Innovation,consumption and services: encapsulation and the combinatorial role of services

This article explores a phenomenon termed here as ‘encapsulation’. Part of this process is the trend in secondary (manufacturing) and primary (agricultural and resource-based) companies towards providing service products that are related to the goods they produce. The study attempts a more distinctive approach of considering the innovation process within services by considering the issue of service consumption, both in combination with manufactured goods and separately on their own (associated with the issue of utility in consumption process). It also analyses the life span of consumption and use are considered; with analysis moving away from the perspective of a single act of consumption towards the ongoing use and utility of the service (or good with it) being consumed.     

Channel Four

The Single European Market seems inevitable and beneficial to commerce. Its full implementation will be delayed long after 1992, because of many remaining fiscal, legal and operational problems, not least of which will be the lack of harmonization of consumers. Prospects nevertheless appear good both for some traditional local brands and for new Euro-brands aimed at satisfying needs held by majorities (or even quite small minorities) across Europe. This paper reviews alternative marketing approaches that might be profitable, and the organizational changes needed to implement them successfully.     

Consequences of concern: ethics,social responsibility,and well‐being

Prior research has studied the antecedents of beliefs regarding ethics and social responsibility (ESR). However, few studies have examined how individual well‐being may be related to such beliefs. In this exploratory study, we assessed the relationship between perceived importance of ESR – both individually and of one's company – and indicators of physical and psychological well‐being. Results demonstrated that perceived importance of ESR was associated with three aspects of well‐being: exuberance for life, sleep problems, and job stress. The results are discussed in terms of future directions for research, and the need for a conceptual framework connecting individual and organizational perceptions of ESR and outcomes of well‐being.     

Mind the Gap: Information and Communication Technologies,Knowledge Activities and Innovation in the Pharmaceutical Industry

The paper explores the specific challenges facing the pharmaceutical industry regarding the exploitation of information and communication technologies (ICTs) in the context of developing new frameworks supporting knowledge activity and the wider innovation process. The paper seeks to provide a framework to view these changes but also highlights gaps in our current conceptualization of the role of ICTs in facilitating and effecting change within the pharmaceutical industry.     

The Roles of Independent Research and Technology Organizations in the United Kingdom's Technology Transfer Mechanism to SMEs

Independent Research and Technology Organizations (RTOs) provide an increasing proportion of the UK's technology services requirements. RTOs, often former state research establishments spun out into the private sector, provide technology consulting and networking services to specific sectors or for generic technologies; some are membership-based organizations while others work for contract clients. In this paper we explore the roles and services provided by RTOs, together with the measures being taken to assist small firms that, for many RTOs, form a new and challenging market. The diversity of services and approaches to SMEs are related, in part, to the different origins of RTOs. The research indicates three forms of technology services market failure that suggest a need for ongoing external support for the market's mechanism.     

Why strategists shun technologists

A model of computer-integrated manufacturing as the integration of strategy, implementation and innovation is presented. Strategy emphasizes a clear understanding of the objectives and goals of the organization. Strategy can be understood in terms of the interaction between product and process strategies, critial success factors and product life-cycle. Implementation stresses an iterative incremental process based on strategy, user involvement and tolerance. Innovation is the result of a successfully implemented strategy. It is both organizational learning and change.     

Sports Marketing

Although text messaging as a communication tool in society is rampant, research on its effects within print advertisements is lacking. To help fill this void, we employ three between-subject experiments (i.e., Study 1: text message vs. no text message; Studies 2 and 3: text message vs. traditional language). We posit that using text message copy in print ads is a unique (as grounded in distinctiveness theory) and fitting (as grounded in communication trust theory) approach to commune with targeted viewers and, therefore, should lead to favorable advertising outcomes. The experimental results confirm this notion. For example, responses concerning ad novelty, attention toward the ad, attitude toward the ad, purchase intention, and perceived brand trust are more favorable toward the text message condition ads. Implications and directions for future text message-related research are discussed.     

Unemployment Insurance and the Business Cycle: What Adjustments are Needed?

During the 2007–2011 economic downturn, the duration that one could collect unemployment insurance (UI) in the United States increased to an unprecedented 99 weeks, and the UI benefit amount increased by $25. This article explores the policy of increasing the generosity of UI during recessions using a model that accounts for the insurance and moral hazard implications of UI as well as the program's impact on job creation. When limited to adjusting the duration of benefits, a more generous UI system is optimal. However, due to UI's negative impact on job creation and the increased cost of providing benefits when unemployment is high, the optimal extension is just 1.3 months. When the government adjusts both the benefit amount and its duration, the optimal policy during downturns is a reduction in the replacement rate. This mitigates the decline in job creation and funds a UI extension of 4.3 months.     

Popper and classical liberalism

Popper was not part of the revival of classical liberalism, but many of his ideas have implications for classical liberals. His arguments about the significance of markets as learning mechanisms, about the character of knowledge, about the evaluation of theories in the 'public sphere' and his critique of 'justificationism' are of particular importance.     

An analysis of Japanese earnings forecast revisions with application to seasoned equity offerings

Using the bootstrap method, we explore the characteristics of revisions in Japanese earnings forecast data. We find that forecast revisions exhibit a downward trend over time as the actual earnings announcement date approaches, and are serially correlated with three significant lags. Using these characteristics we develop a model to estimate abnormal forecast revisions, and illustrate the model's use with a sample of Japanese companies announcing seasoned equity offerings (SEOs). In contrast to results obtained by studies using American data, our findings indicate significant positive upward revisions when Japanese firms announce an SEO.