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                    <text>Journal of Economic and Social Studies

Stock Selection Based on Discriminant Analysis: Case of
Capital Market of Bosnia and Herzegovina
Jasmina Okičić
University of Tuzla
Bosnia-Herzegovina
jasmina.okicic@untz.ba
Sonja Remetić-Horvath
University of Vienna
Wien, Östereich
Baris Büyükdemir
Ceros Holding AG
Ceros Menkul Değerler AS
İstanbul, Turkey
Abstract: The main goal of this paper is to scientifically Keywords: discriminant analysis,
examine and propose new approach of stock selection and stock selection, stock return,
analysis based on multivariate technique, i.e. discriminant capital market of Bosnia and
analysis, in order to help investors, individual and Herzegovina

institutional, in their decision making process, especially in
case of underdeveloped capital markets. Therefore, in this
paper we investigate the cross—sectional relation between
the independent variables of the model, comprised of beta
coefficient and some fundamental variables as well as the
average stock returns on the underdeveloped capital market
of Bosnia and Herzegovina. We concluded that
discriminant analysis is a useful quantitative tool that can
help investors in shaping their investment strategies. We also
found that the beta coefficient, market capitalization and
realized historical return have discriminatory capabilities in
case of the capital market of Bosnia and Herzegovina. The
real implications of this research can be seen in the shaping
of investment strategies of potential investors looking to
diversify their portfolios. The main limitations of this study
are to be found in the shorter available financial time series
in newly formed capitalistic economy, missing data due to
the lack of collective records on levels of securities offerings
issues.

JEL Classification: G11, C38
Article History

Submitted: 06 June 2013
Resubmitted: 17 October 2013
Accepted: 11 December 2013

http://dx.doi.org/10.14706/JEC
OSS11421
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�Jasmina Okičić, Sonja Remetić-Horvath, Baris Büyükdemir

Introduction
The stock selection is one of the most important decisions an equity investor has to
make. The use of quantitative models and methods of stock selection has many
advantages in the portfolio construction. For underdeveloped capital markets,
however, quantitative stock selection models are still rarely used. Therefore, and
based on theoretical inferences and empirical evidence on stock selection process, the
main goal of this paper is to scientifically examine and propose new approach of
stock selection and analysis based on multivariate technique, i.e. discriminant
analysis, in order to help investors, individual and institutional, in their decision
making process, especially in case of underdeveloped capital markets. These markets
are generally characterized by low market capitalization, poor liquidity and turnover,
weak legal protection for minority shareholders, low correlation with developed and
emerging capital markets, etc. All of this directly determines investment decision
making process on one hand and on the other may have crucial impact on portfolio
performance as well. Therefore, in this paper we investigate the cross – sectional
relation between the independent variables of the model, comprised of beta
coefficient and some fundamental variables as well as the average stock returns on
the capital market of Bosnia and Herzegovina. Since the goal defines objectives of
any research, the main objective of this paper is stock selection process based on
discriminant analysis. Having in mind the above said, the central research hypothesis
shall be as follows: Discriminant analysis is a useful quantitative tool that can help
investors in shaping their investment strategies. The paper is organized as follows. After
introduction, the first section gives a short overview of the recent literature that is
relevant to the main objective of the paper. The second section brings description of
our research methodology. In the third section we explain the data and finally the
fourth section, that is the centre of the paper, contains analysis of the result of the
stock selection process based on discriminant analysis. In the end, we give some final
remarks and conclusions.
Literature Review
So far, a significant number of scientific researches have been conducted on the use
of quantitative models and methods of stock selection. Siqueira, Otuki and Da Costa
(2012) used discriminant analysis in order to analyze nexus between stock return and
some selected fundamental variables. They examined stocks traded on Sao Paulo
Stock Exchange and found out that the beta coefficient has discriminatory
capabilities.
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�Stock Selection Based on Discriminant Analysis:
Case of Capital Market of Bosnia and Herzegovina

Şenol, Dinçer and Timor (2012) proposed stock selection model based on
fundamental and technical analysis by using artificial neural networks and support
vector machines. Schadler and Eakins (2001) examined a stock selection model using
Morningstar’s style box. Basing on the Gordon model perspective and applying
multiple criteria decision making (MCDM), Lee, Tzeng, Guan, Chien and Huang
(2009) explore the influential factors and relative weight of dividend, discount rate,
and dividend growth rate. Among the eight evaluation criteria, market beta was the
most important factor influencing investment decisions, followed by dividend
growth rate and risk-free rate.
In their research, Shiuh-Nan, Chin-Tsai and Wang-Ching (2007) chose relative
operating performance and stock price evaluation as stock classification criteria, and
applied them to divide the sample stocks into four types, i.e.: value, monitor,
speculative and avoidance. Kuang Yu and Chuen-Jiuan (2009) combined the
moving average autoregressive exogenous (ARX) prediction model with grey systems
theory and rough set (RS) theory to create an automatic stock market forecasting and
portfolio selection mechanism.
Chunhachinda, Dandapani, Hamid and Prakash (1997) investigated portfolio
selection and skewness. The empirical findings suggested that the incorporation of
skewness into an investor's portfolio decision causes a major change in the
construction of the optimal portfolio. Sorensen, Miller and Ooi (2000) introduced
an alternative approach to traditional methods of stock screening based on a
statistical technique known as classification and regression tree (CART). In their
paper, Achour, Harvey, Hopkins and Lang (1998) examined stock selection in
emerging markets of Malaysia, Mexico and South Africa, where they presented a
comprehensive, market – by – market analysis of the information in firm attributes
for portfolio strategies. Van der Hart, Slagter and Van Dijk (2002) concluded that
within emerging markets, value, momentum and earnings revisions strategies are
successful in selecting well performing stocks. The excess returns of these strategies
are strongly significant. Combining the factors into one model enhances the
performance.

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�Jasmina Okičić, Sonja Remetić-Horvath, Baris Büyükdemir

Theoretical Background
According to Huberty and Olejnik (2006) some of the ideas associated with
discriminant analysis (DA) go back to around 1920 when the English statistician
Karl Pearson (1857–1936) proposed what was called the coefficient of racial likeness
(CRL), a type of intergroup distance index. The idea of multivariable intergroup
distance was translated to that of a linear composite of variables derived for the
purpose of two – group classification by R. A. Fisher (1890–1962) in the 1930s. The
distance and variable composite ideas appeared in print prior to Fisher’s seminal
discriminant analysis article in 1936.
Discriminant Analysis: A Methodological Overview
Basically, discriminant analysis is a multivariate statistical method designed to set up
a model to predict group memberships. The model consists of discriminant
functions that appear based on a linear combination of predictive variables that
provide the best discrimination between groups.
This analysis is the appropriate statistical technique when the dependent variable is
categorical and the independent variables are metric. Brown and Wicker (2000, p.
209) claim that discriminant analysis is a powerful descriptive and classificatory
technique developed to: (1) describe characteristics that are specific to distinct
groups; and (2) classify cases (i.e., individuals, subjects, participants) into preexisting groups based on similarities between that case and the other cases belonging
to the groups.
Discriminant analysis results with the discriminant function (or variate), i.e. linear
combination of the independent variables that are capable to discriminate between a
priori defined groups. Discrimination is achieved by setting the variate’s weights for
each variable to maximize the between – group variance relative to the within group variance (Hair, Anderson, Tatham and Black, 1998, p. 244). Each
discriminant function has the general form (Brown and Wicker, 2000, p. 219):

D = a + b1 x1 + b2 x2 +  + b p x p ,

(1)

where D is the discriminant score, a is the y - intercept of the regression line, b is the
discriminant function coefficient, x is the discriminator variable raw score, and p is
the number of discriminator variables. Discriminant analysis multiplies each
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Journal of Economic and Social Studies

�Stock Selection Based on Discriminant Analysis:
Case of Capital Market of Bosnia and Herzegovina

independent variable by its weight and adds these products together. As a result,
discriminant score for each independent variable in the analysis is calculated. By
averaging these scores for all the independent variables within a particular group, we
get the group mean. This mean is referred to as centroid that indicate the most
typical location of any independent variable from a particular group, and
comparison of the group centroids shows how far apart groups are along the
dimension being tested (Hair, Anderson, Tatham and Black, 1998, p. 245).
Data
The capital market of Bosnia and Herzegovina is characterized by territorial division,
the incompatibility of entity institutions and of legal regulations; which negatively
affect the investment climate and the liquidity of securities.
According to the MSCI Global Market Accessibility Review (2012), capital market
of Bosnia and Herzegovina is included in the so called standalone markets. These
markets include all country markets covered by MSCI but not included in the MSCI
International Indices. This category includes potential candidates for the MSCI
Frontier Markets Indices that currently do not meet the minimum liquidity
requirements as well as markets that are currently partially or fully closed to foreign
investor. Furthermore, stocks lending and short selling are activities that are either
not developed or completely prohibited in all standalone market countries and the
summary does not highlight these issues on a country-by-country basis.
Basically, the MSCI Global Market Accessibility Review (2012) provides an
evaluation of the four market accessibility criteria, which are: (1) openness to foreign
ownership; (2) ease of capital inflows/outflows; (3) efficiency of the operational
framework and (4) stability of the institutional framework. In case of capital market
of Bosnia and Herzegovina, the evaluation of the above mentioned criteria is given
in Table 1.

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�Jasmina Okičić, Sonja Remetić-Horvath, Baris Büyükdemir

Table 1. Assessment results for the capital market of Bosnia and Herzegovina
Criteria
Openness to foreign ownership
Investor qualification requirement
Foreign ownership limit (FOL) level
Foreign room level
Equal rights to foreign investors
Ease of capital inflows / outflows
Capital flow restriction level
Foreign exchange market liberalization level
(there is no offshore currency market )
Efficiency of the operational framework
Market entry
Investor registration and account set up
Market organization
Market regulations (not all regulations can be found in English)
Competitive landscape
Information flow i
Market infrastructure
Clearing and Settlement (there is an absence of a real DVP system and
the prefunding of trades is required in Republic of Srpska)
Custody ii
Registry / Depository (there are two central depositories, each of them
acting as central registry)
Trading (there is a very limited level of competition among brokers
which can lead to high trading costs)
Transferability
(in-kind transfers and off-exchange transactions are prohibited)
Stock lending
Short selling
Stability of institutional framework

Evaluation
++
++
++
++
++
+

++
+
-/?
-/?
++
++
-/?
-/?
+
-/?
+

Source: The MSCI Global Market Accessibility Review (2012), p. 45
Note: ++: no issues; +: no major issues, improvements possible; -/?: improvements needed
/ extent to be assessed
The capital market of Bosnia and Herzegovina consists of two independent regions
that have separate stock exchanges, i.e. The Sarajevo Stock Exchange or SASE which
operates in Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina and The Banja Luka Stock
Exchange or BLSE which operates in Republic of Srpska. Each of the above
mentioned stock exchanges has its own regulation and indices calculated on daily
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�Stock Selection Based on Discriminant Analysis:
Case of Capital Market of Bosnia and Herzegovina

basis. SASE, for example, has three indices, i.e.: (1) Bosnian Investment Fund Index
- BIFX which is the first index published by the SASE. It consists of the stocks of the
11 investment funds registered in the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina
(formerly Privatization Investment Funds - PIFs). By its purpose, it is considered a
benchmark index, whose main goal is to provide investors a general view and
evaluation of the current market trends in the segment of investment funds listed at
the SASE. iii (2) The Sarajevo Stock Exchange Index 10 – SASX-10 is the main index
on the SASE. It depicts the price movement of the top 10 issuers on the SASE
(excluding investment funds) ranked by market capitalization and frequency of
trading. iv (3) The Sarajevo Stock Exchange Index 30 – SASX-30 is the index of the
Primary Free Market of the SASE. It depicts the price movement of the issuers on
the Primary Free market, which is reserved for the most liquid issuers from the free
market. Its main goal is to serve as a general benchmark index. v
On the other hand, BLSE has six indices, but only three are active. These indices are:
(1) The Investment Funds Index of the Republic of Srpska – FIRS which consists of
the stocks of investment funds that fulfill selection criteria vi. (2) The Stock Exchange
Index of the Republic of Srpska – BIRS which consists of the socks of from 5 to 30
issuers. Number of issuers whose stocks may be included in the BIRS depends on the
number of the issuers listed on the BLSE Official Market and the number of stocks
that fulfill criteria for the BIRS composition. vii (3) The Index of Electric Energy
Sector of the Republic of Srpska – ERS10 which consists of the stocks of the 10
companies from the power utility sector which are listed on the BLSE. viii
The only index that represents stocks traded both at SASE and BLSE is the Bosnian
Traded Index or BATX ix. It is a capitalization-weighted price index x which is made
up of the most actively traded and highest capitalized stocks traded at the SASE and
BLSE. The index is calculated and disseminated on a real-time basis in EUR, USD
and BAM. BATX is designed as a tradable index to be used as an underlying
instrument for structured products and for standardized derivatives (futures and
options). xi
Sample
Given the large number of available, but not actively traded securities, in this paper
we will use subset of the most actively and highest capitalized stocks traded on SASE
and BLSE. Since BATX incorporates the most liquid securities from the capital
market of Bosnia and Herzegovina (BH Telecom – BHTSR, Bosnalijek - BSNLR,
11

�Jasmina Okičić, Sonja Remetić-Horvath, Baris Büyükdemir

Fabrika duhana Sarajevo - FDSSR, JP Elektroprivreda BiH - JPESR, Nova banka ad
Banja Luka - NOVB-R-E, Telekom Srpske - TLKM-R-A) xii, we will use them as a
sample xiii in the further process of stock selection as well as some of the top 10 issuers
in 2012 (Tvornica cementa Kakanj d.d. Kakanj - TCMKR, Elektro grupa d.d. Jajce
- ELGJR, ZIF BIG Investiciona grupa d.d. Sarajevo - BIGFRK3, ZIF Bosfin d.d.
Sarajevo - BSNFRK2, ZIF MI Group d.d. Sarajevo - MIGFRK2, IK Banka d.d.
Zenica - IKBZRK2, ZIF Zepter fond ad Banja Luka - ZPTP-R-A, ZIF Jahorina
Koin ad Pale – JHKP-R-A).
Our observed period of time is December 2009 - December 2012. Top 10 issuers by
turnover both on BLSE and SASE in 2012 are presented in Table 2.
Table 2. Top 10 issuers by turnover in 2012
Rank

Issuer
(SASE)

Turnover
(in BAM)

1.

Bosnalijek d.d. Sarajevo

35.762.756,14

2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.

BH Telecom d.d.
Sarajevo
Tvornica cementa
Kakanj d.d. Kakanj
Fabrika duhana
Sarajevo d.d. Sarajevo
Elektro grupa d.d. Jajce
ZIF BIG Investiciona
grupa d.d. Sarajevo
ZIF Bosfin d.d.
Sarajevo
ZIF MI Group d.d.
Sarajevo

4.716.269,56
4.531.367,17
4.256.016,17
4.149.400,00
2.430.672,12
2.269.729,58
2.185.090,45

9.

Dobrinja d.d. Ilidža

2.070.613,85

10.

IK Banka d.d. Zenica

1.889.629,11

Issuer
(BLSE)
Republika Srpska T bills
Republika Srpska izmirenje ratne štete
Telekom Srpske ad
Banja Luka
Republika Srpska stara devizna štednja
Kaldera Company
d.o.o. Laktaši
Republika Srpska izmirenje ratne štete
Republika Srpska izmirenje ratne štete
ZIF Zepter fond ad
Banja Luka
Republika Srpska izmirenje ratne štete
ZIF Jahorina Koin ad
Pale

Turnover
(in BAM)
14.841.884
14.175.515
12.979.869
7.616.466
6.624.484
4.525.190
4.191.977
4.161.346
2.781.926
2.564.735

Source: Annual Report 12 (2012), p. 21 and Annual Statistical Report (2012), p. 2

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�Stock Selection Based on Discriminant Analysis:
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Dependent and independent variables
Since, index BATX is made up of the most actively traded and highest capitalized
stocks traded at the SASE and BLSE we coded all issuers that, at the moment when
this research was done, were included in the index mentioned, with number 1
(Highest liquidity). And those issuers from our sample that, at the time this research
was conducted, were not included in BATX we coded with the number 2 (Lowest
liquidity).
In this context, liquidity may be defined as possibility to convert stocks into cash and
vice versa without affecting the price or with minimal impact on it. If we denote
successive stock price xiv made at time t and t+1 as Pt and Pt+1, respectively, then
continuous compounding transforms a stock price series {Pt } into a return series

{rt } as:
rt = ln

Pt
.
Pt −1

(2)

The independent variables of the model were comprised of following variables: beta
coefficient, market capitalization, turnover and return. The beta coefficient was
estimated as:

β=

cov(ri , rm )
,
σ 2 (rm )

(3)

where cov(ri , rm ) is the covariance between the asset returns and the returns on the
selected indices, and σ 2 (rm ) is the variance of returns on the selected indices.

Special attention was given to the variables “market capitalization” and “turnover”
which are a gross value, and therefore represented in rather high monetary terms.
Thus, to standardize it according to the other variables and make the analysis more
meaningful its logarithm was calculated.

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�Jasmina Okičić, Sonja Remetić-Horvath, Baris Büyükdemir

Empirical Results and Discussion
Empirical results xv will be present in the following order. First, we will give short
overview of descriptive statistics and correlation analysis. After that, estimation of the
beta coefficient will be presented and at the end results of estimated discriminant
function will be discussed.
Descriptive Statistics and Correlation Analysis
By using scientific method, and in order to create a better insight into a specificity of
observed financial time series, we will analyse some basic parameters of descriptive
statistics for the observed period of time.
Based on the Jarque-Bera test we reject the null hypothesis (H0: the data are from a
normal distribution) at the 5% significance level for the following variables:
BIGFRK3, BSNFRK2, FDSSR, TCMKR, ERS10 and SASX30. Only BSNFRK2,
JHKP-R-A, ZPTP-R-A and TLKM-R-A had positive average return (Table 3). The
same conclusion is for ERS10 and FIRS (Table 4). Based on the analysis of results
given in Table 3, it can be concluded that BHTSR, BSNFRK2, ELGJR, FDSSR,
JHKP-R-A, JPESR, MIGFRK2, NOVB-R-E and ZPTP-R-A had positive skewness.
In the case of selected indices, positive skewness has been detected with BATX,
BIRS, ERS10, FIRS, SASX10 and SASX30.
Skewness and excess kurtosis, based on historical simulation, are given in Figure 1.

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�Stock Selection Based on Discriminant Analysis:
Case of Capital Market of Bosnia and Herzegovina

Figure 1. Skewness and kurtosis excess
15

Historical Simulation (Performance): Skewness
Historical Simulation (Performance): Kurtosis Excess

10
5
0

SASX30

SASX10

JPESR

ERS10

BIRS

BIFX

BATX

ZPTP-R-A

TLKM-R-A

TCMKR

NOVB-R-E

MIGFRK2

JHKP-R-A

IBZRK2

FDSSR

ELGJR

BSNLR

BSNFRK2

BIGFRK3

BHTSR

Cash

-5

Why is this so important to analyze? Well, the skewness of a symmetric distribution,
such as the normal distribution, is zero. Positive skewness means that the
distribution has a long right tail and negative skewness implies that the distribution
has a long left tail.
In other words, negative skewness means there is a substantial probability of a big
negative return. Positive skewness means that there is a greater-than-normal
probability of a big positive return. Furthermore, kurtosis points out leptokurtosis
for all selected variables, except for IKBZRK2, NOVB-R-E and ZPTP-R-A.

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�Jasmina Okičić, Sonja Remetić-Horvath, Baris Büyükdemir

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�Stock Selection Based on Discriminant Analysis:
Case of Capital Market of Bosnia and Herzegovina

Table 4. Descriptive statistics - indices
Variables:
Parameters:

BATX

BIFX

BIRS

ERS10

FIRS

SASX10

SASX30

Mean

-0.004267

-0.003875

-0.005721

0.000244

0.000330

-0.009035

-0.004603

Median

-0.002465

-0.000760

-0.007594

-0.007388

-0.011953

-0.004061

-0.009721

Maximum

0.097816

0.079885

0.095962

0.280094

0.175007

0.146682

0.096895

Minimum

-0.086516

-0.148956

-0.080724

-0.125555

-0.106946

-0.120636

-0.047559

Std. Dev.

0.042950

0.042600

0.038246

0.073986

0.062848

0.048972

0.028226

Skewness

0.162552

-0.856056

0.364747

1.782538

1.062165

0.445566

1.521780

Kurtosis

3.201353

5.147046

3.094798

7.671008

4.146038

4.796183

6.242264

Jarque-Bera

0.219352

11.31171

0.811722

51.79214

8.739272

6.030584

29.66329

Probability

0.896124

0.003497

0.666403

0.000000

0.012656

0.049032

0.000000

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�Jasmina Okičić, Sonja Remetić-Horvath, Baris Büyükdemir

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�Stock Selection Based on Discriminant Analysis:
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�Jasmina Okičić, Sonja Remetić-Horvath, Baris Büyükdemir

Correlation matrix was presented in Table 5. Correlation between two variables
indicates the level to which those variables move together. The sample correlation
coefficient r is an estimate of the population correlation coefficient ρ. We also tested
statistical significance of correlation coefficients where the following hypotheses were
being tested (Doane, Seward, 2009, p. 501):
H0: ρ = 0 ,
H1: ρ ≠ 0 .
Shaded values in Table 5 show that the correlation coefficient is significant at the
0.01 or 0.05 level. After examining basic parameters of descriptive statistics and
correlation analysis, in the next part of the paper, we give results of the beta
coefficients estimation.
The Beta Coefficients Estimation
In the case of prime linear regression, it is significantly important to test the
hypothesis if the slope coefficient (β) equals zero. This is an important question
because if β = 0, than independent variable does not influence dependent variable.
In that case, the following hypotheses are tested (Doane, Seward, 2009, p. 520)
H0: β = 0 ,
H1: β ≠ 0 .
Results of the beta coefficient estimation for selected dependent and independent
variables are presented in the following table.

