Business Typology Research Articles

ROLE OF BUSINESS-SUBJECTS IN DEMOCRATIZATION PROCESS OF CONTEMPORARY RUSSIA

In this article the author attempts to reflect on the role and place of business-subjects in democratization process of contemporary Russia: business is one of the three sectors. The author developed a typology of business- subjects as a stakeholders of democratization process, which allows to discussion more detailed designated research agenda. The role and place of Russian business in democratization process can’t be analyzed without considering Russia's political system space, the specifics of which was most clearly indicated by the protest events after in 2011-2012. Discontinuation of various kinds of contacts between business-structures and civil society institutions has become the official policy derivative that does not contribute to democratization process based on the principles of partnership, publicity and multiple management technologies using. The author also reveals the importance of public support and solidarity by different interest groups in their relation to the business-subjects as actors of democratization. The data of the sociological survey conductedby "Levada Center" in August 2015 allowed to construct the graph of answers distribution to the question: "Do you think the activities of major Russian businessmen and entrepreneurs is now generally making anything for the benefit or to the detriment of Russia?",clearly demonstrating the absence of consolidated-positive attitude of the Russian public to the business. In conclusion the author offers practical recommendations to improving the role of business subjects in democratization process of contemporary Russia.

Las empresas familiares: una caracterización empresarial y la tipología societaria de capital más adecuada

Las empresas familiares representan el motor económico más relevante en la mayoría de los países de economía de mercado. Su enorme importancia macroeconómica ha originado el nacimiento de un movimiento de defensa de sus intereses. Sin embargo, falta por definir las directrices que configuran su tipología empresarial y societaria. El presente trabajo tiene como finalidad precisamente reflexionar acerca de la caracterización y tipología de las empresas familiares, tanto desde un punto de vista empresarial, como desde un punto de vista del Derecho de sociedades.

The London Summer 2012 Olympic Games: Threat of Disruption and Business Reaction

The impact of and reaction to the disruption on transport created by mega-events on host communities and, in particular, businesses, is an underresearched area. Utilizing social exchange theory, this article examines the relationship between businesses and transport authorities in the implementation of the Travel Demand Management (TDM) strategy for the London Olympics 2012. This research identifies the mechanisms by which the authorities meet the specific antecedent conditions that impact on the exchange. This research is unusual as a qualitative approach is used to gain in-depth understanding of the impacts of mega-events on business and their attitudes to these antecedents. The theoretical contribution of this study is a model that depicts the decision-making processes by which businesses evaluate the exchange relationship. Results identify that there is a link between business typology, antecedent, and the level of engagement. The practical implications of the results and the limitations of the study are discussed with reference to future mega-events and research possibilities.

Open innovation practices adopted by private stakeholders: perspectives for living labs

Purpose– This paper aims to explore the role of private stakeholders in the living lab (LL) ecosystem and the relationship of private stakeholders to open innovation (OI) practices. There is extensive literature on private stakeholders and OI, but seldom mention is made on the specific question of how private stakeholders integrate OI in the context of a LL.Design/methodology/approach– The authors will analyze qualitatively how private businesses that have participated in ain situopen innovation evaluate and perceived their open innovation practices. Therefore, how they relate to open innovation. Then, the authors will identify a typology of the businesses in relation to OI.Findings– The research focused on the relationship of private stakeholders to OI in the context ofin situOI activities. The results obtained are consistent with literature on OI (Chesbrough, 2003). However, there are differences: if the elements mentioned by the respondents are described in literature, their representation of OI and its components allows us to affirm that this practice is not generalised and that it is often open to interpretation. That emphasises the importance of the role LLs can play as intermediaries to accompany private stakeholders in the OI process. Private stakeholders look for a guide to develop their OI know-how and find their way in the OI ecosystem.Originality/value– The value of this paper is to bridge the research on OI done with private organisation and the research on LLs. The research literature did not pay much attention to the representation of the private stakeholders in the OI ecosystem. This paper has provided the start to open up that field.

Social media strategies and corporate brand visibility in the wine industry

Purpose– The purpose of this paper is to identify and discuss the web-marketing behavioural models adopted in the wine industry using as case studies several leading Italian wineries. It aims to propose a new methodology to evaluate the impact of web marketing strategies on online brand visibility and image.Design/methodology/approach– The paper is based on literature review and case study approach. The study uses six leading Italian wineries as case studies, selected by taking into account six strategic profiles: business size, business management, corporate brand reputation, competitive strategy, marketing orientation and marketing budget.Findings– The proposed structured methodology highlights new key elements that could be implemented in a marketing plan. The research results propose a conceptual three-dimension approach that integrates a business's strategic orientation with its digital-marketing strategy and its social media tactics. It also includes specific evaluation criteria to measure the impact on the business's strategic objectives.Research limitations/implications– The applied research approach should be extended to other business typologies and wine-producing countries to allow the generalisation of results. In addition, the monitoring period should be extended to confirm the reliability of results.Originality/value– The applied methodology can be adopted more broadly, and it underlines managerial implications that can be extended to the rest of the Italian wine industry, as well as to the parts of the wine sector that are dominated by the presence of SMEs.

