A Service Quality Process Map for Credit Card Processing

Evaluating marketing (external) and operations (internal) service quality performance in most organizations is a data-oriented management task that involves many variables for many different types of services. These two diverse sets of service quality information seldom “match up well” because the marketing and operations functions define and evaluate service quality “their way.” Management's interpretation of what the data “mean” often contributes to extra meetings, unnecessary disagreements within and between functional areas, and poor decision making. This situation can affect the quality and timing of decisions, and ultimately, the organization's profitability and market share. This paper quantitatively relates the customer's evaluation (perception) of service quality directly to the activities and performance criteria of the service delivery process for a credit card processing center. Basic statistical analyses and a recursive path analysis model define the relationships between marketing- and operations-based service quality information. The idea of a “service quality process map” is introduced. A service quality process map relates a flowchart of the service delivery process to the customer's perception of service using the power of multivariate data analysis. Management insights gained from an analysis of marketing (external) and operations (internal) measures of service quality performance can be used to allocate resources wisely. The objective is to gain the most improvement in the customer's perception of service for the least cost. Service quality with this type of evaluation capability can be used to gain competitive advantage in the marketplace.     

The acquisition route to a European presence

In this edited paper, originally delivered to a Conference organised by Westminster and City Programmes, the author charts the best route for companies seeking alliances in the “new” Europe - that is the “Single European Market” in which competition will be greatly increased as a result of the “1992” Directives.Although the opportunities for acquisition in Europe are enormous, successful acquisitions require very skilled and meticulous planning. The “European factor”, of totally different business environments, makes the task harder. Tim Line takes you through the process of assembling the right team, seeking external bankers, making the first approach, fact finding, and implementing the negotiations. His advice is directed particularly at British acquirors, but the principles and strategies are universal.     

Managing Demand Risk in Tactical Supply Chain Planning for a Global Consumer Electronics Company

We consider the problem of managing demand risk in tactical supply chain planning for a particular global consumer electronics company. The company follows a deterministic replenishment‐and‐planning process despite considerable demand uncertainty. As a possible way to formally address uncertainty, we provide two risk measures, “demand‐at‐risk” (DaR) and “inventory‐at‐risk” (IaR) and two linear programming models to help manage demand uncertainty. The first model is deterministic and can be used to allocate the replenishment schedule from the plants among the customers as per the existing process. The other model is stochastic and can be used to determine the “ideal” replenishment request from the plants under demand uncertainty. The gap between the output of the two models as regards requested replenishment and the values of the risk measures can be used by the company to reallocate capacity among different products and to thus manage demand/inventory risk.     

The new age of ethical marketing for the 21st century

The premise of this paper is that the strong trends toward ever increasing centralization in the agricultural producing sector of the United States in the 1980s will exacerbate in the middle-to-late 1990s. This, in turn, will lead to both radical changes in the consumer movement by the year 2000, and also to a completely redefined mission for the corporate marketing function as well. Specifically, the deliberate federal policies of the 1980s which led to a “shake-out” of the small family farm units in favor of large agri-business concerns in order to reduce federal subsidies will lead, in the 1990s, to the most noted of deleterious consequences of monopolization, namely ever increasing prices and lowered quality. The authors believe that by the late 1990s the American public will perceive this state of affairs as being intolerable and it will lead them to organize “Big Consumerism”, a cohesive, much strengthened version of the consumer movement of the 1980s. This movement will, among other major activities, establish consumer cooperatives as a way to control costs through the elimination of unnecessary middlemen. In addition, this new consumerism will demand a change in the ethical standards of business behavior which, in turn, will result in a reformation in the role of the “New Marketer”. This “New Marketer” function will be envisioned and practiced by incumbents as informational and educational, adhering to the highest standards of truthfulness concerning the products they are attempting to market. In this regard, the role of governmental agencies will be greatly strengthened and expanded to insure that the marketing profession lives up to these highest ethical standards and practices.     

