The Ethics of Consumer Sovereignty in an Age of High Tech

We argue that consumer sovereignty in an increasingly high tech world is more of a fiction than a fact. We show how the principle of consumer sovereignty that governs the societal impact of economic competition is no longer valid. The world of high tech is increasingly responsible for changes in the opportunity, ability, and motivation of business firms to compete. Furthermore, the world of high tech is increasingly responsible for changes in the opportunity, ability, and motivation of consumers to engage in rational decision making. We conclude that we cannot rely on consumer sovereignty to maintain a thriving economy. Instead, we need to develop performance standards designed to meet the demands of the various stakeholders of the organization.     

An Analysis of Consumer Complaints about Social Marketing Advertisements in Australia and New Zealand

While social marketers are rarely targeted in discussions of the ethics of advertising, we are increasingly becoming aware of the importance of ensuring that social marketing messages are developed and conveyed in an ethical fashion. The article reviews complaints made by members of the general public in Australia and New Zealand to the advertising regulatory bodies in those two countries for the five years 2000–2004; examining the number, type, and nature of these complaints – including the categories of advertising, and the types of appeals, which generate complaints from the general public in both countries. We find that, as for commercial advertising, there is a need for further research to explore “community standards” in relation to social marketing messages; and that there is a clear need for social marketers to consider consumer attitudes towards advertising when developing communication strategies and messages.     

Internationalization as a driver of the corporate social performance of extractive industry firms

In this paper, we investigate the impact of internationalization on the corporate social performance (CSP) of extractive industry firms (EIFs). We argue that internationalization positively impacts their CSP because, as they internationalize, they increasingly benefit from actions that help them enhance their social licenses to operate (SLOs) and hence have a greater need to increase both the overall social (SP) and environmental (EP) aspects of their CSP. We hypothesize that as EIFs internationalize, both their SP and EP grow; that SP grows more relative to EP; and that the level of development of EIFs’ home countries moderates these relationships.     

Globally distributed talent communities: A typology of innovation problems and talent characteristics

As the world moves toward the “New Normal” with borderless innovation and remote work, Multinational Enterprises (MNEs) are increasingly involved in tapping talent that is external to organizational boundaries. This study distills learnings from the use of globally distributed external talent that has been facilitated by innovation intermediaries, a development that holds significant managerial implications for the post-COVID industrial era. Moving beyond the conventional and recognized need for global talent management practices, we provide a perspective on talent management outside organizational boundaries, a topic that that has received limited attention so far. Through the lenses of open innovation and talent management, we define a typology of innovation problems on the basis of latent talent needs. We take a step further, and for each problem type, we identify the competencies that are relevant, the reward mechanisms of the intermediaries, and the extent of collaboration required with internal talent. This typology provides a basis for researchers in the talent management community to study talent acquisition and management strategies of MNEs across various contexts and various innovation needs.     

Beyond Adoption Intention: Online Communities and Member Motivation to Contribute Longitudinally

As online communities become increasingly relevant to business, it is critical to understand how to support contributors' motivation to contribute content longitudinally. In this article, we draw on existing literature on motivation and technology characteristics to conceptualize a model of longitudinal content contribution. We view longitudinal content contribution as a recursive process of interaction between contributors, other participants, and the IT artifacts of online communities. Our study has several important theoretical contributions: first, our study argues that different types of motivation exist and we need to understand how to support contributors' autonomous motivation; second, our study adds the time dimension to content contribution; third, our study clarifies the path from content contribution to motivation; forth, our study helps explain why some rewards can be detrimental to contributors' motivation. Future studies are needed to extend our model and test the propositions from our model.     

Seeking attention versus seeking approval: How conspicuous consumption differs between grandiose and vulnerable narcissists

Narcissism, a personality trait characterized by entitlement and conceit, is increasingly prevalent in society. Two subtypes of narcissism exist: grandiose narcissism (characterized by arrogance and dominance) and vulnerable narcissism (characterized by social insecurity and overreliance on others’ feedback). We posit that both narcissistic subtypes will engage in ostentatious, showy purchases, that is, conspicuous consumption. Since the two subtypes differ so profoundly in their self-esteem regulation strategies, we further posit that their motivations to consume conspicuously may vary. Specifically, we hypothesize that grandiose narcissists’ conspicuous consumption will be driven by their need-for-uniqueness, whilst that of vulnerable narcissists by their need to avoid social disapproval. We test our hypotheses using data obtained from 382 participants. Our results support our expectations that both narcissism subtypes predict conspicuous consumption and that the relationship between grandiose narcissism and conspicuous consumption is mediated by their need-for-uniqueness. Meanwhile, we find that approval-seeking (AS) is only a marginally significant mediator of vulnerable narcissism and conspicuous consumption in females. We discuss theoretical and managerial implications.     

