Performance Management and Marketing

Woodruff, C. & Macchiavello, R. (ongoing). Measuring Productivity in Multi- Product Firms: Comparing Ready- Made Garments Across IGC Countries. International Growth Centre.

http://www.theigc.org/wp-content/uploads/2014/11/Macchiavello-Woodruff-2014-Policy-Case.pdf
Sustained increases in income are not possible without increases in productivity. This study compares the efficiency of production lines in hundred of firms which make ready made garments. A total of ten countries are being studied to help gain insight into which factors affect productivity in developing countries including five IGC countries: Bangladesh, Myanmar, Pakistan, India- Central and Ethiopia. The study analyzes productivity by looking at sewing sections in garment factories and measuring efficiency in terms of time taken to sew a specific piece of garment. The study aims to compare the productivity of lower income countries such as Bangladesh and Myanmar against the performance of countries such as Sri Lanka, China and Indonesia that are perceived to have higher productivity. The study aims to collect data, which though a large and complicated exercise will provide the most comprehensive data ever collected on the manufacturing sectors in low-income countries. For an idea of scale, a typical factory with 20 production lines results in about 300,000 pieces of data each year. Dissemination events with factory owners and workers will track the impact of findings. The data will be made available freely through a dedicated website.

Mian, A. Z., Rauf, A. & Sarwar, A. (2013). An Empirical Investigation of Learning Orientation in the Context of Textile Sector of Pakistan. International Journal of Commerce and Management, 23 (1), 38-55.

http://www.emeraldinsight.com/doi/abs/10.1108/10569211311301420
The purpose of this study is to investigate learning oriented organizations in the textile sector of Pakistan. The study has been based on Garvin’s three building blocks. Data has been collected through a questionnaire from eight organizations. Top and middle level management were included in the sample. All three building blocks have been considered that include fifty-eight variables. Individual mean scores along with cumulative mean scores are used to analyze organizations. Results show that openness to new ideas needs improvement and serious attention by the top-level management.

Sheikh, N. A., Wang, Z., & Khan, S. (2013). The impact of internal attributes of corporate governance on firm performance: Evidence from Pakistan. International Journal of Commerce and Management, 23(1), 38-55.

http://www.emeraldinsight.com/doi/abs/10.1108/10569211311301420
The purpose of this paper is to investigate whether internal attributes of corporate governance such as board size, outside directors, CEO duality, managerial ownership, and ownership concentration affect the performance of Pakistani firms. Pooled Ordinary Least Squares is used to estimate the relationship between internal governance mechanisms and performance measures using data of non-financial firms listed on the Karachi Stock Exchange for 2004 to 2008. The results indicate that board size is positively, whereas outside directors and managerial ownership are negatively related to earnings per share only. Leverage is negatively related to Return on Assets, Return on Equity and Earnings per share while firm size is positively related to all measures of performance. Empirical results indicate that internal governance mechanisms have material effects on firm performance.

Arifeen, S. R. (2012). Frozen Food Products Marketing and Distribution Challenges in a Developing Country. International Growth Centre.

http://www.theigc.org/project/frozen-foods-products-in-pakistan-marketing-and-distributional-challenges-in-a-developing-country/
The study aims to understand the challenges the frozen food industry in Pakistan has faced in the past, and is currently facing. The study reveals that firms in the frozen food industry have spent resources on developing the transportation system, distribution system and the capacity of the retailers. The producers have invested heavily in setting up an infrastructure, both at retail and distribution level, which in a developed country would not have been required of them. The future shows much potential as third party companies tentatively step into the domain of cold chain warehousing and distribution, taking the burden of this activity away from the manufacturers and the retail segment moves towards a change in methods of doing business as retail outlets copy the modern trade and invest in their own infrastructure (freezers). These two developments are leaving the manufactures to focus on their core business: manufacturing. However, manufacturing is now at a crisis due to the electricity crises. The manufacturers could possibly shift their resources to generate their own electricity in the future.