Measurement and control in marketing

Various reasons for the comparative lack of success of management science in marketing are examined in general, but provocative, terms. There are the basic complexity of the market, the volumes of often unreliable data, the division between the various measurement and control professionals involved in marketing. There are the different perspectives, time scales, rewards and objectives of the brand manager and the management scientist. Some similarity of intellectual approach, perhaps even arrogance, does little to improve common understanding. But the central obstacle to progress is the “3M Problem”: how much Money should be devoted to Measurement and control relative to direct Marketing activities?A general increase in educational and professional standards is called for, with a clear division of roles between the generalist, the specialist and the academic management scientist. The 3M Problem is thrown out as a challenge to the academic.     

社交网络情境下基于同侪影响的产品线规划研究

依托社交网络优化产品线是实现“匹配消费者需求带动产品设计-制造-营销全流程协调发展”的重要途径,尽管已经引起实业界的重点关注,相应的学术研究却十分匮乏。鉴于此,本文基于同侪影响理论与前景理论,结合社交网络情境下消费者的产品需求、偏好及决策,构建涵盖产品线营销层面和设计层面的双层规划模型;然后结合智能手机产品线实例,运用嵌套灰狼算法对该双层规划模型进行求解验证。本研究旨在提出社交网络与产品线规划之间耦合作用的联合优化框架,为面向社交网络的产品线规划提供理论依据。     

“We open doors others do not!”: Position and power of foreign institutional networks

Foreign institutional actors (INAs) can act as a liaison between firms and authorities and other power players to navigate bureaucratic structures, both as resource and legitimacy providers in the host market. Building on institutional theory, this study draws from broader organizational sociological literature, to explore the structural position of INAs in a host country context, and engages with fundamental questions of legitimacy, status, and power. It responds to repeated calls that more studies in international business research are needed on the impact of institutional differences, how to obtain legitimacy, and enhance the home country support networks. To understand INAs' position, specifically within the social structure of a bureaucratic host environment, our study uses in-depth interviews with elite actors from the support networks. Japan is chosen for this study as a host market, because it is the European Union's second largest trading partner in Asia, has a strong central bureaucracy, and historically and currently remains a challenging market for Westerners due to complex market entry barriers. The findings provide a new theoretically derived empirical model demonstrating the positional leverage of these INAs, to “open-doors” into a complex environment and offer a nuanced understanding of their formal and informal structural positions of power. The findings also demonstrate a significant overlap between organizational legitimacy and the exemplary status of these INAs in the bureaucratic environment, which enhances and empowers their leverage to reach authorities, press, and other important actors in the market.     

On Sampling Error in Market Share Estimates*

The relative error in the usual estimator of a brand's market share is reformulated in terms of marketing parameters. Such error is shown to be influenced in an important way by market penetration, as well as by variation in brand and product category volume. Of particular interest is the result that the relative error does not depend on the actual share level. Using data from a marketing research firm that supplies share estimates to the health products industry, we find that the relative error may be substantial even when a large sample is available. An upper bound on this relative error is obtained using marketing parameters that can frequently be measured using industry data and a company's internal records, thus reducing the level of judgmental input required in the planning of sample surveys.     

Market Microstructure Invariance: Empirical Hypotheses

Using the intuition that financial markets transfer risks in business time, “market microstructure invariance” is defined as the hypotheses that the distributions of risk transfers (“bets”) and transaction costs are constant across assets when measured per unit of business time. The invariance hypotheses imply that bet size and transaction costs have specific, empirically testable relationships to observable dollar volume and volatility. Portfolio transitions can be viewed as natural experiments for measuring transaction costs, and individual orders can be treated as proxies for bets. Empirical tests based on a data set of 400,000+ portfolio transition orders support the invariance hypotheses. The constants calibrated from structural estimation imply specific predictions for the arrival rate of bets (“market velocity”), the distribution of bet sizes, and transaction costs.     