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�Jasmina Okičić, Sonja Remetić-Horvath, Baris Büyükdemir

Shaded values in the previous table show that, with 5% risk, can be concluded that
variable x (selected indices) influences variable y (selected issuers), and that the
estimation of parameter β is statistically important, i.e. in this case we reject null
hypothesis. xvi
Discriminant Function Analysis
The first objective of discriminant analysis is to identify a set of variables that “best”
discriminates between the two groups. In our case, we had two groups, i.e. the most
liquid (group 1) and the least liquid (group 2) stocks from the capital market of
Bosnia and Herzegovina. As we explained earlier, the independent variables of the
model were comprised of the following variables: beta coefficient, market
capitalization, turnover and return. Since we have, depending on index selected,
seven beta coefficients for every issuer, general form of the discriminant function can
be noted as follows:

D = a + b1 x1 + b2 x2 + b3 x3 + b4 x4 + b5 x5 + b6 x6 + b7 x7 + b8 x8 + b9 x9 + b10 x10 ,

(4)

where x1, x2, x3, x4, x5, x6 and x7 represent estimated beta coefficient in accordance
with indices BATX, BIFX, BIRS, ERS10, FIRS, SASX10 and SASX30, respectively;
x8 represents (logarithmic) market capitalization, x9 is used as representation of
(logarithmic) turnover and x10 as a representative of return. We used stepwise
method that basically removes independent variables that are not significant. A
variable with very low tolerance contributes little information to a model and
therefore may be removed from it. In our case, out of initial ten independent
variables, we are left with only five of them: x1 – BATXBETA, x4 – ERS10BETA, x6 –
SASX10BETA, x8 – LOGMCAP and x10 – RETURN. Summary of the most relevant
results is presented in the following tables.
Table 7. Eigenvalue
Function
(1)

Eigenvalue
210.391

% of Variance
100.0

Cumulative %
100.0

Canonical Correlation
0.998

The larger the eigenvalue, the more of the variance in the dependent variable is
explained by that function. Also, the canonical correlation is the measure of
association between the discriminant function and the dependent variable. The
square of canonical correlation coefficient is the percentage of variance explained in
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�Stock Selection Based on Discriminant Analysis:
Case of Capital Market of Bosnia and Herzegovina

the dependent variable. In our case, that means that 99.60% (0.998 x 0.998) of
variance in the dependent variable is explained by the model.
Furthermore, results of the Wilk’s Lambda test are presented in Table 8.
Table 8. Wilks' Lambda
Test of Function(s)
(1)

Wilks' Lambda
0.005

Chi-square
24.092

df
5

Sig.
0.000

Wilks's lambda, is an inverse measure of the importance of the functions. Values
close to 1 indicate that almost all of the variability in the discriminator variables is
due to within-group differences (differences between cases in each group); values
close to 0 indicate that almost all of the variability in the discriminator variables is
due to group differences (Brown and Wicker, 2000, p. 223). Basically, Wilks'
lambda is a measure of how well each function separates cases into groups. Smaller
values of Wilks' lambda indicate greater discriminatory ability of the function.
The interpretation of the discriminant coefficients (or weights) is like that in
multiple regression. Table 9 provides an index of the importance of each predictor
like the standardized regression coefficients did in multiple regression. The sign
indicates the direction of the relationship.
Table 9. Standardized canonical discriminant function coefficients
Function
(1)

x1
8.078

x4
-6.110

x6
-3.274

x8
7.045

x10
-4.643

Summa summarum, our estimated model can be written as follows:
D = 8.078 BATXBETA − 6.110 ERS10 BETA − 3.274 SASX 10 BETA + 7.045 LOGMCAP − 4.643RETURN

Basically, the standardized discriminant function coefficients indicate the relative
importance of the independent variables in predicting the dependent. In our case,
BATXBETA score (variable x1) was the strongest predictor while LOGMCAP score
(variable x8) was next in importance as a predictor. These two variables with large
coefficients stand out as those that strongly predict allocation to the most liquid or
the least liquid group. In general, if we rank these other coefficients by their absolute
values, next to LOGMACP, as the best predictor comes ERS10BETA (variable x4),
23

�Jasmina Okičić, Sonja Remetić-Horvath, Baris Büyükdemir

RETURN (variable x10) and finally SASX10BETA (variable x6). Let us now examine
the practical implications of these results.
BATXBETA, or the beta coefficient as a measure of sensitivity of a stock price to
movement in BATX, is very important tool when making an investment decision on
capital market in Bosnia and Herzegovina. Why? Well, since the BATX is made up
of the most liquid stocks traded on SASE and BLSE, every investor should first
examine the sensitivity of the selected stock to the mentioned index.
Beta coefficient has proved itself as a very useful instrument which investors can use
in the process of defining an investment decision on the capital market. For example,
if we look at Table 6, we see that the estimation of parameter BATXBETA was
statistically important in case of the following issuers: BHTRS, BSNLR, FDSSR,
NOVB-R-E and TLKM-R-A. Furthermore, when knowing the beta coefficient, an
investor may classify any selected stock in one of the three possible groups, i.e.: (1)
an average stock (β = 1); (2) an aggressive stock β &gt; 1, and (3) a defensive stock (β &lt;
1). An average stock, according to the definition, will have beta 1 value, which
means that its return will proportionally follow return on the selected stock exchange
index. A beta coefficient higher than 1 implies that returns for the stock move more
than the market. These stocks are known as aggressive. On the other hand a beta of
less than 1 means that the stock will be less volatile than the market. These stocks are
known as defensive. According to the results presented in Table 6 all of the selected
stocks may be classified as defensive.
As second best predictor in our analysis, LOGMCAP, or the number of stocks
multiplied by their current price on the stock market, is in general, very important
tool in investment decision making. Since market capitalization may be used as a
measure of liquidity (Von Wyss, 2008) this indicator is especially important when
investing in underdeveloped capital markets.
Furthermore, the modern portfolio theory predicts that if the general assumptions of
the capital asset pricing model (CAPM) hold, and the markets are efficient,
systematic risk is the only priced in factor. However, there is a stream of literature
that spills doubt over CAPM and provide evidence that the systematic risk factor is
not the only priced factor, adding firm-specific parameters such as company size
(which can be seen as a proxy for marketability, large bid-ask spreads, nontransparent information, etc.) and earnings yield affect returns to the discussions.
Measuring the size of a company by its market capitalization value, studies utilizing
24

Journal of Economic and Social Studies

�Stock Selection Based on Discriminant Analysis:
Case of Capital Market of Bosnia and Herzegovina

data from different stock exchanges, often find that smaller companies carry a so
called “small-firm” premium and earn higher returns than their larger counterparts
in a buy and hold strategy. Since 1926, the nominal returns on large cap stocks have
averaged about 10% per annum, whereas small-cap stocks brought about 12% and
corporate bonds about 6% gross of inflation rate and taxation (Keating, 2013).
Developed markets have acknowledged this, and decision makers have placed large
incentives in form of commissions and trading spreads to support small-caps with
equity analysis, market makers and the like. As concerns for investor protection rise
in the recent years the rule making has reversed a bit.
When allocating funds to peripheral and emerging markets, investors particularly
look into parameters such as market capitalization and liquidity, as well as market
depth (the sensitivity of bid-ask spreads on the local stock exchange to the placement
of trading volumes within a certain period of time). This liquidity risk is defined as
the risk of a security not being able to trade quickly enough in the market such to
prevent losses. In the modern times of high frequency trading, sophisticated systems
and cash abundant investors in search of yields, liquidity provides investors with an
option to exit, and induces them to take risk, growing capital formation, which in
turn funds innovation and leads to constantly improving standard of living. If
liquidity is eliminated or reduced, this process is reversed meaning that smaller
markets will be more and more excluded in investment decisions based on these
parameters and seen as unattractive for any sort of capitalization, which in turn
diminishes future economic growth. The impact of liquidity can be reduced, if firms
have a firm financial management in place and diversify across several liquidity
providers in the region.
Investing in small-cap companies is one of the most widely used passive growth
strategy where discipline and diversification gains on importance. A conviction bet in
a less liquid market can bring higher returns; as such markets are more volatile,
rewarding their participants for the risks being taken. Understanding this
relationship between company size, return potential and risk is crucial before adding
any equity position to the investor portfolio.
Conclusion
In this paper we investigated the possibilities of stock selection and analysis on the
underdeveloped capital market of Bosnia and Herzegovina. Due to its many
specificities (such as low market capitalization, poor liquidity and turnover, weak
25

�Jasmina Okičić, Sonja Remetić-Horvath, Baris Büyükdemir

legal protection for minority shareholders, low correlation with developed and
emerging capital markets, etc.), any kind of scientific research on this market can
help investors in shaping their investment strategies. Therefore, the main goal of this
paper was to scientifically examine and propose new approach of stock selection and
analysis based on multivariate technique, i.e. discriminant analysis, in order to help
investors, individual and institutional, in their decision making process, especially in
case of underdeveloped capital markets. The main limitations of this study are to be
found in the shorter available financial time series in newly formed capitalistic
economy, missing data due to the lack of collective records on levels of securities
offerings issues. However, the main advantage of this research is that we concluded
that discriminant analysis is a useful quantitative tool that can help investors in
shaping their investment strategies in case of capital market of Bosnia and
Herzegovina. We also found that the beta coefficient, market capitalization and
realized historical return have discriminatory capabilities in case of the capital market
of Bosnia and Herzegovina. The real implications of this research can be seen in the
shaping of investment strategies of potential investors looking to diversify their
portfolios as well as financial managers of smaller listed companies looking for ways
to make their financial structure more attractive to investors. To summarize,
previously formulated scientific hypotheses can be confirmed and further research
suggests a need for more in depth analysis of effects investment strategies based on
the new approach of stock selection and analysis proposed in this paper.

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�Stock Selection Based on Discriminant Analysis:
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Stock market information, including dividend information, is often not complete and is not
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ii
According to additional information, it has been learned that there are several active
custodians available for foreign investors.
iii
Bosnian Investment Fund Index – BIFX, The Sarajevo Stock Exchange, Retrieved 18 April
2013, from http://195.222.43.81/sase-final/language/en-US/Market/Index/Index_BIFX.aspx
iv
SArajevo Stock EXchange Index 10 – SASX-10, The Sarajevo Stock Exchange, Retrieved
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v
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vi
Methodology for Establishing, Calculating and Revision of Investment Funds Index of
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http://www.blberza.com/Cms2FileCache/files/cms2/docver/19709/files/FIRS%20methodolo
gy.pdf
i

29

�Jasmina Okičić, Sonja Remetić-Horvath, Baris Büyükdemir

Methodology for Establishing, Calculating and Revision of Stock Exchange Index of
Republic of Srpska, The Banja Luka Stock Exchange, Retrieved 20 April 2013, from
http://www.blberza.com/Cms2FileCache/files/cms2/docver/19710/files/Methodology_BIRS
_20_05_11.pdf
viii
Methodology for Establishing, Calculating and Revision of The Index Of Companies Of
Power Utility Of The Republic Of Srpska, The Banja Luka Stock Exchange, Retrieved 20
April 2013, from http://www.blberza.com/Cms2FileCache/files/cms2/docver/19711/files
/METODOLOGIJA%20ERS10%20engl.pdf
ix
For more information see: The Bosnian Traded Index (BATX), The Wiener Börse AG,
Retrieved 30 December 2012, from http://en.indices.cc/indices/cee/profiles/batx.html
x
Real historical values for BATX are available at: BOSNIAN TX BAM (BXL.VI), Yahoo!
Finance, Retrieved 14 December 2012, from http://finance.yahoo.com/q/hp?s=BXL.VI
+Historical+Prices
xi
Bosnian Traded Index (BATX), The Wiener Börse AG, Retrieved 20 April 2013, from
http://en.indices.cc/static/cms/sites/indices/media/en/pdf/download/profiles/en_BATX.pdf
xii
For more information on composition of BATX see: Bosnian Traded Index in BAM BATX BAM, The Wiener Börse AG, Retrieved 7 July 2012, from
http://en.indices.cc/indices/details/bxl/composition/
xiii
Dobrinja d.d. Ilidža was not used because at the time this research was done, quotes
weren’t available on the official web site of the SASE.
xiv
For this, in this paper the stock closing prices for the first and last trading day of each
month were collected.
xv
All results in this research were generated by: SPSS® Student Version 11.0 for Windows®,
©SPSS Inc. 2002, Quantitative Micro Software EViews 7.1 Enterprise Edition 2010 and
STATISTICA 7.0 Copyright© StataSoft, Inc. 1984-2004.
xvi
Null hypothesis is confirmed in this case, if p – values are higher than selected significance
level.
vii

30

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�</text>
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REMETIC HORVATH, Sonja
BUYUKDEMIR, Baris</text>
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                <text>The main goal of this paper is to scientifically examine and propose new approach of stock selection and analysis based on multivariate technique, i.e. discriminant analysis, in order to help investors, individual and institutional, in their decision making process, especially in case of underdeveloped capital markets. Therefore, in this paper we investigate the cross—sectional relation between the independent variables of the model, comprised of beta coefficient and some fundamental variables as well as the average stock returns on the underdeveloped capital market of Bosnia and Herzegovina. We concluded that discriminant analysis is a useful quantitative tool that can help investors in shaping their investment strategies. We also found that the beta coefficient, market capitalization and realized historical return have discriminatory capabilities in case of the capital market of Bosnia and Herzegovina. The real implications of this research can be seen in the shaping of investment strategies of potential investors looking to diversify their portfolios. The main limitations of this study are to be found in the shorter available financial time series in newly formed capitalistic economy, missing data due to the lack of collective records on levels of securities offerings issues.   </text>
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                    <text>Journal of Economic and Social Studies

Hasan GÖCEN / Hüseyin KALYONCU / Muhittin KAPLAN

Seater, J. (1993), Ricardian Equivalence, Journal of conomic iterature, 31, 142-90.
Seater, J.&amp;Mariano,R. S. (1985), New tests of the life cycleandtaxdiscountinghypotheses, Journal of
Monetary conomics, 15, 195-215.
Stock, J. H. &amp; Watson,M. W. (1993),A simple estimator of cointegrating vectors in higher order
integrated systems, conometrica, 6, 783-820.

Store Personality: Perceptions Towards
Consumer Electronics Chain Stores in
Turkey A Case of University Students
Keti VENTURA
Ege University, Faculty of Economics and Administrative Sciences,
Business Administration
keti.ventura@ege.edu.tr

Ipek KAZANCOGLU
Ege University, Faculty of Economics and Administrative Sciences,
Business Administration
ipek.kazanoglu@ege.edu.tr

Elif USTUNDAGLI
Ege University, Faculty of Economics and Administrative Sciences,
Business Administration
elif.ustundagli@ege.edu.tr

Rezan TATLIDIL
Ege University, Faculty of Economics and Administrative Sciences,
Business Administration
rezan.tatlidil@ege.edu.tr

Abstr ct

The purpose of this study is to identify, develop and compare the deter- KEYWO D
minants of store personality of the most preferred consumer electronics tore personality, onsumer
chain stores, as perceived by young consumers in urkey. A question- lectronic hain tores,
onfirmatory actor Analysis,
naire survey including a 22-item store personality scale was conducted
urkey
among 855 students using a convenience sampling method. xploratory factor analysis ( A) and confirmatory factor analysis ( A)
A I LE HI O Y
was performed. indings suggest that greater accuracy of information is
ubmitted: 31 July 2012
needed in the purchasing decision related to high involvement products
esubmitted: 05 ovember 2012
such as consumer electronics. Also it was found that younger consumers
esubmitted: 18 ecember 2012
prefer reliable stores that give accurate information, value for money,
Accepted: 21 ecember 2012
and provides price-quality fit. This study addresses the neglected area
of store personality development and validation for consumer electronics relates through an understanding of young consumers perceptions
towards store personality determinants.
JEL odes: M31, M39

14

Journal of Economic and Social Studies

Volume 3

Number 2

Fall 2013

15

�Keti VENTURA / Ipek KAZANCOGLU / Elif USTUNDAGLI / Rezan TATLIDIL

Introduction
In recent years, the growing importance of technology in our daily life has increased
enthusiasm for consumer electronics consumption. In particular, young consumers,
who are leading the adoption of new technologies, have become more ambitious in their
purchases (Accenture, 2012, p. 6). In Turkey, consumer electronics is one of the fastest
growing markets, with sales of 3,648 million TL in 2011 (GfK, 2011), with several
new entrants establishing themselves the market. However, many of the products and
brands sold in consumer electronics retail stores are perceived as being very similar
(Yozgat and Deniz, 2008, p. 121). Pursuing sustainable competitive advantage in the
current market environment necessitates some degree of differentiation in the products
offered by consumer electronics retailers. Therefore, as individual customers tend to
attribute humanized characteristics to brands or products, building a particular store
personality with appropriate characteristics (Blankson and Crawford, 2012, pp. 311315) can be an effective way to differentiate a particular store from competitors, and
position itself through these characteristics, which include product availability, service
quality, value for money, and store atmosphere.
The concept of “brand as a person”, or in other words “brand personality”, as the set
of human characteristics associated with a brand (Aaker, 1997, p. 347) is an important
concern for consumers, and in turn, for marketers and academicians (Grohmann,
2003, p. 224; Aaker and Fournier, 1995, p. 392; Wang and Yang, 2008, p. 460;
Ambroise, et al., 2005, p. 32). Customers interaction with brands is often similar
to their interaction with other people, especially when the brands are attached to
such meaningful objects as clothes or cars (Aaker, 1996, p. 142). As individuals tend
to associate the brand with their life situations and roles (Ligas and Cotte, 1999, p.
611), interaction with brands as if they were people necessitates defining personality
traits that affect the relationship between attributes of people and their behavior in
various situations (Hurley, 1998, p. 116), such as purchasing. Furthermore, in order
to be useful in a social context, a brand’s meaning should be formed based on three
components: its physical make up, functional characteristics, and characterizationi.e., personality (Ligas and Cotte, 1999, p. 612). As human or brand personalities are
related in the context of retail stores (Brengman and Willems, 2008, p. 27), consumers
are able to identify a particular personality related to a store based on both its tangible
(design, environment, etc.) and intangible (attitude of sales personnel, service quality,
etc.) components. Despite approximate similarity in price, service, merchandising and
marketing activities, some stores are overwhelmingly preferred to others (Martineau,
1958, p. 47). Thus, it could be concluded that there should be other factors that

16

Journal of Economic and Social Studies

Store Personality: Perceptions Towards Consumer Electronics
Chain Stores in Turkey A Case of University Students

directly or indirectly affect consumers, and in turn, their preferences. Store personality
is considered to be one factor responsible for differentiating and positioning a store,
because when a store is humanized, it relates to self-meaning that has congruent
personalities to oneself (Chan, et al., 2003, p. 302), this being consistent with the
“self-congruity” theory (Sirgy and Samli, 1985; Sirgy, et al., 2000).
As Turkish consumer electronics chain stores are all highly competitive and
implement similar marketing strategies, some degree of differentiation is necessary
within their positioning strategies, especially in regard to younger consumers. In
this respect, the purpose of this study is to identify and compare the determinants
of store personality of the most preferred consumer electronics chain stores, as
perceived by young consumers in Turkey. Additionally, it aims to explore specific
store personality determinants, and also to develop a scale in a consumer electronics
chain store context. Accordingly, exploratory factor analysis (EFA) and confirmatory
factor analysis (CFA) were applied to the most preferred consumer electronics chain
stores, in order to validate the scale. The conceptual framework for the empirical
research was based on store personality in retailing services. In the first section of
the study, the concept of store personality is discussed. Following this, the research
design and the results of the study are presented. The study is concluded by outlining
the implications and recommendations for the practitioners, the limitations of the
study, and opportunities for further research.
Store personality has been investigated by relatively few researchers including
Martineau (1958), d’Astous and Levesque (2003), Brengman and Willems (2008).
As the scales developed in these studies are too general, and based on a specific
context, they cannot be appropriately applied to consumer electronics chain stores.
Accordingly, the studies of these authors are utilized to develop a new scale to increase
understanding of the perceptions of university students’ towards consumer electronics
chain stores. The findings of the present study have the potential to contribute to store
personality literature by developing and validating a store personality scale for the use
of consumer electronics retailers to position themselves in young consumer markets.

Literature Review
The concept of store personality was introduced by Martineau (1958, p. 47), who
defined it as “the way in which the store is defined in the shopper’s mind, partly

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Store Personality: Perceptions Towards Consumer Electronics
Chain Stores in Turkey A Case of University Students

by its functional qualities and partly by an aura of psychological attributes”. Store
personality is commonly related to store image, but there are important differences
in meaning. Although store image is associated with all the dimensions related to the
store, store personality is restricted to those dimensions that correspond to human
traits (d’Astous and Levesque, 2003, pp. 455-456). As the concept of human and
brand personality are both directly transferable within the context of retail stores
(Brengman and Willems, 2008, p. 27; Khan, 2010, pp. 9-10) these traits are relevant
to the concept of “brand personality”.

(annoyance, irritation, loudness and superficiality). These dimensions were those
which had been most commonly accepted and used in previous studies (Brengman
and Willems, 2009). In Brengman and Willems’ (2008) study, in which a fashion store
was evaluated in the terms of store personality, 5 major classifications were proposed.
These were “store atmosphere” related with design, ambience and social factors;
“merchandise” related with price, quality, style and assortment; “retailer’s reputation”
related with “word-of-mouth”, advertising, communication and social responsibility;
“service” related with direct interactivity along with “format and location”.

