The first year of developing a new sales territory or establishing new customers is a daunting task—especially in dog-eat-dog industries. The traditional advice is to train quickly on products, grab a customer list, start calling for appointments, discover opportunities, and close deals. In fact, almost every sales model out there is based on nothing more than "opportunity" management. But ju…
This book analyzes extensive data on the world’s rapidly changing and growing access to, use and geographies of information and communications technologies. It studies not only the spatial differences in technology usage worldwide, but also examines digital differences in the major world nations of China, India, the United States and Japan at the state and provincial levels. At the global lev…
This book constitutes the refereed proceedings of the SIGSAND/PLAIS EuroSymposium 2015 titled Information Systems: Development, Applications, Education, held in Gdansk, Poland, in September 25. The objective of this symposium is to promote and develop high-quality research on all issues related to systems analysis and design (SAND). It provides a forum for SAND researchers and practitioners …
This book represents one of the first attempts by a multidisciplinary research team, encompassing the social sciences, business, architecture and planning, engineering, and finance and economics, to help rural communities discover sustainable and self-reliant paths to development and transformation. The opening chapter outlines the background of the research, its importance in the context of…
This Open Access book, Responsible innovation provides benefits for society, for instance more sustainable products, more engagement with consumers and less anxiety about emerging technologies. As a governance tool it is mostly driven by research funders, including the European Commission, under the term “responsible research and innovation” (RRI). To achieve uptake in private industry is a…
The Chinese financial sector, despite having been developed at a much later stage compared with other developed nations, has achieved substantial progresses over the past decades. By the end of 2014, a total of 16 commercial banks had been listed on the stock exchanges, exerting strong impact onto the market indices and contributing significantly to the country's sustained economic growth. This…
American business is dysfunctional. Companies of all sizes follow the mistaken belief that their products and services are best sold through organizations with pervasive market reach. Far too many business leaders fail to realize - until it is too late - that the relentless pursuit of volume at all cost is not the key to long-term profits and success. In 2010, Andrew R. Thomas and Timothy J.…
This text provides physicians with the basic business skills in order for them to become involved in the financial aspect of their practices. The text will help the physician decide what kind of practice they would like to join (i.e. private practice, small group practice, solo practice, hospital employment, large group practice, academic medicine, or institutional\government practice) as well …
Savvy companies recognize the value of a strong community. Think of Nike and its community of runners, Nike+, and you’ll quickly understand that creating and fostering an online community around a product or brand is a powerful way to boost marketing efforts, gain valuable insight into consumers, increase revenue, improve consumer loyalty, and enhance customer service efforts. Companies no…
The Profitable Supply Chain: A Practitioner's Guide provides a first-principles approach to understanding the drivers of today’s successful supply chains, covering everything from inventory and demand management to network planning to technology-driven improvements in efficient supply chain management. Apart from introducing the latest concepts and methods, supply chain expert and consulta…