Customer Network Research Articles

Returning to drive small business exports: diaspora entrepreneurs in Ghana's fruit processing clusters

Returnee entrepreneur (RE) businesses have extensively contributed to economies around the world. However, REs ability to galvanise and coordinate local business networks and permeate the international markets within countries in Sub-Saharan Africa (SSA) have mostly been overlooked, particularly in the context of exporting activities in Africa. This paper posits that diaspora 'returnee entrepreneurs' can become potent channels for the promotion and facilitation of the internationalisation of small and medium enterprises (SMEs) in developing economies. An original piece of empirical research on two exporting food processing clusters in Ghana shows that REs can introduce external technology, develop and sustain international customer networks and are able to meet international standards, thus becoming carriers for internationalisation from the onset. African returnees are able to build trust-based relationships within home country formal business structures and establish strong ties with international customers that accommodate operational and institutional bottlenecks.

Internationalization of SMEs and market orientation

PurposeThis paper aims to study the context of market orientation and the contribution of customer knowledge, networking and cultural knowledge to market orientation particularly to the internationalization of firms in developing economies.Design/methodology/approachA multiple case approach is adopted with four Swedish firms internationalizing to the Indian market. The data was obtained through personal interviews and typically lasted an hour. Follow-up questions were obtained by personal meetings or on Skype. Data was collected over a period of seven months during 2016-2017.FindingsThis study highlights the importance of customer knowledge, networking and cultural knowledge for foreign small and medium enterprises (SMEs) in the initial stages of internationalization. It proposes that a holistic market sensing of the target market can be achieved as the three constructs contribute to the market orientation of the firms and help in devising relevant strategic fit with the market.Research limitations/implicationsThe sample size is small due to a limited number of Swedish SMEs who have the experience of operating in the Indian market. Future studies may include the Nordic region, and a quantitative approach for testing market orientation frameworks can be adopted.Originality/valueThis study lifts the concept of market sensing as customer knowledge, networking and cultural knowledge strengthen the market orientation of the firm. It addresses the research gap about limited research in developing market contexts for SME internationalization and specifically on Swedish SMEs in the Indian market.

THE FACTORS WHICH INFLUENCE THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN A NETWORK’S SYNERGIZING CAPABILITY AND THE INCREASE IN A SALESPERSON’S PERFORMANCE

Introduction: This research aims to explore the concept of customer networks in the context of sales. A research model is proposed to explain how a salesperson’s performance is increased by synergizing the network. Background Problems: There are inconsistent research findings on the relationship between adaptive selling and salespeople’s performance. The proposed research question is whether adaptive selling has an effect on a salesperson’s performance through his/her customer networking capability or not? Novelty: the novelty of this research is the analysis of the capabilities of customer networking, based on information sharing, promotion sharing, and knowledge sharing. Research Methods: This research involved 266 salespeople from the soft drinks’ industry. The hypotheses were tested using structural equation modeling. Findings: The results of the study show that adaptive selling is able to increase a salesperson’s performance through their customer networking capability. The customer’s order quality, adaptive selling and communication quality have significant positive effects on the capability of the customer network. Furthermore, the customer’s order quality, retention, and communication quality have significant positive impacts on the salesperson’s performance. The variable which has the most influence on the increase in the salesperson’s performance is communication quality. Conclusion: This study concludes that the ability of the customer networking capability to link between adaptive selling and the salesperson’s performance is real. Additionally, the quality of the customer’s orders, retention and the quality of their communications give significant positive effects to a salesperson’s performance. Therefore, companies should pay special attention to the salespeople who perform best, particularly those who can broaden new networking customers.

A survey of embedding algorithm for virtual network embedding

Network virtualization (NV) is pushed forward by its proponents as a crucial attribute of next generation network, aiming at overcoming the gradual ossification of current networks, particularly to the worldwide Internet. Through virtualization, multiple customized virtual networks (VNs), requested by users, are allowed to coexist on the underlying substrate networks (SNs). In addition, the virtualization scheme contributes to sharing underlying physical resources simultaneously and seamlessly. However, multiple technical issues still stand in the way of NV successful implementation. One key technical issue is virtual network embedding (VNE), known as the resource allocation problem for NV. This paper conducts a survey of embedding algorithms for VNE problem. At first, the NV business model for VNE problem is presented. Then, the latest VNE problem description is presented. Main performance metrics for evaluating embedding algorithms are also involved. Afterwards, existing VNE algorithms are detailed, according to the novel proposed category approach. Next, key future research aspects of embedding algorithms are listed out. Finally, the paper is briefly concluded.

