Identifying the best companies for leaders: does it lead to higher returns?

Since 2002, Chief Executive magazine, in conjunction with the Hay Group, has published a list of the Top 20 Companies for Leaders. In this paper, we examine the performance of those companies listed as being the best for leaders. We examine the announcement impact on share price associated with the press releases for firms included in the list and holding period returns between subsequent survey releases. While we generally do not find a significant difference in the performance of the Best Leader sample compared with either the market or the matched sample, we do find that the Best Leader sample outperforms other benchmarks on a raw and risk‐adjusted basis during times of high market volatility. Copyright © 2009 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

How does knowledge depth moderate the performance of internal and external knowledge sourcing strategies?

Management literature has consistently shown that knowledge is the most important source of competitive advantage for a firm. However, it is still not clear how knowledge can lead to competitive advantage, and how firms can find strategies to leverage their knowledge bases. This study considers the strategic implications of knowledge depth and three knowledge-sourcing strategies: R&D, strategic alliances and acquisitions. The main and interaction effects of these factors were tested in the context of the US technology firms. The results confirmed the strategic role of knowledge and external leveraging strategies. We also found that technology firms with weak knowledge depth should focus on internal R&D to accumulate knowledge in core technology areas, while those with strong knowledge depth should lower internal R&D intensity and shift their strategic resources to inter-firm alliances and acquisitions.     

Developing measures for performance excellence: is the Baldrige criteria sufficient for performance excellence in higher education?

The implementation of the education criteria for performance excellence (ECPE)—the education version of the Baldrige criteria—is driven by the growing need for performance excellence in higher education. Ironically the criteria meant for performance excellence have no theoretical underpinning and are based on normative performance improvement requirements. The lack of content and internal validity is reflected in some critical weaknesses in the criteria. Based on a critical review, this paper highlights potential improvements in the areas of aligning processes with the organisational mission, operations focus, customer focus, workforce focus, and performance measurement. To help enhance the ECPE, the paper develops performance measures for systematic implementation of the criteria. This is discussed in terms of defining desired outcomes, developing key measures, identifying specific indicators to track performance, and choosing methods to assess performance. The discussions provide a basis for future revisions to the ECPE.     

Self-Organization and the Role of Government: How and why does self-organization evolve in the shadow of hierarchy?

Self-organization is a concept that is often used to legitimize a government’s retreat from sectors in which it has traditionally played a vital role. In this article, we analyse how the emergence of new welfare services is mutually shaped by factors that stimulate self-organization among citizens and by meta-governing interventions by local governments. Self-organization seems to takes place in the shadow of a government hierarchy: either a fear-based one or a benevolent one. Boundary spanners play an important role in establishing these new arrangements, thereby making use of, and developing, trustworthy relationships between citizen groups and government.     

Unemployment persistence: does the size of the shock matter?

One of the stylized facts of unemployment is that shifts in its mean rate between decades and half-decades account for most of its variance. In this paper, we use a statistical analysis based on Markov switching regression models to identify the dates of infrequent changes in the mean of the unemployment rate series of fifteen countries. We find that in most countries, unemployment persistence is much reduced once the (infrequently) changing mean rate, induced by large shocks to unemployment, has been removed. We conclude that the observed persistence in unemployment appears to be consistent with multiple equilibria models and models with an endogeneous natural rate. © 1998 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Teaching student philanthropy—Possibilities for practice within the UK higher education sector

This practice paper reflects on lessons learnt from an undergraduate philanthropy module introduced across different programmes within the division for the Study of Law, Society, and Social Justice  at the University of Kent, United Kingdom. The module applies service-learning and experiential learning pedagogy to ensure students critically engage with community and societal issues; recognise themselves as philanthropists; and engage in a responsible decision-making process with their cohort. As one of the first UK Higher Education student philanthropy modules, lessons learnt provide important general reflections for student philanthropy modules internationally, alongside offering a potential ‘blueprint’ within the UK context. Aligning with others (such as McDougle's study) and drawing on critical reflections from students and partners, suggests that experiential learning pedagogy is most successful when carried out in a diverse and multidisciplinary learning space where students reflect on their own moral position alongside others to build consensus.     

