Purpose The purpose of this study is to create the taxonomy of firms based on the nature of the relationship between market-based resources and marketing capabilities. Anchored in the configuration theory, the present study aims to explore simultaneous roles of market-based resources, i.e. customer orientation and competitor orientation, and marketing capabilities, i.e. the execution of marketing practices and activities within a firm, on firm performance. Design/methodology/approach A self-administrated questionnaire was used to collect data from chief executive officers or top managers of 220 firms in Bosnia and Herzegovina, a transitional economy in South Eastern Europe. Findings Drawing on a configuration approach via the latent class analysis, the authors empirically derive four distinct strategic marketing patterns, namely, marketing super achievers, marketing-focused virtuosi, marketing drifters and marketing mass pushers. The findings also highlight how business performance outcomes differ as a function of a class membership. Research limitations/implications Cross-sectional research design and focus on a single country are main limitations of the present study. Thus, longitudinal studies in the context of developed and fast-reforming transition economies are advisable for future work. Practical implications This study enhances the knowledge on how a firm can configure or bundle its market-based resources and marketing capabilities to produce desired outcomes. Findings suggest that joint attention to building market-oriented culture and developing marketing capabilities seems to pay off. However, the authors found that a lack of market knowledge can be substituted by the firms’ ability to build effective promotional and branding capabilities. Thus, the present study adds to the emerging dialog on the relative importance of alternative strategic orientations in achieving superior business performance. Originality/value This study contributes to the strategic marketing literature by examining the synergistic effect of market-based resources and marketing capabilities on firm performance using a configurational approach. It also provides support for the equifinality proposition, suggesting that different “bundles” of market-based resources and marketing capabilities can lead to similar level of performance outcomes.

This study examines changes in beliefs, satisfaction and intention that occur among experienced users of information system IS. In order to examine these changes, a research has been conducted about measuring of perception, satisfaction and continuance intention of integral accounting budget software IABS users on two occasions, during 2009 and 2013, respectively. The extended expectation-confirmation model of IS continuance EECM-IS, the original ECM-IS having been extended for a construct of perceived ease of use, has been used in this research. The statistical comparison shows that only the path coefficient from perceived ease of use to satisfaction in the structural model during the second survey is significantly stronger than the corresponding path coefficients in the structural model in the first survey. Also, results show that all other path coefficients are not statistically different. A subsequent analysis of changes that have taken place among users in relation to the use of other programs, such as MS Word, MS Excel and internet, shows that there is a statistically important difference in usage of these programs in the course of the first and second research studies conducted.

Abstract With this paper the authors aim not only to investigate the lifestyle specifics of the Western Balkan market, but also to define common lifestyle segments for the entire region. The question addressed in this research is whether current political issues and economic differences have led to dissimilar ways of living, or whether cultural similarities have prevailed and lifestyles can be defined accordingly. Based on the research conducted using six underlying factors, three lifestyle clusters are identified. Analysis shows that there are three almost identical lifestyles for Bosnia and Herzegovina, Croatia, Serbia and Slovenia, and they are applicable to the entire region. These findings have significant managerial implications, as potential investors can apply identical marketing strategies to target the approximately 20 million consumers in the region.

This paper focuses on dimensions of the perceived service quality measurement for business schools. We propose an adapted SERVQUAL measure of expected and perceived quality, where employees at business schools are split into two groups: faculty and administrative staff, and assessed separately. This measure represents a tool for comparable service quality assessment at business schools. Empirical data were collected among undergraduate students in a developing economy. A total of 282 respondents were used to assess the overall fit of the proposed model and to test the differences between the expectations and the perceptions of service quality in a business school. The results support usability of the proposed adapted SERVQUAL measure. Therefore, the study contributes to the existing literature reporting the findings on service quality in an educational context.

What Motivates People to Be Materialistic? Developing a Measure of Instrumental-Terminal Materialism Ahmet Ekici, Bilkent University, Turkey Dave Webb, University of Western Australia, Australia Dong-Jin Lee, Yonsei University, South Korea Eda Gurel-Atay, Independent Scholar, USA Ibrahim Hegazy, American University in Cairo, Egypt J. S. Johar, California State University at San Bernardino, USA Joseph Sirgy, Virginia Polytechnic Institute & State University, USA Melika Husic, University of Sarajevo, Bosnia and Herzegovina Muris Cicic, University of Sarajevo, Bosnia and Herzegovina

This study examines determinants that affect the behaviour of information systems (IS) users, and influence of the users’ decisions to continue using IS by two models: the technology acceptance model (TAM) and the expectation-confirmation model of IS continuance (ECM-IS). The behaviour of professionals who utilise complex software solutions for performing their working tasks has been in the focus of this research. Based on data gathered from questionnaires filled-out by users of the integrated accounting and budgeting software (IABS), the confirmatory factor analysis has shown that both models demonstrate good factor, convergence and discriminatory validity, respectively. The comparison of the obtained results has been performed, and it shows that ECM-IS has a larger explanatory power (R2) over TAM, explaining 49% of the dependent variable (IS continuance intention) in relation to 29%. The IS continuance intention is determined by the users’ satisfaction and perceived usefulness. The user satisfaction is influenced by perceived usefulness and confirmation. The confirmation of the user's expectations has had a positive influence on perceived usefulness. The perceived ease of use has not exerted a significant influence on the user's intention of IS continuance.

The Expectation-Confirmation Model of Information Systems Continuance ECM-IS explains antecedents that influence IS users' behavior and affect their decision whether to continue or discontinue information system IS using. ECM-IS emphasizes differences between initial acceptance and IS continuance. For companies that deal with the design and software development, IS continuance is retaining of existing customers of product and services. This study extends the ECM-IS by accounting for unobserved heterogeneity. The Finite Mixture Partial Least Squares FIMIX-PLS methodology is applied for identification of distinctive customer segments. Segmentation of IS users was made on the basis of cognitive beliefs and affect influencing one's intention to continue using IS and two different segments of users were derived. The first segment comprises 65.6%, and the other one 34.4% users. The ECM-IS explained 51.9% of IS continuance intention and 20.7% of satisfaction for the first segment, while for the second segment the ECM-IS explained 98.1% of IS continuance intention and 91.3% of satisfaction.