Uncommon common sense

Global competition is intense and often thought to be for big multinationals only. Yet, Bernd Venohr and Klaus Meyer believe that mid-size firms can achieve global market leadership, as many German companies demonstrate. But, how do they do it?     

In search of ethical profits: Insights from strategic management

This paper expands the focus of ethical analysis to look at the basic approaches to strategy used by business firms. Using a set of criteria historically used to judge ethical issues, three strategy paradigms are evaluated in terms of their likely effects on society as well as the firm. From this analysis, recommendations are offered regarding the ethical pursuit of profit and suggestions made for future research into the relationship between strategy and ethics.Grant Miles is currently completing work on his doctorate in Business Administration. His research and teaching interests lie in the area of strategic management with particular interests in exploring adaptive strategies which may benefit both firms and the larger society.     

In search of excellence in the UK

Peters and Waterman's “In Search of Excellence” has become one of the best selling business books of the decade yet continues to be the subject of controversy. This article examines the debate surrounding the book by looking at its origins, the criticisms that it has attracted and empirically investigating how well the book describes successful British and Japanese companies competing in UK markets. The results show that, although it describes many of the characteristics of successful companies, “In Search of Excellence” neglects several competitive issues that help describe business success.     

In search of the meaning of entrepreneurship

This paper is an attempt to build a bridge between the popular and the academic usage of the terms entrepreneur and entrepreneurship, and to identify the raw materials needed to construct an interpretive framework capable of illuminating the nature of entrepreneurship and its role in economic theory. We review briefly the contributions made to this topic by Cantillon, Schumpeter, Schultz and Kirzner. We advance a synthetic definition of the entrepreneur as someone who specializes in taking responsibility for and making judgemental decisions that affect the location, the form, and the use of goods, resources, or institutions. We then conclude with some observations on the basic choice confronting economics regarding the place of entrepreneurship in economic analysis.     

物资管理对电力施工企业管理的指导意义

从物资管理的角度,结合电力工程实际情况,通过分析电厂施工中存在的问题,建立一套物资管理系统对于如何有效的把施工单位生产所需的生产资料及时、保质保量的供应上去,有着重要的意义.     

In search of fair trade: ethical consumer decision making in France

While the market for fair trade products has been growing in many countries, this paper examines the French market where fair trade remains marginal but is experiencing growth. Using a modified Theory of Planned Behaviour framework the research examines consumer intention to purchase fair trade grocery products in order to explain the pertinent decision‐making criteria of both consumers of and potential consumers of fair trade. Results reveal that concerned consumers should not be treated as one homogeneous group, rather, the distinct variations in the factors that influence their decision making must be considered when promoting, labelling and distributing fair trade products. Implications for both sustaining and developing the market for fair trade products in the future are highlighted and discussed.     

寻找未来的增长引擎

在为新年度的业务扩展做规划时,“增长透镜法”能够帮助企业发掘和提炼富有吸引力的新思路,建立最具效力的商业模式,从而创造增长契机。     

In search of the best human resource practices in chain stores in China

This paper is based on a recent survey of human resources (HR) practices from 83 chain stores in China. It differentiated managerial staff and operating employees according to different types of HR configurations. It also identified high and low adoption based on bundling of HR practices using cluster analysis. The impact of HR practices alignment on enhancing firm performance was evaluated using high adoption cluster. The findings advance our knowledge in the High Performance Work Systems literature and offer important insights for executives in formulating effective HR management strategies.     

Engaging diasporas as international entrepreneurs in developing countries: In search of determinants

Diaspora has been increasingly recognized by practitioners and scholars as an important factor of development in developing economies. Through their remittances and expertise, diaspora members have become an important source of foreign direct investment and managerial capabilities. Although the literature is glutted with examples of the impact of diaspora in fostering international entrepreneurship and reducing poverty, a theoretical foundation and framework is needed to explain this impact. This study explores a theoretical foundation of the diaspora entrepreneurship. A framework identifying the determinants of the diaspora’s international new venture creation in the country of origin is developed. The study suggests that diaspora international entrepreneurship depends on the level of altruistic motivation, need of social recognition, entrepreneurial opportunities, friendliness and receptivity of the home country, as well as integration of and support to immigrants in the host countries. Propositions for diaspora entrepreneurship are developed.     

Jobs on the wire: In search of the perfect labor market

The Internet as the most recent development in communication technology might dramatically reduce transaction costs and thereby lead to the emergence of a nearly perfect market. This would have drastic implications for labor markets and the social security system. In the first part of the paper, the influence of the Internet on transaction costs is examined. It is shown that the Internet will not necessarily lead to a decrease of transaction costs. Therefore, it is not clear whether the Internet will promote a perfect labor market. Moreover, it is shown that an outsourcing to the Internet will only take place for certain jobs which can be easily standardised. The second part of the paper shows what an Internet‐based labor market may look like. To show this, the model of monopolistic competition is used. A result of these considerations is that an increased outsourcing to the Internet may lead to a kind of association of freelancers. This revised version was published online in June 2006 with corrections to the Cover Date.     

