of computer-mediated communications, newsgroups, chat rooms, email list servers, personal World Wide Web pages and other online formats at an unprecedented pace, and as they share ideas and obtain information about products and services, firms are extending their market research activities to these domains. These new tools, online communities, virtual communities and virtual worlds have emerged as a fascinating and useful pool of collective experience for international business. However, the utilization and analysis of this body of knowledge for international business decisions is still in its infancy. This paper analyzes the potential of these tools to inform international business decisions. We explain how to identify and access each of these communities, and how to convert the qualitative information available from online communities into a strategic input for the firm.

In recent years, customer relationship management (CRM) has been a topic of the utmost importance for scholars and managers. Literature suggests, however, that it is difficult to demonstrate both tangible returns and also intangible attributes of these benefits, such as innovation derived from the use of CRM. The aim of the chapter is to analyze the implementation of CRM and its influence on a firm’s ability for innovation. Literature on CRM and innovation is reviewed and a theoretical model is proposed. Research findings from a sample of European companies prove that CRM is beneficial for innovation in many countries. However, there were no conclusive results from other countries. These findings have important implications in assisting organizations in their CRM initiatives for managing customer knowledge and enhancing innovation.

Customer knowledge management (CKM) has become an important topic for both academicians and practitioners in recent years as customer knowledge is vital for improving customer service and enabling the company to make appropriate strategic business decisions. CKM applications, some of which may be accessible online, support the exchange of customer knowledge. However, embedding CKM applications that customers may access within a company’s website may actually be an obstacle to the increase of e-commerce as it could cause an increase in consumers’ risk perceptions about that website, and in turn, a backward step in customer’s purchase intentions through that site. The objective of this chapter is to analyze the differences that might exist in CKM tools when they are implemented in a website and compare the results in two different moments of time 2005 and 2010. The results obtained from this research will be useful for managers to analyze which CKM initiatives are more advisable to obtain and manage customer knowledge management in the future.

An analysis of the relationship between lifestyle traits, social influence, people's attitudes towards mobile innovations and the adoption of different types of advanced mobile services contributes to the extension of the TAM model. Based on a random sample of 542 Dutch consumers, it is shown that the adoption of specific advanced mobile services is highly dependent on the relationship between someone's lifestyle and the type of service involved. Also social influence and attitudes towards mobile innovations are relevant additions to the TAM model. The results are relevant to mobile service and apps providers and mobile telecommunication operators alike.

The emergence of e-commerce has brought a new opportunity for selling new products on the internet. However, little research has been conducted to analyse the implications of product innovativeness on purchase intention and other related variables such as perceived risk and website trust. The intrinsic characteristics of new products and the open nature of the internet as a transaction infrastructure can enhance the positive or negative relationships between these variables. The aim of our investigation is to assist organisations in their innovative initiatives through a survey among 1396 internet customers. According to our results, firms selling innovative products on the internet should take into account not only the positive implications on purchase intention or website trust, but also the negative consequences that can arise from the increase in customer-perceived risk. This study has proven important recommendations from academic and managerial points of view.

Drawing upon utility maximization theory, this study examines the conse-quences of quick response (QR) code mobile promotion in terms of information privacy concerns, defensive responses (intention to protect, fabricate, or withhold), and loyalty. Two contextual variables, social anxiety and situational involvement, are hypothesized as moderators. The main survey employs the scenario method with 667 general consumers in Japan. The results indicate that most of the main effects are supported for both modera-tors. There are strong interaction effects of social anxiety and situational involvement in intention to protect and intention to fabricate personal information. Our study suggests that QR code promotion is a practical and useful tool for loyalty, and its use may significantly depend on its context, whether physical or psychological., This research was funded by a grant from the Spanish Ministry of Science and Inno-vation (National Plan for Research, Development and Innovation ECO2011-30105).

The diffusion of mobile payments (M-payments) is still in its early stages and further research is needed to understand what motivates or restricts people's behaviour when using mobile services. Based on a sample of Dutch mobile service users, this study analyses the antecedents of two types of M-payments, those that take place before a product is acquired (pre-payment services) and those that take place at the same time or immediately after the product is acquired (post-payment services). We identified a number of reasons why mobile services have not yet found a place in people's daily routines and provide recommendations for the development of future M-payments.