Organizational dissidence: The case of whistle-blowing

Research on whistle-blowing has been hampered by a lack of a sound theoretical base. In this paper, we draw upon existing theories of motivation and power relationships to propose a model of the whistle-blowing process. This model focuses on decisions made by organization members who believe they have evidence of organizational wrongdoing, and the reactions of organization authorities. Based on a review of the sparse empirical literature, we suggest variables that may affect both the members' decisions and the organization's responses.     

Investigating the gap between citizens' sustainability attitudes and food purchasing behaviour: empirical evidence from Brazilian pork consumers

Consumers worldwide are increasingly concerned with sustainable production and consumption. Recently, a comprehensive study ranked 17 countries in regard to their environmentally friendly behaviour among consumers. Brazil was one of the top countries in the list. Yet, several studies highlight significant differences between consumers' intentions to consume ethically, and their actual purchase behaviour: the so‐called ‘Attitude‐Behaviour Gap’. In developing countries, few studies have been conducted on this issue. The objective of this study is therefore to investigate the gap between citizens' sustainability‐related attitudes and food purchasing behaviour using empirical data from Brazil. To this end, Brazilian citizens' attitudes towards pig production systems were mapped through conjoint analysis and their coexistence with relevant pork product‐related purchasing behaviour of consumers was investigated through cluster analysis. The conjoint experiment was carried out with empirical data collected from 475 respondents surveyed in the South and Center‐West regions of Brazil. The results of the conjoint analysis were used for a subsequent cluster analysis in order to identify clusters of Brazilian citizens with diversified attitudes towards pig production systems, using socio‐demographics, attitudes towards sustainability‐related themes that are expected to influence the way they evaluate pig production systems, and consumption frequency of various pork products as clusters' background information. Three clusters were identified as ‘indifferent’, ‘environmental conscious’ and ‘sustainability‐oriented’ citizens. Although attitudes towards environment and nature had indeed an influence on citizens' specific attitudes towards pig farming at the cluster level, the relationship between ‘citizenship’ and consumption behaviour was found to be weak. This finding is similar to previous research conducted with European consumers: what people (in their role of citizens) think about pig production systems does not appear to significantly influence their pork consumption choices. Improvements in the integrated management of this chain would better meet consumers' sustainability‐related expectations towards pig production systems.     

Incorporating the dynamics of leverage into default prediction

A firm’s current leverage ratio is one of the core characteristics of credit quality used in statistical default prediction models. Based on the capital structure literature, which shows that leverage is mean-reverting to a target leverage, we forecast future leverage ratios and include them in the set of default risk drivers. An out-of-sample analysis of default predictions from a hazard model reveals that the discriminative power increases substantially when leverage forecasts are included. We further document that credit ratings contain information beyond the one contained in standard variables but that this information is unrelated to forecasts of leverage ratios.     

Linking employee development activity,social exchange and organizational citizenship behavior

The authors examined ‘perceived beneficiary’ of employee development (self, organization) for relationships with employee development activity. Perceived organizational support served as a moderator. The authors conclude that employees may engage in development activities to partly benefit their organization to the extent that a positive exchange relationship exists. Correlational data also show that development behavior is related to organizational citizenship behavior, and this is particularly true for work‐related development activity. This research links employee development with social exchange and organizational citizenship, providing implications for both research and practice.     

The first quarter-century of spaceflight

The article presents an overview of the significant events and achievements of the first 25 years of spaceflight. The primary focus is on the progress and evolution of the space programmes of the USA and the USSR, although significant developments in other national and international space programmes are also discussed. Emerging issues likely to be increasingly important in the years ahead are explored—the militarization of space, international competition surrounding the commercialization of space activitites, access to space for LDCs, and the nature of the political and legal regimes for space.     

Zur Quantifizierung der Risikoprämien deutscher Versicherungsaktien im Kontext eines Multifaktorenmodells

In this contribution we present an empirical study that focuses on the relationship between risk and return for a universe of insurance Stocks in Germany during the period 1975–1998. The study was conducted using a multi factor model. The proportion of explained variance ranges from 9.29% to 13.62% in the monthly regressions. We found a significant and negative relationship between changes in the term structure of interest rates and the risk premiums for insurance Stocks. Also significant is the exchange rate of the Deutsche Mark against the US-Dollar.     

Book Review

Book Review

Book Review