The Impact of U.S.-Sponsored Foreign Trade Office Activities

ABSTRACT

Foreign trade offices (FTOs) are an important, little-understood element in the export promotion portfolio of U.S. state export promotion organizations. The value of these organizations is in dispute. In recent years California closed its FTOs in response to budgetary pressures, claiming that these organizations exist primarily to enhance the political standing of politicians rather than to act as effective export development tools. During the same period Washington State opened several new FTOs. Clearly the value of these organizations is in dispute. Another consideration in the effectiveness of U.S. exporters is the subnational contour of the American economic system. State business climates vary considerably, thereby influencing exporter success as well as those programs (such as FTOs) intended to improve firm performance. We hypothesize and find that (a) state entrepreneurial climate is positively related to state exports and (b) FTO network entry activities amplify the impact of state entrepreneurial climate on state exports. Implications for firms and policy makers are explored.     

Financial rewards and company ownership: An examination of reward practices in Ireland

This article examines the influence of company ownership on the level at which pay is determined in Ireland and on the kinds of payment systems used. U.S. and U.K. multinational companies (MNCs), the two largest foreign investors in Ireland, are the focus of the analysis. Although the evidence points to the national level as the key level at which pay is determined, U.S. and U.K. MNCs operating in Ireland tend to follow the practices of their headquarters, rather than those of the host country. Evidence also suggests that foreign MNCs are much more likely to utilize nonstandard, variable payment systems than indigenous organizations. © 1995 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.     

美海军C4I系统配置管理研究

介绍了美海军C4I系统配置管理的主要机构和程序,分析了其主要特点.在此基础上,得出了互连互通互操作对我们的一些启示.     

美国银行股东、董事之特殊责任探究

美国银行法施加于包括银行股东、董事在内的机构关联方特殊的法律责任,是其监管者在监管实践中所创制的监管措施,其目的是保护存款人及公共利益,防范金融风险。就美国银行股东及董事的特殊责任、其产生的历史原因及价值等问题进行深入思考,会对中国相关金融监管立法有所裨益。     

利益集团对美国对华贸易政策决策的影响

在美国,各种利益集团有着极其广泛的渠道和方式影响对华贸易政策的最终决策.影响对华贸易政策决策的主要利益集团可分为三种类型：政府组织、商业性利益集团和非商业性利益集团.就其在对华贸易政策决策领域的影响力而言,政府组织具有最高的影响权重系数,商业性利益集团的影响权重系数居中,非商业性利益集团的影响权重系数居后.     

U.S.-American and German Business Ethics:An Intercultural Comparison

The differences between the "habits of the heart" in German and U.S.-American corporations can be described by analyzing the way corporations deal with norms and values within their organizations. Whereas many U.S. corporations have introduced formal business ethics programs, German companies are very reluctant to address normative questions publicly. This can be explained by the different cultural backgrounds in both countries. By defining these different "habits of the heart" underlying German and American business ethics it is possible to show the problems and questions within the intercultural management of values, but also the possible solutions.     

Ingredients in the Early Development of the U.S. Biotechnology Industry

This paper explores the ingredients that stimulated the development of the biotechnology industry in the US and contrasts conditions with those in Europe. It examines relationships between established firms and new start-ups; the financing and managerial environment and the organizational environment, whereby firms were able to set up networks of alliances. Its main findings are that: 1) The funding of the medical science research base has been substantially more generous in the U.S. than Europe. It is the funding of the science base rather than of the biotechnology industry directly that has provided the foundations for start-ups to be created out of the science base. 2) It has been easier for U.S. academics to found start-ups, close to their research establishment, and to retain their academic posts and status as well as be involved in a commercial enterprise. In Europe, the scientific/academic and commercial worlds have a wider divide. 3) Start-ups have been concentrated in the therapeutics and agricultural fields, with strong scientific research inputs into their commercialization, in contrast to other sectors where downstream processing innovations have been more important, which have been undertaken in-house by the large incumbent companies. 4) Financing and managerial conditions have been significantly easier in the U.S. for start-ups, in terms of access to venture capital specialising in high technology, ability to use the stock market to raise capital, and access to people able to forge links between scientists and entrepreneurs, and to introduce managerial expertise into new companies. 5) There has been a greater facility in the U.S. than in Europe for alliances to be formed between incumbent companies and indigenous U.S. start-ups; European start-ups have not found similar backing from European incumbent companies.     

Healthcare reform and its implications for the U.S. economy

U.S. healthcare is currently a poor value proposition in relation to its cost. This must change. Driven by the fundamental forces of financing, consumer preferences, and technology, the U.S. is heading for a profound revolution in healthcare, one that will affect not only the system itself but also the larger U.S. business community. This new healthcare system will create vast opportunities and commensurately large risks for healthcare innovators. The outcomes of the present healthcare reform debate will either liberate or further shackle these innovators. Reforms that depend on governmental controls are more likely to dampen innovation than those achieved through control by consumers, and given the profound ramifications of healthcare reform outcomes, policy makers would be well-advised to harness the forces of consumerism in fashioning reform.     

