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Purpose – This paper aims to examine the determinants of socioeconomic factors on housing prices and their differential effects among regions. Design/methodology/approach – This study employs a hierarchical linear model to analyze the housing and socioeconomic data of 363 metropolitan statistical areas (MSAs) in the USA. Findings – This study generates four findings. First, the population, the percentage of the elderly in population, violent crime rates, and foreclosure rates produce greater effects on housing prices in the Northeast than those in the West. Second, the population produces a greater effect on housing prices in the Northeast than those in the Midwest. Third, mortgage rates produce less significant effects on housing prices in the Northeast than those in the Midwest. Fourth, the population, the percentage of the elderly in population, and rent-income ratio produce greater effects on housing prices in the Northeast than those in the South. Research limitations/implications – Based on data collected for 2010, this study analyzes socioeconomic factors on the demand side under the implicit assumption that supply side remains constant. Future research can lift the restriction on fixed supply assumption. Practical implications – The results can provide information to buyers and sellers about how socioeconomic factors affect housing prices. Moreover, this study also provides useful information for the government to design and implement relevant housing policies. Originality/value – This is the pioneering study to examine the differential effect of socioeconomic factors on metropolitan housing prices among regions by employing dummy regional variables to detect changes in slope coefficients. These detailed conclusions would enhance the efficiency of transaction in housing markets.

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to help firms to create competitiveness by developing marketing capabilities. It analyzes how the component and architectural competences affect and enhance market orientation and firm performance. Design/methodology/approach – Built on the theories of organizational capability, knowledge creation, and market orientation, this research develops the contents of marketing capabilities, including component and architectural competences that contribute to marketing capability by responding to external changes, and analyzes their influence on market orientation and firm performance. Findings – The study reveals the following effective marketing capabilities which benefit to marketing performance. First, hiring and retaining employees with higher professional, local, and specific knowledge. Second, firms with higher tacit knowledge enhance market orientation. Third, arranging employees into teamwork to implement marketing tasks. Fourth, assigning employees into small-scale experiments on creative proposals. Fifth, standardizing procedures of generation, dissemination, and response of marketing intelligence. Sixth, providing written market information and training programs to non-marketing staff. Seventh, appropriately delegating to staff. Eighth, establishing apprenticeship among the staff to deliver experiential know-how. Research limitations/implications – From a dynamic capability perspective, this research construct the two kinds of marketing competences and examine their effect on market orientation and firm performance. For further understanding the complementary effects of marketing capabilities, market orientation, and synergistic performance, a larger sample data (e.g. product, market share, sales, characteristics of staff, firm, and knowledge, etc.) and objective evaluation are encouraged. Otherwise, from the viewpoint of agency theory, the incentive system should also be discussed. Practical implications – This research has potentially significant implications for knowledge management and marketing management fields as well as managerial practice. The results suggest the importance of marketing capability for market orientation and firm performance. Originality/value – Marketing resources and marketing capabilities are significant drivers of firm performance, and their impact is greater when they are complementary to each other. This study takes the perspectives of organizational capabilities and market orientation to find out the factors which contribute to marketing capability and performance. This study provides practitioners with a framework for analyzing marketing capabilities as an object of improving firm performance by creating market orientation. Furthermore, this research empirically introduced strategic specific competence (tacit knowledge and autonomy) into the model and tests their effect of market orientation and firm performance.

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Chain organization has become the most prevalent form of the restaurant industry. Facing asymmetric information, however, many chains encounter difficulties in monitoring chain store managers who serve different markets. A proper incentive scheme for store managers must be designed to solve the agency problem. However, measuring performance is a critical element of any incentive system. Thus, this study examined the appropriate performance measures of assessing the performance of a store manager. Results revealed that emphasizing quality-related performance measures of assessing store managers produces significant effects on chain growth. Furthermore, placing greater emphasis on quality-related performance measures produces a greater effect on chain growth if the operation can be easily standardized. Contrary to the negative effect of stock-based compensation, bonus-based compensation could strengthen the positive relationship between quality-related performance measures and chain growth. The alignment among quality-related performance measures, operation standardization, and reward modes was considered crucial for managing restaurant chains.