Strategic Point Of View Research Articles

The Effects of a Digital Marketing Orientation on Business Performance

Customer relationship management (CRM) has become increasingly important as a result of the pressure organizations are under to remain competitive. CRM has been and is widely promoted as essential to a company’s ability to survive. According to this study, CRM is more than just a computer program or software package. We believe that for organizations to use CRM effectively, it must be viewed from a strategic point of view. Therefore, this study focuses on the consequences of digital marketing on business performance, specifically, the consequences of customer relationship orientation and the use of CRM technologies as a support for analysis, data integration, and access on business performance. This study addresses a contemporary and relevant research problem that has national and international relevance. The research is based on quantitative methods to test hypotheses. Data were gathered from 73 organizations. The findings show the relationships between CRM and customer satisfaction, market effectiveness, and profitability. Customer relationship orientation positively affects customer satisfaction, market effectiveness, and market profitability. CRM technologies significantly improve business performance. This research contributes to the existing knowledge by shedding light on the complex relationships among CRM, customer relationship orientation, market effectiveness, market profitability, and customer satisfaction. Based on the research results, we provide practical recommendations for managers and decision makers.

Merits and Demerits of Cloud Computing for Business

In today's world, cloud computing has become a new way of thinking about technology that promises many benefits to businesses. Businesses can cut down on capital costs, improve agility, and better use their resources by using virtualized and scalable computing resources provided over the Internet. Moving to the Cloud, however, brings new problems and risks that must be carefully considered. The article carefully considers the pros and cons of using the Cloud for businesses from a strategic point of view. We put together key benefits like lowering costs, growing, and being flexible in business by looking at literature from different areas, like management, computer science, and information systems. At the same time, we look at the most common risks, such as security issues, being locked into one vendor, following the rules, and losing control over data and systems. It also suggests a decision strategy that businesses can use to systematically figure out if cloud computing is a good fit for their specific operations. Our study adds to the body of academic knowledge by promoting a more complete understanding of the strategic effects of cloud computing. It also gives practitioners a strong analytical lens to help them understand the complexities of this paradigm shift.

BEST PRACTICES IN HYBRID MARKETING: INTEGRATING TRADITIONAL AND DIGITAL STRATEGIES FOR MAXIMUM IMPACT

In order to develop a complete advertising strategy that more effectively engages, communicates, markets, and sells to consumers in a world where technology continues to evolve, hybrid marketing combines traditional and digital marketing approaches. The organization needs to have a hybrid overall marketing plan from a strategic point of view. This essentially means that while creating your plan, consider traditional as well as digital ways of thinking. Although embracing a hybrid marketing attitude will require intentional work at first, creating a hybrid marketing plan will become routine to you in time, particularly if you have more experience with one kind of marketing than the other. When designing a digital product, take into account how the consumer experience might be strengthened by offline connections.Likewise, in the process of generating an offline good or service, utilize the benefits of digital platforms and channels to improve consumer transaction speed, ease, and productivity. Similar offline and online channels are used by communication and equity in brands, but at various points in the customer journey, to engage and interact with customers. Digital advertising cannot reach and engage clients in the exact same manner as offline media . Using the best resources that turn out to be the most successful and generate the biggest return on investment is known as hybrid marketing. Some of the most effective hybrid advertising strategies are listed in this article.

Current Trends, Forecasts, and Risks of the Sports Industry in the World and in Slovakia

The essence of the paper is to present the results of the analysis of current trends, forecasts, and risks of the sports industry in the world and in Slovakia, which are the basis for the solution of a scientific project in Slovakia. The processed results are based on the analysis of different views on current changes, trends, and problems in the sports industry in the world. Other results represent the identification of strategic risks of the concept of sports development in Slovakia from the established six strategic pillars point of view. The benefit of the paper is to participate in the developing discussion about the direction of the sports industry not only in Slovakia but also in the world. The authors of the paper want to contribute to raising awareness about the effective management of sports organizations and their impact on the entire society. Also, increase interest in prevention and paying more attention to risk management in sports organizations.