Success Factors for Mass Customization: A Conceptual Model

Mass customization entails the ability to provide customized products and services to individual customers using technology (information) at optimal production efficiency and cost levels. The concept is gaining prominence because the marketing literature is increasingly focused on delivering superior customer value. Although the mass-customization literature provides many insights into its origins, formats and approaches, it does not provide a coherent framework to assess the viability of a successful mass-customization strategy. Based on the premise of customer perceived value, we have developed a conceptual framework to address this need. We present a series of hypotheses that serve to encourage other authors and direct future research.     

Advancing societal grand challenge research at the interface of entrepreneurship and international business: A review and research agenda

Societal grand challenges are increasingly attracting the attention of both entrepreneurship and international business scholars. While entrepreneurship focuses on the opportunities that emerge and need for bold and innovative solutions, international business research emphasizes the global reach of the challenges and role of multinational enterprises. Although both conversations are insightful, we argue that examining one without the other gives an incomplete picture on how to address grand challenges. In this paper, we conduct a systematic review of the conversation on grand challenges in the international business and entrepreneurship literature. Upon synthesizing the results, we create an integrated framework and research agenda for viewing grand challenges through an international entrepreneurial lens.     

Love,Forgiveness, and Trust: Critical Values of the Modern Leader

In a world that has become increasingly dependent upon employee ownership, commitment, and initiative, organizations need leaders who can inspire their␣employees and motivate them individually. Love, forgiveness, and trust are critical values of today’s organization leaders who are committed to maximizing value for organizations while helping organization members to become their best. We explain the importance of love, forgiveness, and trust in the modern organization and identify 10 commonalities of these virtues.     

The Perfect Fit: The Moderating Role of Selling Cues on Hedonic and Utilitarian Product Types

With the need among retailers to create effective promotional campaigns, scarcity, and popularity cues are increasingly used. Drawing from regulatory focus and popularity versus scarcity cues literature, this research explores the impact of popularity versus scarcity cues and product types on consumer perceptions of risk, product uniqueness, and purchase intentions. Results from three studies provide primary insights: (1) A utilitarian product aligns with prevention goals and hence the popularity cue will enhance consumers’ purchase intentions, and (2) a hedonic product aligns with promotion goals and hence the scarcity cue will enhance consumers’ purchase intentions. Further, we theorize that perceived risk and perceived product uniqueness will act as psychological mechanisms. We discuss theoretical contributions and strategic insights for retailers and marketers that the findings indicate.     

Understanding the Determinants of User Acceptance of Enterprise Instant Messaging: An Empirical Study

As modern organizations increasingly depend on information systems (IS) to enhance work productivity and seek new business opportunities, communication effectiveness has become one of the key factors that underlie the effective performance of IS implementations and applications. Instant Messaging (IM) presents a revolution in enterprise communication. As more organizations are findings ways to utilize this near-synchronous computing communication technology to enhance communication effectiveness in the workplace, there is a compelling need to understand the factors that are important for the adoption of enterprise IM. We have developed an integrative model based on constructs of the existing IT adoption models as well as theories on motivation, innovation diffusion, and critical mass. Using responses from 140 intended subjects, we have found the results of survey data support the contentions that perceived usefulness, compatibility, enjoyment, and security are significant predictors of intention to use enterprise IM. Although perceived connectivity did not predict the intention directly, it did indirectly through perceived usefulness and perceived ease of use. Implications and future research are discussed.     

Inpatriate managers: Are they being effectively utilized as global talent?

This study questions the return on investment of inpatriate talent. The fundamental rationale of this qualitative study is the need to more consciously manage the talent found in an increasingly diverse global talent pool. As part of this pool, an inpatriate is positioned to add operational value at headquarters, yet face a tremendously different set of hurdles compared to their more traditional counterpart, the expatriate. In light of the differences in characteristics and obstacles faced, we challenge extant literature on the appropriateness of existing talent practices for inpatriate talent. We question whether more conscious choices in management practices can bring greater mutual benefits to the inpatriate and multinational corporation.     