“双积分”政策下汽车制造商竞争定价与减排策略研究

"双积分"政策的实施对汽车制造商的定价决策产生了重要影响。考虑卖方由同时生产燃油车和新能源汽车的制造商1和仅生产新能源汽车的制造商2组成,在消费者低碳偏好和价格竞争影响下分别针对制造商1对燃油车采取和不采取节能减排措施的情况,研究"双积分"政策下汽车制造商的定价策略和减排决策,探讨新能源汽车积分值和积分比例要求对政府和企业决策的作用效果。进一步,通过对不同情形的结果进行分析,得到"双积分"政策的出台、消费者低碳偏好及制造商采取节能减排措施对制造商定价和减排决策带来的变化,并通过算例分析验证了结论。研究结果表明:(1)"双积分"政策可以降低新能源汽车的价格,提高新能源汽车制造商的利润,促进燃油车主动减排。(2)当新能源汽车的需求价格弹性系数和需求交叉价格弹性系数处于较高水平时,政府要制定较高的每台新能源汽车积分值。(3)燃油车的油耗水平存在一个环境属性标准,当油耗水平低于一定值时,随着新能源汽车积分比例要求的不断增大,制造商1选择提高燃油车价格。(4)消费者低碳偏好是提高燃油车减排水平的重要因素,政府可以对减排技术先进的燃油车制造商进行低油耗认证,提高消费者低油耗燃油车需求,激励燃油车制...     

Masstige model and measure for brand management

The purpose of this article is to reconceptualize the term “masstige” (Mass Prestige) marketing, develop a masstige model for brand management, and extend the use of the Masstige Mean Scale (MMS). The study was conducted based on the data from 600 individuals living in the United States, France, and India using a structured questionnaire consisting of different factors/sources of brand equity, such as mass prestige, brand knowledge, and perceived quality. On the basis of the findings, we establish that the greater the brand's Masstige Mean Index (MMI) value (“MMIV”), the higher the potential customers' top-of-mind brand awareness. Low MMIVs imply that firms have a long way to go to build their brands. We argue that MMI may allow firms to measure brand equity in different regions, within a country or in foreign countries, to derive insights into the popularity of their brands. We posit three theoretical propositions and develop two theoretical models (i) a hexagon model and (ii) a three-stage model for masstige marketing to define, reconceptualize, and explain the phenomenon.     

Coaching und/oder Supervision

The author discusses the decision of the “Deutsche Gesellschaft für Supervision” (DGSv), that clinical supervision and coaching are the same. On the one hand, the problems in the market for the clinical supervision are comprehensible, but on the other hand, the formats have very different histories, different target groups and different images. Therefore the wording “supervision and coaching”—used like twins—is a confusing one, particularly with regard to a forward-looking professional development.     

Some statistical aspects of manpower planning in the civil service

A special feature of modern manpower planning methods is the use of computer-based statistical models, and the Civil Service Department is taking the lead in their development and use for manpower planning in the non-industrial Civil Service. Account is being taken of related data requirements in the development of a new Personnel Record Information System which will replace a range of existing records.Development work in hand covers both the “demand” and “supply” aspects of manpower planning and a bank of generalized “supply” models is in operation. Stationary population, renewal and Markovian principles are involved, and the particular statistical problems of modelling small manpower groups are being met in the development of a “small group” simulation model.     

Corporate planning a review of questions and answers

This paper is about corporate planning, seen primarily but not exclusively from the viewpoint of operational research. The reasons for the rise of interest in corporate planning are examined, as are the contributions which O.R. has made or can make to corporate planning problems. An abstract discussion of these problems concentrates on those posed by increasing “connectedness” in the environment. After comparing the responses of the “commonsense manager”, the model-oriented operational researcher, and the cybernetician, the question is posed: “How can the operational researcher or planner enhance the adaptive capability of his organization?” A case study illustrates one possible form of solution, the “modular” approach; and another, the “zoom-lens” is outlined. The relevance of global system modelling to the widening problems of the corporate planner is also considered, and related to the concepts previously discussed.     