The search for global competence: From international HR to talent management

This article describes the evolution of the search for global competence through a 50-year content analysis and review of published research in the field of International HR Management (IHRM), and more recently, Talent Management (TM), with special emphasis on the Journal of World Business. We present a detailed examination of the IHRM/TM content of the Journal of World Business from its inception in 1965 through 2014. To put the results of that review into perspective, we review key themes in global business and strategy from 1965 to the present, noting where IHRM/TM research and business trends correspond, diverge, and lag. Next, we present a brief history of IHRM and TM, showing how the emerging theme of TM offers challenges and promise for connecting future IHRM/TM research with emerging business, strategy, and social trends. We conclude with the implications of our findings for future research, and the importance of the search for global competence.     

Internationalization through business model innovation: In search of relevant design dimensions and elements

Internationalization through business model innovation involves the creation, or reinvention, of the business itself. This paper aims to integrate basic insight from the literature on business model innovation, internationalization of the firm, international entrepreneurship, and global marketing into a conceptual model. Our model illustrates that internationalization through business model innovation includes design dimensions, which are domestic or globalized in upstream production as well as in downstream markets. The outcome of this paper is four international business model types each with a specific resource allocation for dealing with differences across geographical locations and entry mode elements. We address the interrelation of these dimensions and elements in firms’ international activities.     

In search of the right fusion recipe: the role of legitimacy in building a social enterprise model

Social enterprises, as typical hybrid organisations, are embedded in a plural institutional environment in which some stakeholders regard achieving social goals as fundamental, while others see economic profit as the priority. A great challenge for social enterprises is dealing with the conflicts resulting from the diverse expectations of stakeholders. Based on the existing works on organisational legitimacy and the social business model, we propose a legitimacy‐based social enterprise model composed of three main phases, namely, legitimacy proposition, legitimacy strategy planning, and legitimacy strategy implementation. Our model is meant to serve as an effective legitimacy‐building tool for social enterprises of various kinds.     

In search of WTO trade effects: Preferential trade agreements promote trade strongly, but unevenly

The literature measuring the effects of WTO membership on trade flows has produced remarkably diverse results. Rose (2004) reports a wide range of empirical specifications that produce no WTO effects. Tomz et al. (2007) use Rose's data but include de facto WTO membership, to find positive WTO trade effects. Rose (2005) also produced positive WTO trade effects after accounting for the diverse trade effects produced by individual preferential trade agreements (PTAs). When Subramanian and Wei (2007) emphasize general equilibrium trade effects by controlling for multilateral resistance, they find strong WTO trade effects only for industrialized countries. Subramanian and Wei (2007), however, account neither for unobserved heterogeneity among trading partners, nor for differences in trade effects across PTAs (which could inflate WTO estimates). We unify the Rose, Tomz et al., and Subramanian and Wei specifications in one comprehensive approach that minimizes omitted variable bias to show that all specifications produce one consistent result: WTO effects on trade flows are not statistically significant, while PTAs produce strong but uneven trade effects. Extending the gravity model to address specific avenues in which WTO may have affected trade flows, we find that WTO membership boosts trade prior to PTA formation and increases trade among proximate developing countries (at the expense of distant trade). An augmented gravity model that accounts for WTO terms-of-trade theory shows that countries with greater incentives to bargain for tariff reductions before WTO accession experience positive and significant subsequent WTO trade effects.     

在搜索引擎中传播品牌

搜索引擎是为用户提供检索服务的系统,它收录了互联网上能够收录的所有的网页,每一个在搜索框内输入的关键词都是网民潜在需求的外在表现。     

搜索营销101

全球营销人极力鼓动搜索营销,走在前面的北美营销人,在搜索方面的投入已增加到122亿美元（2007年）,相应减少了广告总体开支。不过在中国搜索仍被视为朝阳产业,而不是切实有效的营销渠道。尽管日益提高的市场细分化程度导致ATL媒体（所有线上媒体）覆盖的深度和复杂度有所提高,但与数字技术改变游戏规则并引入大量新的变体和应用相比,线上媒体的变化则相对微不足道。     

新时期对高职院校财务管理的思考

高职院校财务管理是政府财政预算管理的一部分,优化财务管理是实现财政资源合理配置、确保政府预算资金平衡、促进高职院校健康发展的最终目的.只有重视和加强财务管理,才能完善学校内部管理制度、降低办学成本、提高办学效率、促进资金运用的科学化.