Aaker (1997) proposed the commonly accepted brand personality dimensions
(sincerity, excitement, competence, sophistication, and ruggedness), and defined the
concept, mainly by focusing on its positive attributes. The brand personality concept
can help brand strategists enrich their understanding of people’s perceptions and
attitudes toward the brand. It contributes to a differentiated brand identity, guiding
the communication effort and creating brand equity (Aaker, 1996, p. 150). Customers
often interact with brands in the same way they interact with other people (Aaker,
1996, p. 142). When consumers view it as having human characteristics, the brand
is said to have a personality. Examples of brands found to have strong personalities
include Harley Davidson (ruggedness) and Nike (excitement). Madrigal and Boush
(2008) stated that trait inferences can also be made about store personality from the
combination of marketing mix elements in which the retailers engage. For the stores
themselves, other attributes, such as ambience, design and social components are
also of concern (d’Astous and Levesque, 2003, p. 457) as these could directly affect
the perception of store personality. Other aspects that affect store personality are
store name, store environment, service quality, store personnel, merchandise quality,
and carried brand names (Brengman and Willems, 2009, p. 347).

In a store environment, factors as such as attachment, experience and structure
are also important. These formations are evaluated through defining mechanisms,
triggering memories linked to affect, which is either positive (Orth, Limon and Rose,
2010, p. 1207) or negative. Thus consumers develop a perception about a particular
store that will affect shopping decisions. For this reasons, the design and structure of
the store, and the qualities of the sales personnel represent important indicators of
perceived store personality. Where the environment is formal, expressive, symbolic
and has a professionally planned setting that interacts with the product, (Fiore
and Ogle, 2000, p. 34) it influences the customer’s perception of store personality
(Harrell and Hurt, 1976). As consumers repeatedly see, touch, hear and smell the
commodities, as well as experience the environment, they derive value from formal,
expressive and symbolic qualities, and this process influences their beliefs about the
store (Fiore and Ogle, 2000, p. 34; Darden and Babin, 1994, p. 101). Subsequently,
they associate the brand with their lifestyles and roles, thus there is a strong
connection with their view of “self ” (Ligas and Cotte, 1999, p. 613). Thus, they use
brand personality to define their sense of “self ” and tend to seek brands or stores
with congruent personalities (Chan, et al., 2003, p. 304), consistent with the “selfcongruity” theory (Sirgy and Samli, 1985; Sirgy, et al., 2000). However, the way a
store is perceived depends on the personality of each customer (Wesley, et al., 2006,
pp. 167–168). The impressions in consumers’ minds will result in particular store
preferences (Martineau, 1958:55; Brengman and Willems, 2009, p. 352). A good
impression can be achieved by building a store personality and finding a suitable
“location” in the minds of a group of consumers or a market segment (Keller, 2003,
p. 119), a strategy known as “positioning”.

A number of studies on store personality were conducted by Martineau (1958), who
proposed the main influencing factors could be classified into three main areas: layout
and architecture, symbols and colors, and advertising and sales personnel. However,
d’Astous and Levesque (2003) stressed that the dimensions used by Martineau (1958)
were related with image rather than personality, and they developed a 5 dimensional
scale, consisting of “sophistication”, “enthusiasm”, “genuineness”, “solidity” and
“pleasantness”, which included a total of 34 sub items. In the same study, they also
prepared a reduced scale with the highest factor loadings: “enthusiasm” (welcomeness,
enthusiasm, liveliness and dynamism); “sophistication” (chicness, being high class,
elegance and style); “genuineness” (honesty, sincerity, reliability and honesty/truth);
“solidity” (hardiness, solidity, reputation and prosperity) and “unpleasantness”

Most importantly, brands’ objective personality traits do not exist independent of
consumer perception (Zentes, Morschett and Schramm-Klein, 2008, p. 169). The
process by which consumers use a product category and attribute information from
memory has implications for selecting the appropriate positioning strategy to achieve

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brand association (Punja and Moon, 2002, p. 276). The brand, with its symbolic
and human attributes, customizes its marketing mix according to store personality.
However the personality that managers aim to implement may be different to that
perceived by consumers. If there is a major gap between managers’ implementations
and consumers’ perceptions of these, then it will be impossible for managers to
communicate with consumers in a satisfactory manner.
As store personality is directly related with “the perceptions of consumers”, it
becomes important to evaluate store personality in the context of store positioning.
Perceptions are mostly formed according to the factors representing the store’s
“intangible assets”, which, according to Hooley, et al. (2001), are most difficult
for competitors to imitate. Therefore, if a firm can succeed in positioning itself
through personality characteristics, it will make an important contribution to its
performance in terms of competition and long-term survival.
While, the literature contains a number of studies on the determinants of brand
personality, there is a need for further studies on store personality and its determinants,
as these have received less attention. In this field, Martineau (1958) mostly focused on
store image attributes to define store personality, d’Astous and Levesque (2003) utilized
Aaker’s (1997) brand personality dimensions to develop a general store personality
scale; however, this does not fit all retail stores. One example of the development of
a new scale is Brengman and Willems’ (2008), which used qualitative methods to
develop a scale for fashion stores based on d’Astous and Levesque (2003). In this study,
we draw on this previous research (Martineau, 1958; d’Astous and Levesque, 2003;
Brengman and Willems’, 2008) to understand the perceptions of young consumers
towards the determinants of store personality. Using survey methodology, a new store
personality scale is developed for consumer electronics chain stores.

Store Personality: Perceptions Towards Consumer Electronics
Chain Stores in Turkey A Case of University Students

Darty, MediaMarket, BestBuy, Electroworld and Gold. These highly competitive
market players need to be differentiated through their positioning strategies. A
consumer electronics product is not only a tool with which the user performs a
task, but also a decorative item for the home, or means to express one’s personality
and lifestyle (Han, et al., 2001, p. 145). For this reason, the purchase of electronics
products entails high involvement, in which consumers seek specific qualities in
the products themselves. This very personalized approach makes the consumer
electronics sector particularly suitable for store personality research.
In this competitive environment, building store personality can be a significant factor
in positioning a store. Within this context, the aim of this study is to explore and
compare the determinants of store personality, as perceived by young consumers,
of the most preferred consumer electronics chain stores in the Turkish market. In
March 2011 a questionnaire survey was conducted among 855 students from the
Faculty of Economics and Administrative Sciences, Ege University in Izmir, using
a convenience sampling method. The questionnaires, which took 10-15 minutes to
complete, were distributed in the classes and campus area by three research assistants,
who had been informed of the content. This sample was chosen due to the fact that
young consumers are more familiar with consumer electronics and often influence
family purchasing decisions (Hafstrom, et al., 1992). In addition, the enthusiasm of
young people for consumer electronics makes them a potentially highly profitable
segment of the market (Accenture, 2012, p. 15).

According to the GfK Retail and Technology 2011 Report, consumer electronics
is one of the fastest growing sub-sectors in Turkey, with sales of 3,648 million TL.
The consumer electronics sub-sector includes of color televisions, audio appliances,
video players, cash registers, audio-video cassettes, television satellite receivers and
antennas, electronic scales and electronic calculators. There are various domestic and
foreign actors in the Turkish market, notably Teknosa, Vatan Computer, Bimeks,

The questionnaire consisted of three sections. The respondents were asked to state their
preferred consumer electronics store in the first section. The second section gave 22
statements relating to the determinants of store personality for the consumer electronics
context. These statements, generated by the author, were based on the following:
Martineau’s (1958) store personality determinants (architecture, colour schemes,
advertising, salespeople and others), d’Astous and Levesque’s (2003) determinants for
store personality dimensions; and Brengman and Willems, (2008, 2009)’s five major
fashion store personality determinants (store atmosphere, merchandise, reputation,
service and format). Brengman and Willems, (2009) determined four categories
containing different items as follows : (i) “store atmosphere”: interior design, music,
layout, window display (Berman and Evans, 2010, pp. 508-509); (ii) “merchandise”:
price, quality, product range (Berry, 1969); (iii) “service”: sales people’s attitudes
(O’Cass, A. and Grace, D., 2008); (iv) “format”: premium branded products, highincome level target (Brengman and Willems, 2009). A 5-point ‘Likert’ scale ranging
from “strongly disagree (1)” to “strongly agree (5)” was utilized. Finally, in the last
section, there were some demographic questions related to the respondent’s gender,

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age, income level. The questionnaire was originally prepared in Turkish, and the
statements were translated into English for the tables.
The findings of the study are presented in two parts. In the first part, EFA was
conducted to the determinants (Martineau, 1958; d’Astous and Levesque, 2003;
Brengman and Willems, 2008) of store personality in order to identify specific
factors of store personality and obtain important insights about the data structure.
In the second part of the study, ANOVA is performed to compare the perceptions
of respondents to the specific determinants of store personality. Following this, first
and second-order CFA was performed for each most preferred store in order to test
the validity of scale, that is to assess its fit to the proposed theoretical basis.

Findings
The sample comprised 53.1 % female and 46.9 % male students. TeknoSa (52.4
%), MediaMarkt (27.9 %) and Vatan Computer (21.1 %) were chosen as the most
preferred consumer electronics chain stores, comprising 87.9 % of the sample. The
profile of the sample appears in Table 1.
Table 1. Profile of the sample
Variables
Sex
Female
Male
Missing

Total

N

Valid Percent

379
335
38

53.1
46.9
--

752

100

Variables
Monthly Income
650-1379 TL
1380-2109 TL
2210-2839 TL
2840-3569 TL
3570-4299 TL
4300-5029 TL
5030-5759 TL
5760-6489 TL
6490 TL +
Missing
Total

N

Valid Percent

236
174
113
49
44
18
12
9
28
69
752

34.6
25.5
16.5
7.2
6.4
2.6
1.8
1.3
4.1
100

Mostly Preferred Electronic Store

Age

TeknoSA
Mediamarkt
Vatan
Total

18-24
25-31

607
145

80.7
19.3

Total

752

100

22

384
210
158
752

51.0
27.9
21.1
100

Journal of Economic and Social Studies

Store Personality: Perceptions Towards Consumer Electronics
Chain Stores in Turkey A Case of University Students

In order to establish the evaluations related to the statements determining store
personality, one sample t-test was conducted. As shown Table 2, the findings of one
sample t-test about the respondents’ perceptions of store personality determinants
revealed that young respondents (a) can easily find the products they are looking for in
these stores (t=31.622 df:739 p=0.000), (b) visit these stores for its premium branded
products (t=23.362 df:736 p=0.000), (c) get accurate information (t=28.401 df:747
p=0.000) and (d) receive value for their money (t=20.535 df:743 p=0.000).
Table 2. One Sample T-Test of the Respondents’ Evaluations
Statements
Mean
I visit this store for the premium branded products.
3.88
I think stores like this sell high-priced products.
3.09
I appreciate the interior design of this store.
3.60
I think this store serves high-income customers.
2.81
I appreciate the window display of this store.
3.32
The music played in this store enables me to take pleasure from
3.31
shopping
I appreciate the young and dynamic sales staff of this store
3.15
I find more suitable consumer electronics products for young
3.54
people in this store compared to other stores
Only the latest technology products are sold in this store
3.65
The low turnover of salespeople in this store gives me confidence. 3.21
The salespeople in this store are very knowledgeable.
3.56
I can easily find what I am looking for in this store.
3.96
This store determines a price which is appropriate for the quality
3.71
of the product.
Information given related to the products is correct in this store. 3.86
I think the advertisements of this store give accurate information. 3.66
I think this store always gives me value for money.
3.70
I do not think that this store makes false claims to increase sales.* 2.36
I do not like the aggressive attitude of the salespeople towards
3.52
customers.*
Whenever I want to buy a product from this store, they tell me
3.69
that the product is out of stock *
The confusing layout of this store makes it difficult to find what I
3.74
am looking for.*
This store’s interior colour irritates me. *
3.77
The constant crowding in this store irritates me. *
3.35

Std.
dev.
0.991
1.129
0.982
1.124
1.029

t

df

Sig.

25.822
2.389
17.865
-4.976
8.852

854
854
854
854
854

0.000
0.017
0.000
0.000
0.000

1.072

4.007

854

0.000

1.029

15.279 854

0.000

0.945

19.963 854

0.000

1.080
1.069
0.961
0.820

5.674
5.628
16.980
34.351

854
854
854
854

0.000
0.000
0.000
0.000

0.899

22.905 854

0.000

0.815 30.762
0.900 21.403
0.895 23.006
0.982 -18.943

854
854
854
841

0.000
0.000
0.000
0.000

1.130

13.310 836

0.000

1.030

19.489 842

0.000

1.009

21.286 838

0.000

0.996
1.108

22.269 835
9.307 846

0.000
0.000

Test value is 3 (neither agrees nor disagrees) *recoded

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An exploratory factor analyses was perfomed on the total sample in order to identify
the specific determinants of the store personality with Varimax rotation. The KaiserMeyer-Olkin (KMO) test and Bartlett’s test of sphericity were computed to assess
the appropriateness of factor analyses to the data. The Kaiser-Meyer-Olkin Measure
(KMO) of Sampling Adequacy (0.834) also showed that sample adequacy was
satisfactory and the Bartlett’s test of sphericity was significant (p&lt;0.000). The factor
analysis of the 22 item scale yielded a ‘three principal components’ solution. Each of
these three factors had an eigen value greater than one. The statements with factor
loadings lower than 0.50 were removed from the study. During the factor analysis,
eight variables that were unrelated to any factor were excluded, and a total of three
factors were extracted from the remaining 13 items. The analysis produced three
store personality factors, and explained 56.3% of the variance. Also, Cronbach’s
alpha coefficients were calculated in order to check the internal consistency and
reliability of each factor. Factor loadings ranged from 0.63 to 0.81 and alpha
coefficients ranged from 0.67 to 0.80, indicating a high internal consistency and
reliability for the factors. The factors were declared as “Pleasantness”, “Reliability”
and “Welcomeness” in accordance with their respective factor loadings (Table 3).

Store Personality: Perceptions Towards Consumer Electronics
Chain Stores in Turkey A Case of University Students

Table 3. Results of Exploratory Factor Analysis Recoded
Factor
Common
Factors

Factor
Loading

Statements

The confusing layout of this store makes it difficult
to find what I am looking for.*
This store’s interior colour irritates me. *
Pleasantness Whenever I want to buy a product from this store,
they tell me that the product is out of stock.*
The constant crowding in this store irritates me.*
I do not like the aggressive attitude of the salespeople towards customers.*
Information given related to the products is accurate in this store.
I think this store always gives me value for money.
I think the advertisements of this store give accuReliability
rate information.
The salespeople in this store are very knowledgeable.
This store determines a price which is appropriate
for the quality of the product.
I appreciate the interior design of this store.
I appreciate the window display of this store.
Welcomeness
The music played in this store enables me to take
pleasure from shopping.
KMO
Bartlett Test

Interpretation
(Cumulative
% of variance
explained)

Cronbach
Alpha

21.775

0.80

41.989

0.77

56.032

0.67

0.799
0.791
0.762
0.694
0.640
0.751
0.735
0.727
0.670
0.626
0.812
0.752
0.704
0.834
2940.500; (df: 78; p&lt;0.05)

In order to compare the respondents’ evaluations of “Pleasantness”, “Reliability”
and “Welcomness” factors, and explore the differences between the most preferred
stores, both a sample t-test and ANOVA were conducted. H1 is generated as follows:

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Journal of Economic and Social Studies

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147
3.422
2.87
209
3.909
2.280
The music played in this store enables me to take pleasure
3.12
from shopping.

3.29
393
Test value is 3 (neither agrees nor disagrees)
*recoded
**p&lt;0.05

147

147
4.369

6.314
3.54

3.14
209

209
7.619

5.150
393

13.560 393

7.489

3.63

3.35

I appreciate the interior design of this store.

I appreciate the window display of this store.

3.54

3.37

10.594 147
3.86
11.947 209
3.77

147
7.233
3.63
11.022 209
3.68
393
9.607
3.45
The salespeople in this store are very knowledgeable.

12.811 393

Welcomeness

Reliability

Fall 2013

This store determines a price which is appropriate for the
3.56
quality of the product.

147
7.941
3.62
209
9.364
16.056 393

3.65

11.135 147
3.84
12.442 209
3.80
12.901 393
3.56
I think this store always gives me value for money.

I think the advertisements of this store give accurate infor3.67
mation.

12.473 147
3.93
3.81
22.667 393

13.311 209

144
5.600
3.56
204
8.107
3.62
987
7.368

145
5.283
3.49
206
3.038
3.25
The constant crowding in this store irritates me.*

3.30

5.590

390

14.161 388
Pleasantness

I do not like the aggressive attitude of the salespeople to3.41
wards customers.*
Information given related to the products is accurate in this
3.83
store.

144
8.004
3.69
205
7.932
3.61

145
9.972
3.77
10.548 200
3.74
14.750 385
3.74
This store’s interior color irritates me. *

Whenever I want to buy a product from this store, they tell
3.69
me that the product is out of stock.*

Vatan

3.78
206
9.873
3.71
13.812 386
The confusing layout of this store makes it difficult to find
3.70
what I am looking for.*

t**
Mean
df
t**
Mean
Statements

Teknosa

Volume 3

Common Factors

Table 4. Comparison of One Sample T-Test of Three Stores

Findings of the sample t-tests (Table 4) revealed that the majority of the mean values
for each item were very close among the three stores. Considering the findings, it
can be proposed that, although these three are the most preferred ones, they were
able to differentiate themselves to a limited extent in relation to store personality
determinants. It can be said that, although young people perceive these stores as being
similar in all services, Vatan Computer and Teknosa were considered to give better
value for money (F=7.847 df: 2/749 p=0.000) compared with MediaMarkt. Vatan
Computer sets more reasonable prices according to the quality of their products
(F=7.335 df: 2/749 p=0.001) than the other two. Sales personnel in MediaMarkt
are perceived to have more knowledge (F=4.662 df: 2/749 p=0.010) than those in
Teknosa. Also, the respondents who preferred MediaMarkt and Teknosa reported
that the music in these stores gave a more pleasurable shopping experience (F=6.601
df:2/749 p=0.001) than was stated by those who preferred Vatan Computer.
Considering these findings, H1g; H1k; H1i and H1n are supported (p&lt;0.05).

MediaMarkt

df

Mean

t**

df

H1a/b/c/d/e/f/g/h/i/k/l/m/n: All three stores are statistically different according to
(a) layout, (b) interior colour, (c) product availability, (d) crowdedness, (e)
attitude of salespeople, (f )accuracy of product information, (g) value for
money, (h) accuracy of information in ads, (i) knowledge of salespeople, (k)
price-quality fit, (l) interior design, (m) window display and (n) in store
music.

10.093 142

Store Personality: Perceptions Towards Consumer Electronics
Chain Stores in Turkey A Case of University Students

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�Keti VENTURA / Ipek KAZANCOGLU / Elif USTUNDAGLI / Rezan TATLIDIL

EFA is essential in determining the underlying constructs for a set of measured
variables. In order to test how well the measured variables represent the number
of constructs (Brown, 2006), CFA was conducted with Maximum Likelihood
Estimation in LISREL 8.80 (Jöreskog and Sörbom, 1997). CFA verifies the factor
structure of a set of observed variables and statistically tests the validity and reliability
of a hypothesized factor model (Suhr, 2006, p. 1). The hypotheses tested are as
follows:

Store Personality: Perceptions Towards Consumer Electronics
Chain Stores in Turkey A Case of University Students

Figure 1. Second-Order Confirmatory Factor Analysis of Perceived Store Personality
LAYOUT

INTERIOR COLOR

PLEASANTNESS

H2: The correlated (ﬁrst-order) store personality factors explain an
important proportion of the variance in the data.

CROWDED AFFECT
ATTITUDE OF
SALESPEOPLE

H3: The set of store personality determinants comprises the latent variable,
overall store personality.

First-order CFA was performed to examine the construct more closely and establish
construct validity for each of the most preferred consumer electronics chain
stores. The estimation of the ﬁrst-order CFA model revealed that the data defined
three factors with regression coefficients varying among the three stores. All the
coefficients were significant at the 5 % level (Table 5). Therefore, the hypothesis
H2 was supported. Vatan Computer store had the highest correlations between
“pleasantness and reliability” (r=0.68), “reliability and welcomeness” (r=0.74),
“pleasantness and welcomeness” (r=0.52) respectively. In order to obtain as much
understanding of the data as possible, second-order factor analysis was performed
(McClain, 1996, p. 131; Correia, et al., 2008, p. 167). In comparison to first-order
models with correlated factors, second-order factor models can provide a more
interpretable model (Chen, et. al., 2005, p. 472).

ACCURATE PRODUCT
INFORMATION
VALUE FOR MONEY

PERCEIVED STORE
PERSONALITYY

RELIABILITY

Journal of Economic and Social Studies

ACCURATE
INFORMATION IN ADS
KNOWLEDGEABLE
SALESPEOPLE
PRICE-QUALITY FIT

Second-order CFA was conducted on the three-dimensional model of perceived
store personality and compared each store independently, with the same items.
Figure 1 presents the hierarchical construct of perceived store personality, consisting
of several correlated first-order factors and a single second-order factor. In this
model, the latent variables were “perceived store personality”, “pleasantness”,
“reliability”, “welcomeness”, and the observed variables are store personality
determinants. “Pleasantness” and “reliability” were represented by five items each,
and “welcomeness” by three items.