Why do some companies adopt advanced management systems? The Spanish case

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to analyze the organisational innovation effort that is being carried out by Spanish industrial companies through the implementation of advanced management systems.Design/methodology/approachTaking into account the results of two surveys conducted with Spanish companies (in 1996 and 2007), the authors study the implementation of innovative practices in the organisation of work and describe different typologies of companies, in agreement with how widespread these practices are. In addition, the authors study the determining factors that drive companies to use well‐developed management systems. In order to carry out these analyses use is made of two statistical techniques: cluster analysis and estimation of discrete choice models.FindingsThe study of the company typology reveals that there are industrial companies in Spain competing with three different profiles which are described in the paper. There are differences in some human resource management aspects. The greatest differences are seen in the way the information is shared. The results obtained through the estimation of discrete choice models determine that the main factors that explain the implementation of developed management systems in Spanish companies are: market competition; the development of positioning strategies; the existence of a participatory attitude in management; and the participation in networks along the value chain.Practical implicationsAfter acknowledging the variety of business typologies, the management recommendations suggested in this paper insist on making coordinated progress in decision making on strategies, resources, internal organisation of companies and human resources management policies.Originality/valueThis is the first comprehensive survey about how widespread organisational innovative practices are in Spanish industrial companies.

Key Knowledge Providers as Sources of Business Innovation

Studies of innovation are giving increasing attention to the relationships that businesses maintain with different participants in the innovation process. It is generally assumed that interaction with other businesses, universities and government organizations can generate knowledge that will improve the ability to innovate. However, there is little evidence of the specific roles that businesses assign to partners with regard to the provision of knowledge for innovation activities. This paper presents results from research on the dynamics of Triple Helix networks, where such networks provide the basis for building innovation capacity for businesses in catch-up geographical regions. The principal assumption is that businesses adopting an open collaboration strategy have a greater capacity to combine knowledge from different sources and adapt the knowledge to suit their innovation processes. A large set of key indicators is used to identify which regional sources are considered by businesses to be important for acquiring knowledge. The study is based on a survey of 737 businesses in the Andalusia region of Southern Spain and analysis of the results provides a typology of businesses characterized by the extent to which they focus their interest on specific groups of participants in the innovation process. The conclusions highlight and compare the role of universities with that of business networks, service providers, government and other sources.

Dwarf giants, giant dwarfs. Reflections about the Italian ‘industrial demography’ at the beginning of the new millennium

This article deals with the evolution of different forms of business enterprise in the economic history of Italy. In the 150 years since its unification, Italy has experienced a successful mix of business typologies with different contribution to the economic development of the country. In this article, the contribution of big business – privately, foreign owned and State controlled – is reviewed, as well as the long-standing presence of small firms and industrial districts. The most recent evolution in this framework, which has been a distinctive feature of Italian capitalism for over a century, has been the emergence of aggressive, medium-size, internationally oriented specialized firms. Strengths and weaknesses of this varied industrial demography are discussed in the light of the different technological waves that have been characteristic Italy's presence among the most advanced economies in the World.

Student‐as‐aspirant: strategic implications for business education

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is twofold. First, to propose a new metaphor, student‐as‐aspirant, which captures well the educational role of students, professors, and business schools. Second, to develop the strategic implications of this metaphor for the management of business schools.Design/methodology/approachA thorough review of relevant literature is conducted and the underlying assumptions of previously suggested metaphors are exposed and challenged. The new metaphor has subsequently been developed based on a broader typology of business offerings.FindingsThe paper shows that the extant metaphors are inappropriate for they misrepresent the nature of learning as the core of business schools' offerings to their students. It concludes with the advantages of the student‐as‐aspirant metaphor.Research limitations/implicationsLimitations are centred on the difficulties faced by students, professors, and business schools in adopting the metaphor.Practical implicationsThe metaphor has strategic implications ranging from stakeholders' expectations, to governance, structure, and strategy of business schools.Originality/valueThe paper is the first to use a typology of four distinct business offerings to propose a new metaphor that sensibly flows from the nature of the transformative learning as the core offering of business schools.

