An examination of mobile app usage and the user’s life satisfaction

Increased engagement with mobile apps is an emerging trend with people today. Mobile devices have become so personalized that many people consider their mobile device as an extension of themselves. Research has suggested that one driving factor in a person’s adoption of mobile apps is the pursuit of happiness. However, there is little research regarding the influence of apps on a person’s well-being. The purpose of this paper was to examine mobile app usage among college students and the relationship between app usage and one’s satisfaction with life. Findings suggest that there is a correlation between mobile app usage and a person’s level of satisfaction with life. Gender differences in app usage were also found.     

How do managers decide on internationalization processes? The role of organizational slack and performance feedback

This study draws on the behavioral theory of the firm to the postulate relationships between organizational slack and performance aspirations, and internationalization processes. Based on longitudinal data (2000–2008) from 772 publicly listed firms in Taiwan, the findings indicate that organizational slack significantly influences the internationalization processes. Specifically, firms with high organizational slack that have performance that falls below aspirations managers are more likely to exhibit (1) a rapid pace, (2) a wider scope, and (3) an irregular rhythm in their internationalization processes. In addition, we observed an interaction effect between performance feedback and different levels of slack on the internationalization processes.     

When do B2B brands influence the decision making of organizational buyers? An examination of the relationship between purchase risk and brand sensitivity

The dominant perspective on organizational buying behavior suggests that buyers tend to rely on objective criteria when making product choice decisions and that the potential influence of subjective cues, such as brands, on buyer decision making decreases with increasing risk. An alternative perspective, confirmed in this study by in-depth interviews with various managers, suggests that brands serve as a risk-reduction heuristic, whereby the influence of brands on decision making increases as a function of risk. Building on risk and information processing theories, this research builds on these complementary perspectives to propose that risk and brand sensitivity relate in a U-shaped manner, where brand sensitivity is highest in relatively low- or high-risk situations. The results of scenario- and survey-based field studies—involving 206 and 180 members of buying centers, respectively—suggest that both perspectives have merit and support the proposed nonlinear relationship. Moreover, the findings reveal that the risk-brand sensitivity relationship is moderated by competitive intensity, such that the linear (negative) and quadratic (positive) effects are stronger when competitive intensity is low.     

Are we overconfident in executive overconfidence research? An examination of the convergent and content validity of extant unobtrusive measures

Building understanding of overconfident executives is central to a growing literature that spans a number of disciplines. Much of this research has utilized unobtrusive, or indirect, measures to assess executive overconfidence from secondary data sources. We analyze the convergent and content validity of seven extant unobtrusive measures of executive overconfidence. The results of our analyses indicate that these measures do not exhibit adequate convergence, suggesting that existing measures are not measuring the same construct. Further, we administer a sort task to academic colleagues to assess whether scholars believe that the seven measures are adequately assessing the intended construct. The results of our sort task indicate that scholars did not categorize any of the seven measures as sufficient for measuring overconfidence. We conclude with suggestions for future research to address the inadequate convergent and content validity found in our assessment of extant measures of executive overconfidence.     

Donate Money,but Whose? An Empirical Study of Ultimate Control Rights,Agency Problems,and Corporate Philanthropy in China

Using empirical evidence gathered from Chinese listed companies, this article explores the relationship between micro-governance mechanisms and corporate philanthropy from a corporate governance perspective. In China’s emerging market, ultimate controlling shareholders of state-owned enterprises (SOEs) are reluctant to donate their assets or resources to charitable organizations; in private enterprises (PEs) marked by more deviation in voting and cash flow rights, such donations tend to be more likely. However, the ultimate controllers in PEs refuse to donate assets or resources they control or own, which implies that corporate philanthropy by PEs comes at the cost of others, through assets or resources owned by minority shareholders. Even after devastating natural disasters such as the 2008 Wenchuan Earthquake, the controlling shareholders continue to express reluctance to donate any assets they control. Despite widespread evidence that corporate philanthropy boosts corporate growth and profitability, these ultimate controllers indicate no intention to donate their own money as a means to improve corporate performance.     

Is it a sententious claim? An examination of the quality of occupational health,safety and well-being disclosures in global reporting initiative reports across industries and countries

The study attempts to reveal differences in the quality of information disclosed on occupational health, safety (OHS) and well-being in 250 sustainability reports within and between large companies in different industries and countries (i.e., market economies). Using a mixed research design, our results indicate that industry affiliation and type of market economy have no significant influence on the quality of disclosure on OHS and well-being aspects. Instead, companies tend to disclose information on legal requirements and OHS standards to secure their social legitimacy. However, in the finance, insurance, and real estate industry groups, membership in the Dow Jones Sustainability Index emerged as an influencing factor on the quality of disclosures on employees’ well-being. In general, companies merely disclose sententious information about OHS and well-being in disclosures of management approaches in the Global Reporting Initiative, and otherwise rarely attempt to translate their claims into outcomes. Contributions to institutional theories and practices are discussed.     

What does the ‘inner world’ of Chinese managers tell us about their management values,thoughts and practices? An ethnographic study

This article aims to investigate an important implicit expectation held by many observers: the dramatic economic change presently occurring on mainland China would be accompanied by the transformation of Chinese managerial values, thoughts and practices. Using an ‘ethnographic’ approach, we seek to understand the forces that are currently shaping Chinese managerial values, thoughts and behaviours in some privately owned firms. A set of ten managerial assumptions at three levels – ‘self’, ‘managing’ and ‘organisation’ – are unveiled and we see how they function coherently in animating managerial behaviour with distinctive ‘Chinese characteristics’. The importance attached to ‘family’ when dealing with employees, the requirement to be as ‘flexible’ as possible in managerial behaviour and the compulsion to call for ‘harmony and stability’ indicate that our informants define good management in a unique way. Interestingly, after years of intense political, ideological campaigning, economic reforms and opening-up policies, a set of traditional Chinese values continues to shape their managerial behaviour.