Purchasing policy in Switzerland: An empirical study of sourcing decisions

The economic ties between the United States and Switzerland are strong, both in terms of investment and trade. Swiss direct investments in the U.S. amount to US$35 billion providing some 300,000 jobs in the U.S. The U.S. is the second most important export market for Swiss goods (after Germany). These very striking facts demonstrate how closely intertwined the economies of the U.S. and Switzerland have become in the twenty‐first century. The recent attention to purchasing decisions in a variety of commercial and government contexts has grown much faster than detailed understanding of how sourcing decisions are made and their implications for organizations. This article provides an overview of empirical research into sourcing decisions made in Swiss organizations and will be of international interest to practitioners and academics in both purchasing (customer and purchaser) and marketing. The research demonstrates that sourcing decisions are highly contingent situations and the variable is policy. © 2002 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.     

Critical Events in the Ethics of U.S. Corporation History

The history of corporations in the United States (U.S.) is much older than the country, as it must be understood in the context of the history of peoples of Europe who eventually dominated the North American continent in the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries. These European settlers came, in part, to achieve economic prosperity for themselves and, in many cases, for early forerunners of the modern corporation. These business organizations had predecessors in Europe millennia earlier as ancient Romans had developed a functional and successful form of corporation for the purpose of conducting commerce in the Roman Empire. In the decades that followed the founding of the U.S. in 1776, corporations evolved from rare, small, closely controlled business organizations with a multitude of restrictions to very large, very powerful modern institutions that enjoy many of the legal rights of humans. With this evolution came ethical issues, as (1) the ethical distance was altered between corporate decision-makers and those affected by those decisions, and (2) many of the legal rights of individual humans were extended, through litigation, to corporations. This article explains the historical development of the U.S. corporation and identifies 20 Critical Events in the Ethics of Corporation History (CEECH). An understanding of these historical events may facilitate comprehension of many of the current ethical issues associated with a legal organizational form that profoundly affects business and society.     

The Ethics of Organizations: A Longitudinal Study of the U.S. Working Population

The ethics of organizations has received much attention in recent years. This raises the question of whether the ethics of organizations has also improved. In 1999, 2004, and 2008, a survey was conducted of 12,196 U.S. managers and employees. The results show that the ethical culture of organizations improved in the period between 1999 and 2004. Between 2004 and 2008 unethical behavior and its consequences declined and the scope of ethics programs expanded while ethical culture showed no significant improvement during the same period. The article concludes with a discussion of the implications of these findings for future research and practice.     

Consumer issues in the evolving environment: characterizations of the U.K. marketplace

It is now 10 years since Greyser and Diamond¹ published their study which examined how U.S. consumers viewed the marketplace. This study, to some extent, is a reprise. It aims to provide an insight into how the U.K.'s marketplace is characterized by household consumers, private and public sector organizations. The result suggests that fundamental changes have occurred in the perception of the marketplace, with less visible consumer activism and less overt support for antibusiness sentiments.     

美日跨国公司全球R＆D网络比较及启示

在R&D全球化的背景下,以美日跨国公司全球R&D网络为研究对象,从国际R&D组织模式的选择、与海外学术机构的跨国界合作、全球人力资源战略三个方面进行比较和分析,揭示两国差异和原因,给出我国如何提高科技竞争力的启示。     

Consumers' Perceptions of Corporate Social Responsibilities: A Cross-Cultural Comparison

Based on a consumer survey conducted in France, Germany, and the U.S., the study investigates consumers' readiness to support socially responsible organizations and examines their evaluations of the economic, legal, ethical, and philanthropic responsibilities of the firm. French and German consumers appear more willing to actively support responsible businesses than their U.S. counterparts. While U.S. consumers value highly corporate eco-nomic responsibilities, French and German consumers are most concerned about businesses conforming with legal and ethical standards. These findings provide useful guidance for the efficient management of social responsibility initiatives across borders and for further academic inquiries.     

The Structure of Trust in China and the U.S.

This article investigates the structure of trust in China and compares it with the U.S., using the 2000 and 2005 waves of the World Value Survey (WVS). We analyze two dimensions of trust – trust in people and trust in major companies. It is found that the level of trust has remained stable in China within the 5-year period. On the other hand, trust in major companies has declined dramatically in U.S. while trust in people has increased slightly. The structure of trust in companies is different from trust in people. For both countries, individuals with higher education tend to have a higher level of trust. Individuals who are divorced tend to have lower trust in people. Individuals who think that other people are fair are more likely to trust in people. Preference for competition has a positive effect on trust in major companies. On the other hand, some differences between the two countries are observed. Perception of fairness does not affect trust in major companies in China, while it has a positive effect in U.S. in year 2006. Preference for equality has a negative effect on trust in major companies in U.S. but no significant effect in China. The pattern of trust and its changes over time may reflect differences in market conditions in the two economies.     