28

PRODUCT
AVALIABILITY

INTERIOR DESIGN

WELCOMING

WINDOW DISPLAY

IN STORE MUSIC

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�The standardized regression coefficients of the models and associated t-values for the
13 items are shown in Table 5. The output revealed that every standardized regression
coefficient and the associated t-values are significant (p ≤ 0.05). The resulting fit
indices (GFI, CFI, AGFI, RMSEA, χ2 /df ) for all three store personality models
displays satisfactory measure fit, which supported the construct validity of the
measures. In order to assess the convergent validity of “pleasantness”, “reliability” and
“welcomeness” constructs, construct reliability was computed. Construct reliability
values ranged from 0.617 to 0.893, which shows an acceptable convergent validity.
Discriminant validity is computed by latent variable correlation matrix (Table 6).
As seen from the Table 6, although some of the AVE (Average Variance Exracted)
values are at moderate level (AVE&lt;0.5) (Paswan, 2009), the square root values of
AVE for all three stores are larger than the correlations, which demonstrates an
acceptable discriminant validity.

30
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*Significant at p ≤ 0.05

Overall Model Fit:

PERCEIVED STORE PERSONALITY → PLEASANTNESS
PERCEIVED STORE PERSONALITY → RELIABILITY
PERCEIVED STORE PERSONALITY → WELCOMENESS
PLEASANTNESS →LAYOUT
PLEASANTNESS →INTERIOR COLOR
PLEASANTNESS →PRODUCT AVAILABALITY
PLEASANTNESS →CROWDEDNESS
PLEASANTNESS →ATTITUDE OF SALESPEOPLE
RELIABILITY →ACCURACY OF PRODUCT INFORMATION
RELIABILITY → VALUE FOR MONEY
RELIABILITY → ACCURACY OF INFORMATION IN ADS
RELIABILITY → KNOWLEDGABLE SALESPEOPLE
RELIABILITY → PRICE-QUALITY FIT
WELCOMENESS →INTERIOR DESIGN
WELCOMENESS → WINDOW DISPLAY
WELCOMENESS → IN STORE MUSIC

Predictive Parameter Estimates

MEDIAMARKT (N=210)

VATAN (N=158)
Standardized
Standardized
Standardized
t-value Regression
R2
t-value Regression R2
t-value Regression
R2
Coefficients
Coefficients
Coefficients
2.77* 0.37
0.13
5.19*
0.66
0.44 5.53* 0.69
0.48
3.22* 0.83
0.68
4.44*
0.86
0.74 10.04* 0.98
0.97
2.64* 0.50
0.25
4.88*
0.50
0.25 8.22* 0.82
0.56
7.60* 0.76
0.58
7.73*
0.77
0.60 6.33* 0.82
0.67
7.49* 0.74
0.55
7.58 * 0.74
0.55 6.35* 0.83
0.69
7.34* 0.74
0.51
6.59*
0.60
0.36 5.52* 0.58
0.34
6.09* 0.54
0.30
5.57*
0.48
0.23 4.77* 0.45
0.20
0.50
0.36
0.61
0.37 0.46
0.21
6.25* 0.54
0.41
5.08*
0.69
0.48 10.68* 0.76
0.58
6.65* 0.72
0.52
5.07*
0.69
0.48 11.88* 0.85
0.72
6.66* 0.73
0.53
5.14*
0.73
0.53 10.99* 0.78
0.61
0.55
0.30
0.42
0.17 0.73
0.53
5.55* 0.53
0.28
4.30*
0.47
0.22 11.61* 0.83
0.68
0.55
0.30
0.82
0.67 0.74
0.55
3.43* 0.67
0.45
7.30*
0.72
0.52 10.44* 0.83
0.69
2.86* 0.30
0.088 6.34*
0.54
0.30 9.20* 0.70
0.49
GFI=0.93, AGFI=0.90,CFI= 0.94,GFI=0.95, AGFI=0.90,CFI=0.98,GFI=0.90, AGFI=0.87,CFI= 0.90,
RMSEA=0.033, χ262=96.34,χ2 /RMSEA=0.031, χ262=73.67, χ2/RMSEA=0.074, χ262=259.78, χ2/
df=1.55
df=1.18
df=4.19

TEKNOSA (N=384)

Table 5. Results of the CFA of Store Personality Scale Among the Most Preferred Consumer Electronics Chain Stores

Keti VENTURA / Ipek KAZANCOGLU / Elif USTUNDAGLI / Rezan TATLIDIL
Store Personality: Perceptions Towards Consumer Electronics
Chain Stores in Turkey A Case of University Students

31

�Keti VENTURA / Ipek KAZANCOGLU / Elif USTUNDAGLI / Rezan TATLIDIL

Store Personality: Perceptions Towards Consumer Electronics
Chain Stores in Turkey A Case of University Students

Table 6. The Latent Variable Correlation Matrix: Discriminant Validity
Reliability
Teknosa (n=384)
Pleasantness
Welcomeness
Reliability
MediaMarkt (n=210)
Pleasantness
Welcomeness
Reliability
Vatan Computer (n=158) Pleasantness
Welcomeness

Reliability
0.62
0.30
0.41
0.61
0.57
0.43
0.79
0.68
0.74

Pleasantness

Welcoming

0.67
0.18

0.53

0.65
0.33

0.70

0.75
0.52

0.76

Note: Square root of AVE is on the diagonal.

The values of some other goodness-of-fit indices are the following: GFITEKNOSA
= 0.93, AGFITEKNOSA = 0.90, CFITEKNOSA = 0.94, RMSEATEKNOSA = 0.033, χ2/
dfTEKNOSA=1.55; GFIMEDIAMARKT=0.95, AGFIMEDIAMARKT=0.90, CFIMEDIAMARKT=0.98,
RMSEAMEDIAMARKT=0.031, χ2/dfMEDIAMARKT=1.18; GFIVATAN=0.90, AGFIVATAN =0.87,
CFIVATAN= 0.90, RMSEAVATAN=0.074, χ2/dfVATAN=4.19. Therefore, the three store
personality factors determined perceived store personality, thus H3 is supported.
The factor “reliability” had the highest standardized regression coefficients among
the three stores. This means that when “reliability” increases by one, the perceived
store personality increases by 0.83; 0.86 and 0.98. In all three stores, the most
important determinants for the “pleasantness” factor are “layout” (βTeknosa=0.76;
βMediaMarkt=0.77; βVatan=0.82) and “interior color” (βTeknosa=0.74; βMediaMarkt=0.74;
βVatan=0.83). The reliability factor derives mainly from the “accurate information
in ads” (βTeknosa=0.73; βMediaMarkt=0.73) and “value for money” (βTeknosa=0.72;
βMediaMarkt=0.69) in Teknosa and MediaMarkt; “value for money” (βVatan=0.85) and
“price-quality fit” (βVatan=0.83) in Vatan Computer. The highest coefficients for the
“Welcomeness” factor were “window display” (βTeknosa=0.67; βVatan=0.83) in Teknosa
and Vatan Computer; “interior design” (βMediaMarkt=0.82) in MediaMarkt.

the population in Turkey comprises young people (TSI, 2011, p. 13), the interest
in consumer electronics is growing rapidly, thus forcing consumer electronics
retailers to be more innovative in the diversification of their marketing and
positioning strategies. However, it can be seen that there is insufficient diversity in
the retailing mix policies and strategies among the retailers with regard to factors
such as goods and services offered, store location, operating procedures, pricing
tactics, store atmosphere, customer services and promotional methods. Within this
context, the purpose of this study is to identify and compare the determinants of
the most preferred consumer electronics chain stores’ personalities, as perceived by
a representative sample of Turkish university students. It aims to explore the factors
that make up the specific store personality determinants in a consumer electronics
chain store context. The reason for this is the critical need for the most popular
electronics product chain stores to differentiate and gain competitive advantage,
especially for young consumers such as university students, who represent an
important section of this market (Accenture, 2012, p. 15).
In the literature, there are few studies relating to store personality. This concept
was firstly introduced by Martineau (1958), who mainly focused on store image
attributes in defining store personality, while d’Astous and Levesque (2003)
developed a “general” store personality scale based on Aaker’s (1997) brand personality
dimensions. Additionally, Brengman and Willems (2008) developed a scale using
retailing mix, aimed specifically at “fashion stores”. As the scales developed in these
studies are generalized and context based, they are not appropriate for consumer
electronics chain stores. Accordingly, these studies have been utilized as the basis
for a new scale specifically designed to gain an understanding of university student
perceptions of chain stores in the electronics sector.

The consumer electronics market is one of the fastest growing in Turkey. In recent
years, the entry of global chain stores into the Turkish market and the extension
policies of local chain stores have increased competition in this sector. As 34.6 % of

The findings of the present study contributes to the literature by developing and
validating a store personality scale specifically for consumer electronics retailers
based on university students’ perceptions of store personality determinants. In the
Turkish market, Teknosa, MediaMarkt and Vatan Computer were selected as the
most preferred chain stores. In the study, in order to identify specific factors of
store personality, EFA was conducted and three factors were identified: “reliability”,
“pleasantness” and “welcomeness”. Following this, CFA was performed on these
factors and a confirmatory factor analytic model was generated. First-order models
with correlated factors were performed to examine the construct more closely,
while second-order factor analysis was used to define the most important factors
and determine the relative importance of each factor to the overall, for each

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Conclusion and Implications

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Store Personality: Perceptions Towards Consumer Electronics
Chain Stores in Turkey A Case of University Students

chain store (Correia, et al., 2008, p. 173). The results indicate that “reliability” is
perceived to be the most important factor in all three stores. In contrast, factors
that are perceived to be least important by university students were “pleasantness”
for Vatan Computer and Teknosa, “welcomeness” for MediaMarkt. One of the
most important items perceived was “Value for money”, which explains “reliability”
factor in all three store. This is due to the fact that purchasing electronic products
requires high involvement which means that consumers put a greater emphasis on
finding information about brands and products when making purchases. Moreover,
in Teknosa and MediaMarkt, “accurate information in the advertisements” of the
stores and in Vatan Computer “price-quality fit” best explains the “reliability” factor.

As argued by Brengman and Willems (2009), it may be appropriate to propose
that the managers of store chains should reduce the perception of overcrowding
by rearranging the layout to facilitate shopping and in store traffic flow, to create a
more pleasant store atmosphere. Managers may be encouraged to develop strategies
for relieving congestion in crowded areas such as entrance, halls, cash register
locations, customer services and shopping areas. This study shows the potential for
a store-personality scale developed for consumer electronics chain stores in helping
retailers understand the perception of young customers. This understanding can
enable stores to reposition themselves in a competitive market by implementing an
integrated communication strategy.

The second store personality factor, “pleasantness” is found to be best explained by
“layout” and “interior design” in all three stores. “Window display” is very much
related with the “welcomeness’ factor in Teknosa and Vatan, while “interior design”
is the most important item in explaining this factor in MediaMarkt.

The main academic contribution of this study is that it can be seen as a preliminary
effort to identify the most distinctive personality factors and determinants of
consumer electronics chain stores perceived by university students in Turkey. As
consumer electronics stores and their personality characteristics have received
a limited amount of research attention in the marketing literature, this study is
expected to be useful for potential domestic and foreign consumer electronics
retailers investing in this sector.

These findings emphasize the need for accurate information in the purchasing
decision making process for high-involvement products, such as consumer
electronics (Ahmed, et al., 2004). Young consumers prefer a reliable store that gives
accurate information, value for money and has price-quality fit. In addition, the
store atmosphere and merchandise are perceived as the most important determinants
of store personality by university students. This may be due to the need for young
consumers e.g. university students, to be able to touch, hear and even smell products,
as well as see them, which contributes to a pleasant shopping experience and a
feeling of being welcome in the store.
Considering these findings, in order to increase the reliability of such stores it may
be appropriate to recommend that managers ensure that sales personnel are provided
with information relative to the products, as well as the price. This is considered
to promote sales. In addition, stores should avoid misleading advertising and sales
promotions as this can cause store avoidance. In order to prevent this problem and
assist in monitoring students’ buying habits, loyalty cards can be given to contracted
universities. Also, detailed explanations regarding the usage of products can be given
on their web sites in the form of videos. Another vital measure is to improve after-sales
service, such as maintenance, installation, and repair and even offer replacement with
another product where necessary. Considering of the importance of the university
market, it would be very useful for chain stores to promote their most popular
products at university festivals, organize a variety of events and give special incentives
to students, in order to capture these potential long term customers of the future.

34

Journal of Economic and Social Studies

Limitations and Future Research
This study has a number of limitations. In sampling design in particular, due to
budget limitations, the use of convenience sampling method in only one metropolitan
city, Izmir, and one university may not represent the general perceptions of Turkish
university students. However, despite its limitations, this study can be seen as a
preliminary effort in analyzing the perceptions of Turkish university students, a
highly profitable segment of the market (Accenture, 2012, p. 15).
In his study, Martineau (1958) mostly focused on store image attributes to define
store personality, while d’Astous and Levesque (2003) utilized Aaker’s (1997) brand
personality dimensions to develop a “general” store personality scale. Additionally,
Brengman and Willems’ (2008) developed a scale only for “fashion stores”, which
is therefore unsuited to consumer electronics. The scale developed in this study can
only be applied to consumer electronics chain stores, because it includes specific
determinants. Additionally, this scale can be used to measure the effect of store
personality determinants on store loyalty, store image and alternative methodologies,

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Store Personality: Perceptions Towards Consumer Electronics
Chain Stores in Turkey A Case of University Students

including the usage of both qualitative and quantitative techniques. This process would
be able to provide a deeper understanding of consumer perceptions and attitudes.

Chen, F. F., Sousa K. H., &amp; West S. G. (2005). Testing Measurement Invariance of Second-Order
Factor Models. tructural quation Modeling, 12(3), 471–492, Lawrence Erlbaum Associates, Inc.
doi: 10.1207/s15328007sem1203_7

Further studies can be made into different types of retailers, as well as customer
segments from other countries in order to explore the effects of cultural differences. In
addition, further research conducted on a wider sample size involving other universities
in Izmir and other metropolitan cities would allow a stronger representative view.

Correia, A., Moital, M., Da Costa, C. F. &amp; Peres, R. (2008). The determinants of gastronomic tourists’
satisfaction:a second-order factor analysis. Journal of oodservice, 19, 164–176. doi: 10.1111/j.17454506.2008.00097.x
Darden, W. R. &amp; Babin, B. J. (1994). Exploring the concept of affective quality: expanding the concept
of retail personality. Journal of Business esearch, 29, 101–109. doi: 10.1016/0148-2963(94)90014-0
d’Astous, A. &amp; Levesque, M. (2003). A scale for measuring store personality, Psychology &amp; Marketing,
20(5), 455-469. doi: 10.1002/mar.10081

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Abstr ct

In economics literature the relationship between budget deficit and
current account deficit is known as twin deficits hypothesis. The Keynesian
Approach accepts a relationship between two deficits. In contrast to
this, icardian quivalence Hypothesis defends there is no relationship
between these two deficits. win deficits have become the subject of several
studies to test which of these hypotheses are reliable but no consensus has
been achieved. ome studies found a relationship from budget deficit to
current account deficit but some of them had the opposite result. specially
after 1980 it is known that many developed and developing countries
encountered with this twin deficits problem. urkey also has the problem
of twin deficits. Therefore, it is important to find whether there is causality
between them and the direction of this causality.
In this study the relationship between budget deficit and current account
deficit is examined by using Johansen ointegration Analysis. This
study is based on period 1996:Q1-2011:Q4. According to results of cointegration; variable coefficients are statistically significant and consistent
with what we expected in hypotheses. urrent account deficit ( A ) has
a significant negative effect on budget deficit (B ). When there is a 1%
increase in A , B decreases 0,12%. This finding is consistent with
economic theory because according to Keynesian Approach two deficits
have relationship with each other. However, in contrast to this approach,
the direction is from A to B and also coefficient is negative.

KEYWO D
Budget eficit, urrent Account
eficit, ustainable Growth,
conometric Modelling, urkey

A

I LE HI

O Y

ubmitted: 5 ctober 2012
esubmitted: 18 ctober 2012
Accepted: 09 January 2013

JEL odes: H62, 32, 4

38

Journal of Economic and Social Studies

Volume 3

Number 2

Fall 2013

39

�</text>
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                    <text>1. International Symposium on Sustainable Development, June 9-10 2009, Sarajevo

Strategic Make-or-Buy Decision-supporting Process:
Adaptability to Sustainable Development Aspects

Robert A. GOEHLICH1
European Business School, Oestrich-Winkel, Germany
robert@goehlich.com
Abstract: Real world outsourcing decisions are very seldom based on a sound trade-off of
risks, costs that these risks impose and benefits. The present paper attempts to overcome
some of these shortcomings by developing an informal process. Dividing the make-or-buy
question into many sub-questions based on, in this case, 16 objectives and characteristics,
helps decision-makers generate a transparent and strategy-oriented solution with fair
attention to all important considerations. By contrast, the less structured intuitive approach
allows the decision-maker to weigh only a few arguments/propositions simultaneously –
typically those which have current subjective importance for the decider. Due to the
modularity of this process, it can be extended easily to additional objectives and
characteristics, e.g., those one that representing sustainable development aspects. The process
allows one to determine what organizational architecture is best suited to a specified activity.
Keywords: Corporate Governance, Outsourcing, Sustainable Development, Strategic Makeor-Buy Decision, Process, Vertical Integration

Introduction
Spot Market
Joint Venture
Strategic Alliance
Supply Contract
Franchise Agreement
Internal Production
Lease Contract
More Integrated
Outsourcing
More Outsourced

Vertical
Integration

Figure 1: Illustration of Organizational Architectures
A company has many architectural choices from which to produce its products or services (Figure 1).
At one extreme, the product or service can be purchased from any supplier in the spot market. At the other
extreme, the company can produce the product or service internally within a division. Between the extremes are
various long-term contracts, such as strategic alliances, franchise agreements, lease contracts, joint ventures and
supply contracts (Brickley, Smith &amp; Zimmerman, 2006). Note that a certain overlap exists between different
types of long-term contracts and typology can vary in some buyer-supplier relationships. Long-term contracts
are introduced briefly, as follows:
•

Strategic Alliance: Alliances, or constellations of bilateral agreements among companies, are increasingly
necessary to successfully compete in today’s global market. Strategic alliances are based on the exchange
of hostages (e.g., surety bonds, exchange of debt or equity positions) and allow the development of long-

1
Alumni of European Business School, International University Schloss Reichartshausen, Department Law, Governance &amp;
Economics, Rheingaustrasse 1, 65375 Oestrich-Winkel, Germany, Mobile: +49-(0)174-25-313-87, email:
robert@goehlich.com, Internet: www.goehlich.com

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term collaborative intentions that permit partners to meet strategic goals (Lau, 1994; Mattsson, 1995).
Alliances are difficult to define because their structural characteristics are diverse. Japanese strategic
alliances, e.g., operate in networks of relationships between companies based on long-term mutuality,
rather than on clearly defined regulations or on inter-firm hierarchical organizational structures (Gerlach,
1997), as commonly practiced in Western countries. Tactical alliances (e.g., code-sharing agreements),
which are loose forms of collaboration, and normally do not involve major resource commitments, are
another form of strategic alliances (Bennett, 1997).
• Franchise Agreement: According to Todeva and Knoke (2005), franchising means that a franchiser (the
buyer) grants a franchisee (the supplier) the use of a brand-name identity, but retains control over pricing,
marketing and standardized service norms.
• Lease Contract: Leasing implies that one company grants another the right to use patented technologies or
processes in return for royalties (Todeva &amp; Knoke, 2005). In the literature (Miller &amp; Upton, 1976), leasing
is distinguished between short- and long-term leases. Short-term leases are for the shortest practicable
interval of time, e.g., three hours for renting a bicycle, one day for renting a car or several years for renting
specialized industrial equipment. Long-term leases are used for an extension over more than a single
period, e.g., several years for renting a copy machine.
• Joint Venture: Joint ventures involve two or more organizations, each of which shares in the decisionmaking activities, such as marketing or research and development (R&amp;D), of the jointly owned entity
(Geringer, 1988). Joint ventures with 50-50 ownership are common.
• Supply Contract: Suppliers can be distinguished into four categories (Kamath &amp; Liker, 1994): (1) partner
suppliers are jointly involved in specification writing from the beginning of the project; (2) mature
suppliers wait for rough specifications from the buyer before they begin work; (3) subordinate suppliers
manufacture based on detailed specifications given from the buyer; and (4) contractual suppliers propose
standard parts that are available through a catalog.
The study is structured as follows. In the next section, the process is introduced, the literature is
qualitatively reviewed by presenting the pros and cons concerning vertical integration and outsourcing, and the
resulting decision-supporting tool entitled “MoB-Tool” is shown. Finally, section three offers a discussion of
the choice of items for the “Settings” submodule, informal versus formal statements and limitations.

The Process
General
The make-or-buy decision-supporting process is structured as shown in Figure 2 and comprises four
sub-modules. The submodule “Settings” is illustrated in detail in Figure 3. This module processes the input data
of strategic objectives, organizational characteristics, product characteristics and environmental characteristics.
The module is based on a balanced scorecard philosophy, of which detailed information can be found in the
discussion section of this study. The submodule “Integration Pros” processes the main advantages of vertical
integration from the point of view of the final assembler (Figure 4), while the submodule “Outsourcing Pros”
processes those advantages of outsourcing as shown in Figure 5. The submodule “Results” processes the output
data as shown in Figure 6.
Vertical integration and outsourcing propositions are divided into control, stability and coordination
aspects. Control aspects are those that help the organization in terms of ease of monitoring, high transparency of
processes, low opportunistic behaviors and low bureaucracy. In the group of stability aspects are those
propositions that support the organization’s existence, such as high quality, high protection of sensitive
information, low risk and high flexibility. Coordination aspects comprise propositions that increase positive
interactions, such as high organizational synergies, low costs and better strategy realization. The submodule
“Results” presents the results of this process in the form of clear graphics.

