Standing in the shadow of the corporation: women’s contribution to Swedish family business in the early twentieth century

This article investigates the role of wives in the Swedish business elite in the early 1900s, through letters and diaries. The Swedish case is particularly interesting, since the country has a long tradition of successful corporate families. The corporate wife was expected to perform duties linked to the family business. To get more directly involved in the firm, the husband had to give his permission. By offering support the wife could gain tacit knowledge of her husband’s work. Her emotional efforts influenced the achievements of the family business, sometimes even its survival.     

Are we in sync? How industry practitioners and academics profile managerial competencies: A study of an Association to Advance Collegiate Schools of Business–accredited business school in Hong Kong

The authors draw on the taxonomy of managerial competencies to assess the alignment of perceptions between industry practitioners and business academics when profiling managerial competencies required for effective performance in workplaces. Findings show that the set of managerial competency profiles, as viewed by practitioners, generally fit well with the perceptions of business academics as represented in the intended learning outcomes specified in the undergraduate business programs. It suggests that the targeted managerial competencies built around business curricula are largely in sync with the expectations of practitioners. Implications for theory and practice are discussed.     

‘Parasitic invasions’ or sources of good governance: Constraining foreign competition in Hong Kong banking, 1965–81

This paper investigates the operation and impact of the moratorium on new banking licences imposed in Hong Kong in 1965 and the claims that foreign banks destabilised the banking system and drained resources from the colony. First it examines foreign banks' attempts to circumvent the moratorium through claims of special circumstances and buying interests in local banks, and secondly it examines the efforts of incumbents to extend barriers to non-bank financial institutions and to branches of foreign banks. The general conclusions are that while the moratorium was aimed at increasing the stability of the banking system, it had the effect of decreasing the regulatory breadth of the government, and reducing incentives for mergers and acquisitions that might have improved governance.     

Impact of age on brand awareness sets: a turning point in consumers’ early 60s

Age impacts the brands a consumer knows, i.e., the “awareness set” which critically determines brand consideration and choice. Brands are in between common nouns and proper names but previous psychology research offers contradictory results on the impact of age on knowledge of common nouns versus proper names. Our empirical study on radio stations shows that the direct effect of age on awareness sets is marked by a turning point in consumers’ early 60s, with two contrasted patterns. For long-established brands, age has a direct positive impact up to the turning point but no significant direct impact afterward. For recent brands, there is no direct impact of age before that point but a strongly negative direct impact afterward. Age has also indirect effects through several mediators.     

The Politics of Protection: An Institutional Approach to Government–Industry Relations in the British and United States Cotton Industries, 1945–73

Internationally, the establishment of the GATT marked the beginning of a shift to greater trade liberalism. Against this background the governments of developed economies have generally treated textiles as a special case. This essay focuses on the differing level of political bargaining power exerted by the cotton industry interest groups in Britain and the United States, in their quest for protection, since 1945. It demonstrates that, to understand why pressure groups in the United States gained more concessions than those in Britain, it is necessary to consider the differing institutional and political environments in which they operated and the historical forces which shaped them.     

Adherence of Retirement Mutual Fund Providers to the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC)’s Advertising Guidance: Provision and Readability of Advertising Disclosure

This research provides an initial investigation of whether US retirement mutual fund providers complied with the Investment Company Advertising Rules (2003) adopted by the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). A content analysis was used to examine advertising disclosures presented in 953 retirement mutual fund magazine advertisements from 2004 to 2010 based on SEC’s advertising guidance. The results suggest that during the given period, retirement mutual fund providers generally presented mandatory and triggered advertising disclosures, but paid less attention to the readability of advertising disclosures. Implications for regulators, consumer groups, and financial services marketers are discussed in light of financial literacy and consumer welfare.     

First motorcycle-exclusive lane (Motovia) in Colombia: perceptions of users in Cali, 2012–2013

This study's goal was to evaluate the pilot exclusive lane for motorcycles (Motovía) in Cali, Colombia, from the perception of its users in 2012–2013. A cross-sectional study using roadside surveys plus a qualitative component of individual semi-structured interviews was carried out. Road users' perceptions were investigated before and after implementation of lane dividers (LD) and were compared with other roads in the city. Perceptions were compared using chi-square tests. In the study, 293 motorcyclists, 111 cyclists, and 115 automobile drivers were interviewed. Following the installation of the LD, the majority of motorcyclists and cyclists reported that LD made easier the driving maneuvers and decreased travel time, in contrast to perceptions of automobile drivers (p < 0.001). For most motorcyclists, the Motovia was considered as safe and effective, approving its continuity and replication. Half of automobile drivers and cyclists did not approve the installation of the Motovia due to travel time (drivers) and security issues (cyclists). Motovia is an option to enhance motorcyclists' safety on the road. It must, however, offer clear circulation alternatives for automobile drivers. According to users' perception, it is not safe for bicycles and other human-powered vehicles to share lanes with motorcycles. Further research about vulnerable road users' infrastructure is required.     

Beyond perception: the role of gender across marketing scholars’ careers,in reply to Galak and Kahn (2021)

Marketing Letters - Galak and Kahn (2021), in their recent contribution on the organizational climate in Marketing academia, highlight important transgressions perceived by women and...     