Experience-dominant logic: laying the groundwork for an experience-dominant view of firm practices in the marketplace

PurposeThis paper aims to introduce the experience-dominant (Ex-D) logic model, which synthesizes the creation, perceptions and outcomes of Ex-D logic. It is designed to offer valuable insights for strategic managerial applications and future research directions.Design/methodology/approachEmploying a qualitative approach by using eight selected product launch events from reviewed 100 event videos and 55 in-depth interviews with industrial managers to develop an Ex-D logic model, and data were coded and analysed via NVivo.FindingsResults show that the firm’s Ex-D logic is operationalized as the mentalizing of the three types of customer needs (service competence, hedonic excitations and meaning making), the materializing of three types of customer experiences and customer journeys (service experience, hedonic experience and brand experience) and the moderating of three types of customer values (service values, hedonic values and brand values).Research limitations/implicationsThis study has implications for adding new insights into existing theory on dominant logic and customer experience management and also offers actionable recommendations for managerial applications.Originality/valueThis study sheds light on the importance of Ex-D logic from a strategic point of view and provides an organic view of the firm. It distinguishes firm perspective from customer perspective, firm experience from customer experience and firm journey from consumer journey.

Bridging Proactive Market Orientation to Startups’ Marketing Approach: Theoretical Background and Case Studies

Rapid change of global market dynamics makes the survival of startups difficult. This study investigates the integration of startups' marketing approach with proactive market orientation in order to adapt these changing dynamics of the market. Customer orientation, new-product development, innovation orientation and competitiveness are explained as encouraging components of proactive market orientation to be robust and long-run in the in competitive environment. Case studies of the paper are involving the most innovative and valuable brands of the world as well customer-centric. The most fundamental purpose of the paper is to emphasize the importance of marketing approach through those companies’ proactive behaviors. With the continues startup culture, they can give inspirations for the early-stage entrepreneurs while designing their marketing strategies. The article presents a strategic point of view for marketing decisions based on theoretical background of the phenomenon and recommends a holistic roadmap for practitioners in the journey of entrepreneurship. It is also aimed to contribute to the literature and pioneer for the further studies.

EVALUATION OF THE EFFECTIVENESS OF INVESTMENTS INTO HUMAN CAPITAL AT THE MACRO LEVEL

This article is devoted to the study of the problem of evaluating the effectiveness of financing the education sector as an important industry that contributes to the creation of conditions for accelerated economic growth. In the context of the formation and development of an innovative economy, investments in education are of a priority nature and provide an important competitive advantage from a strategic point of view - the accumulation and development of the country's intellectual potential. At the same time, an increase in investment in education does not mean an increase in the effect and cannot guarantee an increase in the quality of educational services. Therefore, one of the topical issues in the implementation of investments in the industry is the evaluation of their effectiveness. The formation of a methodology for evaluating the effectiveness of investment in education at the macro level is based on a comparison of changes in national investment in education and changes in the human development index. Approbation of the proposed method is carried out on a specific example. This article analyzes the works of the classics of philosophy and economics, monographs, scientific and technical research, and articles by foreign and domestic scientists on the analysis and evaluation of the effectiveness of investments in human capital. The results of this study raise an important question for theoretical economists: what the mechanism by which human capital is affects economic growth, how to model the relationship between the stock of human capital, capital, and technological progress, as well as the law of accumulation of human capital in the model.

The Key Impact of Management Modes for Innovation in SMEs

This study assists in obtaining a better knowledge of managerial and organizational factors favoring different types of innovation, highlighting the critical role of creativity, risk-taking, and performance management for operational innovation. Also, this study aims to simultaneously investigate interactions of exploration and exploitation innovation to show how managers and organizations are usually treated in exploration and exploitation innovation. A sample of 755 valid questionnaires from small and mid-size enterprises (SMEs) from diverse firms in the global south were employed and analyzed using the partial least square structural equation model to examine the proposed research model and assumptions. This study shows that creativity, risk-taking, and performance management are positively and significantly affect operational innovation in global south SMEs. From a strategic point of view, our findings demonstrate that SMEs must create innovation in order to maintain their performance. Managers of SMEs would be aware of the influence of various types of innovation on various aspects of business performance, such as marketing, operations, and finance. On a management level, the research findings assist SMEs in achieving high performance levels with their innovation projects. In addition, this research helps readers to develop a better knowledge of how organizations combine operating innovations and exploration.

MIGRATION OF AHISGA (MESKHETI) TURKS TO THE UNITED STATES AND LIVING THERE

The purpose of this study is to assess what Ahisga Turks have adopted in the process of immigrat-ing to the United States and to discuss the methods individuals have developed to preserve their cul-ture in the process of acculturation. Many factors influence this process at the same time. The Ahisga Turks, consisting of about 600 families from the Krasnodar region of Russia, settled in various states of the United States and later in the State of Ohio, forming the source of information. This study is based on data collected through in-depth interviews with ten people, nine Ahisga Turks and one cleric from Turkey, living in Dayton, Ohio, USA. The article contains both interviews and literature studies about Ahisga Turks living in the United States. The return of Ahisga Turks, who were exiled to Central Asia by the Soviet regime in 1944 for strategic reasons, is still being postponed for strategic reasons. In many countries, including Turkey, where Ahisga Turks live, international organizations and think tanks continue to solve the issue from a political and strategic point of view. As a concrete example, it can be shown that although the return of Ahisga Turks to their land is a condition for Georgia's membership in the Council of Europe (1999), neither the Georgian state nor the Council of Europe can implement the return process as intended.

