Business Commons^™

La Innovación Es Requisito Para Mejorar El Nivel De Vida, Guillermo Arosemena

Guillermo Arosemena

No abstract provided.

Alianzas Estratégicas, Guillermo Arosemena

Guillermo Arosemena

No abstract provided.

What Do We Know About Private Family Firms? A Meta-Analytic Review., Michael Carney, Marc Van Essen, Eric R. Gedajlovic, Pursey P.M.A.R. Heugens

Marc van Essen

The universe of family firms is heterogeneous, and findings gleaned from publicly listed firms may not apply to the ubiquitous, but less frequently studied, privately held family firm (PFF). As PFFs are insulated from capital market pressures, owner-managers have greater latitude in setting strategic goals, which may result in different strategic choices and performance outcomes. By employing meta-analytical techniques on 48 studies conducted in nine countries, we synthesize prior PFF research. We show that PFFs prefer more conservative strategies, but contrary to received wisdom, this risk aversion does not hurt their performance. We conclude with an agenda for future research.

The Most Powerful Mouse In The World : The Globalization Of The Disney Brand, Michaela J. Robbins

University of Tennessee Honors Thesis Projects

No abstract provided.

Boundaries Of A Complex World, Andrei Ludu

Andrei Ludu

No abstract provided.

Socioemotional Wealth As A Mixed Gamble: Revisiting Family Firm R&D Investments With The Behavioral Agency Model, Luis R. Gomez-Mejia Dr, Joanna Campbell Dr, Geoffrey P. Martin Dr, Marianna Makri Dr, David Sirmon Dr, Robert Hoskisson Dr

Geoffrey P Martin

Theoretical explanations for family firm under-investment in R&D relative to non-family firms remain nascent. We revisit this question using a refinement to the behavioral agency model (BAM) – the mixed gamble – that allows us to examine the socioemotional trade-offs that R&D represents for the family firm and how this differentiates their R&D investment decision from non-family firms. We do so in an empirical context where R&D investment is of greatest importance – high technology industries. Moreover, we examine three contingencies that allow us to explore heterogeneity across family firms in their R&D decisions due to their effect ...

Interlocks And Firm Performance: The Role Of Uncertainty In The Directorate Interlock-Performance Relationship, Geoffrey P. Martin Dr, Remzi Gozubuyuk Dr, Manuel Becerra Dr

Geoffrey P Martin

We examine how uncertainty influences the performance effects of directorate interlocks. Our study offers a new perspective of directorate interlocks as mechanisms that enable firms to improve performance when confronted with greater uncertainty, suggesting that uncertainty positively moderates the interlock-performance relationship. This contrasts with the view based on resource dependence theory suggesting networks reduce uncertainty and enhance firm performance, implying that uncertainty mediates the interlock effect upon performance. Using a sample of 3,745 firms across manufacturing industries in U.S. during the period 2001 to 2009, we find support for the moderation argument and less convincing support for mediation ...

The Technological And Business Evolution Of Machine Based Gambling In America, Darren Prum, Carlin Mccrory

Darren A. Prum

Machine Based Gambling has become a major source of revenue to many states across the country that need the money but face obstacles to raising taxes within their jurisdiction. The figures are startling with the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania’s cut at over $1.456 Billion in 2011, which exceed the next closest state by $500 million. In addition, there are more than twice as many slot machines available to the public than ATMs. The benefits of machine based gaming has allowed many governments to revitalized tourism locations, make some Native Americans economically self-sufficient, and save horse and dog race tracks ...

Cash Flow Management And Manufacturing Firm Financial Performance: A Longitudinal Perspective, James R. Kroes, Andrew S. Manikas

IT and Supply Chain Management Faculty Publications and Presentations

A firm's cash flow policies, which manage working capital in the form of cash receivables from customers, inventory holdings, and cash payments to suppliers, are inexorably linked to the firm's operations. Building on earlier research, this study: (i) extends prior studies by examining the relationships between changes in cash flow measures and changes in firm financial performance using a longitudinal sample of firm data; and (ii) investigates the direction of the relationship between quarterly changes in cash flow positions and firm financial performance. This study is conducted using the Generalized Estimating Equations (GEE) methodology to analyze a longitudinal ...

Facilitating Successful Failures, Michelle M. Harner, Jamie Marincic Griffin

Faculty Scholarship

Approximately 80,000 businesses fail each year in the United States. This article presents an original empirical study of over 400 business restructuring professionals focused on a critical, arguably contributing factor to these failures—the conduct of boards of directors and management. Anecdotal evidence suggests that management of distressed companies often bury their heads in the sand until it is too late to remedy the companies’ problems, a phenomenon commonly called “ostrich syndrome.” The data confirm this behavior, show a prevalent use of loss framing, and suggest trends consistent with prospect theory. The article draws on these data and behavioral ...