Evolutionary Changes in the Marketing of Mental Health Products to Government,Business and Industry

The U.S. mental health industry is growing, with government, business and industrial organizations playing an increasingly important role. Organizations have accepted the responsibility of employee stress management and incorporated it into existing employee wellness programs. Since stress is an artifact of mental health, it may serve as a link through which organizations eventually assume a central role in employee mental health management. With this will come major changes in the U.S. mental health market. Providers of mental health products could benefit strategically by evaluating these evolutionary changes.     

Why CIBERs matter to the competitiveness of U.S. businesses in the 21 century

Centers for International Business Education and Research (CIBERs)—located at 33 institutions of higher education across the U.S. and administered by the U.S. Department of Education under Title VI of the Higher Education Act—serve as regional and national resource centers for the business community, and as conduits for major initiatives to support and strengthen the international components of curricula in K-12 schools and institutions of higher education. This article argues that CIBERs are well-positioned to not only address current needs, but also drive innovative thinking and leading-edge activities toward longer-term challenges. Herein, exemplary activities from CIBERs serve as examples to support this claim, and Indiana University's CIBER strategic trajectory for the 2010-2014 grant cycle is explored within the context of the current global situation.     

Princes and Paupers: Network Ties and Financial Contributions Among Nonprofit Arts Organizations

ABSTRACT

In the United States, nonprofit organizations are the primary vehicle through which wealthy patrons nurture arts and culture. They provide support for theatres, orchestras, operas, and ballet troupes of all sizes, as well as museums, galleries, zoos, and public radio and television stations. The survival of this subsector is dependent on the ability of individuals and foundations to raise and funnel money to the almost 7,000 nonprofit arts and cultural organizations in the United States. Nonprofit arts organizations have historically fared well during periods of financial constraint, in part because they have not depended heavily upon government subsidies. But another explanation for this stable funding picture may be the networks of overlapping board member and interpersonal ties of collegiality and friendship which characterizes the world of nonprofit arts organizations.

We began our research with the idea that network position, particularly as measured by network centrality, is an important resource for nonprofit arts organizations. We hypothesized that the more central an arts organization is in the entire network of for-profit and nonprofit arts organizations in the community, the greater will be the level of support it can generate from local donors. We also hypothesized that the more wealthy a nonprofit arts organization, the more central it is likely to be in the entire network of for-profit and nonprofit organizations.

Using an extensive database of almost 3,000 directors in the Louisville, Kentucky area, and special computer-based network analysis software packages, we were able to calculate the precise centralities of local arts organizations within a network of 149 organizations, corporations, and umbrella funding agencies. In order to determine the local financial support, we collected the 1990 IRS (Internal Revenue Service) Form 990 returns for nineteen of the twenty-five organizations (76%) we identified as active in the Louisville area. After determining organizational centrality, we did a bi-variate analysis between the centrality of an individual arts organization and total organizational wealth. What we found was that centrality is strongly associated with level of contributions and weakly associated with overall wealth. We believe that nonprofit arts organizations can take deliberate steps to maximize this resource by being aware of the other organizational (and social) ties of prospective directors.     

“The bigger they are, the harder they fall”: Retail price differences across U.S. cities

This paper examines the evidence for nonlinear price behavior in retail goods prices across U.S. cities. First, a simple continuous-time model is used to explore the types of price behavior that can arise in the presence of market frictions. These frictions could be interpreted as transport costs, but we prefer a broader interpretation in which they operate at the level of technology and preferences. Second, we gather price data from 24 U.S. cities on individual goods like orange juice and toothpaste. The empirical analysis reveals that price discrepancies between U.S. cities are stationary and nonlinearly mean-reverting to price parity.     

Corporate Relations with Environmental Organizations Represented by Hyperlinks on the <Emphasis Type="Italic">Fortune</Emphasis> Global 500 Companies’ Websites

This study investigates corporate relationships with environmental organizations by examining hyperlinks in the corporate environmental responsibility (CER) sections of the Fortune 2008 Global 500 corporate websites. It is assumed that hyperlinked organizations either represent their current inter-organizational relationship or create symbolic relationships among organizations. Results show that Asian companies have fewer hyperlink relations with other organizations compared with those in North America and Western Europe. Network analysis also confirms that U.S. companies are explicitly connected with stakeholders for CER practices, and governmental organizations have a relatively central role in the global CER system. Nonprofit organizations are the most frequently hyperlinked with Fortune Global 500 corporations.