Evaluating enablers for digital transformation readiness and resulting benefits

Digital transformation (DT) readiness is usually associated with the technological maturity of an organisation more than with its readiness from a strategic point of view, which makes it essential to have artefacts that allow this type of evaluation, which still needs to be sufficiently expanded and tested. Based on Rogers’s [1] framework, this work developed a conceptual model to assess the impact and relevance of the six enablers in strategic readiness and benefits resulting from a DT project. Through a qualitative study with a panel of experts from six Portuguese organisations, it was possible to validate the model, conclude which are the most relevant strategic enablers for greater DT readiness, and also that conducting more business through digital platforms significantly improves the resulting benefits. Furthermore, it will be possible to apply this model in broader quantitative contexts to determine which factors are most prevalent according to the context, be it an industry, a region, or an organisation’s dimension.

Supply chain modelling and LARG performance evaluation under severe disruptions: the case of the fast-food industry

the LARG paradigm involves and combines different perspectives: Lean, Agile, Green, and Resilience. These four perspectives are recognized as a suitable response to the strong demand fluctuations and characteristics of modern variables and unpredictable markets. Their integration into modern supply chains is also crucial from a strategic point of view. This study develops a simulation model useful for measuring and evaluating the LARG performance of a supply chain operating in the fast-food industry. Different configurations have been tested varying the number of players and the target service level. Then, different scenarios with distortions have been compared. Results show that the service level influences the LARG performance regardless of the kind of disruption. The supply chain structure can affect LARG performance when the demand increases, while it seems not relevant if the demand decreases.

Active Control of the Reflection Coefficient of an Underwater Surface

From a strategic point of view, it is essential to protect underwater vehicles from being detected by opponents. Modern mono- or bistatic sonar systems are capable of precisely determining the position of a watercraft. In order to triangulate the positions of watercrafts, the sonar sends out acoustic signals that are reflected by the vehicles’ surfaces. These deflected sound waves are subsequently detected and evaluated. How well an object can be detected using a sonar can be measured according to the target strength. Through their shape, construction and choice of materials, modern underwater vehicles are optimized in relation to minimizing their radiated and reflected sound waves; in this way, their target strength is minimized. These passive measures are particularly effective in the medium- and high-frequency range down to 1500 Hz. To effectively reduce reflections at lower frequencies, an active system is developed in this study and evaluated in a laboratory test with a water-filled impedance tube. The incident sound waves were measured in front of an active surface and then processed using an adaptive control system based on an FPGA platform. The system operates with a very thin piezoceramic applied to the surface in order to minimize the reflections of the sound waves. The laboratory tests showed the high effectiveness of the system under the influence of sonar-like signals.

The psychopathological evolution of “Behavior and Conduct Disorder in Childhood”: Deviant and criminal traits in preadolescence and adolescence. A review

Starting from the general concept of “Behavior and Conduct Disorder in Childhood”, the present review seeks to highlight the main predictive elements that, in preadolescent and adolescent age, can correlate with the symptomatological picture of distinctive disorders in deviant and criminal conduct. Early educational intervention, prevention in all its forms and the use of therapeutic corrective tools can encourage expected and expected behavioural improvement, especially in subjects who are still not adults and with a family and social environment that responds to corrective stimuli. Understanding such passages is functional from a strategic point of view, to prevent, educate, plan, intervene, and/or correct certain psychopathological inclinations, also from a socio-environmental, family, and personal perspective.