A More Realistic Approach To Directors' Duties, Michelle M. Harner

Faculty Scholarship

Expectations for what fiduciary duties can achieve in the corporate context are unrealistic. This segment of the law—and the alleged deficiencies therein—are blamed for corporate scandals, securities fraud, failed business plans, and even a company's insolvency. Risk is, however, inherent in business, and human beings are flawed. Fiduciary duty law cannot change these basic facts. To the extent we think it can, we will continue to be disappointed and frustrated. This essay considers recasting (and to a greater extent codifying) directors’ duties in a positive frame to help foster better director oversight. It does not suggest that ...

Analysing Banks' Intermediation And Operational Performance Using The Hicks-Moorsteen Tfp Index: The Case Of Iran, Amir Arjomandi, Abbas Valadkhani, Martin O'Brien

Faculty of Business - Papers

In order to analyse the impact of policy reforms on the performance of the banking sector in Iran we present a decomposition of the Hicks-Moorsteen Total Factor Productivity (TFP). This entails a comparison of both the intermediate and operating performances of different types of banks in the pre- and post-reform eras. Our results show that under the intermediation approach, state-owned banks (public banks) were considerably more efficient than private banks in the post-regulation period. In contrast, under the operating approach, private banks were fully technically efficient and mix efficient in both pre and post-reform eras. This paper highlights the importance ...

中国统和主义地方政府与非政府组织关系, Jennifer Yj Hsu, Reza Hasmath

Reza Hasmath

该论文利用统和主义的理论框架来研究中国政府对非政府组织（NGOs）发展的影响及两者的互动。文章指出，中国中央政府积极参与非政府组织的发展之余，地方政府与NGO之间的互动越来越成为决定非政府组织成功与否的关键因素。我们以上海的众多规模、预算、活动范围各不相同的非政府组织为案例，试图理解NGO与地方政府的相互联系。该论文进一步讨论了政府影响力不断从中央向地方转移这一趋势的原因及后果。

Can Fixation On Main Images Predict Visual Appeal Of Homepages?, Soussan Djamasbi, Marisa Siegel, Tom Tullis

User Exprience and Decision Making Research Laboratory Publications

Research suggests that a main image on a homepage creates a distinct visual hierarchy that maybe inherently appealing to people. This in turn suggests that main images may play an important role in shaping user aesthetic reactions to a homepage. Research also shows that images of people are effective in drawing attention and that these images are pleasing to users. Grounded in these two lines of research, we show that fixation on main images has significant positive relation to visual appeal ratings of 24 homepages. We also show that when images of people are included in the main image, they ...

Sustainability Fellowships: The Potential For Collective Stakeholder Influence, Kent Walker Dr., Andre Laplume

Odette School of Business Publications

Purpose –Given the current ecological state of the planet organizations now need to develop their sustainability to a significantly greater extent and at a faster pace. This paper proposes stakeholder collectives as a means for rapid and comprehensive sustainability, while also examining the moderating influence of firm size and change potential.

Design/methodology/approach – A theoretical analysis leads to the development of multiple propositions. The work concentrates on one research question: How can we bring about rapid and comprehensive organizational sustainability?

Findings – Arguments for the inability of individual stakeholders to drive the level of sustainability now required are presented. Propositions ...

Empirical Archetypes For Strong Corporate Environmental Performance, Kent Walker Dr., Na Ni, Bruno Dyck Dr.

Odette School of Business Publications

We examine 45 existing case studies of firms with strong corporate environmental performance (CEP) to empirically identify four organizational configurations for successful sustainability. These four configurations represent different combinations of variables describing a firm’s external environment, organizational structure, and its strategy-related activities. More specifically, these configurations vary in having a benign or challenging external environment, a mechanistic or organic structure, a low-cost or differentiation strategy, hands-on or hands-off participation by the top-management-team, high or low consideration given to stakeholders, and a short or long-term time orientation. Taken together the four organizational configurations introduce an understanding of equifinality for achieving ...

Organizational Ingenuity And The Paradox Of Embedded Agency: The Case Of The Embryonic Ontario Solar Energy Industry, Kent Walker Dr., Francine Schlosser Dr., David Deephouse Dr.