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Figure 2: Overview of the Make-or-Buy Decision-supporting Process

Figure 3: Settings Submodule

Figure 4: Integration Pros Submodule

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Figure 5: Outsourcing Pros Submodule

Figure 6: Results Submodule

Qualitative Assessment
Each submodule and its associated items, or propositions, is organized in the same manner for simple
review. For reader-friendly use, all information is prepared in the same format. The “Settings” submodule items
are introduced briefly, while the “Integration Pros” submodule propositions, “Outsourcing Pros” submodule
propositions and “Results” submodule items are available upon request.
a) Settings Submodule (Strategic Objectives)
• Set01 Increase market share (financial Key Performance Indicator (KPI))
Description: Market share indicates the percentage of sales in a given industry segment or sub-segment that
are captured by the organization. This indicator has been widely used in the strategically-oriented literature
and is stressed by PIMS (1977), for instance.
Range: low = less than 30% share; high = greater than 70% share

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•

Set02 Increase quality (customer KPI)
Description: Quality indicates the level of flawlessness of an activity and, when high, has a positive effect
on customer satisfaction.
Range: low = faulty; high = flawless

•

Set03 Increase stability (process KPI)
Description: Stability indicates the desired degree of risk avoidance. For example, leasing entails low levels
of financial resource commitment, while integration reduces risks of technology plagiarism.
Range: low = risk neutral, organization is not afraid to take chances and be fully responsible for any costs;
high = risk averse, organization seeks to avoid risk

•

Set04 Increase short-term profit (financial KPI)
Description: Profit is a basic measure of the profitability of the organization and reveals the returns an
organization can generate from creating and selling its products. Higher profits reflect greater efficiency in
turning stock into income and larger budgets available for reinvestment into the organization for research
and development, marketing and other investments (Razvi, 2007).
Range: low = no profit; high = high profit

•

Set05 Increase flexibility (process KPI)
Description: Flexibility indicates the desired degree of ability to adapt organizational strategy to changing
market conditions.
Range: low = adaptation not possible or very costly; medium = adaptation possible, but costly; high = easy
adaptation

•

Set06 Increase control (process KPI)
Description: Control indicates the desired degree of command power by management over activities.
Range: low = no control; medium = partial control; high = full control

b) Settings Submodule (Organizational Characteristics)
• Set07 Organization size (HR &amp; innovation KPI)
Description: Size is an indicator of the organization’s (human) resource availability. This indicator is most
often interpreted as a source of organizational costs (Shepherd, 1972) because it is assumed to affect
performance negatively (Rumelt, 1982).
Range: low = a few hundred employees; medium = a few thousand employees; high = Large Scale
Enterprise (LSE), over ten-thousand employees
•

Set08 Technical experience (HR &amp; innovation KPI)
Description: Experience refers to the extent to which employees are involved and learn from similar
products (Koelle, 2003).
Range: low = new team with no relevant product experience; medium = some experience with related
products; high = extensive experience with similar products

•

Set09 Organizational skills (HR &amp; innovation KPI)
Description: Skills are an indicator of employee knowledge to coordinate projects and programs.
Range: low = no project management experience; high = extensive project management experience

c) Settings Submodule (Product Characteristics)
• Set10 Product complexity (process KPI)
Description: Complexity refers to the technical nature of the product.
Range: low = simple unit; medium = connection of simple systems; high = connection and interaction of
advanced systems

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•

Set11 Asset specificity (process KPI)
Description: The degree of specificity for a certain activity is measured by the difference between the cost
of the asset and the value of its second best use (Williamson, 1985).
Range: low = reversible investment, e.g., capital expenditures; high = irreversible investment, e.g.,
knowledge acquisition

•

Set12 Strategic vulnerability (process KPI)
Description: The degree of vulnerability of strategic organizational development is measured by the amount
the activity contributes to, or even represents, the organization’s core competencies.
Range: low = no relation to core competence; high = sensitive influence on core competences

•

Set13 Technology uncertainty (financial KPI)
Description: This indicator refers to the maturity level of technology used.
Range: low = variation of existing design with minor modifications; medium = new design, but with
existing components; high = first generation system with advanced state-of-the-art technology

d) Settings Submodule (Environmental Characteristics)
• Set14 Intensity of competition (process KPI)
Description: This indicator refers to the number of competitors in the market. Range: low = no competitors,
monopoly; medium = several competitors, oligopoly; high = many competitors, perfect competition
•

Set15 Market demand uncertainty (process KPI)
Description: This indicator includes unpredictable customer utilization, buying power, market seasons,
standards, etc.
Range: low = easy forecasting with no surprises; medium = challenging forecasting with some surprises;
high = unforeseeable circumstances

•

Set16 Quality of business climate (HR &amp; innovation KPI)
Description: The quality of a country’s business climate is measured by the Business Environment Risk
Index (BERI). BERI data is commercially available from Business Environment Risk Intelligence (2005).
This data includes the following criteria with associated weights in brackets (Hollensen, 2007): political
stability (12%), economic growth (10%), currency convertibility (10%), labor productivity (8%), short-term
credit (8%), long-term loans (8%), attitude towards the foreign investor (6%), nationalization (6%),
monetary inflation (6%), balance of payments (6%), enforceability of contracts (6%), bureaucratic delays
(4%), communication infrastructure (4%), local management (4%) and services (2%). Estimating the values
of these criteria leads to a sufficiently accurate indicator value for the purposes of this study.
Range: low = unacceptable, very high risk; high = superior conditions, favorable environment for investors,
advanced economy

Results
The make-or-buy decision-supporting process is structured in five phases (Phase 1: Define Mission
Statement, Phase 2: Define Strategic Objectives and Independent Factors, Phase 3: Define Weighting of
Factors, Phase 4: Check Plausibility of Integration Pros and Outsourcing Pros Submodules, and Phase 5: Obtain
Results) and can be applied to various challenging cases. For this, I develop a tool entitled “MoB-Tool,” as
shown in Figure 7.

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Figure 7: Extract from the MoB-Tool

Discussion
General
The following section attempts to widen the study’s point of view through a discussion centered on: (1)
the choice of items for the “Setting” submodule; (2) a trade-off between informal and formal statements; and (3)
limitations concerning the introduced process.

Choice of Items for “Settings” Submodule
The balanced scorecard philosophy is used to create the “Setting” submodule. The balanced scorecard,
introduced by Kaplan and Norton (1992), is a widely used strategic business performance measurement system.
This method seeks to report on leading indicators of an organization’s health, rather than referring to traditional
accounting measures alone. These leading indicators are called Key Performance Indicators (KPI) because they
are critical to the successful execution of an organization’s strategy. Based on the strategic goals of an
organization, target values for KPIs are set. KPIs enable an organization to measure and monitor its
performance on a strategic and operational level. The goal is to establish a common KPI language that spans all
areas of an enterprise.
Typically, KPIs are used in a post-ante context to evaluate an organization’s past performance. Krauth
et al. (2005) reason that KPIs should be utilized in the planning phase as well, thus ex-ante. I follow this
approach for the make-or-buy decision-supporting process. A key attribute of this process is its support for
identifying causal linkages between components of the business that fulfill the strategy (i.e., to determine the
benefit share of each proposition that contributes to either vertical integration or outsourcing).

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Often the balanced scorecard is broken down into a financial, customer, process and an HR &amp;
innovation perspective. This procedure aims to avoid the classic problems of measurement, such as (Van Aken
&amp; Coleman, 2002) use of too many metrics, use of exclusively cost metrics, use of only short-term focused
metrics and use of metrics that drive the wrong behaviors.
The choice of KPIs is organization-specific and depends upon its goals. An organization’s goals
change over time (Allio, 2006). In a start-up high technology company, for example, managers focus on
reliability. In the growth stage, managers concentrate on market share. In mature industries, managers focus on
production costs and/or capacity utilization. In an aging industry, managers primarily focus on cash flow. I
select those KPIs for the make-or-buy decision that I recommend for use by a typically mature organization.
Due to the modularity of this process, it can be extended easily to additional KPIs and/or existing KPIs can be
terminated. In addition, my proposed weighting (I assume equal weighting) of each KPI is easily changeable.
Sustainable development is defined as a development that meets the needs of the present without
compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs (United Nations, 1987). The field of
sustainable development aspects can be abstractly broken into three essential parts: environmental, economic
and sociopolitical sustainability. In particular, I recommend selecting indicators from the database of
Sustainable Measures (2009) if no other data are given. For example, the environment indicator entitled “CO2
emissions from transportation” of that list can be adapted to a strategic objective entitled “Set07 Reduce CO2
emissions” and added to the Make-or-Buy Tool.

Informal Versus Formal Statements
Some readers may prefer or expect formal statements to informal ones. I choose to use informal
statements for two reasons.
First, dealing with make-or-buy related theories from a qualitative view (i.e., using informal
statements) rather than a quantitative view (i.e., using formal statements), makes it easier to determine the
potential and weaknesses of investigated theories, items and propositions (Goehlich &amp; Bebenroth, 2008).
Second, my motivation and attempt is to generate an overall make-or-buy decision-supporting process
for organizations toward understanding the commonalities, distinctions and interactions of the (normally
isolated watched) make-or-buy theories and known recommendations. Furthermore, I am motivated to provide a
combined account of the costs, risks and benefits of outsourcing versus vertical integration. To accomplish this,
I discover that the top-down approach of using informal statements is superior to the bottom-up approach of
using formal statements: simulating the complex architecture of organizations by only formal statements would
cause a disaster due to the overwhelmingly unmanageable number of equations it would create. Use of informal
statements permits the necessary distance required for the “battlefield of theories” and allows me to uncover
important coherences. This is in accordance with Gibbons (2005, p. 236), who states that “firms have invented
far more ways to work together than organizational economics has so far expressed (not to mention evaluated)”
combined with Krugman’s (1995, p. 54) warning for “sensible ideas that could not be effectively formalized
[and] formalizable ideas that seem to have missed the point.” Further consideration can be found in Baker,
Gibbons and Murphy (2004).

Limitations
Extant make-or-buy related studies are quite voluminous. Thus, complete implementation of this
literature into the make-or-buy decision-supporting process is beyond the scope of the present study. Rather, I
limit my discussions and investigations on those studies that I found to have significant influence on make-orbuy decisions, especially for managers. However, I find that many extant studies suffer from measurement
problems, in particular with respect to sustainable development aspects, such as follows:
• Some factors, such as motivational, cultural and social factors are hard to handle, but may strongly
influence decisions.
• Companies from different countries generally apply divergent success criteria because of unique cultures
(Yan &amp; Zeng, 1999). In addition, each culture has specific cultural codes, e.g., the trust-based cooperative
norms of Japanese society encourage high collaboration rates among companies (Todeva &amp; Knoke, 2005).
Thus, assessing international scenarios is especially complicated because results are biased by different
cultural environments.

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•

A challenge exists whether to use objective outcome indicators (e.g., financial gains, number of
innovations, revenue), subjective indicators (e.g., partner satisfaction with the collaboration, customer
service, corporate identity) or both, in order to fully assess the performance of organizations.

Thus, the precision of propositions is limited. Yet, I assume that a preponderance of indication,
gathered across plentiful studies of diverse industries, time periods and geographic regions using different
approaches, yields convincing evidence as to the validity of the introduced make-or-buy decision-supporting
process.

Conclusion
The main outcome of this study is the development of a make-or-buy decision-supporting process. A
structured application procedure makes this process attractive to any manager who needs a simple and
transparent tool to support make-or-buy decisions. Dividing the make-or-buy question into many sub-questions
based on, in this case, 16 objectives and characteristics, helps decision-makers generate a transparent and
strategy-oriented solution with fair attention to all important considerations. By contrast, the less structured
intuitive approach allows the decision-maker to weigh only a few arguments/propositions simultaneously –
typically those which have current subjective importance for the decider, e.g., bad news about Dollar/Euro
currency trends, which would favor an outsourcing decision or bad news about risk of revealing know-how,
which would favor an integration decision. The next step, which is beyond the scope of the present study, is an
empirical validation of the tool in the form of interviews with experts, economists and politicians.

Note
The views reported in this paper are those of me alone, and not those of any institution. All errors and omissions,
which may unwittingly remain are the sole responsibility of me.

References
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Paper, Harvard Business School, Boston.
Bennett, M.M. (1997). “Strategic Alliances in the World Airline Industry,” Progress in Tourism and Hospitality Research
Journal, Vol. 3, pp. 213-223.
Brickley, J.A., C.W. Smith &amp; J.L. Zimmerman (2006). Managerial Economics and Organizational Architecture, Fourth
Edition, McGraw-Hill, New York.
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http://www.beri.com, Author, Friday Harbor, WA, accessed: 27.1.2008.
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153

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                <text>Strategic Make-or-Buy Decision-supporting Process:   Adaptability to Sustainable Development Aspects</text>
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                <text>Real world outsourcing decisions are very seldom based on a sound trade-off of  risks, costs that these risks impose and benefits. The present paper attempts to overcome  some of these shortcomings by developing an informal process. Dividing the make-or-buy  question into many sub-questions based on, in this case, 16 objectives and characteristics,  helps decision-makers generate a transparent and strategy-oriented solution with fair  attention to all important considerations. By contrast, the less structured intuitive approach  allows the decision-maker to weigh only a few arguments/propositions simultaneously –  typically those which have current subjective importance for the decider. Due to the  modularity of this process, it can be extended easily to additional objectives and  characteristics, e.g., those one that representing sustainable development aspects. The process  allows one to determine what organizational architecture is best suited to a specified activity</text>
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                    <text>International Conference on Economic and Social Studies, 10-11 May, 2013, Sarajevo

Strategic Motives and Foreign Direct Investment
Activities of Turkish Manufacturing Firms: An Empirical
Study
Harun Kaya
İstanbul University, İstanbul, Turkey
harun.kaya@İstanbul.edu.tr
dr.hrn.ky@gmail.com
This paper aims to determine and assess strategic motives of Turkish
manufacturing firms’ (TMFs) foreign direct investment (FDI) involvement
by the use of a broad set of factual and perceptual measures. Relying on
the past research we have developed a number of hypotheses relating to
firm characteristics and motives. Based on the analysis of 94 parent firm
managers’ responses to a survey, first, we find that market-related motives
(such as market potential, market access) appear to be the most important
motives. Second, the results show that the relative importance of TMFs’
strategic motives does not vary with parent firm age; but, to a limited
degree, they vary depending on subsidiary firm age. Third, strategic
motives, to some extent, differ based on the size of the sampled firms and
the size of their foreign subsidiaries. Fourth, motives of TMFs do not vary
based on their sub-sector and entry mode. Finally, the results suggest that
favorable business environment seeking and strategic asset seeking
motives are significantly associated with investment in developed
countries (DCs); and, cultural asset exploiting and efficiency seeking
motives are significantly associated with investment in less developed
countries (LDCs).
Keywords: Foreign Direct Investment (FDI), Strategic FDI Motives,
Emerging Market-Based FDI Firms, Turkish Manufacturing Firms, Entry
Modes, Host Country Selection.

150

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                <text>This paper aims to determine and assess strategic motives of Turkish  manufacturing firms’ (TMFs) foreign direct investment (FDI) involvement  by the use of a broad set of factual and perceptual measures. Relying on  the past research we have developed a number of hypotheses relating to  firm characteristics and motives. Based on the analysis of 94 parent firm  managers’ responses to a survey, first, we find that market-related motives  (such as market potential, market access) appear to be the most important  motives. Second, the results show that the relative importance of TMFs’  strategic motives does not vary with parent firm age; but, to a limited  degree, they vary depending on subsidiary firm age. Third, strategic  motives, to some extent, differ based on the size of the sampled firms and  the size of their foreign subsidiaries. Fourth, motives of TMFs do not vary  based on their sub-sector and entry mode. Finally, the results suggest that  favorable business environment seeking and strategic asset seeking  motives are significantly associated with investment in developed  countries (DCs); and, cultural asset exploiting and efficiency seeking  motives are significantly associated with investment in less developed  countries (LDCs).  Keywords: Foreign Direct Investment (FDI), Strategic FDI Motives,  Emerging Market-Based FDI Firms, Turkish Manufacturing Firms, Entry  Modes, Host Country Selection.</text>
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                <text>International Burch University</text>
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                    <text>Strategic Sustainable Development and Creating Strategies from
TOWS Matrix at Kipaş Group
Imran Aslan
The University of Erzincan, Turkey
Business Administration Department
imranaslan@gmail.com, iaslan@erzincan.edu.tr
Ramazan Bozkurt
The University of Erzincan, Turkey
Business Administration Department
rbozkurt@erzincan.edu.tr

Abstract: The aim of this study is to develop new strategies for sustainable development of a
group and to establish a holding from several companies by considering the regulations in the
World Trade, recent developments in textile sector and raising conflicts among stakeholders.
In this study, internal analysis of the group was carried out with interviews and surveys. To
prepare external analysis, the economical situation of Turkey and the World was researched
and categorized under standard PEST categories. Important problems were identified and then
the purposes and objectives of the firm were determined by focusing on opportunities. Later,
SWOT analysis of the group was prepared and most significant factors were chosen. In the
light of these factors, TOWS matrix was prepared to combine external and internal factors of
the enterprise in order to deploy strategies. New organization structure of the group was
determined and presented based on these strategies.

Introduction
Kipaş Group founded 26 years ago when the Turkish textile and apparel sector initiated continuing progress by
joint-venture of two families and now employs more than 4000 workers in different sectors. Kipaş Group, a
leading institution within its sector and renown due to its professionalism, its expertise and its high quality
standards, is a precious member of Turkish Textile Industry whereby it transformed a mere cotton yarn
manufacturing plant over years into a fully-integrated textile manufacturing giant. The companies of the group
which have benefited from incentives of Turkish Textile and apparel sector have been growing very rapidly.
Kipaş Group has been formalized by including numerous subsidiary companies through the reorganization of the
group companies since 2005. It decided to change their management structure considering the recent
developments in textile sector and raising conflicts among stakeholders due to the management system of the
company. The removal of quotas and Chinese effects to world textile were the focus point of researches. The
effects of removal of quotas to Turkish textile were assessed with the premature indicators of Turkey's total export
and import. By taking account of enormity of the group and economical situation, the group was proposed to
establish a holding.

Theoretical Background
The regulations in World Trade oblige the national wide companies to develop new strategies for their
sustainability in the market. However, companies must be aware of their internal and external environments to
identify their advantages and disadvantages in order to develop strategies. Self assessment, which is a structured
internal process to identify strengths and weakness for improvement is used by companies for years. (Higgins, J.
M. and Vincze, J. W., 1991, p.3) Strategies for sustainable development are used to initiate change by learning
and continuous adaption rather than by challenging the existent institutions. Such approach has been named as
step-by-step procedure. (Volkery, 2006, p.2048) Interaction between culture, structure and technology, the
approaches optimization–improvement–renewal and the parties involved are three relevant dimensions of
sustainable development.( L. Jansen, 2003, p.233) The change is unavoidable to keep competitiveness in today's
global market. It is important to use right methods to collect data against resistance and misunderstandings while

769

�doing changes. ( McLean, G. N. P., 2006) Deep changes occur in this era with unexpected results. (Diskienė D.,
et al., 2008, p.376 ) Each organization has a capability or ability initiating, managing and implementing largescale changes in organization structure to improve organization ability for a quick adaptation, flexibility and
innovation. There should be a trade-off between available assets of the firm and its continuous development
requirements for firm-specific capabilities. (Yan, Y. , et al., 2009, p.53) Management systems of the firm use
internal and external information to gain a better strategically competitive position in the market by providing
outstanding services and products. (Phelan, Steven E., 2005)
Many approaches and techniques are used for strategic management processes. It is not directed just a single
functional area of group. All efforts are directed toward the mission and vision of the firm to find the best for the
whole group. (Houben G.,et al., 1999, p.130; Dincer O., 2004; Ketelhohn W., 2006, p.307) Strategic management
requires including both short-term and long-term perspective. Both a vision for the future of the organization and
a focus on its present operating needs must be taken into account. (Gregory G., et al., 2005) Strategy defines
‘Where do you want to go?’ and ‘How do you want to get there? Strategy manages the correlation between
organization and changing environment. Internal and external factors effecting company are identified to form
strategies. There should be a relationship between internal competences and values to firm’s external environment.
(Viljoen, J. and Dann, S., 2003, p.68) There is a challenge for the firms to find the ‘fit’ what the firm does and
what the environment requires. Moreover, it should be ready for the new environment that future may bring. This
environment can be totally different and firm should evolve its capabilities and culture to tackle with new
environment. ( Porter, et al., 2001, p.615) Managers may scan their environment and decide that there are major
changes occurring in their business world to which they have to adapt. Or they might decide, through internal
analysis, that they have the ability to develop a new way of doing business that will redefine the nature of the
business they are in. If change is the order of the day, then two issues need to be addressed: external analysis and
internal analysis. For a change of strategy to work, there must be alignment between internal capability and
external opportunity. This is described as ‘strategic fit’. (Tiwana, Amrit, 1999, p.126)

SWOT (Strengths-Weaknesses-Opportunities-Threats) Analysis
SWOT analysis is a tool for auditing an organization and commonly used for analysing internal and external
environments in order to attain a systematic approach and support for decision making. If it is used correctly, it
can provide a good basis for successful strategy formulation (Hsu-Hsi C. and Wen-Chih H. , 2006). It involves
the design of the organizational structure and control systems necessary to implement the chosen strategy. SWOT
analysis can be conducted before mission and goal statement. (Hax, A.C. and Majluf, N.S., 1991) SWOT
identifies Strengths and Weakness and examines the Opportunities and Threats of an organization. SWOT
analysis suggests that firms that use their internal strengths in exploiting environmental opportunities and
neutralizing environmental threats, while avoiding internal weakness, are more likely to gain competitive
advantages than other kinds of firms (Jay B and William H., 2007).
SWOT analysis is drawn from external and internal environments of the organization to determine the strategic
vision of the firm based on the analysis of shareholders. One can think of a well developed strategic vision in
terms of probing opponents’ weaknesses; withdrawing to consider how to act, given the knowledge of the
opposition generated by such a probing; forcing opponents to stretch their resources; concentrating one’s own
resources to attack an opponent’s exposed position; overwhelming selected markets or market segments;
establishing a leadership position of dominance in certain markets; then regrouping one’s resources, deciding
where to make the next thrust; then expanding from the base thus created to dominate a broader area. The leading
strategy is the best strategy geared towards radical change and creating a new vision in which the firm is a leader
rather than a follower of trends set by others to help managers improve organizational effectiveness and corporate
profitability. (El Sawy, et al., 1988, p.455-460)
The coverage of the SWOT Analysis is determined by the firm’s and competitors’ resources. Major types of
resources are financial, organizational, intellectual, informational, relational, legal, human resources and resources
related with reputation. The coverage can be extended for management information, supply of raw materials and
production process. However, these are more specific titles. In this study, we had also the opportunity to assess the
management information, however, couldn’t examined supply of raw materials and production process. The
technicians of the organization could assess raw materials and production process in the project.