Managing environmental sustainability in customer experience processes: A multi-stakeholder analysis within the food delivery ecosystem

PurposeThis paper aims to determine how environmental sustainability (ES) can be integrated into the customer experience (CX). In order to accomplish this, the paper uses a customer journey (CJ) perspective. Speculatively, the paper analyses the experiential stakeholder ecosystem beyond the CJ to verify the obstacles to the implementation of ES.Design/methodology/approachThis paper uses a qualitative analysis of in-depth interviews with multiple stakeholders within the food delivery ecosystem. The multi-stakeholder analysis allows the authors to explore the problem not only from an operational point of view but also from a strategic point of view since in the delivery of a service the value for the end customer is the result of the efforts of several players.FindingsThe results shed light on the importance attributed to ES by the players that make up the food delivery ecosystem. The findings emphasise the importance of an ecosystemic view amongst stakeholders to achieve ES.Originality/valueThis research extends the scarce and embryonic literature on a sustainable CX by applying a CJ perspective, by revealing how and with which touchpoints it is possible to be environmentally sustainable in the design of the CX.

IMPROVEMENT OF THE CONCEPTUAL BASIS OF TRANSFORMATION PROCESSES IN THE ACTIVITY OF COMMERCIAL BANKS: A STRATEGIC AND TACTICAL APPROACH

This article deals with issues related to the tactical and strategic aspects of the transformational processes of commercial banks. Tactical aspects are connected with the essence and features of the directions of the main trends in banking, strategic - with the improvement of the conceptual foundations of transformation processes. It is substantiated that from a strategic point of view, the processes of digitalization of the activities of commercial banks do not contribute to the solution of existing systemic problems. In addition, the article reflects the author's definition of the essence and specific features of the main goal of the transformation of banking.

Comparing the responses of countries and National Health Systems to the COVID-19 pandemic: a critical analysis with a case-report series.

This review aimed to compare the different responses of countries to the pandemic, their National Health Systems, and their impact on citizens' health. This work aimed to create a narrative plot that connects different discussion points and suggests organizational solutions and strategic choices in the face of the pandemic. In particular, this work focused on public health organizations, specifically the European Union and vaccination politics. It is also based on a case report series (about the United States, Germany, Vietnam, New Zealand, Cuba, and Italy), where each country has responded differently to the pandemic in terms of political decisions such as vaccination type, information to citizens, dealings with independent experts, and other specific country factors. In comparing the various models of care systems response to the pandemic, it emerges that: we have found some (few) good practices, but without global coordination, and this is obviously not enough. It is now quite clear that there cannot be a "good answer" in a single nation. Uncoordinated local responses cannot counter a global phenomenon. The second point is that the general context must be considered from a strategic point of view. With the threat of new pandemics (but also of health disasters linked to climate change, pollution, and wars), humanity finds itself at the crossroads between investing in a "democratic" management of international bodies but without power (and at the mercy of the need for funds with consequent conflicts) or in some new leadership proposals that advocate efficiency and problem-solving (and that would probably be able to implement it) but that would place processes totally outside of the public's control.

The Dynamics of Polish-Georgian Relations from the 15th Century till Presen

Since ancient times, Georgian people had relations with the neighboring and distant countries.Georgian and foreign researchers often facedmajorquestions: what did the Georgian nationendure,howdid it endure and how did it survive?Georgian-foreign relations in most casesaddressedfreedom and independence of the motherlandand this aspectis very important for the understanding ofthe Georgian nation, its uniqueness and peculiarities. An ancient civilizednation standing at the junction of Europe and Asia, was interesting not only from a strategic point of view, but itownedthe Eurasian economiclever and the key to the whole system of relations.Since the 19thcentury, relations of Poland and Georgia have emerged and developed within the framework of one empire. This very aspectis of an interest in terms of Polish-Georgian relations, not only from a purely cultural point of view, but from a historical one, as well. Therefore, from today's perspective, it seems relevant to discuss our past and its consequences, especially if this deals withthe people, once prosperous and strong, and since the 19thcentury, under the colonial rule.
 Keywords: Dynamics, Georgia, Poland,Relations

Minimum-Race-Time Energy Allocation Strategies for the Hybrid-Electric Formula 1 Power Unit

The hybrid-electric powertrain currently used in Formula 1 race cars draws its energy from the car's fuel tank and battery. The usable battery size is limited, and refueling during a race is forbidden by the regulations of the Formula 1 race series. From a strategic point of view, lap-by-lap targets for the fuel and battery consumption must be chosen and imposed on the energy management controller of the car. This task is non-trivial due to the influence of the on-board fuel mass on the achievable lap time, as well as the cross-couplings between the electric and the combustion part of the powertrain. A systematic approach is thus required to compute the energy allocation strategy that minimizes the total race time. In this paper, we devise an optimization framework in the form of a non-linear program, yielding the optimal battery and fuel consumption targets for each lap of the race. The approach is based on maps that capture the achievable lap time as a function of car mass and allocated battery and fuel energy. These maps are generated beforehand with a model-based single-lap optimization framework and fitted using artificial neural network techniques. To showcase the approach, we present three case studies: First, we compare the optimal strategy to a heuristic method. The improvement of 2s over the entire race is substantial, given that the difference only lies in the energy allocation, but not in the overall consumption. It underlines the importance of optimizing the energy allocation. Second, we leverage the framework to compute the optimal fuel load at the beginning of the race. Finally, we apply the developed non-linear program in a shrinking-horizon fashion. Our simulation results show that the resulting model predictive controller correctly reacts to disturbances that frequently occur during a race.