Microfinance Institutions’ Criteria on Small Business Financing in Cameroon

This study uses MFIs as a unit of analysis to examine the factors of human, financial and social capital that increase the financing of microenterprises’ identification of opportunities and exploitation in Cameroon .To attain this objective, a questionnaire was used to collect data from 207 MFIs and analyzed using descriptive and multiple linear regression models. The results revealed that when it concerns the financing of opportunity identification, only human capital variables of Prior knowledge and Business training increase the financing of microenterprises by MFIs in Cameroon. Regarding the opportunity exploitation on the contrary, accumulated business knowledge, business skills and customer networks positively and significantly boost the financing of microenterprise owners by MFIs in Cameroon.

Social media brand engagement practices

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to deepen the understanding on social media brand engagement (SMBE) practices by exploring the impact of consumer brand knowledge, perceived social pressure, perceived social relatedness (PSR) and the role of brand trust. Design/methodology/approach A model is proposed to suggest the influence of consumer-level antecedents and moderators of SMBE. Following a survey design approach, data collected from 687 respondents on Facebook are examined through structural equation modelling using AMOS 23.0. Findings The findings reveal significant relationship between the examined antecedents (brand knowledge, perceived social pressure and brand trust) and SMBE. Examination of the moderation role of PSR revealed significant interaction effects on the relationship between brand knowledge and SMBE, as well as perceived social pressure and SMBE. The findings also suggest a lack of interaction effect of PSR on the relationship between brand trust and SMBE. Research limitations/implications This research provides empirical evidence in support of understanding SMBE practices by testing theoretically grounded hypotheses. The study focussed on technologically savvy respondents and only Facebook users in Ghana, which could limit the generalisation of the findings reported. Practical implications This study illustrates a need for managers to integrate multi-communication channels to enhance brand interactions and engagements. Firms must also adopt strategies that would enhance the sharing of interesting information about their brands on their social media platforms to attract others through customer networks. Originality/value The conceptualization of SMBE in this study zooms out our understanding of online SMBE by examining pertinent variables that drive or moderate consumer participation in SMBE activities. The integration of these variables brings out new empirical understanding and extends our knowledge on SMBE.

Exploration of the initiation and process of business model innovation of successful Chinese ICT enterprises

Purpose This paper aims to investigate four successful Chinese ICT enterprises to determine what initiated their business-model innovations and the process they went through by exploring how they adapted and innovatively renewed four key elements of their business models. Design/methodology/approach This investigative and exploratory research adopted a multiple-case-study design exploring four purposively selected successful Chinese ICT enterprises which had all engaged in significant business model innovation since their inception. Data for the case studies were collected through in-depth interviews with the founders and analyses of the companies’ history to gain a detailed account of the evolution of the firms’ business models since their formation. Findings The research identified three key initiating factors to business model innovation in the firms studied, namely, constant and rapid product iteration, along with an emergent strategy, leading to business model innovations to take full advantage of the firms’ competitive advantages; a reaction to threats and environmental changes; and an opportunistic behaviour to extend the business model to new markets. The research found that networks were a key factor in the process, including the customer base, financial investors and network collaborators. Research limitations/implications This research is limited to four successful Chinese ICT firms; this in-depth approach means the information may have only limited transferability but provides depth on a burgeoning Chinese sector. Originality/value This research addresses the call for more research and a greater understanding of what initiates business model innovation and the process firms go through to develop the key elements of their business models by looking at a purposively selected sample of successful Chinese enterprises in a fast-moving and technologically driven market.

Influence of image segmentation on one-dimensional fluid dynamics predictions in the mouse pulmonary arteries.

Computational fluid dynamics (CFD) models are emerging tools for assisting in diagnostic assessment of cardiovascular disease. Recent advances in image segmentation have made subject-specific modelling of the cardiovascular system a feasible task, which is particularly important in the case of pulmonary hypertension, requiring a combination of invasive and non-invasive procedures for diagnosis. Uncertainty in image segmentation propagates to CFD model predictions, making the quantification of segmentation-induced uncertainty crucial for subject-specific models. This study quantifies the variability of one-dimensional CFD predictions by propagating the uncertainty of network geometry and connectivity to blood pressure and flow predictions. We analyse multiple segmentations of a single, excised mouse lung using different pre-segmentation parameters. A custom algorithm extracts vessel length, vessel radii and network connectivity for each segmented pulmonary network. Probability density functions are computed for vessel radius and length and then sampled to propagate uncertainties to haemodynamic predictions in a fixed network. In addition, we compute the uncertainty of model predictions to changes in network size and connectivity. Results show that variation in network connectivity is a larger contributor to haemodynamic uncertainty than vessel radius and length.

