Business Commons^™

Collaborative Standards, Voluntary Codes And Industry Self-Regulation, Lawrence J. Lad, Craig B. Caldwell

Scholarship and Professional Work - Business

In a complex, global economy, firms seek a range of mechanisms for addressing regulatory and social movement pressures. This requires an evolution beyond our current models of response to regulation and control. This paper offers ideas on collaborative control and industry self-regulation as alternative mechanisms for addressing regulatory complexity. It explores a range of self-regulatory practices worldwide, proposes a framework for examining its use, potential and limits, and discusses the critical role of third-party organisations in the process.

Biz Prof Says Retailers Prepare For Post Recession Environment, Kathryn W. King

Scholarship and Professional Work - Business

Butler University Website article featuring College of Business Lecturer, Kate King.

Beginnings Of A Fulfilling Career, Gregory E. Osland

Scholarship and Professional Work - Business

In 1989 I decided to join the doctoral program in Marketing at Michigan State University (MSU). Although I had been accepted into the doctoral programs at several universities, including UCLA and the University of Washington, I chose MSU because of its strong reputation in International Marketing, and its emphasis on managerial applications. Tamer Cavusgil had recently joined the MSU faculty and had just initiated the Center for International Business Education and Research. I wanted to learn from him as my mentor and dissertation chair, and was encouraged by the potential resources available through the CIBER to do international research. This …

The Jec Revisited: Did Debt Undermine Stability?, Peter Z. Grossman, Kathy A. Paulson Gjerde

Scholarship and Professional Work - Business

The Joint Executive Committee (JEC), one of the most studied cartels in all of economics, was at best partially successful at maintaining collusion. The railroad cartel faced frequent breakdowns and re-contracting efforts. This paper considers the effects that large capital debt may have had on the members of the JEC. The JEC is compared to the express cartel of the period in which all firms were creditors. The latter had no breakdowns during the same period. It is shown through a small modification in an oligopolistic supergame that debt-burdened firms are Jess likely to maintain a stable cartel agreement than …

U.S. Energy Policy And The Presumption Of Market Failure, Peter Z. Grossman

Scholarship and Professional Work - Business

The article presents an analysis of U.S. energy policy, focusing on the question of whether it is able to correct market failures in terms of alternative energy sources. The question of whether any such market failures exist is said to be a separate question, and an argument is presented that governments generally are not competent to fix such problems even when they do exist. A discussion of U.S. energy policy from the early 1970s to the 21st century is presented. Programs designed to encourage technological innovations such as biofeuls, nuclear fusion, and electric vehicles are analyzed.

Earnings Guidance: How Should Companies Interact With The Market?, Steven D. Dolvin

Scholarship and Professional Work - Business

Steven Dolvin's contribution to the January/February Edition of BizVoice, magazine of the Indiana Chamber of Commerce.

A Network Implementation Class Exercise: Businessquest Business Incubator, Llc, Priscilla Arling

Scholarship and Professional Work - Business

One way to bring concepts to life in an introductory data networks course is for students to physically build a network that addresses a real business problem. However it can be challenging to find a suitable business problem, particularly if the network can exist only during the class period. This case presents a realistic business scenario and network implementation exercise that can be completed in one or two class periods in any classroom with Internet access. The objective of the exercise is for students to solve a business problem by applying concepts related to basic network configuration, local area networks …

The Impact Of A Computer Proficiency Exam On Business Students' Admission To And Performance In A Higher-Level It Course, Patrick Rondeau, Li Xiaolin

Scholarship and Professional Work - Business

Many colleges of business now assume incoming freshmen arrive on campus possessing high levels of computer skill and ability. Students are frequently offered the opportunity to take and pass a computer proficiency exam (CPE) in lieu of a freshman information technology (IT) course. While promoted as an efficient alternative, our analysis of the implementation of a CPE as a replacement for the freshman IT course at a small, Midwestern university revealed mixed results. As expected, we found those students who took and passed the CPE generally scored higher in their follow-on, sophomore IT course than those who passed the prerequisite, …

Gender Differences In Communication:Implications For Salespeople, Daniel H. Mcquiston, Kathryn A. Morris

Scholarship and Professional Work - Business

As more women enter into the traditionally male-dominated occupations of sales and purchasing, an understanding of gender differences in communication can provide salespeople with added information to increase their effectiveness. 1his paper begins with a review of the research on gender differences in verbal and non-verbal communication and then applies these findings to the field of sales. The paper concludes with managerial implications and recommendations for how salespeople might account for gendered aspects of their communications and by so doing potentially increase the effectiveness of their sales process.