770

�There are several tools such as TOWS Matrix and PEST Analysis that are used in strategic management. Some of
them are used as complementary to SWOT.

TOWS Matrix
TOWS matrix is the essential completing tool. It enhances deploying strategies systemically considering the
relations between Strengths, Weakness, Opportunities, and Threats. The consequences of the internal and external
factors can be replaced in a matrix called TOWS Matrix is shown in Figure 1. TOWS matrix helps to
systematically identify relationships between threats, opportunities, weaknesses and strengths, and offers a
structure for generating strategies on the basis of these relationships. (Weihrich, H., 1982, p-45-66)

TOWS
Matrix

Internal Strengths(S)
1.
2.
3.
Internal Weaknesses
(W)
1.
2.
3.
4.

External Opportunities
(O)
1.
2.
3.
SO

External Threats (T)
1.
2.
3.
ST

Strategies that use
strengths to maximize
opportunities.
WO

Strategies that use
strengths to minimize
threats.
WT

Strategies that minimize
weaknesses by taking
advantage of
opportunities.

Strategies that
minimize weaknesses
and avoid threats

Figure 1: TOWS Matrix (Weihrich, H., 1982)

PEST
PEST analysis, which stands for Political-Economical-Social-Technological, is another complementary tool.
Social environment is another concept that must be evaluated by PEST Analysis. The external environment of any
organization can be analyzed by conducting a PEST analysis. External factors usually are beyond the firm's
control and sometimes present themselves as threats. For this reason, some say that "PEST" is an appropriate term
for these factors. However, changes in the external environment also create new opportunities and the letters
sometimes are rearranged to construct the more optimistic term of STEP analysis. The organization’s environment
is made up from three factors known:
�
The internal environment: staff (or internal customers), office technology, wages, finance etc.
�
The micro - environment: the external customers, agents, distributors, suppliers, competitors etc.
�
The macro - environment: Social-cultural forces, Economic forces, Environmental forces, and
Political (legal) forces.
Macro-environment’s components are known as STEP factors. (Dyson, Robert G., 2004, p.630-641)

771

�Strategic Development and SWOT Analysis
The reorganization of the group was done after internal and external analyses of the firms and observations from
surveys and interviews. From internal and external analysis, SWOT Analysis of the group was carried out. The
details of project were explained to every person from top management during interviews. Everything must be
planned well otherwise desired changes may be resisted and not accepted by persons. It was expected from them
that they evaluate the firm objectively for such a critical project. Moreover, their political considerations were also
taken into account. They were employed by both families. Thus, they support the family that employed them.
Every family desired to get more control over the group.

SWOT Analysis of Kipaş
In this part, strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats of Kipaş group are presented in the light of the
internal analysis and external analysis. The strengths and weaknesses stem from the interviews, observations and
results of questionnaire, however, the opportunities and threats are drawn out from external analysis, especially
from SWOT analysis of Turkish textile &amp; apparel industry and removal of quotas. The summary of SWOT
Analysis of the group is shown in Figure 2.

Figure 2: SWOT Analysis of Kipaş Group

Case Study- Application of the TOWS Matrix to KIPAş
Kipaş is a successful company having experienced in great difficulties, but then it has developed strategies that
resulted in an excellent market position in the late 2010s. The TOWS Matrix shown in Figure 3 is focusing on the
crucial period from late 2005 to 2010. The external threats and opportunities pertain mostly to the situation Kipaş
faced in textile sector.

Weaknesses and Threats (WT)
A company with great weaknesses often has to resort to a survival strategy. Kipaş could have seriously considered
the option of a joint operation with Asian firms. Another alternative would have been to make investments in
Asian countries. Although in difficulties Kipaş did not have to resort to a survival strategy because the company
still had much strength. Consequently, a more appropriate strategy was to attempt to overcome the weaknesses
and develop them into strengths. In other words, the direction was toward the strength-opportunity position (SO)

772

�in the matrix shown as Figure 3. Specifically, the strategy is to reduce the competitive threat by developing a
more flexible new R&amp;D department to products individualized textile products .

Weaknesses and Opportunities (WO)
The growing affluence of customers has resulted in customized products. Yet, Kipaş have not had a special brand.
Especially when considering big brands in EU such as Nike or Adidas, in long run kipaş should create a brand
name for aimed markets. Kipaş has many problems with its management system due to two families desires to get
more control over the group, improvements in management systems and human resource department were enable
them to establish a new management style in order to take more favorable decisions more quickly. In order to
minimize the additional costs of logistics, E-business and Logistics departments were opened to decrease the
inventors and increase their selling capabilities. Another weakness at Kipaş was the increasing labor costs in
Turkey when compared low labor cost countries in Asia. Kipaş can increase the effectiveness of production or
make production in low labor cities in Turkey.

773

�Figure 3: TOWS Matrix of Kipaş Group Strengths and Threats (ST)

774

�One of the greatest threats to Kipaş was removal of quotas. To overcome this threat, the qualities of the products
have been improved against cheap and unqualified Chinas’ products. To reduce the threats of removal of quotas,
domestic market against china and others should be protected by decreasing textile production costs and
governments should subsidize that. Moreover, Research and Development Department in domestic and foreign
markets can avoid Chinese effects by producing more individualized products. Labor costs are so low in china.
To meet this threat, Kipas has used its capital not only to make investments in Turkey, but also in low labor
countries. This tactic which was congruent with its general strategy helped to improve the firm’s market position.

Strengths and Opportunities (SO)
In general, successful firms build on their strengths to take advantage of opportunities. Kipaş is no exception.
Throughout this discussion Kipaş 's strengths are shown in Figure 2. These strengths have enabled the company
to open a new Opening Business Development and Planning Department. Eventually the same company's
strengths enabled the firm to investments in GAP region and in energy sector providing many employment
opportunities. In another tactical move, Kipaş is expected to increase its market share in EU by using its
experience in these markets and proximity of Turkey to EU.

Organization Structure of Kipaş
After wide analysis, it showed that there was a need for change and this change must be started from top. Thus,
the old organization structure of the Group was changed by taking into consideration the current needs and future
expectations. The SWOT Analysis and TOWS Matrix were very helpful while designing the structure. It was not
only the decision of project team to change the structure but the decision of two families. Both families must agree
on new structure otherwise conflicts would start again. The main characteristic of the old organization of Kipaş
Group illustrated at Figure 4 was its dual headed structure. Every department and company was directly
responsible to this structure and every decision must be made or approved by chairmen of the board. These
decisions vary from very simple ones such as an official procurement to very extensive ones. Moreover, the single
approve of a chairman was not enough to execute; both of the chairmen had to approve and sign any decision or
document. There were many conflicts between families. There were two individuals, fiscal coordinator and an
internal auditor, who was also directly related to chairmen. The major duty of fiscal coordinator was to assist in
budget preparation and accounting support. The internal auditor was responsible for finding out any factors which
conflict to benefits of the organization. These factors can be action, such as a theft, or worker, such as an insider.
There were 6 functional departments in Kipaş: Finance, Procurement, IT (Information Technology), Accounting,
Sales and Personal Department as shown in Figure 4.

775

�ASSEMBLY
OF PARTNERS

Fiscal
Coordinat
or
Coordinat

1st CHAIRMAN
CHAIRMAN
BOARD

2nd
BOARD

FINANCE

ACCOUNTING

PROCUREMEN
T

SALES

IT

PERSONNEL

Internal
Auditor
Coordina
tor

DEPARTMENT

Bozkurt

Kipaş
Denim
Mills

Kipaş

Mipsan

Erdem
Text.

Teksan

KEAŞ

Pera
App
arel

KAREN

Kipaş
Ginning
Agri.

Kipaş
Insurance

TOYMAR

Figure 4: The old organization structure
In this part, the proposed organization structure shown in Figure 5 and the factors of SWOT analysis in Figure 2
how they affected new design is explained. New organization structure of new holding is designed regarding the
outputs of assessment studies. Strategies deployed from TOWS Matrix analysis in Figure 3 of Kipaş is directly
used in this process.

776

�Figure 5: New Proposed Organization Structure of Holding
Considering the financial and consequently political power of company, it is not so tough to venture in new
sectors. Business Development and Planning is a critical directory that aims to integrate the strategic planning of
the current business as well as evaluating the opportunities for the whole group to assure the sustainability of the
Holding Group in international environment. Duties and responsibilities of each function were prepared. Each
company has his own planning unit that deals with the operational planning which feeds the Holding with
information. Yet, integrating all the operational plans is a necessity not only to improve the effectiveness of the
tactical plans but also to prepare the basis for long-term strategic business plans. For example, denim production
plans and Kipas textile production plans are separately prepared but exportation is handled by Vice President of
External Business. Integration gives the possibility for using the spot or durable opportunities in exportation
besides domestic sales. To perform business development, there is one planning engineer tracing the global
business opportunities in all fields concerning Kipas Holding and informing the decision makers (President and 2
Vice Presidents). He prepares the feasibility reports before presentation. Once an opportunity is found realistic in
the Board, the case is taken as a particular project to be run. Then, the Project Team is established to include the
experts from the field to analyze the business in detail. This department handles the project until the project is
started as:
a) a new function of one of the companies
b) a new company
After that state, it is handled to the General Manager of the Company concerned (existing or new) to continue the
operations. In fact, this function is performed by 1st Chairmen of Board. Business Development and Planning
Department have significant responsibilities for enlargement in energy sector to value the new regulations and
possible demand rise in this sector.
The lack of human resources was considered one of the most important problems of Kipaş. Additionally, our
observations resulted in a consensus on the majority of the inappropriate managers in company, especially, at the
Kahramanmaraş. To compensate this drawback, a robust human resources department is proposed for company.
By this department, the company can also measure the performances of the workers, this was absent at that time.

777

�Creating a brand requires hard, intensive and lots of efforts. However, if the image of brand is set down, then the
company can reach very high yield. The profit margin of the company can increase with creation of this high
value added product. Firstly, the creation of brand requires a vigorous marketing department that would firstly
decide the appropriate promotion process and then keep the sustainability of this brand. Moreover, to improve the
attributes of product and use new technologies in an innovative way, the presence of Research and Development
Department is fundamental. The quality concept of brand is developed by quality departments. Being at the right
point at the right time would be run by E-business and Logistics departments.
EU is an important market for Kipaş and the foreign structure of Kipaş would enhance the activities in this market.
Moreover, with dismiss of quotas, new markets are emerging and the new players would place to these virgin
markets. The shares created in this process would be very easy but after a while, when the markets reach steady
state, to penetrate these markets would not be easy. On the other, the low labor cost countries are threats in this
foggy weather. However, this structure enables Kipaş differ from the companies of these countries by their service
level and product quality. To evaluate these opportunities and eliminate this threat, the foreign part is strictly
proposed
The other threats for Kipaş are increasing customer demands and improvements in competitors. The R&amp;D
(Research and Development) and Quality Departments could be effective to eliminate these threats. The R&amp;D
department focuses on not only the products but also the process and by developing processes of production the
company increases its competitiveness. Quality department works with R&amp;D concurrently for continuous
improvement. This would enable to value Kipaş’s experience in the sector and turn its knowledge assets to added
value.

Conclusion
Noticing the reactions and rapid increasing portion of China’s in the market after removing 40 years quotas since
2005, the developed countries have been taking precautions and China respond to reactions with a little increase
in tax of these sectors. Despite of these recent developments, it is impossible to turn to conditions before 2005
and the revolution in the sector initiated with new rules.
Countries and companies have developed new strategies for the new game. SWOT analysis of Kipaş Group
mainly focused on textile and apparel sector. TOWS Matrix helps to deploy strategies while preparing new
organization chart. A new organization structure was prepared to respond to highly competitive markets. It is
clear that, China and other low labor cost Asian Countries, such as India, have been gained advantage in the
market. However, these regulations would undisputedly increase the competitiveness and in this environment
companies would attempt to differentiate by design. Particularly in clothing, the importance of time to market
would ascend dramatically. Consequently, the importance of proximity to markets such as EU and North
America would intensify, which is an important advantage for both Turkey and Kipaş considering proximity to
E.U. However, Turkish companies and Kipaş are obliged to concentrate on quality and supply chain activities
and establish robust R&amp;D structures to create innovative products and design in short periods to turn over these
opportunities to yield. The yields of vertical growth are uncontroversial and Kipaş is a good instance of this.
Kipaş had all steps of supply chain of textile from cotton apparel. However, just last step of general supply chain
was neglected by Kipas that was retailing. Kipaş must concentrate on last and most value added part of chain.
Creation of own brand is the most important step in this essence. In the light of the developments in EU journey
of Turkey, as a strategy, Kipaş can start its retailing activities in Western Europe, more value-added markets
rather than domestic market. The company has the knowledge, culture and values to implement the
aforementioned strategies and proposed organizing structure.

References
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Diskienė D., Galinienė, B., Marčinskas, A. (2008), A strategic management model for economic development, Technological
and Economic Development of Economy, 14, pp.375–387.
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Operational Research, pp. 631–640.

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�El Sawy, O.A. and Pauchant, T.C. (1988), Triggers, templates, and twitches in the tracking of emerging strategic issues,
Strategic Management Journal, 7(2), pp. 455-474.
Gregory G., G.T. Lumpkin and Marilyn L. Taylor (2005). Strategic Management, Second Edition, McGraw-Hill Irwin, New
York, USA.
Houben G., Lenie K., Vanhoof K. (1999). A knowledge-based SWOT-analysis system as an instrument for strategic planning
in small and medium sized enterprises, Decision Support Systems, 26, pp.125–135.
Hsu-Hsi Chang (2006), Wen-Chih Huang, Application of a quantification SWOT analytical method, Mathematical and
Computer Modelling, 4, pp.158-169.
Hax, A.C. and Majluf, N.S. (1991). The Strategy Concept and Process: A Pragmatic Approach, Prentice-Hall, London.
Jay B Barney, William Hesterly (2007), Strategic Management and Competitive Advantage: Concepts Book Description,
Prentice Hall, Texas, USA.
Ketelhohn W. (2006), Strategic management practice in Latin America, Journal of Business Research, 59, pp.305-309.
Jansen L.(2003). The challenge of sustainable development, Journal of Cleaner Production, 11, pp.231–245
McLean, G. N. P.(2006), Organizational Development: Principles, processes performance, Berrett- Koehler Publishers, Inc.,
. San Francisco, USA.
M. Higgins, James and W. Vincze, Julian (2001). Strategic Management, The Dryden Press International
Edition,Chicago,pp.3-47.
Porter, Michael E. (1981) The Contributions of Industrial Organization to Strategic Management, The Academy of
Management Review, Vol. 6, No. 4., pp. 609-620.
Phelan S. E (2005). Strategic Management &amp; Policy. Available from: ttp://faculty.unlv.edu/phelan/ [Accessed 10 April
2010]
Tiwana, Amrit (1999). The Knowledge Management Toolkit, Prentice Hall, First Edition, USA pp.126.
Viljoen, J. &amp; Dann, S. (2003). Strategic Management, Prentice Hall, USA, pp.68.
Volkery A., Swanson D., Bregha F. and Pinter L.(2006). Coordination, Challenges, and Innovations in 19 National
Sustainable Development Strategies, World Development, Vol. 34, No. 12, pp. 2047–2063
Yan, Y. , Ding, Daniel and Mak, Simon(2009), The Impact of Business Investment on Capability Exploitation and
Organizational Control in International Strategic Alliances, Journal of Change Management, 9: 1, pp. 49 -65.
Weihrich, H. (1982), The TOWS Matrix: A tool for situational analysis, Long Range Planning, Vol. 15 No. 2, pp.45-66.

779

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                    <text>2nd International Symposium on Sustainable Development, June 8-9 2010, Sarajevo

Strategic Sustainable Development and Creating Strategies from TOWS
Matrix at KipaĢ Group
Ġmran ASLAN
The University of Erzincan, Turkey
Business Administration Department
imranaslan@gmail.com, iaslan@erzincan.edu.tr
Ramazan BOZKURT
The University of Erzincan, Turkey
Business Administration Department
rbozkurt@erzincan.edu.tr

Abstract: The aim of this study is to develop new strategies for sustainable development of a
group and to establish a holding from several companies by considering the regulations in the
World Trade, recent developments in textile sector and raising conflicts among stakeholders. In
this study, internal analysis of the group was carried out with interviews and surveys. To prepare
external analysis, the economical situation of Turkey and the World was researched and
categorized under standard PEST categories. Important problems were identified and then the
purposes and objectives of the firm were determined by focusing on opportunities. Later, SWOT
analysis of the group was prepared and most significant factors were chosen. In the light of these
factors, TOWS matrix was prepared to combine external and internal factors of the enterprise in
order to deploy strategies. New organization structure of the group was determined and presented
based on these strategies.

Introduction
KipaĢ Group founded 26 years ago when the Turkish textile and apparel sector initiated continuing progress
by joint-venture of two families and now employs more than 4000 workers in different sectors. KipaĢ Group, a leading
institution within its sector and renown due to its professionalism, its expertise and its high quality standards, is a
precious member of Turkish Textile Industry whereby it transformed a mere cotton yarn manufacturing plant over
years into a fully-integrated textile manufacturing giant. The companies of the group which have benefited from
incentives of Turkish Textile and apparel sector have been growing very rapidly.
KipaĢ Group has been formalized by including numerous subsidiary companies through the reorganization of the
group companies since 2005. It decided to change their management structure considering the recent developments in
textile sector and raising conflicts among stakeholders due to the management system of the company. The removal of
quotas and Chinese effects to world textile were the focus point of researches. The effects of removal of quotas to
Turkish textile were assessed with the premature indicators of Turkey's total export and import. By taking account of
enormity of the group and economical situation, the group was proposed to establish a holding.

Theoretical Background
The regulations in World Trade oblige the national wide companies to develop new strategies for their
sustainability in the market. However, companies must be aware of their internal and external environments to identify
their advantages and disadvantages in order to develop strategies. Self assessment, which is a structured internal
process to identify strengths and weakness for improvement is used by companies for years. (Higgins, J. M. and
Vincze, J. W., 1991, p.3) Strategies for sustainable development are used to initiate change by learning and continuous
adaption rather than by challenging the existent institutions. Such approach has been named as step-by-step procedure.
(Volkery, 2006, p.2048) Interaction between culture, structure and technology, the approaches optimization–
improvement–renewal and the parties involved are three relevant dimensions of sustainable development.( L. Jansen,
2003, p.233) The change is unavoidable to keep competitiveness in today's global market. It is important to use right

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�2nd International Symposium on Sustainable Development, June 8-9 2010, Sarajevo

methods to collect data against resistance and misunderstandings while doing changes. ( McLean, G. N. P., 2006)
Deep changes occur in this era with unexpected results. (Diskienė D., et al., 2008, p.376 ) Each organization has a
capability or ability initiating, managing and implementing large-scale changes in organization structure to improve
organization ability for a quick adaptation, flexibility and innovation. There should be a trade-off between available
assets of the firm and its continuous development requirements for firm-specific capabilities. (Yan, Y. , et al., 2009,
p.53) Management systems of the firm use internal and external information to gain a better strategically competitive
position in the market by providing outstanding services and products. (Phelan, Steven E., 2005)
Many approaches and techniques are used for strategic management processes. It is not directed just a single
functional area of group. All efforts are directed toward the mission and vision of the firm to find the best for the
whole group. (Houben G.,et al., 1999, p.130; Dincer O., 2004; Ketelhohn W., 2006, p.307) Strategic management
requires including both short-term and long-term perspective. Both a vision for the future of the organization and a
focus on its present operating needs must be taken into account. (Gregory G., et al., 2005) Strategy defines ‗Where
do you want to go?‘ and ‗How do you want to get there? Strategy manages the correlation between organization and
changing environment. Internal and external factors effecting company are identified to form strategies. There should
be a relationship between internal competences and values to firm‘s external environment. (Viljoen, J. and Dann, S.,
2003, p.68) There is a challenge for the firms to find the ‗fit‘ what the firm does and what the environment requires.
Moreover, it should be ready for the new environment that future may bring. This environment can be totally different
and firm should evolve its capabilities and culture to tackle with new environment. ( Porter, et al., 2001, p.615)
Managers may scan their environment and decide that there are major changes occurring in their business world to
which they have to adapt. Or they might decide, through internal analysis, that they have the ability to develop a new
way of doing business that will redefine the nature of the business they are in. If change is the order of the day, then
two issues need to be addressed: external analysis and internal analysis. For a change of strategy to work, there must
be alignment between internal capability and external opportunity. This is described as ‗strategic fit‘. (Tiwana, Amrit,
1999, p.126)

SWOT (Strengths-Weaknesses-Opportunities-Threats) Analysis
SWOT analysis is a tool for auditing an organization and commonly used for analysing internal and external
environments in order to attain a systematic approach and support for decision making. If it is used correctly, it can
provide a good basis for successful strategy formulation (Hsu-Hsi C. and Wen-Chih H. , 2006). It involves the design
of the organizational structure and control systems necessary to implement the chosen strategy. SWOT analysis can
be conducted before mission and goal statement. (Hax, A.C. and Majluf, N.S., 1991) SWOT identifies Strengths and
Weakness and examines the Opportunities and Threats of an organization. SWOT analysis suggests that firms that use
their internal strengths in exploiting environmental opportunities and neutralizing environmental threats, while
avoiding internal weakness, are more likely to gain competitive advantages than other kinds of firms (Jay B and
William H., 2007).
SWOT analysis is drawn from external and internal environments of the organization to determine the
strategic vision of the firm based on the analysis of shareholders. One can think of a well developed strategic vision in
terms of probing opponents‘ weaknesses; withdrawing to consider how to act, given the knowledge of the opposition
generated by such a probing; forcing opponents to stretch their resources; concentrating one‘s own resources to attack
an opponent‘s exposed position; overwhelming selected markets or market segments; establishing a leadership
position of dominance in certain markets; then regrouping one‘s resources, deciding where to make the next thrust;
then expanding from the base thus created to dominate a broader area. The leading strategy is the best strategy geared
towards radical change and creating a new vision in which the firm is a leader rather than a follower of trends set by
others to help managers improve organizational effectiveness and corporate profitability. (El Sawy, et al., 1988,
p.455-460)
The coverage of the SWOT Analysis is determined by the firm‘s and competitors‘ resources. Major types of
resources are financial, organizational, intellectual, informational, relational, legal, human resources and resources
related with reputation. The coverage can be extended for management information, supply of raw materials and
production process. However, these are more specific titles. In this study, we had also the opportunity to assess the
management information, however, couldn‘t examined supply of raw materials and production process. The
technicians of the organization could assess raw materials and production process in the project.
There are several tools such as TOWS Matrix and PEST Analysis that are used in strategic management.
Some of them are used as complementary to SWOT.