Ali, I., Rehman, K. U., Yilmaz, A. K., Nazir, S., & Ali, J. F. (2010). Effects of corporate social responsibility on consumer retention in cellular industry of Pakistan. African Journal of Business Management, 4(4), 475-485.

http://www.ciitlahore.edu.pk/Papers/Abstracts/146-8589069439950694923.pdf
Conflicting results have been found regarding the impact of corporate social responsibility on consumer behavior. This research paper has investigated the impact of product/service quality and consumer satisfaction along with corporate social responsibility actions on consumer purchase intentions and further on consumer loyalty. This was an exploratory research based on primary and secondary data with some experimentation to manipulate respondents’ attitude towards organization and its corporate social responsibility actions. The primary data has been collected from university students, whereas secondary data was collected from newspapers and website of corporation. The data has been analyzed using structural equation modeling through AMOS. The study found no relationship between awareness of corporate social responsibility activities and consumer purchase intention. However, significant relationship was observed between service quality and customer satisfaction. Moreover, the study noted no relationship between consumer satisfaction and purchase intentions and purchase intention and consumer retention for cellular industry of Pakistan. The findings of this study are important for corporations and future researchers on corporate social responsibility and consumer behavior.

Aslam, H. D., & Sarwar, S. (2010). Improving performance management practices in IT firms of Pakistan. Journal of Management Research, 2(2).

http://www.macrothink.org/journal/index.php/jmr/article/viewArticle/342
Authors analyze performance management issues such as job dissatisfaction and high job turnover rates faced by the IT firms in Pakistan and suggest the solutions with their implications. The authors aim to identify the problem areas and challenges faced by IT firms while implementing best practice of performance management. This study also explores practical implications and adoption of practices for effective performance management system. Qualitative research methodology has been adopted in which qualitative technique is applied to collect and interpret and data. Semi structured interviews were conducted with directors and middle management to identify various performance management issues. Results of the study indicate that by implementing steps of performance management processes e.g. setting objectives, training, performance agreement, performance review and reward system “We Care” firms may resolve performance related issues like job dissatisfaction, high job turn over and the rigid environment.

Afzal, S. (2009). Marketing capability, strategy and business performance in emerging markets of Pakistan. IUB Journal of Social Sciences and Humanities, 7 (2), 88-102.
http://mpra.ub.uni-muenchen.de/23642/

In this project an attempt has been made to demonstrate a positive relationship between marketing capabilities and strategy using Porters framework and corporate performance in an emerging/developing market of Pakistan. This paper reports a study that marketing practice regulates the relationship between marketing capabilities & Strategy using Porters framework and business performance. In turn, the market served moderates the type of marketing practice adopted. Various studies have suggested that marketing capabilities & Strategy using Porters framework influences business performance. In the first stage, run descriptive statistics to gain initial insights. After this Regression Analysis was used to test the hypothesis that Marketing Capabilities and Strategy Frame and Firm’s Performance are associated and also determine relative impact. A theoretical model and a series of theoretical propositions summarize these discussions. The authors measure performance using six variables:
Over all business performance; Market share; Sales Growth; Customer satisfaction; Profitability; Return on Investment. The results suggest that Marketing Capabilities and Strategy frame exist in the business environment of Pakistan but there is a weak relationship with firm performance.

Nauman, A. B., Aziz, R. ; Ishaq, A.F.M. ; Mohsin, M. (2004). An analysis of capabilities of Pakistan as an offshore IT services outsourcing destination. Multitopic Conference, 2004. Proceedings of INMIC 2004. 8th International. 24-26 Dec. 2004. 403-408.

http://ieeexplore.ieee.org/xpl/articleDetails.jsp?arnumber=1492913
Developed economies view outsourcing as a viable option for attaining competitive market position. Many of the emerging economies have succeeded in capturing and increasing their share in the global outsourcing market. In this paper the authors review the factors that helped some of the emerging economies to attain the current successful position. Using the country selection framework they have analyzed and evaluated the potential of Pakistan for offshore outsourcing. The SWOT analysis identifies the problem areas for Pakistan in this regard and it also indicates a number of areas upon which it can build to capture the existing opportunities. The authors also suggest increasing industrial and educational collaborations with India to take advantage of lower costs and to implement common policies. The lack of a fully operational law or act for information security or software copyrights is a deterrent in IT growth and should be addressed.