An Empirical Alternative to Sidani and Thornberry’s (2009) ‘Current Arab Work Ethic’: Examining the Multidimensional Work Ethic Profile in an Arab Context

While the concept of work ethic has been discussed in the Arab context (Sidani and Thornberry in J Bus Eth 91(1):35–49, 2009), the significant conceptual and methodological limitations of the existing work ethic and work value research elucidate the need for a more robust investigation of the multidimensional work ethic construct in the Arab context. Multidimensionality of the work ethic concept has gained considerable attention in recent years as researchers attempt to move away from the religiously labeled Islamic and Protestant work ethic conceptualizations. The current study examines the Arab work ethic through the use of the multidimensional work ethic profile (MWEP) on a sample of future business leaders in the United Arab Emirates. A total of 484 business students completed an Arabic version of the MWEP short form. The results show that centrality of work and hard work are the highest scoring work ethics followed by self-reliance, wasted time, and leisure. There are significant differences in work ethic dimensions across gender and categories of family breadwinner. No significant differences in work ethic dimensions are observed across categories of nationality and work preference groups. The findings are discussed in relation to the unique insight they offer on the nature of work ethic in an Arab context.     

Increasing customer loyalty and WOM in an age of terror: Cross-cultural development and validation of the customers’ reactions to terror scale (CRTS)

The threat of terror places customers in a vulnerable situation, giving rise to a variety of protective behaviors. The ability to employ these behaviors dictates customers' preferences for specific services. To enable a better understanding of this dynamic and its implications for positive customer outcomes, the current study developed a customers’ reactions to terror scale (CRTS) in a four-stage process. Data were collected from customers in France and Israel across two service contexts, hospitality and public transportation. Nomological examinations showed that services that enable customers to employ protective behaviors under the threat of terror can facilitate increased loyalty and word of mouth (WOM).     

Moral Issues and Gender Differences in Ethical Judgment using Reidenbach and Robin’s (1990) Multidimensional Ethics Scale: Implications in Teaching of Business Ethics

In this study, we examined moral issues and gender differences in ethical judgment using Reidenbach and Robin’s [Journal of Business Ethics 9 (1990) 639) multidimensional ethics scale (MES). A total of 340 undergraduate students were asked to provide ethical judgment by rating three moral issues in the MES labeled: ‚sales’, ‚auto’, and ‚retail’ using three ethics theories: moral equity, relativism, and contractualism. We found that female students’ ratings of ethical judgment were consistently higher than that of male students across two out of three moral issues examined (i.e., sales and retails) and ethics theories; providing support for Eagly’s [1987, Sex Differences in Social Behavior: A Social-role Interpretation. (Lawrence Erlbaum Associates, Inc, Hillsdale, NJ, England)] social role theory. After controlling for moral issues, women’s higher ratings of ethical judgment over men’s became statistically non-significant. Theoretical and practical implications based on the study’s findings are provided. Nhung T. Nguyen, assistant professor of human resource management at Towson University, received her Ph.D. in management from Virginia Commonwealth University in 2001. Her research focuses on the use of situational judgement and personality tests in personnel selection, ethics in management education, and the application of meta-analysis and structural equations modeling in organizational research. Her research has appeared in the Journal of Applied Psychology, the International Journal of Selection and Assessment, Applied H.R.M. Research, and Journal of Applied Social Psychology among others. M. Tom Basuray, Professor of Management at Towson University, received his Ph.D. in Business Administration in 1974 from University of Oklahoma. His research interests are in areas of organizational effectiveness, leadership and development. His articles have appeared in Journal of Organizational Change Management, Education & Psychological Measurement, International Journal of Management, Leadership and Organizational Development Journal, and Journal of Experiential Learning and Simulation. He has consulted with U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Public Broadcasting Corporation, and various state and municipal government agencies both in Maryland and North Dakota. William P.Smith, Associate Professor of Management in the College of Business and Economics at Towson University, received his Ph.D. in Business Administration from Arizona State University in 1982. His research interests include business ethics, privacy in the workplace and the role of social activism in corporate governance. Donald Kopka, an Assistant Professor at Towson University, received his Ph.D., in International Business from George Washington University in 1995. He teaches Business Strategy, Management Principles, and Entrepreneurship and Small Business, and was Director of the Cornerstone-Professional Experience Program in the College of Business and Economics from 1999–2003. In 2004 he was a Fulbright Scholar in Vietnam where he taught entrepreneurship and business strategy, worked on curriculum development, and conducted ongoing research on supporting industries. Information on his Fulbright experience can be found at his website . His research interests include entrepreneurship, business development, and teaching pedagogy. He formerly ran a property management business, was a program manager at the U.S. Small Business Administration, and served as a Peace Corps Volunteer in the Philippines. Donald N. McCulloh, Lecturer in Management at Towson University, received his M.S. degree in Financial Management from The George Washington Unversity in 1968. He teaches Management Principles and has also taught Leadership. He served as Vice President for Administration and Finance at Towson University until his retirement in 1997, since then he has been a full-time member of the Management faculty. He has also served in the United States Air Force, and worked in several manufacturing industries and the automotive industry. He was Executive Director of a non-profit community development corporation.     