Learning organization at higher education institutions in the EU: proposal for implementing philosophy of learning organization—results from research

Quality & Quantity - For an organization to develop, to improve, and to innovate in this information age, it requires a management system that will maximize use of human potential that it has...     

Recognizing the benefits of diversity: When and how does diversity increase group performance?

Diversity does not only bring positive consequences. It has often been recognized that heterogeneity in teams can reduce intra-group cohesiveness, and that it can lead to conflicts and misunderstandings which, in turn, can lower employee satisfaction, citizenship behaviors and increase turnover. On the other hand, there is also evidence for performance-increasing effects of diversity because it can improve creativity and innovation through the team members' greater variety of perspectives. Little is known, however, about the conditions and the psychological mechanisms required for increasing group performance under diverse settings. Answers to research questions such as how and when diversity influences performance at work are still limited. The purpose of the paper is to provide theoretical answers to these questions by proposing a model of managing diversity which draws on social psychology theories. The model brings a new perspective by identifying the process of learning from one another's identity within a group. This process underlies two different levels of mechanisms (individual and group level). The model proposes that when these social psychological mechanisms are activated, diversity will lead to an increase in group performance. The model also suggests that collective identity is salient and when psychological safety climate are the psychological conditions that activate these mechanisms.     

Foreign capital inflows and poverty linkages in South Asia: Do the forms of capital inflows matter?

The relationship between foreign direct investment and poverty reduction has received modest attention in the empirical literature. However, little is known about the relative significant impact of different forms of capital inflows on poverty reduction. This study attempts to investigate the impact of different forms of capital inflows (foreign direct inflows, portfolio equity and portfolio debt inflows) on poverty reduction in major South Asian economies during the post-reform period. The capital inflows-poverty nexus is explored using panel econometric methods robust to cross-sectional dependence. Our empirical results show that while portfolio equity inflows exert a favorable impact on poverty reduction, foreign direct inflows and debt inflows fail to influence poverty. The panel causality results demonstrate that portfolio equity inflows also support poverty alleviation via stimulating economic growth and trade openness. The findings of our study highlight the importance of considering the differential welfare impacts of different forms of capital inflows while implementing capital account liberalization.     

Does comprehensive education work for the long-term unemployed?

In this paper we evaluate the effects of comprehensive adult education on wage earnings of long-term unemployed, an essentially unexplored issue. We use register data pertaining to a large sample of long-term unemployed in Sweden who enrolled in upper secondary comprehensive adult education. Estimates with propensity score matching indicate that more than one semester of study results in substantial increases in post program annual earnings for both males and females. According to our rough calculations, the social benefits of offering these individuals comprehensive education surpass the costs within five to seven years.     

State competition in higher education: A race to the top,or a race to the bottom?

How does competition affect higher education? This paper explores this question for public and private universities. Theory indicates that competition can push higher education policy in one of two different directions. On the one hand, competition may increase spending. For states, this would occur if states treat higher education as developmental; for private universities this would occur if they view spending as a means to attract students and prestige. On the other hand, competition may decrease spending if states treat higher education spending as redistributive, and competition may decrease spending by private schools if lower spending enhances their ability to attract students with low tuition. To determine which of these perspectives is most valid, we examine higher education policy choices in the 1980s and 1990s. We find that states appear to act as if higher education funding is redistributive while private schools appear to compete more on the basis of tuition than spending. These results demonstrate the important effects competition and governance structure have on higher education.Received: August 2001, Accepted: May 2002, JEL Classification: I2, I22, H72, I3     

Person–organization fit and the war for talent: does diversity management make a difference?

This study investigates the importance of diversity management in applicants' job choice decisions. According to the person–organization fit theory, individuals make assessments of fit between their personal values and the values of the organizations, and they make job choice decisions based on these assessments. A survey of 113 MBA job seekers concluded that women and ethnic minorities found diversity management to be important when accepting offers of employment. In addition, high achievers and new immigrants rated organizations with diversity management as more attractive as potential employers. The findings suggest a need to place a higher emphasis on diversity management in women and minority applicant attraction.     