A study on the relationship among customer behavior stickiness, motivation of shopping and customer value in the online shopping

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to initially use a stochastic model to fit data of customer behavior stickiness and customer value, then estimate the corresponding parameters and use Bayesian rule to calculate its mathematical expectation. Design/methodology/approach The authors use expectations of customer behavior stickiness as an independent variable, expectations of customer value as a dependent variable, motivations of consumption as moderator and conduct regression analysis to research the relationship among the three. First, we will use the data of behavior for customer network shopping in the questionnaire to establish the random probability model and forecast. Second, we calculate the expected customer behavior stickiness and customer value. Finally, we use resurvey data of 100 subjects after three months (selected randomly from 373 objects) to test the model prediction. Findings The findings show that customer behavior stickiness has a significant effect on customer value, and the moderating effect of the hedonic motivation of consumption on the relationship above is proved. The value of customers who hold high hedonic motivation of consumption is mainly driven from website’s single visit time, whereas the value of customers who hold low or middle hedonic motivation of consumption is mainly driven from a website’s visit frequency. Originality/value The paper proves and quantifies the effects of the customer behavior stickiness for customer value in times of behavior. The results prove the moderation role of consumer motivation of the customer for the path of customer behavior stickiness→customer value, and make clear that the hedonic motivation is a necessary condition of average site visit time that has a significant impact on customer value.

Firm-level propagation of shocks through supply-chain networks

Social and economic networks can be a channel of negative shocks and thus deteriorate resilience and sustainability in societies. This study focuses on supply chains, or supplier–customer networks of firms and examines how these supply chains enable production losses caused by natural disasters to propagate and persist in regions not directly affected by the disaster. We apply an agent-based model to the actual supply chains of nearly one million firms in Japan to estimate the direct and indirect effects of the 2011 Great East Japan earthquake. We then employ the same model to predict the effect of the Nankai Trough earthquake, a mega earthquake predicted to hit major industrial cities in Japan in the near future. We find that the indirect effects of the disasters on production due to propagation (10.6% of gross domestic product in the case of the Nankai earthquake) are substantially larger than their direct effects (0.5%). Our simulation analyses to compare the actual network with hypothetical networks suggest that these indirect effects are more prominent and persistent when supply chains are characterized by scale-free properties, difficulty in substitution among intermediate products, and complex cycles in networks. The diffusion of economic shocks from earthquakes is simulated at the firm level in Japan, using an agent-based model and the supply chains of nearly one million firms. Indirect losses to production are significantly larger and more persistent than direct ones.

Developing A Model with Dematel, Anp, Topsis Approaches for Marketing Strategy Selection in Batik Madura Industry

The selection of marketing strategy is very important for the sustainability of small and medium enterprises (SMEs). Choosing the best marketing strategy is a process involving problem of multiple decision-making criteria, which considers many attributes in various phases of a strategy formulation method. This paper proposes a model of selecting marketing strategy for Batik Madura SMEs. The model selected five criteria including customer networking, innovation capabilities, managerial competency, human capital, and company reputation based on literature reviews and focus group decision-making discussion. Analytic network process (ANP), decision-making trial and evaluation laboratory (DEMATEL) and technique for order preference by similarity to an ideal solution (TOPSIS) methods were applied to obtain an impact relation map from each criteria and to determine the priority of marketing strategy. The implementation of the model shows that Batik Madura SMEs should maintain their focus on segmentation marketing as the most appropriate marketing strategy.

Evaluation of trade and production policy in Iranian SME (a system dynamics model)

It is undeniable that SMEs face many management-related problems. These problems are often deeply rooted in the strategic decision making by managers. One of these decisions is associated with the production section. Many of these companies provide production infrastructure at high costs; however, they are unsuccessful in acquiring their market share. In these circumstances, providing a solution to the decision-making problem of managers in these companies can prevent the loss of capital. In this research, the system dynamics approach is used to test the hypothesis of a company’s participation in the production field after securing a success in business activities of the market. In the present study, the SME performance model, proposed by Schmid’s, is considered as the base model. After analyzing its construction steps according to managers’ viewpoints, the model has been developed based on the conditions in Iran. Then, the research scenario is presented as follows. If an entrepreneur, before entering the production sector, tries to establish a customer network by conducting business activities, the organization’s chance for success will increase. By defining a variable called “production switch” and adding it as a function of a loyal customer network, the model has been tested. After simulating the model for a 5-year period, it is concluded that the rate of return on investment of an organization that has conducted the commercial activities at the outset of production is four times higher than that at the outset of production without the commercial activity.