Odette School of Business Publications

We examine organizational ingenuity within the paradox of embedded agency where organizational stakeholders are constrained in their behaviors by institutions, yet also influence and change these institutions. In this study organizational ingenuity represents the agency component and institutional constraints the embedded component. We build theory about ingenuity from a four-year case study of the embryonic Ontario solar industry. There were two major institutional constraints, limited grid access and political uncertainty. These led to four ingenuity strategies that emerged at different times and levels of analysis that challenged, complied with, or escaped the constraints. We combine these findings to develop a ...

Shortcomings Of Investior-Based Ratings Of Corporate Reputation: An Exploratory Empirical Study That Shows A Variety Of Stakeholder Groups Place Greater Emphasis On Corporate Ethics Than Profits., Kent Walker Dr., Bruno Dyck Dr.

Odette School of Business Publications

We examine three assumptions commonly held in the corporate reputation literature: i) reputation ratings of owners and investors are generally representative of all stakeholders; ii) stakeholders will generally provide a higher reputation rating to firms that emphasize corporate social responsibility versus firms that do not; and iii) profitability is the primary criterion of importance to all stakeholders when rating a firm’s reputation. Using an exploratory in-class exercise our findings suggest that: i) there are significant differences among stakeholder groups in their reputation ratings; ii) firms that emphasize corporate social responsibility are not rated more highly across all stakeholder groups ...

Isomorphic Pressures, Epistemic Communities And State-Ngo Collaboration In China, Reza Hasmath, Jennifer Yj Hsu

Reza Hasmath

This article suggests that a lack of meaningful collaboration between the state and NGOs in China is not solely a result of the state seeking to restrict the development of the sector, or fear of a potential opposing actor to the state. Instead, interviews with NGOs in Beijing and Shanghai suggests that a lack of meaningful engagement between the state and NGOs can be partially attributed to isomorphic pressures within state-NGO relations, and insufficient epistemic awareness of NGO activities on the part of the state. In fact, the evidence suggests that once epistemic awareness is achieved by the state, they ...

The Local Corporatist State And Ngo Relations In China, Jennifer Yj Hsu, Reza Hasmath

Reza Hasmath

This article examines the Chinese state’s interactions and influences on the development of non-governmental organizations (NGOs) through a corporatist framework. It suggests that not only is the central state actively involved in the development of NGOs, but increasingly the successes of NGOs are determined by their interactions with the local state. We profile NGOs in Shanghai, of varying sizes, budgets, and issue-areas, as a case study to understand the interplay between NGOs and the local state. The article further discusses reasons behind the growing shift from central to local state influences, and the potential future implications for state-NGO relations ...

Regional Institutional Development, Political Connections, And Entrepreneurial Performance In China's Transition Economy, Wubiao Zhou

Wubiao Zhou

While prior research has emphasized the role of political connections in facilitating entrepreneurial performance in China’ early reform period (1978 – 1999), this study argues that regional institutions had been increasingly conducive to entrepreneurial activities and, thus, also played a key role in China’s entrepreneurial success during that period. The purpose of this study is twofold. First, it aims to demonstrate how regional institutional development facilitated entrepreneurial performance in China. Second, it aims to understand how formal institutional development among Chinese regions affected the role of political connections. Using a two-level hierarchical dataset on Chinese private enterprises, this study finds ...

The Myth Of The Early Aviation Patent Hold-Up – How A U.S. Government Monopsony Commandeered Pioneer Airplane Patents, Ron D. Katznelson, John Howells

Ron D. Katznelson

The prevailing historical accounts of the formation of the U.S. aircraft “patent pool” in 1917 assume the U.S. Government necessarily intervened to alleviate a patent hold-up among private aircraft manufacturers. We show these accounts to be inconsistent with the historical facts. We show that despite the existence of basic aircraft patents, aircraft manufacturers faced no patent barriers in the market dominated by Government demand. We show that the notion of the aircraft patent hold-up is a myth created by Government officials and used to persuade Congress to appropriate funds for eminent domain condemnation of basic aircraft patents. Government ...

Stupid Doctors And Smart Construction Workers: Perspective-Taking Reduces Stereotyping Of Both Negative And Positive Targets., Cynthia S. Wang, Gillian Ku, Kenneth Tai, Adam D. Galinsky

Research Collection Lee Kong Chian School Of Business

Numerous studies have found that perspective-taking reduces stereotyping and prejudice, but they have only involved negative stereotypes. Because target negativity has been empirically confounded with reduced stereotyping, the general effects of perspective-taking on stereotyping and prejudice are unclear. By including both positively and negatively stereotyped targets, this research offers the first empirical test of two competing hypotheses: The positivity hypothesis predicts that perspective-taking produces a positivity bias, with less stereotyping of negative targets but more stereotyping of positive targets. In contrast, the stereotype-reduction hypothesis predicts that perspective-taking reduces stereotyping, regardless of target valence. Three studies support the stereotype-reduction hypothesis. Perspective-taking ...

