As ever, the editors have assembled a collection of original and novel papers for the Journal. Our intent is that there should be papers of interest that capture the attention of what we know to be a wide range of scholars with different approaches and different points of focus.
The first paper in this issue is concerned with entrepreneurial business development. It is provided by Markus Holzweber and Jan Mattsson from Roskilde University in Denmark, and Craig Standing from Edith Cowan University Joondalup in Australia. They introduce the notion of “tribes” to business development. They present the case of a Swedish start-up attempting to build a global presence by creating a tribe of followers, and from this develop a model suggesting the components necessary to succeed in tribe building on social media. They propose that entrepreneurial success is highly dependent on how the “inner-tribe” can create an icon to shape an “outer-tribe” by means of electronic word-of-mouth on social media. In a world when we have seen Apple prosper by its fanatical MacHead or Macolyte tribe, and Brompton folding bicycles adored by its web-connected urban warriors, the issue of brand tribes is highly topical and relevant. This paper adds some interesting insights into how tribes operate and their significance to strategic marketing.
The second piece in this issue is concerned with applying a theory of constraint framework to market orientation in a non-profit organization. It is contributed by Mahesh C. Gupta and Stewart Bridgman Jr from the University of Louisville, and Gurjeet Kaur Sahi from the University of Jammu in India. The authors show how a non-profit provider-Mental Health Services-was able to apply the methodology and measures from the theory of constraints literature to systematically enhance its degree of market orientation and impact positively on business performance. The authors identify the need for greater research effort in understanding the links between the theory of constraints model and market orientation, but also claim that their work opens the way to improving the market orientation of other not-for-profit organizations using a similar methodology. This work should interest those looking for further insights into both market orientation and the way marketing operates in a not-for-profit context.
The third article we present is written by Clare D’Souza from La Trobe University, Mehdi Taghian of Deakin University, and Gillian Sullivan-Mort and Andrew Gilmore, both from La Trobe University. Their topic is green marketing and a firm’s internal practices for environmental sustainability. The study examines the linkages between green marketing strategy and the key internal functional areas in the firm. The findings suggest that the internal functional areas most likely to be linked to green marketing strategy are supplier selection and research and development. The authors discuss the implications of their findings. The work is of particular note in moving environmental marketing issues beyond simply advocacy to a deeper understanding of the organizational relationships that make implementation of green marketing strategy effective.
The next paper in this issue is provided by Bev Hulbert of the University of Southampton, and Audrey Gilmore and David Carson both from Ulster University. The domain for their piece is small and medium-sized enterprise (SMEs), but their focus is on the broader issue of opportunity recognition. The findings of their study suggest that opportunity recognition requires innovative individuals but not necessarily entrepreneurs. It appears this process may be stimulated by managerial or marketing capabilities rather than solely by entrepreneurial characteristics. This notion is of broader interest in the study of innovation and the open-minded search for new ideas in all organizations, not just SME’s. The paper and its research results should interest scholars in innovation strategy and new innovation management forms, as well as those focused on SMEs.
The final paper in this issue is provided by Philip James Kitchen from the ESC Rennes School of Business, and Roy Martin and Norbani Che-Ha both from the University of Malaya. The authors examine long term evolution mobile services and intention to adopt in the context of the Malaysian market. Using established technology acceptance theory they examine the factors associated with intention to adopt. Their findings contribute to the technology adoption model and provide insights into the factors linked to intention to adopt with this particular technology in the Malaya market.
London
Carolyn Strong
Cardiff University