Whilst some authors have portrayed the Internet as a powerful tool for business and political institutions, others have highlighted the potential of this technology for those vying to constrain or counter‐balance the power of organizations, through e‐collectivism and on‐line action. What...

This article considers the attempted change to the image of an established brand by studying the semiotics within the brand’s historical advertising campaigns. The use of semiotics to study the interpretation of messages is discussed, and the link between interpretation of messages and...

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to outline the articles presented in the Special Issue on the topic of “Marketing and flexibility”, and to discuss key issues associated with major debates relating to flexibility in order to position the articles within a wider context and highlight...

Developing economies offer tremendous potential for future growth and organizations appreciating these consumers’ requirements stand to reap considerable returns. However, compared with more developed economies published consumer studies are few. In particular, there is a dearth of service...

Purpose – This paper aims to address how firms cope when input due to primary uncertainty is unpredictable, and thus timely and adequate supply to customers are impossible to guarantee. Design/methodology/approach – Two sets of data are applied to capture uncertainties, flexibilities and...

Purpose – In this paper the authors aim to introduce the perspective of shared meanings as a prerequisite for the formation of market‐focused strategic flexibility. Design/methodology/approach – The authors apply the ideas of co‐creation of meaning, which derive from research into the...

Purpose – This paper seeks to establish that the instability of niche markets, and their predisposition to catastrophic collapse, makes market flexibility a prerequisite for long‐term survival among niche marketers. It describes the two ways by which a niche marketer can acquire this market...

Purpose – Current conceptualisations of strategic flexibility and its antecedents are theory‐driven, which has resulted in a lack of consensus. To summarise this domain the paper aims to develop and present an a priori conceptual model of the antecedents and outcomes of strategic...

Purpose – The aim in this paper is to describe and explain the flexibility offered by different business models adopted by different firms as they strive to achieve higher levels of business performance. Design/methodology/approach – Cross‐sectional research is used to investigate a...

Purpose – This paper seeks to explore how market orientation facilitates the strategic flexibility of business models grounded in open innovation. The authors suggest that the new paradigm of open innovation may impact a firm's adaptability and responsiveness under conditions of environmental...