Abstract Over the past few decades, outsourcing has become a widely discussed and researched means for firms to change their performance. In this article, we attempt to link outsourcing to the market success of firms, specifically their market share. We argue that although firms may be able to increase their market share through outsourcing, this is only true up to a point, beyond which market share actually decreases as a consequence of further outsourcing. There is, in other words, a negatively curvilinear (inverted U) relationship between outsourcing and market share. We also hypothesize that the outsourcing–market share relationship is moderated negatively by both the strength of firm resources and the extent of competition in a firm‘s market. We empirically confirm these arguments through a panel data analysis containing over 19,000 observations on manufacturing firms, and offer some case examples to illustrate the mechanisms driving these results. We discuss implications for marketing research and practice. Keywords Outsourcing . Marketing performance . Market share . Resources . Competition

The effect of customer relationship management practices on airline customer loyalty Marwa Salah Fayoum University, Egypt Mohamed A. Abou-Shouk University of Sharjah, United Arab Emirates Abstract: Customer satisfaction and loyalty are important concerns for travel providers and have a significant role in maximizing their sales. Therefore, adopting the activities of customer relationship management could help them building strong relationships with customers. This study explores the opinions of EgyptAir passengers on customer relationship management activities adopted by the company and how this affects their satisfaction and loyalty. A questionnaire was used for data collection and structural equation modelling was employed for rigorous findings. Findings revealed a positive significant effect of shared values, bonding, commitment, trust, tangibility, and handling customer conflicts on passenger satisfaction and loyalty. Keywords: CRM, Airlines, Satisfaction, loyalty, EgyptAir, Egypt JEL Classification: L93, L14, N37 Biographical note: Marwa Salah holds a PhD of Tourism and Hospitality from Fayoum Univversity, Egypt. She is currently an Associate Professor at the Faculty of Tourism and Hotels, Fayoum University, Egypt. Her research interests are: tourism investment, tourism crises management, human resources development in tourism and hospitality, and sustainable tourism. Mohamed A. Abou-Shouk holds a PhD of Tourism and Hospitality from Plymouth University, UK. He is currently an Associate Professor at the College of Arts, Humanities, and Social Sciences, University of Sharjah, UAE. His research interests are: technology/ internet adoption behaviour in tourism and hospitality SMEs, e-tourism, e-commerce and emarketing in tourism and hospitality, Entrepreneurship in Tourism and Hospitality, and structural equation modelling-based quantitative research in tourism. His work has been published in a range of reputable journals including: Tourism Management, Journal of Hospitality & Tourism Research, International Journal of Tourism Research, Journal of Travel and Tourism Marketing, and Tourism Planning & Development. Corresponding author: Mohamed A. Abou-Shouk (این آدرس ایمیل توسط spambots حفاظت می شود. برای دیدن شما نیاز به جاوا اسکریپت دارید).

I n the early 1980s, “outsourcing” typically referred to the situation when firms expanded their purchases of manufactured physical inputs, like car companies that purchased window cranks and seat fabrics from outside the firm rather than making them inside. But in 2004, outsourcing took on a different meaning. It referred now to a specific segment of the growing international trade in services. This segment consists of arm’s-length, or what Bhagwati (1984) called “long-distance,” purchase of services abroad, principally, but not necessarily, via electronic mediums such as the telephone, fax and the Internet. Outsourcing can happen both though transactions by firms, like phone call centers staffed in Bangalore to serve customers in New York and x-rays transmitted digitally from Boston to be read in Bombay, or with direct consumption purchases by individuals, like when someone hires an offshore firm to provide plans for redesigning or redecorating a living room. Thus, in February 2004, the members of President Bush’s Council of Economic Advisers stated the following: “Outsourcing of professional services is a prominent example of a new type of trade” (Mankiw, Forbes and Rosen, 2004). The chair of the CEA, Gregory Mankiw, made a similar point in a press interview (Andrews, 2004): ”I think outsourcing is a growing phenomenon, but it’s something that we should realize is probably a plus for the economy in the long run. We’re very used to goods being produced abroad and being shipped here on ships or planes. What we are not used to is services being produced abroad and being sent here over the