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�2nd International Symposium on Sustainable Development, June 8-9 2010, Sarajevo

TOWS Matrix
TOWS matrix is the essential completing tool. It enhances deploying strategies systemically considering the
relations between Strengths, Weakness, Opportunities, and Threats. The consequences of the internal and external
factors can be replaced in a matrix called TOWS Matrix is shown in Figure 1. TOWS matrix helps to systematically
identify relationships between threats, opportunities, weaknesses and strengths, and offers a structure for generating
strategies on the basis of these relationships. (Weihrich, H., 1982, p-45-66)
External Opportunities (O)
1.
2.
3.
SO
Strategies that use strengths to
maximize opportunities.

TOWS
Matrix
Internal Strengths(S)
1.
2.
3.
Internal Weaknesses (W)
1.
2.
3.
4.

External Threats (T)
1.
2.
3.
ST
Strategies that use strengths
to minimize threats.

WO

WT

Strategies that minimize
weaknesses by taking
advantage of opportunities.

Strategies that minimize
weaknesses and avoid
threats

Figure 1: TOWS Matrix (Weihrich, H., 1982)

PEST
PEST analysis, which stands for Political-Economical-Social-Technological, is another complementary tool.
Social environment is another concept that must be evaluated by PEST Analysis. The external environment of any
organization can be analyzed by conducting a PEST analysis. External factors usually are beyond the firm's control
and sometimes present themselves as threats. For this reason, some say that "PEST" is an appropriate term for these
factors. However, changes in the external environment also create new opportunities and the letters sometimes are
rearranged to construct the more optimistic term of STEP analysis. The organization‘s environment is made up from
three factors known:

The internal environment: staff (or internal customers), office technology, wages, finance etc.

The micro - environment: the external customers, agents, distributors, suppliers, competitors etc.

The macro - environment: Social-cultural forces, Economic forces, Environmental forces, and Political
(legal) forces.
Macro-environment‘s components are known as STEP factors. (Dyson, Robert G., 2004, p.630-641)

Strategic Development and SWOT Analysis
The reorganization of the group was done after internal and external analyses of the firms and observations
from surveys and interviews. From internal and external analysis, SWOT Analysis of the group was carried out. The
details of project were explained to every person from top management during interviews. Everything must be planned
well otherwise desired changes may be resisted and not accepted by persons. It was expected from them that they
evaluate the firm objectively for such a critical project. Moreover, their political considerations were also taken into
account. They were employed by both families. Thus, they support the family that employed them. Every family
desired to get more control over the group.

SWOT Analysis of KipaĢ
In this part, strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats of KipaĢ group are presented in the light of the
internal analysis and external analysis. The strengths and weaknesses stem from the interviews, observations and
results of questionnaire, however, the opportunities and threats are drawn out from external analysis, especially from

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�2nd International Symposium on Sustainable Development, June 8-9 2010, Sarajevo

SWOT analysis of Turkish textile &amp; apparel industry and removal of quotas. The summary of SWOT Analysis of the
group is shown in Figure 2.

Figure 2: SWOT Analysis of KipaĢ Group

Case Study- Application of the TOWS Matrix to KIPAĢ
KipaĢ is a successful company having experienced in great difficulties, but then it has developed strategies
that resulted in an excellent market position in the late 2010s. The TOWS Matrix shown in Figure 3 is focusing on the
crucial period from late 2005 to 2010. The external threats and opportunities pertain mostly to the situation KipaĢ
faced in textile sector.

Weaknesses and Threats (WT)
A company with great weaknesses often has to resort to a survival strategy. KipaĢ could have seriously
considered the option of a joint operation with Asian firms. Another alternative would have been to make investments
in Asian countries. Although in difficulties KipaĢ did not have to resort to a survival strategy because the company
still had much strength. Consequently, a more appropriate strategy was to attempt to overcome the weaknesses and
develop them into strengths. In other words, the direction was toward the strength-opportunity position (SO) in the
matrix shown as Figure 3. Specifically, the strategy is to reduce the competitive threat by developing a more flexible
new R&amp;D department to products individualized textile products .

Weaknesses and Opportunities (WO)
The growing affluence of customers has resulted in customized products. Yet, KipaĢ have not had a special
brand. Especially when considering big brands in EU such as Nike or Adidas, in long run kipaĢ should create a brand
name for aimed markets. KipaĢ has many problems with its management system due to two families desires to get
more control over the group, improvements in management systems and human resource department were enable
them to establish a new management style in order to take more favorable decisions more quickly. In order to
minimize the additional costs of logistics, E-business and Logistics departments were opened to decrease the inventors
and increase their selling capabilities. Another weakness at KipaĢ was the increasing labor costs in Turkey when
compared low labor cost countries in Asia. KipaĢ can increase the effectiveness of production or make production in
low labor cities in Turkey.

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�2nd International Symposium on Sustainable Development, June 8-9 2010, Sarajevo

Figure 3: TOWS Matrix of KipaĢ Group

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�2nd International Symposium on Sustainable Development, June 8-9 2010, Sarajevo

Strengths and Threats (ST)
One of the greatest threats to KipaĢ was removal of quotas. To overcome this threat, the qualities of the
products have been improved against cheap and unqualified Chinas‘ products. To reduce the threats of removal of
quotas, domestic market against china and others should be protected by decreasing textile production costs and
governments should subsidize that. Moreover, Research and Development Department in domestic and foreign
markets can avoid Chinese effects by producing more individualized products. Labor costs are so low in china. To
meet this threat, Kipas has used its capital not only to make investments in Turkey, but also in low labor countries.
This tactic which was congruent with its general strategy helped to improve the firm‘s market position.

Strengths and Opportunities (SO)
In general, successful firms build on their strengths to take advantage of opportunities. KipaĢ is no exception.
Throughout this discussion KipaĢ 's strengths are shown in Figure 2. These strengths have enabled the company to
open a new Opening Business Development and Planning Department. Eventually the same company's strengths
enabled the firm to investments in GAP region and in energy sector providing many employment opportunities. In
another tactical move, KipaĢ is expected to increase its market share in EU by using its experience in these markets
and proximity of Turkey to EU.

Organization Structure of KipaĢ
After wide analysis, it showed that there was a need for change and this change must be started from top.
Thus, the old organization structure of the Group was changed by taking into consideration the current needs and
future expectations. The SWOT Analysis and TOWS Matrix were very helpful while designing the structure. It was
not only the decision of project team to change the structure but the decision of two families. Both families must agree
on new structure otherwise conflicts would start again. The main characteristic of the old organization of KipaĢ Group
illustrated at Figure 4 was its dual headed structure. Every department and company was directly responsible to this
structure and every decision must be made or approved by chairmen of the board. These decisions vary from very
simple ones such as an official procurement to very extensive ones. Moreover, the single approve of a chairman was
not enough to execute; both of the chairmen had to approve and sign any decision or document. There were many
conflicts between families. There were two individuals, fiscal coordinator and an internal auditor, who was also
directly related to chairmen. The major duty of fiscal coordinator was to assist in budget preparation and accounting
support. The internal auditor was responsible for finding out any factors which conflict to benefits of the organization.
These factors can be action, such as a theft, or worker, such as an insider. There were 6 functional departments in
KipaĢ: Finance, Procurement, IT (Information Technology), Accounting, Sales and Personal Department as shown in
Figure 4.
ASSEMBLY

Fiscal
Coordinat
or

st
OF PARTNERS
nd
1 CHAIRMAN
2
CHAIRMAN

FINANCE

BOARD

Internal
Auditor

BOARD
ACCOUNTING

PROCUREMEN
T
IT

SALES

Coordinat
or

PERSONNEL

Coordinat
or

DEPARTMENT

Kipaş
Bozkurt
Pera
Apparel
U.K.
BOZ

Denim
Mills

Kipaş

Mipsan

Erdem

Teksan

KEAŞ

Text.

Figure 4: The old organization structure

125

KAREN

Kipaş

Kipaş

Ginning

Insu-

Agri.

rance

TOYMAR

�2nd International Symposium on Sustainable Development, June 8-9 2010, Sarajevo

In this part, the proposed organization structure shown in Figure 5 and the factors of SWOT analysis in
Figure 2 how they affected new design is explained. New organization structure of new holding is designed regarding
the outputs of assessment studies. Strategies deployed from TOWS Matrix analysis in Figure 3 of KipaĢ is directly
used in this process.

Figure 5: New Proposed Organization Structure of Holding
Considering the financial and consequently political power of company, it is not so tough to venture in
new sectors. Business Development and Planning is a critical directory that aims to integrate the strategic planning of
the current business as well as evaluating the opportunities for the whole group to assure the sustainability of the
Holding Group in international environment. Duties and responsibilities of each function were prepared. Each
company has his own planning unit that deals with the operational planning which feeds the Holding with information.
Yet, integrating all the operational plans is a necessity not only to improve the effectiveness of the tactical plans but
also to prepare the basis for long-term strategic business plans. For example, denim production plans and Kipas textile
production plans are separately prepared but exportation is handled by Vice President of External Business.
Integration gives the possibility for using the spot or durable opportunities in exportation besides domestic sales. To
perform business development, there is one planning engineer tracing the global business opportunities in all fields
concerning Kipas Holding and informing the decision makers (President and 2 Vice Presidents). He prepares the
feasibility reports before presentation. Once an opportunity is found realistic in the Board, the case is taken as a
particular project to be run. Then, the Project Team is established to include the experts from the field to analyze the
business in detail. This department handles the project until the project is started as:
a) a new function of one of the companies
b) a new company
After that state, it is handled to the General Manager of the Company concerned (existing or new) to
continue the operations. In fact, this function is performed by 1st Chairmen of Board. Business Development and
Planning Department have significant responsibilities for enlargement in energy sector to value the new regulations
and possible demand rise in this sector.

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�2nd International Symposium on Sustainable Development, June 8-9 2010, Sarajevo

The lack of human resources was considered one of the most important problems of KipaĢ. Additionally, our
observations resulted in a consensus on the majority of the inappropriate managers in company, especially, at the
KahramanmaraĢ. To compensate this drawback, a robust human resources department is proposed for company. By
this department, the company can also measure the performances of the workers, this was absent at that time.
Creating a brand requires hard, intensive and lots of efforts. However, if the image of brand is set down, then
the company can reach very high yield. The profit margin of the company can increase with creation of this high value
added product. Firstly, the creation of brand requires a vigorous marketing department that would firstly decide the
appropriate promotion process and then keep the sustainability of this brand. Moreover, to improve the attributes of
product and use new technologies in an innovative way, the presence of Research and Development Department is
fundamental. The quality concept of brand is developed by quality departments. Being at the right point at the right
time would be run by E-business and Logistics departments.
EU is an important market for KipaĢ and the foreign structure of KipaĢ would enhance the activities in this
market. Moreover, with dismiss of quotas, new markets are emerging and the new players would place to these virgin
markets. The shares created in this process would be very easy but after a while, when the markets reach steady state,
to penetrate these markets would not be easy. On the other, the low labor cost countries are threats in this foggy
weather. However, this structure enables KipaĢ differ from the companies of these countries by their service level and
product quality. To evaluate these opportunities and eliminate this threat, the foreign part is strictly proposed
The other threats for KipaĢ are increasing customer demands and improvements in competitors. The R&amp;D
(Research and Development) and Quality Departments could be effective to eliminate these threats. The R&amp;D
department focuses on not only the products but also the process and by developing processes of production the
company increases its competitiveness. Quality department works with R&amp;D concurrently for continuous
improvement. This would enable to value KipaĢ‘s experience in the sector and turn its knowledge assets to added
value.

Conclusion
Noticing the reactions and rapid increasing portion of China‘s in the market after removing 40 years quotas
since 2005, the developed countries have been taking precautions and China respond to reactions with a little
increase in tax of these sectors. Despite of these recent developments, it is impossible to turn to conditions before
2005 and the revolution in the sector initiated with new rules.
Countries and companies have developed new strategies for the new game. SWOT analysis of KipaĢ Group
mainly focused on textile and apparel sector. TOWS Matrix helps to deploy strategies while preparing new
organization chart. A new organization structure was prepared to respond to highly competitive markets. It is clear
that, China and other low labor cost Asian Countries, such as India, have been gained advantage in the market.
However, these regulations would undisputedly increase the competitiveness and in this environment companies
would attempt to differentiate by design. Particularly in clothing, the importance of time to market would ascend
dramatically. Consequently, the importance of proximity to markets such as EU and North America would intensify,
which is an important advantage for both Turkey and KipaĢ considering proximity to E.U. However, Turkish
companies and KipaĢ are obliged to concentrate on quality and supply chain activities and establish robust R&amp;D
structures to create innovative products and design in short periods to turn over these opportunities to yield. The
yields of vertical growth are uncontroversial and KipaĢ is a good instance of this. KipaĢ had all steps of supply chain
of textile from cotton apparel. However, just last step of general supply chain was neglected by Kipas that was
retailing. KipaĢ must concentrate on last and most value added part of chain. Creation of own brand is the most
important step in this essence. In the light of the developments in EU journey of Turkey, as a strategy, KipaĢ can
start its retailing activities in Western Europe, more value-added markets rather than domestic market. The company
has the knowledge, culture and values to implement the aforementioned strategies and proposed organizing structure.

References
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Viljoen, J. &amp; Dann, S. (2003). Strategic Management, Prentice Hall, USA, pp.68.
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128

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                    <text>Journal of Foreign Language Teaching and Applied Linguistics

Strategies for appropriate and helpful teacher response to
stressful situations caused by disruptive students in the
classroom
Azra Jakupi, Neda Radosavlevikj &amp; Milica Matoska
South East European University, Macedonia
Submitted: 16.04.2014.
Accepted: 01.11.2014.

Abstract
Whether you have been teaching for 20 years or have just started your teaching
career, there’s always a possibility you will have a student in your classroom with
disruptive behavior. This behavior can go beyond the limits of what is considered to
be acceptable in a learning environment. An obvious example of disruptive behavior
is when the student verbally attacks, is late for class, experiences angry outbursts,
social problems, etc. or simply rebels against something that is happening beyond the
classroom door. However, very rarely are we, as teachers, aware of the possibility
that the student might be having a mental health crisis. We, the Language Centre at
South East European University, have encountered various stressful situations, while
at the same time we struggle for balance and try to find appropriate responses for
students’ complaints about grades, “unfair” treatment, the policy of the faculty, etc.
In an effort to resolve this dilemma, we will conduct research within the Language
Centre through interviews with the academic and administrative staff as well as the
students and their supervisors. In our presentation, we will present several strategies
to deal with stressful situations that affect the entire learning environment, including
the teachers themselves, such as: defining the problem, the reason behind it, the time
of occurrence, its impact, introducing meta-communication and early communication
by setting early expectations, ways to stay calm when responding to a crisis event
and setting limits. We will also explore basic principles related to classroom
management and a variety of strategies for early intervention in order to create a
dynamic learning environment that promotes learning safety.
Keywords: Disruptive behaviour, strategies, safe learning environment
Introduction

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�Strategies for appropriate and helpful teacher response to stressful situations caused by disruptive
students in the classroom

Students’ disruptive behavior may be resolved by selecting effective classroommanagement strategies. One of the best management strategies is to prevent
disruptions before they occur. In this paper we will discuss effective strategies
applied at the Language Centre at South East European University for creating and
sustaining a dynamic learning environment, as well as effective methods that we as
teachers find appropriate for early intervention and how we deal with these problems
when they occur.
The idea for this study emerged from the stressful situations that teachers were
exposed to, always struggling for balance as we seek appropriate strategies to answer
to students’ problems such as “complaints about grades”, “unfair treatment” and
other difficulties. Language Centre teachers use different management strategies to
deal with disruptive behavior, some of which are not very effective. The aim of this
research is to investigate the effective management strategies that teachers at the
Language Centre use and what they do when a student’s behavior disrupts their
classes. Furthermore, the research investigates teachers’ reactions towards the
success or the failure of their methods as well as the most frequent types of
disruptive behavior and the reasons that students engage in such behavior.
Discipline problems are listed as the major concern for most new teachers. What can
teachers expect and how can they handle disciplinary problems effectively? The key
is classroom management combined with an effective discipline plan.
This step-by-step look at classroom discipline will help you see some important steps
in dealing with discipline problems that may arise in your classroom.
Here is a list of strategies for responding to stressful situations caused by disruptive
students in the classroom:
1. Begin each class period with a positive attitude and high expectations. If you
expect your students to misbehave or you approach them negatively, you will
get misbehavior. This is an often overlooked aspect of classroom management.
2. Come to class prepared with lessons for the day. In fact, over-plan your lessons.
Make sure you have all your materials and methods ready to go. Reducing
downtime will help maintain discipline in your classroom.
3. Work on making smooth transitions between lesson segments. In other words,
as you move from group discussion to independent work, try to minimize
disruption to the class. Have your papers ready to go or your assignment already
written on the board. Disruptions frequently occur during lesson transitions.
Watch your students as they come into class. Look for signs of possible
problems before class even begins. For example, if you notice a heated
34

�Journal of Foreign Language Teaching and Applied Linguistics

discussion or problem before class starts, try to deal with the problem there and
then. Allow the students a few moments to talk with you or with each other
before you start your lesson to try and work things out. Separate them if
necessary and try to get them to agree to drop whatever issue they have during
your class.
Have a posted discipline plan that you follow consistently for effective
classroom management. This should ensure that students will receive a warning
or two before punishment begins, depending on the severity of the offense.
Your plan should be easy to follow and also should cause a minimum of
disruption in your class. For example, your discipline plan might be - First
Offense: Verbal Warning, Second Offense: Detention with teacher, Third
Offense: Referral.
Meet disruptions that arise in your class with in kind measures. In other
words, don't elevate disruptions above their current level. Your discipline plan
should provide for this; however, sometimes your own personal issues can get
in the way. For example, if two students are talking in the back of the room and
your first step in the plan is to give your students a verbal warning, don't stop
your instruction to begin yelling at the students. Instead, have a set policy that
simply saying a student's name is enough of a clue for them to get back on task.
Another technique is to ask one of them a question.
Try to use humor to defuse situations before things get out of hand. Note:
Know your students. The following example would be used with students whom
you know will not escalate the situation: If you tell the class to open their books
to page 51 and three students are busy talking, do not immediately yell at them.
Instead, smile, say their names, and ask them kindly if they could please wait
until later to finish their conversation because you would really like to hear how
it ends and you have to get this class finished. This will probably get a few
laughs and also get your point across.
If a student becomes verbally confrontational with you, remain calm and
remove them from the situation as quickly as possible. Do not get into yelling
matches with your students. There will always be a winner and a loser which
sets up a power struggle that could continue throughout the year. Further, do not
bring the rest of the class into the situation by involving them in the discipline
or the writing of the referral.
If a student becomes physical, remember the safety of the other students is
paramount. Remain as calm as possible; your demeanor can sometimes defuse
the situation. You should have a plan for dealing with violence that you discuss
with students early in the year. You should use the call button for assistance.
You could also designate a student to get help from another teacher. Send the
other students from the room if it appears they could get hurt. If the fight is
35

�Strategies for appropriate and helpful teacher response to stressful situations caused by disruptive
students in the classroom

between two students, follow your school's rules on teacher involvement, as
many want teachers to stay out of fights until help arrives.
Keep an anecdotal record of major issues that arise in your class. This might
be necessary if you are asked for a history of classroom disruptions or other
documentation.
Let it go at the end of the day. Classroom management and disruption issues
should be left in class so that you can have some down time to recharge before
coming back to another day of teaching.