Reit Ipos And The Cost Of Going Public, Steven D. Dolvin, Mark Pyles

Scholarship and Professional Work - Business

We examine Initial Public Offerings (IPOs) of Real Estate Investment Trusts (REITs) that went public between 1986 and 2004. Consistent with previous studies, we find that REIT IPOs are associated with lower levels of underpricing relative to traditional issues. We also find that REITs are associated with smaller file price revisions. Both findings are potentially attributable to the lower level of uncertainty associated with pricing REITs. In contrast, using an alternative measure of issuance costs that incorporates the share retention decision by preexisting owners, we find no significant difference between REIT and non-REIT issues, suggesting the results of previous studies …

The Impact Of Cultural Environment On Entry-Level Auditors’ Abilities To Perform Analytical Procedures, James F. Sander, Susan B. Hughes, Scott D. Higgs, Charles P. Cullinan

Scholarship and Professional Work - Business

We focus on the impact of three of Hofstede’s cultural dimensions, power distance, uncertainty avoidance, and individualism, on the results of analytical procedures conducted by entry-level auditors in Mexico and the U.S. Analytical procedures are ideal for this research as they require auditors to use professional judgment and appropriate levels of professional skepticism, abilities related to all three cultural characteristics. We find no other study investigating the impact of culture on the application of auditing procedures similar across the studied cultures.

We find cultural characteristics do not affect the participants’ abilities to predict income statement balances, but they may influence …

The Bad News And The Good News: The Long-Term Consequences Of Having Used An Alternative Work Schedule, Margaret Padgett, Lynn Harland, Steven B. Moser

Scholarship and Professional Work - Business

Research suggests that women who adopt alternative work arrangements may be viewed less favorably than women who work a regular schedule. This study examined whether those negative perceptions persist even after the woman returns to a regular schedule. One hundred twenty-five employed MBA students participated in an experimental study in which work schedule was manipulated. Participants reviewed a personnel file for a female employee who was either on a regular schedule or who had previously been on a reduced-workload schedule. They then completed a questionnaire assessing their perceptions of the target employee. Contrary to the authors' expectations, results revealed that …

Three Stories And Their Morals, Robert B. Bennett

Scholarship and Professional Work - Business

Fundamentally, the common law tradition is a collection of stories. Stories also become the law professor's stock in trade. We tell students stories or have them read stories in the form of cases or hypothetical situations and help them discern the morals to the stories-i.e., what the stories mean in the context of business or in their business lives? In a sense, that is what the Socratic Method is all about: analyzing stories in the form of cases and discerning their greater meaning. In this paper I will relate three true stories within the context of just-in-time production management and …

Critical Accounting Policy And Estimate Disclosures: Company Response To The Evolving Sec Guidance, Susan B. Hughes, James F. Sander, Jillian K. Snyder

Scholarship and Professional Work - Business

In late 2001, soon after numerous financial reporting failures including the much publicized demise of Enron, the SEC began a series of initiatives to improve critical accounting policy (CAP) and critical accounting estimate disclosures included within the MD&A section of Form 10-K. The first announcement, in the form of cautionary guidance, was issued in December 2001. This was followed by a Proposed Rule in 2002, and additional disclosure guidance near the end of 2003. Combined, the guidance required companies to provide information that would help investors understand the impact of estimates, accounting policies and external factors on financial results. Through …

The Impact Of Early Imprinting On Evolution Of New Venture Networks, Stephanie A. Fernhaber, Hana Milanov

Scholarship and Professional Work - Business

Given the argued importance of networks to new ventures, this paper is intended to fill a noted gap in the literature pertaining to the factors that influence the evolution of new ventures' alliance networks. Drawing on the imprinting literature, we propose that one has to look beyond the first partner per se, and instead focus on the extant relationships the initial partner has with other firms. More specifically, we argue and find that the network size and centrality of a new venture's initial alliance partner influence the subsequent size of the new venture's network.

High-Versus Low-Context National Cultures: Preferences For Type Of Retailer And For Human Interaction, Gregory E. Osland, Bela Florenthal

Scholarship and Professional Work - Business

A purpose of this research is to investigate differences between low-and high-context national cultures in retail settings. In particular, we examined cultural differences in preference for human interaction while shopping, "emotional warmth" characteristics, perception of quality service, and retail channel preferences. As businesses more frequently employ multi-channel strategies in global settings, this topic of national culture gains importance and can shed light on key factors that shape consumers' retail preferences. Our findings indicate that national cultures differ in terms of retail channel preferences, preference for human interaction, and relationships between the two. Managerial implications and future research are addressed, as …

Venture Capitalists As Catalysts To New Venture Internationalization: The Impact Of Their Knowledge And Reputation Resources, Stephanie A. Fernhaber, Patricia P. Mcdougall-Covin

Scholarship and Professional Work - Business

Venture Capitalists (VC) play an important role in influencing the strategic direction of the firms in which they invest. The findings of this study reveal that VCs can serve as a catalyst to new venture internationalization through the provision of knowledge and reputation resources. Furthermore, the international knowledge of a VC is more positively related to new venture internationalization when the VC is also reputable.

