The microeconomics of mobile payments

NETNOMICS: Economic Research and Electronic Networking - In this paper, a Kranzberg [32] - Lancaster [34] approach is employed to investigate the microeconomics of mobile payment methods. The...     

The catholic work ethic

In a recent Commentary in The International Executive (1992), Rüdiger Pieper complained that some, if not many of the (American) teachers in the new European business training institutes and schools knew relatively little about the cultures for which they were making management proposals. Further, the proposals themselves, based as they often were on American research, could not, he rightly felt, be directly applied to a business problem regardless of context. One could extend that observation to other business activities, including attitudes toward work. In particular, it would be useful to consider the “work ethic,” as it applies to Americans working abroad, and inquire about how it might affect international executives when they come to America.     

Managing innovation dilemmas: The cube solution

Innovation has become a universal feature of corporate life. Almost no company can survive without innovation. However, when it comes to developing innovation strategies, managers often are left alone to decide which innovation types to pursue, how to balance them in an overall portfolio, how to allocate resources, and how to implement them. In short, managers face a variety of innovation dilemmas. One of the most pertinent problems is how to distinguish innovation types in a meaningful way. In this article, we introduce the innovation cube, a tool that helps position innovation types in a managerially meaningful way. Once managers know how to relate and compare their innovation types to those of other companies, the cube helps them to better formulate their innovation strategy.     

The transactional ethic: The ethical foundations of free enterprise reconsidered

A review of the evolution of the ethical foundations of free enterprise reveals the essentially utilitarian ethical foundation prevailing today. To enrich those foundations the article attempts to establish the ethical validity of free transactions by relating them to the basic principle of interpersonal ethics: the Golden Rule. The validity of the transactional ethic is presented as an articulation of freedom in a valid social and economic context. Jeffrey A. Barach is Professor of Management, A. B. Freeman School of Business, Tulane University. His DBA ('67), MBA ('61), and AB ('56) are from Harvard. His interests include business ethics, business policy and marketing. He has published articles and cases in these areas and on pedagogy. His text Individual, Business, and Society was published in 1977. Recent articles concern social marketing (Business Horizons), management of family firms (Sloan Management Review), and the ethics of hardball (California Management Review).John B. Elstrott, Jr., is the Sponsored Research Coordinator at the Freeman School of Business, Tulane University. He received his Ph.D. in Economics from the University of Colorado (1975). His interests include business ethics, entrepreneurship, economic development, and environmental economics. He is working on several interdisciplinary research projects including one on economic evaluation of solid waste management alternatives. Dr. Elstrott is an active entrepreneur and serves on the board of several profit and not for profit corporations.     

Moral dilemmas,moral reasons and moral learning: interpreting a real case in terms of particularistic theory

The core of the paper consists of dialogue from a true case where an employee experienced moral dilemmas following a disquieting directive from his manager. The case is considered from the perspective of Dancy's particularistic theory of moral reasons (with some insight also from Ross's theory of prima facie duties). This case was chosen not to illustrate the theory, but rather to test the assumption that an approach to moral judgement based on Ross and Dancy has general applicability. It is suggested that, in its simplest form, that approach approximates to the manner in which people in organisations, without prior knowledge of ethical theorising, would ordinarily deal with comparable situations, and so it can be relatively easy to learn given practice. Based on this case, some insight is also offered into individuals' moral learning, including their need for personal qualities such as assertiveness and independence of mind. In that context a reciprocal relationship between Dancy's approach and Werhane's thinking on moral imagination is suggested.     