Women in high places: When and why promoting women into top positions can harm them individually or as a group (and how to prevent this)

This contribution focuses on women in leadership positions. We propose that two convictions are relevant to the effects of having women in high places. On the one hand, women as a group are expected to employ different leadership styles than men, in this way adding diversity to management teams. On the other hand, individual women are expected to ascend to leadership positions by showing their ability to display the competitiveness and toughness typically required from those at the top. We posit that both convictions stem from gendered leadership beliefs, and that these interact with women's self-views to determine the effectiveness of female leaders. We develop an integrative model that explains the interplay between organizational beliefs and individual-self definitions and its implications for female leadership. We then present initial evidence in support of this model from two recent programs of research. The model allows us to connect “glass cliff” effects to “queen bee” effects showing that both relate to the perceived salience of gender in the organization, as well as individual gender identities. Each of these phenomena may harm future career opportunities of women, be it as individuals or as a group. We outline how future research may build on our proposed model and examine its further implications. We also indicate how the model may offer a concrete starting point for developing strategies to enhance the effectiveness of women in leadership positions.     

Greening the electricity industry: The dynamic logic of the Green-e certification program

With the advent of retail completion in the supply of electricity to end-use customers, individuals and businesses will be given the opportunity to purchase electricity from “green power” sources. Some customers are clearly willing to pay a premium for environmentally preferable sources of electricity supply. Yet, there have been concerns that customer confusion, vague marketing claims, and “apples and oranges” comparisons will limit the potential market penetration of green power products.Environmental certification programs are increasingly seen as important tools for achieving environmental objectives and are intended to alleviate some of the concerns listed above, as well as to increased product and marketer credibility. The Green-e Renewable Electricity Branding Program is the first U.S.-based effort to certify green power products that meet certain environmental standards. The voluntary Green-e program also helps create consumer confidence in these certified products through a marketer code of conduct, disclosure provisions, and a public education campaign. This article details the development, design and results of the Green-e program to date.     

Gray Markets and Supply Chain Incentives

“Gray markets” are unauthorized channels that distribute a branded product without the manufacturer's permission. Since gray markets are not officially sanctioned by the manufacturer, their existence is assumed to hurt the manufacturer. Yet manufacturers sometimes tolerate or even encourage gray market activities. We investigate the incentives of a manufacturer and its authorized retailer to engage in (or tolerate) gray markets. The firms need to consider the trade‐off between the positive effects of a gray market (price discrimination and cost savings) and the negative effects (cannibalization of sales and a loss in consumer valuation). Generally, gray markets can be categorized into two types: (i) a “local gray market,” where a retailer diverts products to unauthorized sellers operating in the same region as the retailer; and, (ii) “bootlegging,” where the retailer diverts products to unauthorized sellers in another market where the manufacturer sells through a direct channel. We characterize the equilibrium in each type of gray market and identify conditions under which the retailer will divert products to the gray market. Incentive problems are more complicated when the retailer bootlegs and, in this case, we show that conflicting incentives may lead to the emergence of a gray market where both the manufacturer's and retailer's profits decrease.     

The dangerous quest for certainty in market forecasting

Over the past 4 years, the Pharmaceutical Division of CIBA-GEIGY has developed a series of market forecasts in probabilistic terms, explicitly incorporating the principal uncertainties affecting the future sales of new pharmaceutical products. Such probabilistic forecasting methods have now been applied successfully by many pharmaceutical companies, including CIBA-GEIGY, Hoffmann-La Roche, and Sandoz. At CIBA-GEIGY this forecasting process has assisted the Divisional Management Committee with various business decisions, and in particular with capacity expansion planning. The benefits of this approach have been aptly described by the member of that committee responsible for production worldwide, Dr. Hans M. Götz, ‘Since we have used the probability curve for active substance requirements, the most valuable result has not been that we get now any better single number, such as mean, mode or any other figure, but that we have the curve at all. No longer do production people and market forecasters accuse each other because of a “wrong” figure. Both sides are aware of the uncertainties and therefore their dialogue has become more constructive. Decisions are made and the results are reviewed in light of the curve that represents our best judgment when action is required. Thus our principal benefit has been the improvement in the quality and co-ordination of management effort in production planning and resource allocation.’ This paper explains in detail the steps needed to prepare a probabilistic market forecast and demonstrates how such a forecast can yield significantly different and better production capacity decisions and improved insight into the related process of market planning.