An improved Hatch filter and its application in kinematic positioning with single-frequency GPS

The Hatch filter has been widely used in GNSS kinematic positioning and navigation. However, the classic carrier smoothing of code pseudorange observations often results in filter divergence and accuracy degradation in the positioning solution due to the influence of ionospheric delay. One solution is to reduce the impact of ionospheric delay by using the Klobuchar model, which has low correction accuracy. Another solution is to use differential ionospheric delay correction data provided by third parties, which have a high correction accuracy. However, this solution requires the support of obtaining precise ionospheric data through a customized data network. In this study, the authors model the ionospheric delay from the observations themselves and build a mathematical model of the ionospheric delay and its variations. A new and improved Hatch filtering algorithm is proposed. The carrier smoothing of code pseudorange observations in this algorithm has high accuracy and stability because it eliminates the influence of ionospheric delay and variation simultaneously. A sliding average window with an overlap segment is designed for this algorithm, which eliminates the discontinuity in the smoothed data. The analyses in this paper have been performed by means of a set of experimental tests using Trimble, some NETR9 receivers, and a GNSS data processing platform called GNSSer. The executed field tests cover two low kinematic experiments: a ship experiment and a trolley experiment. The results show that the improved Hatch filtering algorithm eliminates most of the influence of the ionosphere and obtains carrier-smoothing pseudorange observations with smoothness and high accuracy. In the kinematic experiment of the ship position, single-frequency pseudorange observations are used to establish an observation equation. The horizontal accuracy of the ship position is approximately 50 cm, and the vertical accuracy is less than 1 m, which is an order of magnitude higher than the accuracy of the classic Hatch filter. However, the kinematic positioning of the trolley is better, the accuracy is within 10 cm in the horizontal and 10–15 cm in the vertical. Both tests show consistent results that the improved Hatch filter has excellent single-frequency, single-epoch positioning performance under low kinematic conditions.

Time-Varying Interharmonics in Different Types of Grid-Tied PV Inverter Systems

Widely existing circuit topologies and inverter control strategies for photovoltaic (PV) systems allow customer flexibility but also introduce different kinds of interharmonics into the grid. A complete understanding of interharmonics from PV systems, with reasons behind their origin, remains needed. In addition, the time-varying nature of interharmonics and the potential impacts on other equipment are yet to be understood. In this paper, laboratory and field measurements of seven different inverter types at multiple locations are presented. A comprehensive analysis is performed to understand the existence, persistence, and propagation of interharmonics in PV systems on the dc side as well as grid side for different power levels. The origins of the interharmonics are established with experimental evidence and through a comparative analysis. A rural low voltage six customer network, with two different impedance profiles caused by the installation of PV, is considered to show the potential impact on customer voltage. To address the time-varying nature of interharmonics, a sliding window ESPRIT method is preferred over fast fourier transform (FFT)-based methods.

Intra-organizational communication, understanding, and process diffusion in logistics service providers

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to investigate, using survey data, how a firm may be able to leverage innovation or processes specifically developed for one customer across its entire customer network using on-site, or implanted, employees.Design/methodology/approachData collected from a survey of 309 implanted logistics service provider (LSP) representatives are analyzed using structural equation modeling.FindingsThe findings show that intra-organizational task interdependence and face-to-face communication can lead to a greater understanding of firm processes developed for specific customers and greater diffusion of these new processes to other customers. Rather than separating customers that require implanted employees, these implants can be a conduit of valuable information and process enhancements that can positively impact a firm’s customer network.Originality/valueThe current research shows how LSPs can effectively use their customer networks to provide process improvements for multiple customers. Specifically, transferring processes between customers can lead to efficiencies and contribute to supply chain robustness not possible without process diffusion.