Eating With A Purpose:Consumer Response To Functional Food Health Claims In Conflicting Versus Complementary Information Environments, Courtney M. Droms, Rebecca Walker Naylor, Kelly L. Haws

Scholarship and Professional Work - Business

Marketers of food products have recently introduced a variety of “functional foods” that promise consumers improvements in targeted physiological functions. However, despite the proliferation of functional food health claims promising more than basic nutrition, little is known about consumer responses to these claims, particularly in information environments in which inconsistent information may be available about the efficacy of a particular functional ingredient.

Applying Systems Thinking To Knowledge Management Systems: The Case Of Pratt-Whitney Rocketdyne, Mark Chun, Kiho Sohn, Priscilla Arling, Nelson Granados

Scholarship and Professional Work - Business

This paper describes Pratt-Whitney Rocketdyne's (PWR) use of a systems thinking methodology to define and improve knowledge management (KM) within the firm. Using systems thinking, the company identified and changed key behaviors within the KM environment and effectively established a generative learning environment. This manuscript is one of the first papers that analyzes and reports a real-world application of the systems thinking methodology to improve KM practices. We first review systems thinking concepts and adapt them to the KM context. We then present the case study of the application of systems thinking to KM at PWR. Finally, we use an …

Trade Usage And Disclaiming Consequential Damages: The Implications For Just-In-Time Purchasing, Robert B. Bennett

Scholarship and Professional Work - Business

This article reports on trade, business, and industries in Japan in 2009. The article discusses industrial changes and growth in Japan, noting aspects of manufacturing such as marketing, purchasing, accounting, and human resources management. The article also describes the production management technique Just-In-Time (JIT) which emphasizes demand, limited production runs, quick setup, quality control, and reduced inventory and waste. Information is also provided on supply contracts, damages, lawsuits, and appeals.

The Apollo Fallacy And Its Effect On U.S. Energy Policy, Peter Z. Grossman

Scholarship and Professional Work - Business

US Policy makers have made continual references to the Apollo Program as a model for development of alternative energy technologies. This model, however, is inappropriate for energy policy, and its use is termed the Apollo fallacy. The goal of the Apollo Program was the demonstration of engineering prowess while any alternative energy technology must succeed in the marketplace. Several Apollo-like energy programs have been tried and all have failed at high cost. It is argued that the use of Apollo has political benefits but that it is detrimental to the adoption of potentially effective energy policies.

Spanish Foreign Direct Investments In Latin America: Internationalization Strategies And Financial Management Practices, Roberto Curci, Guillermo Cardoza

Scholarship and Professional Work - Business

This study analyzes the internationalization strategies and the financial management practices of seven Spanish companies with the largest volume of investments in Latin America. The companies selected for an in-depth analysis represent approximately 80 percent of the total Spanish foreign investments during the period of analysis. Their investments have taken place mainly in service sectors such as banking, energy, and telecommunications. The study identifies the market conditions and the corporate strategies that have allowed these Spanish companies to successfully initiate and expand business activities into Latin America. The findings suggest Spanish investors have strengthened their global competitiveness and have accomplished …

Racing To Success By Identifying Key Performance Drivers, Kathy Paulson Gjerde, Susan B. Hughes

Scholarship and Professional Work - Business

This article focuses on ways to identify key performance drivers (KPDs) and key performance indicators (KPIs). Unfortunately, lists of KPIs published in the past often focus on one industry and assume a generic business strategy. In addition, an overemphasis on financial measures will mean that KPIs will reflect past activities rather than signaling future performance. Managers need to develop meaningful metrics for their own businesses, not use generic KPIs. This is particularly important in small and medium-sized enterprises. How adept are you at this task? Do you know what drives net income for your organization?

A Teoria Ética Utilitarista E Seu Impacto Nos Processos Decisórios Das Instituições De Ensino Superior, Jane Siegler, Schulz Schulz

Scholarship and Professional Work - Business

This paper intends to question and evaluate the impact of using utilitarian ethics in decision-making processes of the nowadays´ leaders, especially those who decide the future of Higher Education Institutions (HEIs) in Brazil. For this paper it was did an investigative study through literature review and reflections of some researches, the text was divided into four main parts, the used approaches to the critical insights of ethics, its assumptions and applicability of utilitarian ethics, utilitarianism and its application in management of HEIs. Therefore, it was concluded that especially in these current times of globalization and and continual changes, it would …