Mobility and the dynamics of poverty in Iran: Evidence from the 1992–1995 panel survey

In the last three decades, revolutionary Iran has experienced large shocks to its political and economic system with likely effects on poverty, inequality, and economic mobility. While poverty has declined, inequality has remained relatively high and stable over nearly four decades. In this paper, for the first time, we examine poverty and inequality in a dynamic context using a 4-year panel data, collected during 1992–1995. We show that short-term income mobility is relatively high, which helps mitigate persistent high inequality. We offer a range of estimates of transition probabilities, indicating that, for example, someone in the lowest (highest) quintile has between 25% and 50% chance of moving up (down) the income ladder. Focusing on the dynamics of poverty, we distinguish between short- and long-term poor and between chronic and transient poverty. Surprisingly, we find that chronic poverty is a more serious problem in urban than rural areas, while transient poverty is geographically more uniformly distributed. Finally, using Tobit and quantile regression, we examine the correlates of these two types of poverty. Both chronic and transient poverty are higher for households headed by women and by younger and less educated men. While minorities suffer more from transient poverty, they are less likely to be chronically poor. We discuss the implications of these findings for policy to alleviate chronic and transient poverty.     

Opinions about privacy: does the type of information used for marketing purposes make a difference?

The availability of personal information is at an all-time high. Technology has revolutionised the marketing industry, enabling marketers to achieve precise selectivity through database efforts. With this selectivity comes the responsibility of determining acceptable and unacceptable uses of personal information by businesses and nonprofits for marketing purposes. This paper explores opinions on information privacy by investigating the impact of education in the formulation of opinions on the use of personal information for marketing purposes. A single credit course in direct marketing does not change opinions regarding information privacy. But a series of credit marketing courses does reduce the level of restrictions desired on the availability and use of personal information for marketing. Thus, the direct marketing industry would be better served by promoting and demonstrating the ethical use of personal information through ethical marketing practices by all its practitioners rather than by attempting to educate the general public about the nature and uses of such information and data for marketing purposes. Copyright © 1999 Henry Stewart Publications     

The negative influence of the entrepreneur’s level of higher education on the attractiveness of European SMEs as alliance partners in Brazil: the role of practical experience and international entrepreneurial orientation

Notwithstanding the contemporary relevance of alliance strategies for SME internationalisation, especially in the case of uncertain business environments, few studies have investigated human resource issues in the context of SMEs prior to alliance formation. Even more scarce are studies looking at the impact of a manager/entrepreneur’s characteristics on pre-alliance formation, despite recognition of the expected crucial role of the entrepreneur in this context and of the strong connection between an entrepreneur and their SME. Drawing on international entrepreneurship theory and empirical observations from an exploratory study, we propose a post hoc conceptual model. The exploratory empirical part of our study employs a sample of entrepreneurs from biotechnology SMEs in the United Kingdom and Germany intending to ally in a large emerging market (i.e. Brazil). Our empirical observations suggest an anomalous (at first glance) negative association between the entrepreneur’s level of higher education (a construct at the individual level) and the attractiveness of the SME as a partner firm vis-à-vis alliance formation (a construct at the firm level). Our post hoc model emphasises the role of practical experience and the corresponding levels of international entrepreneurial orientation as theorised variables mediating the observed empirical relationship. We develop theoretical propositions, and suggest practical implications and future research directions.     

Organized crime and business subsidies: Where does the money go?

Business support policies are widespread in advanced countries, to foster employment and productivity. This paper analyses the role of organized crime in the allocation of public subsidies to businesses. We assemble an innovative data set on the Italian mafia at municipality level and test whether mafia-ridden municipalities receive a disproportionally higher amount of funds. We exploit exogenous variation at municipality level to instrument mafia activity and show that the presence of organized crime positively affects the probability of obtaining funding and the amount of public funds. Organized crime is also found to lead to episodes of corruption in the public administration sector. A series of robustness checks confirms the above findings.     

A survey of poverty research in Russia: Does it follow the scientific method?

This paper presents the first critical review of the literature on poverty published in Russia between 1992 and 2006. Using a dataset of about 250 publications in Russian scientific journals we assess whether the poverty research in Russia satisfies the general criteria of a scientific publication and if such studies could provide reliable guidance to the Russian government as it maps out its anti-poverty policies. Our findings indicate that only a small proportion of papers on poverty published in Russia in 1992–2006 follow the universally recognized principles of the scientific method. The utility of policy advice based on such research is questionable. We also suggest certain steps that could, in our view, improve the quality of poverty research in Russia.