Purpose -Smartphone adoption by consumers is increasing exponentially, and presents marketers with many new opportunites to reach and serve customers. However, are consumers ready for mobile marketing through their smartphones? This study aims to investigate consumers' willingness to accept marketing through their smartphones. Design/methodology/approach -The study is based on an online survey of 428 respondents. The data is analyzed through ANOVA and regression analysis. Findings -The results indicate that consumers' shopping style, brand trust, and value are key motivations for engaging in mobile marketing through their smartphones. Further research should focus on specific tactics marketers use to engage customers beyond marketing messages, that is, how they engage customers in dialogue to build relationships, encourage purchases and build loyalty. This could reveal how customers really want to engage in mobile marketing.Research limitations/implications -This research adds to the growing body of evidence on acceptance of mobile marketing. Practical implications -This study found that successful enagement of customers in mobile marketing requires that marketers focus their strategies and tactics around value creation; getting customers to engage with their brand in an authentic way; and respecting customers' shopping style, i.e. engaging customers the way they want to be engaged. Marketers must listen to their customers and develop appropriate strategies rather than simply adapting existing marketing strategies. Originality/value -The topic of mobile marketing through smartphones is important to both marketing executives and marketing researchers. To date, this topic has attracted little research attention and marketing executives are simply basing their decsions on anecdotal case studies and reports in the popular press. This study contributes to fulfilling the need for research evidence.

A substantial amount of research has focused on determining and classifying the structures of the global research and development (R&D) organization of multinational corporations (MNCs). However, little research has been undertaken to show how the various R&D structures adopted by MNCs affect their abilities to generate and deploy innovations globally. This study initiates analysis and discussion of this latter dimension, providing empirical evidence of the relationship between the coordination structures and innovative capabilities. Specifically, this study investigates how intrafirm collaborative relationships among globally dispersed R&D units of MNCs enhance the synergistic innovative capabilities of the MNC group. The nature of the collaborative relationships among globally dispersed R&D units is evaluated in the context of four well-established structural constructs: autonomy, formalization, socialization, and communication. Synergistic innovative capability is defined as a higher-order ability to accumulate and deploy new knowledge or to recombine existing knowledge to create new innovations more effectively and efficiently due to collaboration among globally dispersed R&D units. It is measured using 10 items commonly used in innovation management research to measure the innovativeness of firms. The analysis is based on survey data collected from 79 R&D units belonging to North American, Japanese, and European MNCs in the telecommunications, biotechnology, pharmaceutical, chemical, and automotive industries. In addition to the survey data, seven highly experienced R&D executives who have worked for several companies were interviewed by telephone in order to obtain a richer perspective of issues and a better context from which to interpret the statistical results. Respondents included personnel from the levels of director, managing director, and vice president who were directly responsible for participating R&D units. The data were analyzed using partial least squares, a structural equation modeling technique that works well with small datasets. The results indicate that synergistic innovative capability has four distinct dimensions uniquely related to the structural variables defining the nature of collaborative relationships among globally dispersed R&D units. The four dimensions of synergistic innovative capabilities are labeled strategic R&D synergy, managerial and operational synergy, knowledge management synergy, and innovative proficiency synergy. The research and managerial implications of the findings are discussed in this article.

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Purpose The purpose of this paper is to investigate how individual innovativeness and social factors shape consumers’ purchase decisions of organic products. Design/methodology/approach The study is based on an online survey of 988 Canadian participants. Structural equation modelling was used to test the relationships between social identity, social influence, perceived value and purchase intention within a multi-group framework to show the moderating effect of consumer innovativeness. Findings The results show that the two social dimensions – social identity and social influence – influence purchase intention and the perceived value of organic products partially mediates these relationships. Further, the personal characteristic, “consumer innovativeness”, moderates these relationships. Research limitations/implications Although the sample consists of a higher proportion of younger participants, the results are consistent with theoretical arguments and empirical evidence, which underscores the importance of generational differences in organic product purchases. Practical implications Managers need to develop a more nuanced understanding of how social influence and social identity play different roles in the purchase intentions of consumer innovators vs later adopters. This knowledge can guide practical segmentation, targeting, positioning and promotion strategies. Originality/value This study complements the individual innovativeness predispositions literature by showing that the consideration of social factors leads to a more nuanced understanding of consumers’ purchase intention than either set of factors separately. It also contributes to the literature on adoption of organic products by introducing consumer innovativeness dimension as a key factor.

PurposeThis study aims to identify the precise competencies that employers are seeking for big data analytics professions and whether higher education big data programs enable students to acquire the competencies.Design/methodology/approachThis study utilizes a multimethod approach involving three data sources: online job postings, executive interviews and big data programs at universities and colleges. Text mining analysis guided by a holistic competency theoretical framework was used to derive insights into the required competencies.FindingsWe found that employers are seeking workers with strong functional and cognitive competencies in data analytics, computing and business combined with a range of social competencies and specific personality traits. The exact combination of competencies required varies with job levels and tasks. Executives clearly indicate that workers rarely possess the competencies and they have to provide additional training.Research limitations/implicationsA limitation is our inability to capture workers' perspectives to determine the extent to which they think they have the necessary competencies.Practical implicationsThe findings can be used by higher educational institutions to design programs to better meet market demand. Job seekers can use it to focus on the types of competencies they need to advance their careers. Policymakers can use it to focus policies and investments to alleviate skills shortages. Industry and universities can use it to strengthen their collaborations.Social implicationsMuch closer collaborations among public institutions, educational institutions, industry, and community organizations are needed to ensure training programs evolve with the evolving need for skills driven by dynamic technological changes.Originality/valueThis is the first study on this topic to adopt a multimethod approach incorporating the perspectives of the key stakeholders in the supply and demand of skilled workers. It is the first to employ text mining analysis guided by a holistic competency framework to derive unique insights.

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This paper presents the findings from a qualitative study on the extent to which three dimensions of proximity -geographic, cognitive, and organisational -impact knowledge transfer and innovation post-merger and acquisition (M&A). Findings show that the elements of proximity substantially influence both knowledge transfer and innovation although the nature of the impact varies and is influenced by the type of management interventions or lack thereof post-M&A.Keywords: proximity; knowledge transfer; mergers and acquisitions; M&A; technology management; innovation; post-M&A.Reference to this paper should be made as follows: Ensign, P.C., Lin, C-D., Chreim, S. and Persaud, A. (2014) Samia Chreim is an Associate Professor in the Telfer School of Management at the University of Ottawa. Her research interests include the areas of mergers and acquisitions, cross-organisational collaborations, and change management. She has studied these topics in the fields of healthcare, financial services, engineering and information technology. Her most recent research attends to the notion of boundaries at different levels of analysis.Ajax Persaud is an Associate Professor in the Telfer School of Management at the University of Ottawa. His research focuses on the commercialisation of new technologies, R&D and innovation management, new product development, technology adoption, and e-business. He has received a number of nominations and awards for teaching and research excellence. He has provided management consulting services to small and medium companies and community organisations in Canada and the Caribbean. He has also delivered executive education courses in innovation management, marketing, and e-business to executives of small, medium, and large multinational corporations in Canada, the Caribbean and Europe.