The individualistic ethic and the design of organizations

The self-psychology theories used as motivational tools in work organizations during the past 20 years have collided with a confluence of societal changes. The individual has been enticed by more freedom in the work organization and an increasing array of life choices in a pluralistic society. At the same time, the economic environment has become hostile, threatening to limit the individual's choices. The confluence of expanding social choice and contracting economic resources has made it difficult for many individuals to make life choices that may lead to personal self-fulfillment. As a result, employees may most need and most appreciate order and predictability from their work organizations at the very time when more flexible work organization structures are most needed for the wave of new products and production technologies that need to be explored and developed. Hope for a resolution to this dilemma may be found in strengthening society's more durable social institutions, such as the family, organized religion, and the local community. If individuals can find the stability their lives need in these institutions, they may respond better to change, challenge, and freedom in the work organization.Charles Boyd is Associate Professor of Management at Southwest Missouri State University. His primary field of teaching and research is strategic management.A condensed version of this article was presented at the 1985 annual meeting of the Midwest Academy of Management at the University of Illinois.     

Moral consequences of a seller's market: Polish experience

The article is an analysis of the moral consequences of permanent and major shortages in supply for producers, distributors, and especially consumers. The analysis is based on the author's long experience, obtained in Poland during observations and studies of the behaviour of economic units and consumers. The conclusions presented can be generally applied to centrally planned economies. Similar studies are lacking in countries characterized by an `economics of shortage'. Immoral behaviour is reflected in the negligence of the socially accepted system of values and moral norms. In ‘economics of shortage’ this system has been largely destroyed, making moral evaluation of behaviour rather difficult. The seller's market puts society in a situation characterized by a conflict between the law and moral norms; it restricts distributive justice; makes it easier to infringe upon somebody's property; induces fraudulent activities to the detriment of the consumer; restricts the individual's freedom and the consumer's sovereignty; dehumanizes the consumption process; violates human dignity; carries a threat for family life and generates interhuman conflicts. Decisions concerning production and products do not make sufficient allowances for the needs of end users in the sphere of quality, assortment, information transmitted to consumers, and new product development. There exist, in parallel, different systems of allocation of goods and services: administrative allotment, government-controlled outlets, grey and black markets. The purchase of a product itself stretches in time and involves considerable obstacles. The consumer is forced to continue searching and queuing, compulsory substitution, compulsory spending of money and compulsory savings. All this paves the way for unethical behaviour of both sellers and consumers. Among consumers there can be seen symptoms of alienation from the market.     

Intrinsic religiosity and counterproductive work behavior: The mediating role of Islamic work ethic

This research aims to examine the impact of intrinsic religiosity on counterproductive work behavior directed toward the organization (CWB-O) and the mediating role of Islamic work ethic in this impact. The data were collected from employees working in the hotel and restaurant industry (n = 684). The findings revealed that intrinsic religiosity had a positive and significant effect on Islamic work ethic. It was found that Islamic work ethic also had a negative and significant effect on CWB-O. Similarly, intrinsic religiosity had a negative and significant effect on CWB-O. In addition, it was identified that the Islamic work ethic had a mediating role in the impact of intrinsic religiosity on CWB-O. Taking into consideration that the relationship between intrinsic religiosity and CWB-O and the role of Islamic work ethic in this relationship has not yet been examined in literature, the theoretical contribution of the current research can be better understood. From the perspective of practical contribution, this research may help and guide managers to understand how intrinsic religiosity affects CWB-O.     

Retailers' professional and professio-ethical dilemmas: The case of Finnish retailing business

The main purpose of this paper is to put forth the concept of ethics, present ethical theories and, finally, consider some business ethics issues in the context of retailing practices. In the first part of this paper we seek to motivate the research task. The importance of conducting ethical analysis is stressed. In the second part of the paper several ethical theories: utilitarianism, deontology and virtue ethics are presented. This part serves as a basis for research interviews, e.g. it is possible to examine retailers' opinions about their professional virtues, and try to position these opinions in relation with utilitarianism and deontology. In the third part the empirical findings about the retailing business ethics are set forth. This part suggests that there prevails among retailers some kind of confusion about what are ethical issues and what is not ethical in their daily professional practices. To avoid this confusion four main principles were put forth by the Finnish retailers. The principles were: 1. Freedom versus rules; 2. Principles versus moralizing; 3. Boundaries versus transition; 4. Economy and moral versus subjective judgment.Tuomo Takala is a Senior Lecturer in Business Administration at the University of Jyväskylä, Finland. He studied business economics and practical philosphy. His main research issues are: business ethics, social responsibility issues and environmental issues looked from ethical perspective. He also acted as Acting Professor in Business Administration in Jyväskylä. His previous publishing areas are:Publications from the Department of Economics and Management, University of Jyväskylä andScandinavian Journal of Management.Outi Usitalo is an Assistant in Marketing at the University of Jyväskylä, Finland. She studied business economics. Her research interests focus on consumer satisfaction and dissatisfaction with market supply conditions, the consequences of marketing activities on consumer welfare, and the equity and effectiveness of retailers. She published inPublications from the Department of Economics and Management, University of Jyväskylä.     

