The authors explore the relationships among market orientation, service quality and business profitability. Based on an empirical study of Taiwan’s security brokerage service industry, the research results show that there are positive associations among the three constructs. More market‐oriented brokerage service firms seem to enjoy superior service quality perceptions and greater profitability. Further examinations reveal that market orientation has a stronger effect on service quality than on business profitability. Also, the service quality‐profitability linkage is stronger than the market orientation‐profitability linkage. The results suggest that service quality is an intermediate factor in the market orientation‐profitability relationship and is a better indicator of the effectiveness of a market‐oriented campaign than profitability measures.

Since early 1990s, tremendous growth of e-commerce has transformed the world retail infrastructure rapidly. Although the Internet burst between 2000 and 2002 which slowed down the rage in the financial market, the Internet infrastructure continues to grow and becomes an integral part of market strategic portfolio for many organizations. In order to be successful in the Internet niche, many retailers engage in business model reengineering to keep up with changes in how customers acquire goods and services. Based on in-depth interviews and a follow-up survey, the present study depicts a common online shopping process and identifies three common online shopping components: interactivity, transaction, and fulfillment. These components and their respective factors form one's online shopping experience. Managerial implications and future research directions are offered.

Two empirical models are used to implement the arbitrage pricing theory: the factor loading model (FLM) and the macrovariable model (MVM). This study compares the ability of these two models to explain real estate returns using equity REIT returns as a proxy. Two tests are performed: a comparison of crosssectional adjusted-R2's and the Davidson and Mackinnon test. The results show that while the two models perform equally well during the period 1974-1979, the MVM outperforms the FLM over the periods 1980-1985 and 1986-1991. In addition, both models suggest superior financial performance for EREITs relative to other investments in the market during the period 1980-1985. Copyright American Real Estate and Urban Economics Association.

Explores the effect of market orientation on operating effectiveness and cost efficiency using data drawn from automotive distribution channels in Finland and Poland. The results indicate that market orientation is positively associated with measures of effectiveness such as service quality and overall customer service level. Market orientation also has a positive influence on measures of cost efficiency, such as productivity and sales per employee. In addition, profitability measures were highly associated with operating effectiveness and cost efficiency. Additional analysis suggests that market orientation has a greater effect on operating effectiveness, such as service quality, in Poland, a less‐developed country, than in Finland, a more‐developed country. Based on the findings, important managerial and research implications are proferred.

In this paper the interest rate sensitivity of bank stock returns under alternative econometric specifications and the changes in the sensitivity over time are studied. Results indicate that the sensitivity depends on the econometric specification and the period considered. Bank stock returns show a sensitivity to long-term government security returns and innovations, but not to short-term government security returns and innovations except under one specification. Since 1980, banks seem to have reduced their interest rate risk exposure. Finally, while long-term returns are positively associated with stock returns, short-term returns show a positive association only since 1980.