Business and urban development typologies in strategic land use planning and economic development

Business and urban development typologies in strategic land use planning and economic development

The Internationalization of Corporate Healthcare: Extent and Emerging Trends

This article presents the results of an investigation into the extent of internationalization among large corporations engaged in significant health-related activities. Companies included in Fortune magazine's ‘G500’ list of the world's 500 largest corporations (by sales) were analyzed for health-related activities. Those with significant health-related activities were allocated to categories within a typology of health-related businesses. This typology is composed of five key categories: providers of services to the end consumer; producers of goods; suppliers of services to state or private providers; insurance and managed care companies; and firms involved in the construction, maintenance or ownership of premises. Direct providers of health services were the least internationalized category of health-related business, whilst producers of goods and suppliers of services were the most internationalized. The article discusses the reasons why this is the case, and concludes that internationalization among direct providers of health services is likely to increase over time.

Building a Business and Society Typology

Building a Business and Society Typology

Farm business and the development of alternative farm enterprises: An empirical analysis in Greece

The objective of this paper is to provide a conceptual framework and an empirical evidence of farm business change in relation to the adoption and development of alternative farm enterprises (AFE). The present paper adopts a business typology and looks at the various paths of development. A range of factors condition which path of farm business development will be selected. Some factors relate to the farms' physical characteristics, its business and its human capital. A sample of 200 farmers in the prefecture of Etolia-Akarnania in Greece is analysed in order to identify the factors influencing the choice of farm business development. Three main paths of farm business development are identified in this lagging region of Greece. Conventional (mainstream) farming, alternative farm enterprise development and conventional farming with off-farm employment. Appropriate statistical modelling revealed that both economic and social factors exert an independent effect on the choice of farm business development. Proposals concerning the formulation of future rural policy in the lagging regions of Greece are drawn, based on the results derived from the analysis of the present sample.

Innovation, marketing strategy, environment, and performance

The contribution of innovation to corporate survival and growth is an accepted notion in much of management. Typologies of strategic orientations of companies based on innovation have been developed and analyzed. Most of these typologies focus on a single dimension of innovation. This study, using the PIMS database, develops a typology of businesses based on multiple dimensions of innovation and examines their marketing strategies and performance. Results suggest that innovative types have different marketing orientations and performance levels, some of which confirm findings based on other typologies. A major implication in terms of performance is that great care must be taken in adopting an innovation posture. For example, extremely aggressive rates of product introductions are associated with poor marketing (absolute and relative market share) and financial performance but high market share growth. Pioneering a market results in superior all around performance, whereas late entry is associated with poor performance. The findings suggest a need to examine the type of innovation, the type of performance outcome, and the time frame for assessment when evaluating the type of performance outcome, and the time frame for assessment when evaluating the contributions of innovation to corporate survival and growth.

Economies of Scale and Economies of Diversification in Insurance Business: Some Elements of Valuation

In the first part of our research, we recall of the challenges posed by the determination of costs in insurance business, the difficulties proper to the sector, raised by the evaluation of costs: one may note the great heterogeneousness of the average cost ratios according to businesses and risk categories; a simplified typology of insurance business is proposed, as well as a breakdown of insured risks, likely to explain such an heterogeneousness.

The restructuring process and economic centrality in capitalist agriculture

The purpose of the paper is to examine contemporary relations in agricultural production. The discussion focuses upon the internal and external processes modifying production relations on the farm and, in particular, the changing significance of farm-based sources of income and capital (economic centrality) to the farm business in the restructuring of agricultural capital. There are a variety of reasons why farm businesses are finding it increasingly necessary to diversify their sources of income, and in some cases capital generation, which relate to their internal family relations and external contacts. While obtaining alternative sources of income for farmers may be advocated for the purpose of reducing their marginalisation and low income problems, this may only be realisable for a minority. The complexities of farm businesses and their external relations with other forms of capital suggest the need for a construction of a typology which focuses on the economic centrality of the business to the farm family. The discussion here is divided into four sections. First, the main characteristics of the restructuring process in British agriculture are identified, leading to a discussion focusing on the transformation of the family farm. The concept of economic centrality is then discussed as an important characteristic of the restructuring process affecting British farming, and a typology of farm businesses established, based upon empirical evidence collected from London's Metropolitan Green Belt. This evidence forms part of a wider study of the changing structure of farm businesses in three areas of lowland England (East Bedfordshire, West Dorset and London's Green Belt) which links farm business change to changes in the farm landscape.