The ethical dilemmas of university-industry collaborations

This article examines the ethical dilemmas that can occur due to university and industry cooperative arrangements. The values that Conant (1952) and Merton (1942) ascribed to university science are used as a measure of the evolving university-industry relations in the 1980s. Examples of the types of relations being forged are discussed and possible conflicts of interest are explored. The author argues that the goals of the university are and must remain different from those of industry for the good of the entire society. The transformation of the university into a research institution for industry could result in the university not adequately training the scientists of tomorrow, and simultaneously, not discharging its duty to do basic research as it focuses on the more applied research that industry desires and funds. Martin Kenney is Assistant Professor at the Department of Agricultural Economics and Rural Sociology at the Ohio State University. He is the author of several articles on biotechnology, published in various journals and Biotechnology: The University-Industry Complex (Yale University Press, 1986).     

The Cuban market:: Opportunities and barriers

To open our feature on business in Cuba, Kaplowitz presents a brief overview of the dramatic changes in the Cuban market since the fall of the Soviet Union in 1989. Until 1988, 85% of Cuban two-way trade was with the former Soviet Union, but by 1993 the COMECON nations accounted for only 20% of Cuban trade. The resulting chaos has created openings for Latin American, European and Canadian businesses to fill the investment void in Cuba. Kaplowitz lays out how recent developments have affected Cuban laws on foreign investment and trade, reviews which foreign companies are barkening to Cuba's call, and what the opportunities might be for U.S. businesses should relations between the two countries improve over the long-term. Her article is the first of seven articles in this feature.     

The informal venture capital market: Aspects of scale and market efficiency

Risk capital is a resource essential to the formation and growth of entrepreneurial ventures. In a society that is increasingly dependent upon innovation and entrepreneurship for its economic vitality, the performance of the venture capital markets is a matter of fundamental concern to entrepreneurs, venture investors and to public officials. This article deals with the informal venture capital market, the market in which entrepreneurs raise equity-type financing from private investors, (business angels). The informal venture capital market is virtually invisible and often misunderstood. It is composed of a diverse and diffuse population of individuals of means; many of whom have created their own successful ventures. There are no directories of individual venture investors and no public records of their investment transactions. Consequently, the informal venture capital market poses many unanswered questions.The author discusses two aspects of the informal venture capital market: questions of scale and market efficiency. The discussion draws upon existing research to extract and synthesize data that provide a reasonable basis for inferences about scale and efficiency.Private venture investors tend to be self-made individuals with substantial business and financial experience and with a net worth of $1 million or more. The author estimates that the number of private venture investors in the United States is at least 250,000, of whom about 100,000 are active in any given year. By providing seed capital for ventures that subsequently raise funds from professional venture investors or in the public equity markets and equity financing for privately-held firms that are growing faster than internal cash flow can support, private investors fill gaps in the institutional equity markets.The author estimates that private investors manage a portfolio of venture investments aggregating in the neighborhood of $50 billion, about twice the capital managed by professional venture investors. By participating in smaller transactions, private investors finance over five times as many entrepreneurs as professional venture investors; 20,000 or more firms per year compared to two or three thousand. The typical angel-backed venture raises about $250,000 from three or more private investors.Despite the apparent scale of the informal venture capital market, the author cites evidence that the market is relatively inefficient. It is a market characterized by limited information about investors and investment opportunities. Furthermore, many entrepreneurs and private investors are unfamiliar with the techniques of successful venture financing. The author's scale and efficiency inferences, coupled with evidence documenting gaps between private and social returns from innovation, prompt questions about public as well as private initiatives to enhance the efficiency of the informal venture capital market.The article concludes with a discussion of Venture Capital Network, Inc. (VCN), an experimental effort to enhance the efficiency of the informal venture capital market. VCN's procedures and performance are described, followed by a discussion of the lessons learned during the first two years of the experiment.     