Value-oriented Information Systems Design: The Concept of Potentials Modeling and its Application to Service-oriented Architectures

Companies are increasingly confronted with the question of whether or not the adoption of information technologies (IT) turns out to be a profitable venture. Thus, there is a great need for methods which allow for both the analysis and evaluation of the economic value of IT investments. In this paper we introduce the concept of potentials modeling which integrates a value-oriented perspective into information modeling. More specifically, we set out to explore the economic value of service-oriented architectures (SOA). The practicability of our approach is illustrated on the basis of a simplified application example. It is hoped that this paper will make a contribution to the ongoing discussion of IT value and stimulates further research in the field of value-oriented information systems (IS).     

The liability of foreignness reconsidered: New insights from the alternative research context of transforming economies

Institutional theory has been increasingly used to decipher implications of the liability of being a foreign firm. Earlier studies have argued that multinational corporations bear social costs arising from lack of legitimacy and thus need to engage in isomorphism to increase their likelihood of survival. Drawing on insights gained from transforming economies, this study reconsiders the espoused relationships among legitimacy, local isomorphism, and overcoming the liability of foreignness. We argue that idiosyncrasies of transforming economies could engender (1) varying levels of need for gaining legitimacy of local constituents and (2) alternative ways other than local isomorphism for gaining legitimacy from local institutional actors.     

Should governments mandate more female board representation? Possible intended and unintended consequences

Using data on more than 4,000 product recalls, we recently found that firms whose boards of directors include more women are significantly faster to recall dangerously defective medical products. More specifically, adding just one female director to a board with no women did not speed recalls, but increasing from one female director to two, from two to three, and so on led to increasingly faster recalls. This provides initial evidence that consumer safety can be improved through including more women on companies’ boards. Assuming data from other settings support our findings, it is tempting to conclude that governments should mandate a certain level of female board representation, especially for firms in consumer product sectors such as medical devices, food, toys, and automobiles. We suggest, however, that policy makers need to carefully think through the possible intended and unintended consequences of dictating board composition in terms of gender. Meanwhile, wise companies will recognize the benefits of greater female board representation and will pursue it without government intervention.     

Making Sense of Marketing Data: Some MIS Perspectives on the Analysis of Large Data Sets

Despite the growth in the size and complexity of corporate data, the technology for analyzing it has not kept up with the advances in data collection, in that managers mostly need to rely on marketing research and information systems experts to generate the analysis and reports they need. We review some useful approaches here from the computer science and information systems fields for the analysis of large data sets, viz. good data organization and the use of flexible analysis tools, for making the analysis more tractable and user-friendly. These methods are increasingly being adopted by practitioners who are hard-pressed to generate business intelligence from large corporate databases. However, the benefits of these approaches may not be confined only to practitioners, and may apply to academic researchers working with large data sets, as well.     

The Intemational Accounting Education Needs of Employees of International Firms

North American business leaders, governments and academics are advocating the need for employees to be able to function in an increasingly competitive global marketplace. This study presents suggestions for international accounting education for employees of Canadian international fm as we approach the year 2000. Six propositions are presented and discussed. The results of the study will aid universityprofessors in structuring curricular and course content in order to meet the international accounting needs of both undergraduate accounting and MBA students.     

The Challenge of Self-adaptive Systems for E-commerce

For future E-commerce systems that are engaged in many dynamic trading relationships, the ability to adapt themselves smoothly will increasingly become a critical property. In this paper, we first define the basic semantic structure of a collaborative process. Then we introduce a formal framework for self-adaptive systems. We argue that self-adaptive systems should specify goals explicitly, and propose a goal-based architecture. We further argue that for systems that operate in a shared environment with other systems, self-adaptation should be extended with co-adaptation. We define four levels of co-adaptation, and present an argumentation mechanism that can be used to enable co-adaptation at the higher levels.     

Migration and servicification: Do immigrant employees spur firm exports of services?

Services play an increasingly important role in production, employment and international trade but are subject to substantially higher trade costs relative to manufactured goods. Knowledge of how these trade costs can be mitigated is important for facilitating trade of services. In this paper, we analyse the role of immigrant employees as facilitators of firm exports of services, a role that remains largely unexamined. We bridge the gap in existing research by drawing on new data for nearly 30,000 Swedish firms during the period 1998–2007 within a heterogeneous firm framework. The results have important policy implications. As the multilateral approach to facilitating trade is challenged and more countries are imposing measures to restrict the cross‐country mobility of people, policymakers may need to find new ways to promote exports of services. Our results indicate that immigrant employees spur firms' export of services activities: hiring one additional foreign‐born worker can increase services exports by approximately 2.5 per cent, on average, with a stronger effect found for skilled and newly arrived immigrants. Therefore, policymakers could leverage the findings of this study to implement initiatives that utilise high‐skilled immigrants to promote services exports.