Is The Red Dragon Green? An Examination Of The Antecedents And Consequences Of Environmental Proactivity In China, Kent Walker Dr., Na Ni Dr., Weidong Huo

Odette School of Business Publications

China is the world’s second largest economy and the largest emitter of carbon dioxide, yet we know little about environmental proactivity in the most populated country in the world. We address this gap through a survey of 161 Chinese companies with two respondents per firm (N = 322) where we seek to identify the antecedents and consequences of environmental proactivity. We identify two categorizations of environmental proactivity: Environmental operational improvements and environmental reporting. We find that ecological motivations and regulatory stakeholder pressure are positively related to both types of environmental proactivity, and external stakeholder pressure is negatively related to environmental ...

Social Networks Among Auction Bidders: The Role Of Key Bidders And Structural Properties On Auction Prices, Mayukh Dass, Srinivas K. Reddy, Dawn Iacobucci

Research Collection Lee Kong Chian School Of Business

Auctions have been studied extensively as an economic marketplace. The economist’s focus is on modeling final sales prices, but the processes that give rise to those outcomes are rarely studied in great detail. This research is intended to provide that complementary perspective. We show how the interactions between bidders in an auction unfold in a dynamic pattern of bids and counter-bids, and thereby over the duration of an auction, create a network structure. The auction network contributes significantly to models of price dynamics and the network predicts final sales prices better than economic (non-network) indicators alone. In addition, network ...

When Does A Platform Create Value By Limiting Choice?, Ramon Casadesus-Masanell, Hanna Halaburda

Hanna Halaburda

We present a theory for why it might be rational for a platform to limit the number of applications available on it. Our model is based on the observation that even if users prefer application variety, applications often also exhibit direct network effects. When there are direct network effects, users prefer to consume the same applications to benefit from consumption complementarities. We show that the combination of preference for variety and consumption complementarities gives rise to (i) a commons problem (to better satisfy their individual preference for variety, users have an incentive to consume more applications than the number that ...

The Role Of Value Networks In The Design Of Mobile Platforms: The Case Of Apple Iphone, Mutaz M. Al-Debei, Anas Aloudat, Enas Al-Lozi, Mohammad Al-Asswad

Dr. Mutaz M. Al-Debei

Unlike the simple mobile voice service, which is normally designed and developed by the telecom itself, the development of mobile data services and platforms, due to their complexity, usually requires a collaboration and cooperation amongst many actors within and outside the mobile telecommunication industry such as mobile network operators, content providers, content aggregators, payment gateways, regulatory commissions, and others. The actors usually form the so-called value network in which each actor complements others and adds important value elements to the final value proposition given that actors have different knowledge domains, backgrounds, and expertise. Contrasting value chains where the relationships amongst ...

Corporate Social Responsibility In A Remedy-Seeking Society: A Public Choice Perspective, Donald J. Kochan

Donald J. Kochan

Written for the Chapman Law Review Symposium on “What Can Law & Economics Teach Us About the Corporate Social Responsibility Debate?,” this Article applies the lessons of public choice theory to examine corporate social responsibility. The Article adopts a broad definition of corporate social responsibility activism to include both (1) those efforts that seek to convince corporations to voluntarily take into account corporate social responsibility in their own decision-making, and (2) the efforts to alter the legal landscape and expand legal obligations of corporations beyond traditional notions of harm and duty so as to force corporations to invest in interests other ...

Pacs And Their Functional Equivalents In South East Asia., Riccardo Pelizzo

riccardo pelizzo

in this presentation, we present the preliinary results of an analysis of the tools and the committees in charge of performing budgetary and financial oversight in south East Asian countries.

Competitive Intelligence And Forecasting Systems: Strategic Marketing Planning Tool For Sme's, Conway Lackman, John M. Lanasa

Atlantic Marketing Journal

One of the drivers of both strategic planning and success in the marketplace is the role of competitive intelligence systems (CIS). CIS activity and its value to consumer/competitive intelligence are well established. In a survey of a broad cross section of firms, it was found that two thirds of the companies indicated a dramatic increase in level of activity and nearly three fifths (54%) said the impact of marketing intelligence systems (MI) contribute heavily to tactical and strategic decision making (Lackman, Lanasa, and Saban, 2000). Small and medium enterprises (SME’s) traditionally have neglected CIS partly because of the ...