Talent management and firm performance in emerging markets: a systematic literature review and framework

PurposeThe purposes of this study are to (i) systematically review the state of the existing research of talent management (TM) in emerging markets and its connections with firm performance; (ii) recap the results in an integrative and multidisciplinary framework and (iii) recognize potential research contradictions and gaps that offer avenues for future study.Design/methodology/approachIn this study, the authors apply a systematic literature review (SLR) methodology to review 31 peer-reviewed articles published in highly ranked journals (ABS journals list – ranking 3, 4 and 4*) over more than two decades.FindingsThis review shows that the state of the current research of TM in emerging countries and its connections with firm performance is characterized by complexity and fragmentation within the different countries investigated. This review summarizes and highlights five central categories of TM in emerging markets. In order to ensure that the field of research investigated continues to be relevant to diverse constituents, the authors incorporate the various prominent research perspectives into an integrative framework structured at macro (economies/countries), meso (industries) and micro (individuals/organizations) levels.Practical implicationsThis research provides guidance for chief executive officers, chief financial officers and human resource directors in emerging countries to develop TM within their organization in order to capture its relevant aspects, from a strategic (purposeful and competency modeling), organizational (talent planning and career track planning) and financial point of view (remuneration policy and firm performance).Originality/valueThe authors offer a first holistic overview of the features of TM in emerging markets and also introduce firm performance. The authors present an integrative multidisciplinary framework that can serve as a starting point of a summary of areas covered by the literature. Finally, the authors identify several knowledge gaps, emerging topics and limitation of current research, through which ideas for future investigations are offered.

INNOVATION INFRASTRUCTURE AS A FOUNDATION FOR BUSINESS PROCESS DEVELOPMENT

Innovation infrastructure is most often associated with research activities and high-tech production. From a strategic point of view, innovation infrastructure ensures the process of realization of new or improved products, processes or production methods, thus creating the basis for highly efficient activities. In this sense, the formation of innovative infrastructure is extremely important for Ukraine as a basis for the development of high-tech industries and increasing the efficiency of business processes. Methodology. The article presents the authors' method of calculating the formation of innovation infrastructure as a basis for the development of effective business processes. According to it, it is a set of objects that create conditions for innovation and the presence of such objects can conclude the formation of innovation infrastructure. The proposed methodological approach consists of three blocks, including target block, preparation unit, evaluation and diagnostic unit. In this case the object of evaluation is innovation infrastructure. Therefore, the evaluation process should determine the level of innovation infrastructure formation. Results. On the basis of the scores of the indicators of formation of innovation infrastructure, on the one hand, it is proposed to determine a generalized score of formation of innovation infrastructure by oblasts, and on the other – an integrated specific score by provision of its facilities. Thus, the main indicators for assessing the formation of innovation infrastructure are the number of technology parks, the number of industrial parks, the number of science parks, the number of business incubators, the number of innovation centers, the number of free economic zones (with intellectual property units), the number of regional science centers. The correspondence of separate objects of innovation infrastructure with the stages of innovation process provided by them is given. It is determined that technology parks provide generation, transfer and development of knowledge, innovation centers – generation and transfer of knowledge, business incubators – acquisition and use of knowledge. Taking into account this comparative characteristic, the weight coefficients of each object of innovation infrastructure are determined. On the basis of concretization, the average score of formation of innovation infrastructure in oblasts is determined, which corresponds to the integrated score of formation of innovation infrastructure of Ukraine. Practical implications. The rating of the effectiveness of innovation infrastructure by oblasts was calculated. The top five leaders are: Kharkiv, Zaporizhzhia, Lviv, Dnipro, and Kyiv Oblasts and the city of Kyiv itself. The efficiency rating of the leading oblasts almost completely coincides with the indicator of innovation infrastructure development, with the exception of Donetsk Oblast, which has a better indicator of development than efficiency, and Zaporizhzhia Oblast, on the contrary, has an efficient infrastructure despite its low development.