Thomas mann and the business ethic

Son of a North German businessman, Thomas Mann chose as theme for his early narrative work the conflict between the standards and values of business and those of the artist-writer.Buddenbrooks andTonio Kröger exhibit the tension of values in opposite ways. InThe Magic Mountain, Mann expands his canvas to include military as well as business values in their relation to the creative potential in a young engineer who exiles himself to an Alpine tuberculosis sanatorium to enjoy a unique educational experience. Mann believed that the businessman, like the artist, had a light and dark side, committed by the Protestant ethic, yet bound to entrepreneurial standards of utility and profit. On that account, the businessman, like the creative artist, may experience a certain alientation from ‘Life’.     

A choice-making ethic for organizational communication: The work of Ian I. Mitroff

This article examines the ethical implications of Ian Mitroff's scholarly contribution to the study of Organizational Communication. Although Mitroff does not specifically ground his work in ethics, this article considers an ethic of choicemaking to be a significant interpretive key for understanding the contribution of his research. In addition, this article provides another conceptual key for understanding the considerable quantity of Mitroff's work by organizing it around three major themes: science, decision-making, and myth. The goal of this article is to make explicit two conceptual keys to Mitroff's scholarship, an ethic of choice and a three-fold division of his work that exemplifies his commitment to maximizing choice in organizational settings. Ronald C. Arnett is Academic Dean at Manchester College in Indiana. He has won Recipient of Outstanding Article of Year Award in Religious Communication, 1979, and Elected Vice-Chair Elect of Communication Ethics Commission of Speech Communication Association in 1986. He is the author of numerous articles and of two books: Dwell in Peace: Applying Nonviolence to Everyday Relationships, Brethren Press, 1987 (3rd pr.) and Communication and Community: Implications of Martin Buber's Dialogue, Southern Illinois Univ. Press, 1986.     

Ethical dilemmas in marketing: A rationale

Because of their visibility, marketers are often perceived by society as engaging in unethical or questionable behaviors. The marketing literature does not specifically provide an explanation for this dilemma. This paper suggests that there are three major reasons for this problem: fluctuating limits of consensus, ethnocentrism, and utilitarian economic analyses. Dr Paul Hensel is an Assistant Professor of Marketing at the University of Kentucky. He received his Ph.D. in Marketing from the University of Houston in 1982. He has published in Journal of Marketing Education, Journal of the Academy of Marketing Science, Equal Opportunity International and Marketing Educator's Proceedings.Topics include marketing ethics, advertising effectiveness, and social responsibility in marketing.Alan J. Dubinsky (Ph.D., University of Minnesota) is a Visiting Associate Professor of Marketing in the School of Management at the University of Minnesota. He has served on the faculties of Southern Methodist University and the University of Kentucky. Prior to pusuing his graduate work, he was a territory manager for Burroughs Corporation. He has published widely in the areas of sales and sales management.     

The work ethic of the bishops' pastoral on the economy

This paper describes the prevaling ideology of acquisitive materialism and shows that it values work only as a means for acquiring material goods. This is contrasted to the view of work in the traditional Protestant Ethic and in Catholic social teaching. The Pastoral argues that work is good in itself when the worker is aware of participating in and contributing to the life of the community. While Catholic social thought in the past has emphasized distribution, the Pastoral points out that active participation in production by all is essential to a just economic order. Richard P. Mullin Jr. is Professor of Philosophy at Wheeling College. He is the author of several articles which have been published in Proceedings of the Eleventh Conference on Value Inquiry, Philosophy in Context, and Ethics West Virginia Lecture Series.