The Information Content of Magazine Advertising in Market and Transition Economies

This study examines differences in the information content of magazine advertisements across market and transition economies in Europe. Content analyses are performed on 396 advertisements that appeared in women's magazines in the Russian Federation, the Czech Republic, the Netherlands, and the United Kingdom. Results of statistical analyses reveal marked differences between economies with respect to the information content of advertisements. Compared to market economies, advertisements in transition economies contain significantly more product-related information, and focus less on consumers' life style. In addition, they contain more prize winning contests and their glossy magazines contain more availability information. The study also explores reasons for these differences and discusses their implications.     

Market orientation and marketing in nonprofit organizations. Indications for fundraising from Victoria

The effectiveness of a market orientation has been established in other parts of the world. Using a modified replication study of 401 nonprofit organizations from Victoria, this research took some initial steps to assess fundraising and marketing activities. Studies in Australia have usually focused on only one part of the Third Sector. This study takes a different view and uses a criteria sampling method to survey all 11 sections named by the Australian Bureau of Statistics. The self‐reported data of fundraising activities showed that there were several choices available to all nonprofit organizations that can lead to an improvement in organizational performance. Results suggest that should nonprofit organizations have knowledge generating systems that evaluate their performance, this will improve outcomes for them. Even though organizational size is strongly linked to fundraising performance, there are key drivers that can aid even small organizations in their efforts. Copyright © 2010 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

COVID-19’s impact on the U.S. labor market as of September 2020

Business Economics - This paper summarizes the impact of COVID-19 (through mid-September 2020) on the U.S. labor market through the lens of measures found in monthly Bureau of Labor...     

Datification and the Pursuit of Meaningfulness in Work

Proliferation of digital means of tracking worker activities has contributed to the rise of data‐driven approaches to managing people, with employees often required to record their activities for accountability purposes. Increased requirement for such datification work occurs at a juncture where meaningfulness is one of the most sought‐after work features. Datification work could both facilitate and hinder the pursuit of meaningfulness, yet literature provides little guidance into the nature of the connection and how it transpires. Our inductive study of academic professionals using an accountability system suggests that datification work characteristics link to meaningful work experiences in complex ways. We advance current theory on work meaningfulness by theorizing the role of a new work condition – datification – in meaningfulness experiences of professionals, outlining how system design and the institutional context become important elements influencing meaningful work experiences, and explaining how meaningfulness experiences are constructed through system appropriations.     

Opportunities and Challenges Facing the Bureau of Labor Statistics

The Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) is one of the most important sources of data for business economists. This paper describes recent and planned new products, improvements to existing products, and improvements in users’ ability to access data. It also describes initiatives within the BLS to make it even more efficient and responsive than it is at present, including means of providing feedback from users. The paper also emphasizes the importance of users in responding to requests for survey information and support of BLS programs.     

The Self‐Help Myth: Towards a Theory of Philanthropy as Consensus Broker

This article presents a theoretical and methodological approach to studying how philanthropic power is maintained through the process of negotiating consensus between greatly unequal partners such as wealthy funders and social movement leaders. It is proposed that grant agreements between private foundations and social movement organizations construct idealized spaces of public participation and discursive theories of change that draw attention away from structural inequality and antagonism, ultimately generating consent. Drawing upon archival and ethnographic research on philanthropic investments in addressing migrant poverty in California's Central Valley, the article shows how consensus between foundation staff and farmworker and immigrant organizers promote funding frameworks that exclude questions that challenge relationships of power and systems of agricultural production that contribute to enduring poverty across the region. The Gramscian conceptual frames of “discursive power,” “hegemony as politics,” and “strategic articulation” are presented as a theoretical framework from which to understand the power of private philanthropy as consensus broker during historical moments of crisis.     

Risk perception,regulation, and unlicensed child care: lessons from Ontario,Canada

In 2014, the Province of Ontario, Canada undertook a number of legislative changes regarding child care. Part way through the process, a series of tragic focusing events occurred: a number of infants and children died in unlicensed child care over a short period of time. Despite these events, the Province chose to allow a portion of the family child care (FCC) sector to remain unlicensed and essentially unregulated in a sector that is otherwise subject to strict licensing and regulation. Drawing on research on risk regulation, we analyse FCC regulation in comparison to other sectors and find that FCC is surprisingly under-regulated, given the health and safety risks. Legislative debate analysis reveals a number of rationales for non-regulation. In addition to pragmatic political concerns such as costs associated with licensing, analysis reveals concerns about choice and accessibility over quality and safety. We conclude with a call for a research agenda to further examine parents’ and policy-makers’ perceptions of risk.     

Alan’s approach to research and his colleagues

Business Economics - Our paths crossed many times. Some hallmarks of his research were his focus on topics people were talking about, his finding new sources of data, and his use of new econometric...     

Overlapping Marathons: What Happens to Female Pace When Men Catch Up?

We exploit a highly competitive environment in which elite‐female athletes are exposed to the presence of men, but without being in direct competition with them. Specifically, we use variation in how fast the fastest man runs in the New York City Marathon to identify the potential influence of men on female performance while holding constant female‐runners' marginal incentives to perform. Our results suggest that as the men overtake the female runners, the performance of female runners declines differentially across ability, with the largest declines concentrated among lower ability runners.