A Fast and Flexible Framework for Network-Assisted Genomic Association

SummaryWe present an accessible, fast, and customizable network propagation system for pathway boosting and interpretation of genome-wide association studies. This system—NAGA (Network Assisted Genomic Association)—taps the NDEx biological network resource to gain access to thousands of protein networks and select those most relevant and performative for a specific association study. The method works efficiently, completing genome-wide analysis in under 5 minutes on a modern laptop computer. We show that NAGA recovers many known disease genes from analysis of schizophrenia genetic data, and it substantially boosts associations with previously unappreciated genes such as amyloid beta precursor. On this and seven other gene-disease association tasks, NAGA outperforms conventional approaches in recovery of known disease genes and replicability of results. Protein interactions associated with disease are visualized and annotated in Cytoscape, which, in addition to standard programmatic interfaces, allows for downstream analysis.

Compartmental diffusion modeling: Describing customer heterogeneity & communication network to support decisions for new product introductions

Following the introduction of the well-known Bass model and its variations to model adoption of a new product, compartmental modeling has emerged, in which the adoption pattern is modeled at the level of each compartment (or customer segment). Compartmental models add spatial and psychographic segments to Bass-type models which can allow modelers to approximate the heterogeneity, clustering and communication network of customers, while retaining an analytical structure. These models have been mainly explored in the context of demand forecasting and describing customer behavior, but their suitability as a scalable modeling tool to support large scale marketing and/or operational decision making is not explored. In this paper, we propose a flexible compartmental model and assess its suitability in terms of use of data, adherence to micro-level customer behavior, and use in large scale decision making. We show the merits of the CDE model by carrying out an extensive simulation study and also estimation on data on boradband adoption. We find that compartmental models result in estimates that are drastically less biased and can predict the shape of the adoption curve significantly better than what can be achieved by the Bass model. Even though these models can be scalable to capture large number of segments, we show that these improvements can still be observed with even a small number of segments (in contrast to what has been hypothesized in the literature), and are not sensitive to errors in the underlying process of customer segmentation. Therefore, the analytical structure of compartmental models can be further explored to further support large scale marketing and operational decision making, as they do not inherit the major shortcomings of Bass-type models while they capture the effect of customer clustering and interactions. Even though the focus of this paper is on new product adoption, compartmental modeling can also be successfully utilized in diverse physical, biological, and social settings that are governed by similar dynamics.

Optimal Dynamic Product Development and Launch for a Network of Customers

Network products such as mobile apps and computer games are of paramount importance, as these products constitute a large value in today’s economy. Motivated by this observation, the paper “Optimal Dynamic Product Development and Launch for a Network of Customers” considers a firm that dynamically chooses its effort to develop a product for a network of customers represented by a connected graph. The technology of the product evolves as a stochastic process that depends on the firm’s dynamic efforts over time. In addition to dynamically choosing its development effort, the firm chooses when to launch or abandon the product. If the firm launches the product, the firm also chooses a selling price, a promotional price, and a target customer to offer the promotion to. Once the target customer adopts the product, the product diffuses over the customer network based on the topology of the graph and the selling price. The paper provides the explicit solution of the firm’s jointly optimal development, launch, and post-launch strategies for any connected network, and introduces metrics that allow ordering customer networks with respect to the firm’s optimal expected discounted profit, launch technology, and consumer surplus.

Corruption in the Iberian Empires: Greed, Custom, and Colonial Networks ‐ edited by Rosenmüller, Christoph

Corruption in the Iberian Empires: Greed, Custom, and Colonial Networks ‐ edited by Rosenmüller, Christoph

Managing informal service organizations at the base of the pyramid (BoP)

PurposeThis paper aims to explore and learn about managerial practices of informal services at the base of the pyramid (BoP).Design/methodology/approachThe study reports findings of an empirical research conducted in 16 cities in Mexico during a two-year period. Managerial practices in 327 micro-businesses were identified and analyzed after conducting direct observation and personal interviews with owners, employees and customers of these BoP informal service businesses.FindingsThe paper shows that managerial practices of BoP informal service micro-businesses are developed through a dynamic, integrated network of owner, employees and customers who integrate scarce resources building win-win-win relationships to satisfy their basic daily needs.Practical implicationsThe creation and management of a BoP informal service business is mainly a matter of satisfying basic needs, aiming to positively transform a community by improving well-being. This paper provides insights to understand those relationships and interactions among the main actors involved, highlighting the need to identify and integrate the BoP service management cycle to better address their needs.Originality/valueThis paper proposes a conceptual service management framework for informal micro-businesses at the BoP integrating the owners, employees and customers’ perspectives. Three corresponding cycles are identified and discussed, which are useful to elicit relevant characteristics of key roles, activities, interactions and relationships taking place in informal services.