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This article analyzes the relationship between strategies of standardization and adaptation of the marketing mix and performance in an international context. We carried out a meta-analysis on a sample of 23 studies published between 1992 and 2010. The sample was analyzed based on measures of the effect size (ES)-or the strength of the relation (Wolf, 1986)-between standardization/adaptation and performance. The results suggest the existence of a medium strength (ES ranging from .133 to .209) for the relationship considered. The results support the existence of a positive impact of both marketing mix adaptation and standardization on performance. However, our results suggest that companies should slightly emphasize the marketing mix adaptation (ES mean = .168) instead of standardizing it (ES mean = .134) when entering in a new international market. Results also indicate that, among the adaptation choices, price (ES = .209) should be the first element of the marketing mix to be adapted, followed by promotion (ES = .155), product (ES = .154), and distribution (ES = .141). Finally, we suggest some new research paths, such as the use of quantitative methods to compare degrees of adaptation to be applied to different segments, regions, and sectors, among other suggestions.

This article analyzes the influence of the buyer-supplier relationship continuity on service performance. We used a survey with a sample of 53 companies that are users of international maritime transport belonging to two industries: Machinery and Food. The results related to Service Performance are similar to those found in past studies in industrial supply chains. The traditional performance criteria like delivery, dependability and cost clearly are influenced by the aspects related to the management of the relationship. This includes information exchange, trust and interaction between the parts.

Manufacturing integration with other functional areas and suppliers is a key aspect for achieving sustainable competitive advantage. The objective of this study is to analyze manufacturing integration from an activity-based perspective. We hypothesize that manufacturing integration with suppliers, marketing, and R&D is positively related to profit and sales growth when it occurs simultaneously in key internal activities. We surveyed 366 companies located in the southern region of Brazil, chosen from the SEBRAE (1) database. We used structural equations modeling to address validity and reliability issues. We evaluated common method variance (CMV) with the MTMM model and used path analysis to test the structural relations. We found that all manufacturing integration aspects are positively related to sales growth, but only manufacturing-R&D integration is positively related to profitability. Therefore, managers interested in improving the performance of their plants should favor the integration between manufacturing and R&D teams, at all hierarchical levels. We did not find any evidence, however, that direct interaction between manufacturing and marketing improves performance.

Este estudo foi desenvolvimento com a finalidade de analisar a influência do uso do sistema de controle gerencial no desempenho das Melhores e Maiores empresas brasileiras. Apoiando-se a literatura de controle gerencial, mais precisamente no modelo de Alavancas de Controle (sistemas de crenças, de restrições, diagnóstico e interativo) proposto por Simons (1994, 1995) e no constructo de desempenho organizacional (financeiro e não financeiro), desenvolveu-se um levantamento a partir de dados de 98 empresas. Os dados foram coletados por meio de questionário eletrônico e tratados com a técnica de modelagem de equações estruturais. Os achados comprovam que o sistema de controle interativo está positivamente associado ao sistema diagnóstico, o que sugere que o uso balanceado das alavancas de controle é relevante para promoção do controle gerencial nas organizações. Dessa forma, as empresas podem combinar o sistema de controle mais tradicional – diagnóstico – com o sistema interativo, como forma de promover a renovação estratégica. As hipóteses que propõem o sistema de controle diagnóstico e o sistema de restrições como variável interdependente não foram suportadas. Por fim, quanto ao sistema de crenças, encontrou-se evidência de sua associação positiva com os sistemas interativo e de restrições, bem como com o desempenho. Os achados desta investigação contribuem ao expandir o estudo das quatro alavancas de controle propostas por Simons (1994, 1995) em consonância ao desempenho, como havia sido feito parcialmente por Su, Baird e Schoch (2015) com o sistema interativo e o sistema diagnóstico.