Networks of power and networks of capital: evidence from a peripheral area of the first globalisation. The energy sector in Naples: from gas to electricity (1862–1919)

At the moment of Italian political unification, the Mezzogiorno (i.e. Southern Italy) was affected by a deep institutional change and it entered the wave of financial market openness, attracting all forms of investments from international capital markets. Naples – after having lost its previous role as the Bourbon kingdom’s capital city – enabled projects of large scale urban planning, beginning with basic public utilities. In this process, public and private lighting was chronologically the first area of interest – parallel with railway development planning – where international finance played a role. As evidence of the dynamics which brought this peripheral European area into the orbit of the first globalisation, this article addresses the complex business of energy supply in Naples – between 1862 and World War I – both from the point of view of its financial dynamics and the parallel evolution and organisational characteristics of the business actors involved. The Social Network Analysis (SNA) will support the reconstruction of the diversified and transnational businesses which the Neapolitan energy business was integrated in, at the same time giving evidence of both the bindings linking legally independent companies and the multiple relations between the actors involved. The transition from gas to electricity during this time marked the transition from weak to strong corporate ties according to the evolutionary trends both of technology and international financial markets.     

State intervention and economic growth in Southern Italy: the rise and fall of the ‘Cassa per il Mezzogiorno’ (1950–1986)

In the second half of the twentieth century, the Italian government carried out a massive regional policy in southern Italy, through the State-owned agency ‘Cassa per il Mezzogiorno’ (1950–1986). The article reconstructs the activities of this agency, making use of its yearly reports and of national and local archives. The Cassa was effective in the first two decades, thanks to substantial technical autonomy and, in the 1960s, to a strong focus on industrial development; however, from the 1970s it progressively became an instrument of waste and misallocation. At the local level, we find significant differences between the southern regions, and correspondence between the quality of state intervention and the regional patterns of GDP and productivity.     

A decade of occupational accidents due to direct or indirect electrical contact in the primary,secondary and tertiary sectors in Spain (2003–2012)

Occupational accidents caused by electrical contact are a major concern worldwide due to their severe consequences. The study conducted is based on an analysis of the evolution of incidence rates and dependence between variables for 14,022 electrical accidents occurring in Spain between 2003 and 2012. The results show that electrical accidents as a whole are 3.6 times more likely to have severe consequences than the rest of the accidents in the country. This proportion is even nine times greater in the case of fatal accidents. They also confirm a significant relationship between the severity of this type of accidents and the economic sector in which they occur. On the other hand, there is a positive trend in the reduction of the incidence rate, especially in relation to direct contact, although unexpectedly the rate of accidents due to indirect contact is on the rise. Thus, preventing electrical occupational accidents requires efforts to guarantee adequate training adapted to the needs of workers in the various economic sectors. Furthermore, those responsible for safety should work to implement mechanisms to monitor and control compliance with efficient protective measures against electrical contact.     

Tone quest: exploring the (ir)resolvable paradoxes and infinite (im)possibilities of “epic tone” in (rock ‘n’ roll) musical consumption constellations

ABSTRACT

One of the driving forces for consumer-musicians in the market of rock ‘n’ roll musical creation is the quest for “epic tone” (i.e. production of a distinct and unique sound). Such tone is not the result of a single product or practice, but of a complex consumption constellation composed of a multitude of cultural processes and material factors in which the sum is often greater than the parts. The purpose of this paper is to explore how the market forces that directly impact these musical consumption constellations have exposed (and exacerbate) the inherent paradox in the quest. To help consumers create virtually any possible tone, the marketplace has increased the focus on the structural and functional components that compose these constellations, while subsequently decreasing the focus on the anti-structural and anti-functional aspects that underlie actual sound production. Consequently, the marketplace both stimulates and inhibits the (im)possible quest for epic tone.     

The impact of the deregulation of retail hours on shopping trip patterns in a mall hierarchy: an application of the RASTT model to the Sydney Project (1980–1998) and the global vacant shop problem

The impact of the deregulation of trading hours on trips to planned shopping centres is studied using the retail aggregate space-time trip (RASTT) model, where changes in consumer spatial behaviour are analysed at three malls in seven year periods (1980/82, 1988/89, 1996/98) in Sydney, Australia (The Sydney Project). After effective deregulation in 1992, the subsequent repeat samples in a hierarchy of shopping malls show significant structural change in only the afternoon samples at community and regional planned shopping centres. The results show a substantial increase in the attractiveness of planned shopping centres over traditional retail centres, where less consumers are shopping locally. There was a shift in spatial demand towards Sunday for ‘small centre’ behaviour and the appearance of high frequency regular trips to the regional planned centre. The RASTT model suggests that these changes in the structure of consumer behaviour are a result of moving the time boundary to seven days-a-week shopping at these centres. These structural changes may account for the on-going long term vacant shop problem that has manifested itself under shopping hour liberalisation in south east Australian, British and Canadian traditional retail hierarchies in the 1990s.