Analysis and Evidence/Findings
In order to find out about teachers’ and students’ views on disruptive behaviors and
how to deal with such situations, we constructed two surveys. One was teacherspecific and the other was student-oriented. We asked both groups the same
questions.
The findings from the student-oriented survey are as follows:
1. Both female and male students generally think (98%) that the overall
atmosphere in the classroom is positive.
2. 25% of the male students think that discipline is not important and that the
current disciplinary methods are utterly inefficient and 20% of female
students think that the rules of conduct should be more flexible.
3. The male students (5%) state that the teachers are unable to manage the
classroom and deal with undisciplined students, while the female students
(2%) think it is due to the lack of a psychologist at the university.
4. 90% of students from both genders think that, in order to deal with disruptive
behaviors, teachers should increase students’ obligations. While female
students (50%) do not hold teachers responsible for disruptive behaviors,
saying they cannot possibly know and be responsible for ‘everything’ in the
classroom, the male students (90%) state the opposite.
5. 15% of female and male students think that the students should be involved
in designing the curriculum and 90% of them think that students should be
involved in setting the rules of conduct.
In conclusion, generally speaking, male students place greater responsibility
on the teachers; question their competence to manage the classroom and
emphasize the importance of the students’ role. On the other hand, female
students emphasize the students’ responsibility to control their own behavior.
Both groups agree that there should be a co-operation between teachers and
students in order to improve and eliminate disruptive behavior. While female
students think that behavior is more important than students’ inner thoughts
and feelings, male students state the opposite.
36

�Journal of Foreign Language Teaching and Applied Linguistics

The findings from the teacher specific survey were the following:
1. Both female and male teachers (98%) describe the overall classroom
atmosphere as positive.
2. All teachers agree that discipline is very important. 5% of teachers think
disciplinary methods are utterly inefficient and recommend penalties.
3. All teachers agree that they are responsible for shaping the desired behavior
in the classroom; it is their responsibility to design the curriculum and to
motivate and engage the students. Moreover, they all agree that they cannot
possibly be responsible for ‘everything’ in the classroom.
4. 99% of the teachers think that students can control their behavior, but that
they should take their students’ needs into consideration.
5. 100% of the female and 50% of the male teachers think that students’ inner
thoughts and feelings are more important than their evident behavior.
The teachers reject the notion that they could ‘know everything’ in the classroom at
all times. However, they emphasize their own responsibility for managing the
classroom and dealing with disruptive behavior (5% of them suggest the introduction
of penalization is an efficient method). All of the teachers agree that they should
have background knowledge when dealing with infractions. Although the students
can control their own behavior, the teachers agree that it is their responsibility to
motivate the students, get their co-operation and create a positive atmosphere. The
teachers must decide what the students will learn, but they should take the students’
needs into consideration. While the male teachers think that students’ inner thoughts
and feelings are less important than their evident behavior, 100% of the female
teachers state the opposite.

Literature review
Reasons for and types of disruptive behavior
There is no specific definition for disruptive behavior since the definition differs
according to its relevance to the specific case of each study (Arbuckle &amp; Little,
2004). Nevertheless, many studies identify some types such as self-reported data
from schoolteachers that help identify types of the most frequent disruptive
behaviors. Ranking which behavior is more frequent differs in Western and Eastern
cultures. In China, some studies report that “day dreaming (also called non-attention
and off task) behavior” is the most frequent disruptive behavior in some of their
schools (Ding, Li, Li, &amp; Kulm, 2008; Shen et al., 2009). Other studies report
that “talking out of turn” is the most frequent disruptive behavior in some schools in
England (Arbuckle &amp; Little, 2004) and Australia (Ross, Little, Kienhuis, 2008).
37

�Strategies for appropriate and helpful teacher response to stressful situations caused by disruptive
students in the classroom

Teachers and students have different perceptions of the reasons behind disruptive
behavior. Some students view disruptive behavior as a result of bad teaching skills.
Other students mention that they use this behavior to deal with their problems against
the whole school system; in other words, they choose to act against teachers’ power
in order to assert their own power (Verkuyten 2002). On the other hand, some
schoolteachers believe that some students use disruptive behavior as a way of
rejecting work and drawing attention to themselves. They also think students use
such behavior to defy teachers’ power (Axup &amp; Gersch, 2008; Shumate &amp; Wills,
2010). Further, other teachers mention that students may practice disruptive behavior
to establish an identity in order to belong to a “peer group” (Axup &amp; Gersch, 2008).
Sometimes the injustice of teachers and the vulnerability of students can be the main
causes of disruptive behavior (Miller, Ferguson and Byrne, 2000).
The relation between disruptive behavior and the learning and teaching
process
Inappropriate behavior impacts learning and teaching. It wastes classroom time,
distracts students from learning and teachers from teaching, lessens students’
motivation and causes stress for students and teachers (Charles and Senter cited
in Ding et al., 2008). Many studies have investigated the stressors that lead to
teachers’ burnout and annoyance, which could hinder the teaching process. In a study
done on 1,386 secondary teachers working in Spanish schools, disruptive behavior
was identified as a major source of teachers’ stress and annoyance (López et al.,
2008). Furthermore, students’ disruptive behaviors can provoke negative feelings in
teachers such as frustration and lack of confidence. As a result, teachers become too
stressed to make the right decisions (Arbuckle &amp; Little , 2004; Ross et al., 2008;
Thompson &amp; Webber, 2008). For instance, teachers sometimes give up on disruptive
students, remove them from their classes and let others deal with them (Egyed and
Short, 2006). What is more, some teachers, especially inexperienced ones, decide to
quit teaching and change their careers (Ross et al., 2008;Tsouloupas et al., 2010).
Teachers’ selection of management strategies and disruptive behaviors
Some teachers do not always realize that they are repeatedly using ineffective
management strategies in order to handle disruptive behaviors in their classes. Before
deciding which management strategies to apply, teachers could first try to understand
why students are practicing this kind of behavior (Stoughton, 2006). Recognizing
how disruptive students think can help teachers decide on which management
strategies to apply in order to deal with disruptive students (Ding et al., 2008).
Furthermore, it is advisable for some teachers to realize that if they want to reduce
38

�Journal of Foreign Language Teaching and Applied Linguistics

disruptive behaviors, they have to abandon their authoritative identity and maintain a
strong relationship with their students (Lee and Powell, 2006). Some teachers lack
knowledge of the kind of management strategies that they need to select in order to
handle disruptive behavior. Therefore, it is always important to provide teachers with
the necessary consultation on this kind of information (Egyed &amp; Short, 2006;
Thompson &amp; Webber, 2010). Consultation can help teachers feel more capable of
and knowledgeable about handling disruptive behaviors. This may also help increase
teachers’ confidence and reduce their stress (Egyed &amp; Short, 2006; Reinke, Palmer &amp;
Merrell, 2008).
Effective management strategies can help reduce disruptive behaviors and improve
the learning process (Reinke et al., 2008). Some teachers believe that positive
management strategies such as praise and engaging students in decision-making are
the best management strategies for handling students’ disruptive behaviors. Other
teachers believe that negative management strategies such as punishment and
reprimands are more effective than the positive ones. Some studies show that
teachers who lack patience, confidence and the necessary consultation skills tend to
use more negative management strategies to control disruptive behavior (Axup &amp;
Gersch, 2008). On the other hand, some studies show that students’ disruptive
behaviors decrease when teachers apply positive management strategies and avoid
using the negative ones (Reinke et al., 2008). Applying positive management
strategies to classrooms is also found beneficial as it increases on-task behavior and
enhances students’ learning identity (Arbuckle &amp; Little, 2004; Lee &amp; Powell, 2005;
Ross et al, 2008).
Most studies that investigated teachers’ perceptions of effective classroommanagement strategies and students’ disruptive behaviors used either questionnaires
or surveys in collecting the necessary data. In spite of the limitations of these
methods, they remain the most frequent methods of reflecting teachers’ real practices
in classrooms (Ross et al., 2008). For this reason one of these methods, a
questionnaire, was used as the method of collecting data in this small-scale study.

Conclusions
Every teacher should have a set of tips for managing teacher burnout and
effectively deal with unforeseen disruptive situations.
Here are some tips to get you started:
1. Recognize the warning signs of disruption. Obviously this comes with practice
of classroom management. However, some signs are fairly obvious.
2. Sarcasm should be used sparingly if at all. If you do use it, make sure you know
the student who you are using it with well. Many students do not have the
capacity to know that sarcasm is not meant to be taken literally. Further, other
39

�Strategies for appropriate and helpful teacher response to stressful situations caused by disruptive
students in the classroom

students could find your sarcasm as inflammatory, which would defeat your
purpose of greater classroom management.
3. Consistency and fairness are essential for effective classroom management. If
you ignore disruptions one day and come down hard on them the next, you will
not be seen as consistent. You will lose respect and disruptions will probably
increase. Further, if you are not fair in your punishments, making sure to treat
all students fairly then students will quickly realize this and lose respect for you.
You should also start each day fresh, not holding disruptions against students
and instead expecting them to behave.
4. It's easier to get easier. Start the year very strict so that students see that you are
willing to do what it takes to have your classroom under control. They will
understand that you expect learning to occur in your room. You can always let
up as the year goes on.
5. Classroom rules must be easy to understand and manageable. Make sure that
you don't have such a large number of rules that your students can't consistently
follow them.

Appendix
Questionnaire for the Teachers
Please mark (a) Male (b) Female, Teaching Experience: (a) 0
(b) 1-5 yrs.
(c) 6- 10 yrs
(d) 11 - 15 yrs. (e) 16+ yrs.
Degree Earned :
(a) BA (b) Master's (c) EdS (d) Doctorate (e) Undergraduate
Directions: On the following scale how much do you agree with the following
statement?
1. How would you describe the overall atmosphere in the classroom?
1-very negative
2- barely positive
3- somewhat positive 4- mostly positive
5- very positive
2. It is important for students to be disciplined. (Circle one)
1-strongly agree
2- agree
3-neither agree nor disagree
4-disagree
5strongly disagree
3. How efficient do you think the discipline strategies are right now?
(Circle one)
1-very efficient
2- efficient
3-neither efficient nor inefficient
4-inefficient
5-very inefficient
4. If you could change one thing about the behavior management in the
school what would it be? Please specify.

40

�Journal of Foreign Language Teaching and Applied Linguistics

Directions: Please read the following carefully and select one answer from the
scale below.
SA=Strongly Agree
A = Agree
N = Neither Agree nor Disagree
D = Disagree
SD-Strongly Disagree
1. Teachers must have knowledge of group dynamics.
SA
A
N
D
SD
2. Teachers need to have background information when dealing with rule
infractions.
SA
A
N
D
SD
3. Teachers are responsible for knowing everything that goes on in the
classroom at all times.
SA
A
N
D
SD
4. Teachers should create a "democratic” classroom.
SA
A
N
D
SD
5. Teachers should “invite” student cooperation.
SA
A
N
D
SD
6. Teachers are responsible for "shaping" desired behavior in the classroom.
SA
A
N
D
SD
7. Teachers must take student needs into consideration.
SA
A
N
D
SD
8. Teachers are responsible for controlling the behavior of their students.
SA
A
N
D
SD
9. Students are able to control their behavior.
SA
A
N
D
SD
41

�Strategies for appropriate and helpful teacher response to stressful situations caused by disruptive
students in the classroom

10. Conflict resolution should be employed in the school setting.
SA
A
N
D
SD
11. Teachers must deal with all students in the same manner when using
disciplinary measures.
SA
A
N
D
SD
12. A "sense of belonging" needs to be created by the teacher within the
classroom setting.
SA
A
N
D
SD
13. Rules of conduct must be set by the teachers.
SA
A
N
D
SD
14. What students must learn and the tasks to be performed must be
determined by the teacher. And, a specific sequence of instruction to accomplish
these goals must be followed.
SA
A
N
D
SD
15. If a student disrupts class, I would ignore the disruption if possible and/or
remove the student to the back of the room as a consequence for his/her
behavior.
SA
A
N
D
SD
16. If a student disrupts class, I would express discomfort to the student about
being disrupted from my task and then continue on with the lesson.
SA
A
N
D
SD
17. Rules are never written "in stone," and can be renegotiated by the class;
consequences will vary with students.
SA
A
N
D
SD
18. Teachers should intervene quickly when misbehavior occurs.
SA
A
N
D
SD
19. Inner thoughts and feelings of students are more important than evident
behavior.
SA
A
N
D
SD

20. Student autonomy is very important in the classroom.
SA
A
N
D
SD
42

�Journal of Foreign Language Teaching and Applied Linguistics

21. Extrinsic “rewards” may decrease intrinsic motivation.
SA
A
N
D
SD
Questionnaire for the Students
a. Gender (check a box)
___ Female
___Male b. Age____________
Ethnicity _________________
d. Faculty ____________________

c.

Directions: On the following scale how much do you agree with the following
statement?
1. How would you describe the overall atmosphere in the classroom?
1-very negative
2- barely positive
3- somewhat positive 4- mostly positive
5- very positive
2. It is important for students to be disciplined. (Circle one)
1-strongly agree
2- agree
3-neither agree nor disagree
4-disagree
5strongly disagree
3. How efficient do you think the discipline strategies are right now?
(Circle one)
1-very efficient
2- efficient
3-neither efficient nor inefficient
4-inefficient
5-very inefficient
4. If you were a teacher and you could change one thing about the
behavior management in
the school what would it be? Please specify.

Directions: Please read the following carefully and select one answer from the
scale below.
SA=Strongly Agree A = Agree N = Neither Agree nor Disagree D = Disagree
SD-Strongly Disagree
1. Teachers must have knowledge of group dynamics.
SA
A
N
D
SD

43

�Strategies for appropriate and helpful teacher response to stressful situations caused by disruptive
students in the classroom

2. Teachers need to have background information when dealing with rule
infractions.
SA
A
N
D
SD
3. Teachers are responsible for knowing everything that goes on in the
classroom at all times.
SA
A
N
D
SD
4. Teachers should create a "democratic” classroom.
SA
A
N
D
SD
5. Teachers should “invite” student cooperation.
SA
A
N
D
SD
6. Teachers are responsible for "shaping" desired behavior in the classroom.
SA
A
N
D
SD
7. Teachers must take student needs into consideration.
SA
A
N
D
SD
8. Teachers are responsible for controlling the behavior of their students.
SA
A
N
D
SD
9. Students are able to control their behavior.
SA
A
N
D
SD
10. Conflict resolution should be employed in the school setting.
SA
A
N
D
SD
11. Teachers must deal with all students in the same manner when using
disciplinary measures.
SA
A
N
D
SD
12. A "sense of belonging" needs to be created by the teacher within the
classroom setting.
SA
A
N
D
SD
13. Rules of conduct must be set by the teachers.
SA
A
N
D
SD

44

�Journal of Foreign Language Teaching and Applied Linguistics

14. What students must learn and the tasks to be performed must be
determined by the teacher. And, a specific sequence of instruction to accomplish
these goals must be followed.
SA
A
N
D
SD
15. If I were a teacher, if a student disrupted my class, I would ignore the
disruption if possible and/or remove the student to the back of the room as a
consequence for his/her behavior.
SA
A
N
D
SD
16. If I were a teacher, if a student disrupted my class, I would express
discomfort to the student about being disrupted from my task and then continue
on with the lesson.
SA
A
N
D
SD
17. Rules are never written "in stone," and can be renegotiated by the class;
consequences will vary with students.
SA
A
N
D
SD
18. Teachers should intervene quickly when misbehavior occurs.
SA
A
N
D
SD
19. Inner thoughts and feelings of students are more important than evident
behavior.
SA
A
N
D
SD
20. Student autonomy is very important in the classroom.
SA
A
N
D
SD
21. Extrinsic (external) “rewards” may decrease intrinsic (internal) motivation.
SA
A
N
D
SD

45

�Strategies for appropriate and helpful teacher response to stressful situations caused by disruptive
students in the classroom

References
Arbuckle,C.,
&amp;
Little,
E.
(2004).
Teachers’
perceptions
and
management of disruptive classroom
behavior
during
the
middle
years. Australian Journal of Educational &amp; Developmental Psychology, 4,
59-70.
Axup, T.,&amp; Gersch, I. (2008). The impact of challenging student behavior upon
teachers’ lives in a secondary school: teachers’ perceptions. British Journal
of Special Education, 35(3), 144-151.
Ding, M., Li, Y., Li, X., &amp; Kulm, G. (2008). Chinese teachers’ perceptions
of students’classroom misbehavior.Educational Psychology, 28(3), 305-324.
Egyed,C. J., Short, R. J. (2006). Teacher self-efficacy, burnout, experience
and decision to refer a disruptive student. School Psychology International, 27(4),
462-474.
Lee, S., Powell,J. V. (2005). Using computer-based technology to determine
emergent classroom
discipline
styles
in
preservice
teacher
education. Educational Technology Systems,34(1).
López, J. M., Santiago, M. J., Godás, A., Castro, C., Villardefrancos, E., &amp; Ponte,
D. (2008). An integrative approach to burnout in secondary school teachers:
examining the role of student disruptive behavior and disciplinary
issues. International Journal of Psychology and Psychological Therapy,
8(2), 85-96.
Reinke, W. M., Palmer, T., &amp; Merrell, K. (2008). The classroom check-up: A
classwide teacher consultation model for increasing praise and decreasing
disruptive behavior. School Psych Rev., 37(3), 315–332.
Ross, P., Little, E, &amp; Kienhuis, M. (2008). Self-reported and actual use of proactive
and reactive classroom management strategies and relationship with teacher
stress and student behavior. Educational Psychology, 28(6), 693–710.
Shen, J., Zhang, N., Zhang, C., Caldarella, P., Richardson, M. J., &amp; Shatzer, R. H.
(2009). Chinese elementary school teachers’ perceptions of students’
classroom behavior problems. Educational Psychology, 29(2), 187-201.

46

�Journal of Foreign Language Teaching and Applied Linguistics

Shumate, E. D., &amp; Wills, H. P. (2010). Classroom-based functional analysis
and intervention for disruptive and off-task behaviors. Education and
Treatment of Children, 33(1), 23-48.
Stoughton, E. H. (2006). ‘‘How will I get them to behave?’’: Pre service teachers
reflect on classroom management.Teaching and Teacher Education, 23,
1024-1037.
Thompson,A. M., &amp; Webber, K. C. (2010). Realigning student and teacher
perceptions of school rules: A behavior management strategy for students
with challenging behaviors. Children &amp;Schools, 32(2), 71-79.
Tsouloupas, C. N., Carson, R. L., Matthew, R., Grawitch, M. J., &amp; Barber, L. K.
(2010). Exploring the association between teachers’ perceived student
misbehaviour and emotional exhaustion: the importance of teacher efficacy
beliefs and emotion regulation. Educational Psychology, 30(2).
Verkuyten,M.(2002). Making teachers accountable for students' disruptive
classroom behavior. British Journal of Sociology of Education, 23(1), 107122.

47

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                <text>Whether you have been teaching for 20 years or have just started your teaching career, there’s always a possibility you will have a student in your classroom with disruptive behavior. This behavior can go beyond the limits of what is considered to be acceptable in a learning environment. An obvious example of disruptive behavior is when the student verbally attacks, is late for class, experiences angry outbursts, social problems, etc. or simply rebels against something that is happening beyond the classroom door. However, very rarely are we, as teachers, aware of the possibility that the student might be having a mental health crisis.  We, the Language Centre at South East European University, have encountered various stressful situations, while at the same time we struggle for balance and try to find appropriate responses for students’ complaints about grades, “unfair” treatment, the policy of the faculty, etc. In an effort to resolve this dilemma, we will conduct research within the Language Centre through interviews with the academic and administrative staff as well as the students and their supervisors. In our presentation, we will present several strategies to deal with stressful situations that affect the entire learning environment, including the teachers themselves, such as: defining the problem, the reason behind it, the time of occurrence, its impact, introducing meta-communication and early communication by setting early expectations, ways to stay calm when responding to a crisis event and setting limits. We will also explore basic principles related to classroom management and a variety of strategies for early intervention in order to create a dynamic learning environment that promotes learning safety.    Keywords: Disruptive behaviour, strategies, safe learning environment</text>
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                    <text>International Conference on Economic and Social Studies, 10-11 May, 2013, Sarajevo

Strategies for Curbing Unemployment in Bosnia and
Herzegovina: Lessons from Ireland and Netherlands
Azra Bičo
International University of Sarajevo, Sarajevo, Bosnia and Herzegovina
azrabico@hotmail.com
Narela Bajram
International University of Sarajevo, Sarajevo, Bosnia and Herzegovina
narela7@yahoo.com
Over the past three decades European countries have been coping with
problems of high unemployment, and they need rigid labor market
improvements. Countries tried to find strategies to decrease
unemployment by using different methods, such as wage moderation,
income tax cuts, tightening of unemployment benefits, reduction in
barriers to part time work, and education programs. This paper examines
methods which have been proven to be successful in Ireland and
Netherlands. By looking at its implications it tries to give strategic solutions
to countries as Bosnia and Herzegovina, since it is coping with the same
problem. This paper analyzes problems of unemployment with special
focus on the youth unemployment in Bosnia and Herzegovina.
Keywords: Strategy, Curbing, Unemployment, Ireland, Netherland, Bosnia
and Herzegovina

50

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BAJRAM, Narela</text>
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                <text>Over the past three decades European countries have been coping with  problems of high unemployment, and they need rigid labor market  improvements. Countries tried to find strategies to decrease  unemployment by using different methods, such as wage moderation,  income tax cuts, tightening of unemployment benefits, reduction in  barriers to part time work, and education programs. This paper examines  methods which have been proven to be successful in Ireland and  Netherlands. By looking at its implications it tries to give strategic solutions  to countries as Bosnia and Herzegovina, since it is coping with the same  problem. This paper analyzes problems of unemployment with special  focus on the youth unemployment in Bosnia and Herzegovina.  Keywords: Strategy, Curbing, Unemployment, Ireland, Netherland, Bosnia  and Herzegovina</text>
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