Incompetency training: Theory, practice, and remedies

“Incompetency training” includes formal and informal instruction that consciously (purposively) or unconsciously imparts knowledge, attitudes, beliefs, and behavior (including procedures) that are useless, inaccurate, misleading, and/or will lower performance outcomes of the trainee versus no training or training using alternative training methods. “Imparts” in the definition refers to exposing a trainee to incompetency training; such exposure is not a guarantee that the training increases the trainee's incompetence. This editorial is to stimulate research interest among scholars in incompetency training theory, evidence, and the efficacy of remedies. The editorial offers an early workbench model of incompetency training theory. The theory includes the proposition that executives and associates in firms, academia, and government organizations consciously as well as unknowingly offer incompetency training in many contexts. Increasing trainees' vigilance and ability to recognize exposure to incompetency-training may help trainees to decrease the effectiveness (impact) of exposures to incompetency training—advancing incompetency training theory and knowledge of incompetency training practice may be necessary conditions for remedying negative outcomes that follow from trainees receiving such training. Available evidence supports the first proposition and, to a limited extent, the second proposition.     

Stakeholder Management Theory, Firm Strategy, and Ambidexterity

Stakeholder theory scholars have recently addressed two crucial calls: the first is for the integration of strategy and ethics, of stakeholder theory and strategic management, and the second call is for the development of a dynamic approach to stakeholder management. I have attempted to answer these calls by developing a theoretical framework that links together stakeholder management, stakeholder commitment to cooperate with the firm, key decision makers?? ethical commitment, and firm strategy. Starting from the basic assumption that managers cannot meet all stakeholders?? demands immediately and in a tailored manner, I contend, first, that an ambidextrous approach to stakeholder management is conducive to stakeholders?? commitment to cooperate for the sustainable well-being of the firm and, second, that firm strategy and key decision makers?? ethical commitment moderate the relationship between an ambidextrous stakeholder management and stakeholder commitment to cooperate. Furthermore, drawing on this theoretical framework, I attempt to address the call for the integration of strategy and ethics by proposing a three-level conceptual model that distinguishes the objectives, the field, and the levers of integration. Finally, I outline a set of propositions that, taken together, represent a first attempt to develop a dynamic approach to stakeholder management.     

Toward a Multistage,Multilevel Theory of Innovation

Despite an impressive amount of research, the innovation literature may be characterized as fragmented with little cross‐fertilization and synthesis of findings across levels. Based on a review of conceptual and empirical work on innovation, we present a cross‐level theory that aims to clarify terminology in the innovation process and highlight key concepts and themes that have emerged in innovation research across levels of analysis. We model innovation, offer specific research propositions derived from the model, and identify directions for future research both within and across levels of analysis. Overall, this research responds to the need for greater cross‐level theory building on innovation and a more inclusive consideration of various social and contextual influences in the innovation process. Copyright © 2011 ASAC. Published by John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

反垄断理论、实践及对我国的启示

本文通过垄断进行基本的经济学分析,指出反垄断的理论基础应是“有效竞争”理论;反垄断所规则的对象应是垄断行为而非单纯的垄断状态;反垄断不排斥规模经济。适用“有效竞争”理论,本文进一步考察了美国在线与时代华纳合并案以及微软诉讼案,认为典型的反垄断国家美国的反垄断实践仍以“有效竞争”理论为基础。最后,文章还对我国的反垄断作了初步思考,包括我国市场竞争现状、反垄断立法的必要性及要解决的两大问题。     

我国中小企业的融资困境及对策分析

中小企业在促进社会就业、繁荣市场经济、增加财政收入、推动技术创新、扩大出口等方面发挥着不可替代的作用.但由于当前我国为中小企业服务的金融体系尚未形成,成熟的多层次资本市场尚待完善,银行与中小企业之间信息不对称,融资政策配套性不足,加之中小企业自身存在很多问题,导致中小企业融资成本偏高,融资受到歧视性待遇,面临融资困境,进而极大地影响了中小企业的蓬勃发展,成为阻碍中小企业转变经济发展方式的绊脚石.为帮助中小企业缓解融资难问题,从企业层面看,要强化中小企业自身建设;从市场层面看,要完善多层次的金融体系;从政府层面看,要建立信息共享平台.     

Behavioral Economics,Federalism, and the Triumph of Stakeholder Theory

Stakeholder theorists distinguish between normative stakeholders, those who gain moral standing by making contributions to the firm, and derivative stakeholders, those who can constrain the corporate association even though they make no contribution. The board of directors has the legal authority to distinguish among these stakeholder groups and to distribute rights and obligations among these stakeholder groups. To be sure, this stakeholder formulation appropriately seizes on the firm’s voluntary, associative character. Yet, the firm’s constituents contribute assets and incur risks to participate in market, economic activities. And, as such, the firm’s “stakeholders” must share an imperfect language to assist in making two key economic decisions: (1) who are the legitimate and who are the derivative stakeholders; and (2) who should sit on the board? Still, stakeholder theorists have good reason to be skeptical of neoclassical economics. Its assumptions that all act opportunistically and that all can calculate rationally and fully hardly correspond to studies on the managerial experience of corporate coordination. However, advances in behavioral law and economics now provide a cogent economic logic that readily fits into a stakeholder mode. In brief, we argue that (1) the firm’s economic purpose designates legitimacy to core stakeholders, to those who add value, assume unique risk, and can incur harm; (2) the board serves as the principal who coordinates these core stakeholders to sustain competitive advantage and new wealth creation; and (3) state incorporation law, Delaware in particular, reinforces the board’s function. These, in turn, supply selection criteria for board membership. We aim to synchronize concepts from behavioral law and economics with stakeholder theory.     

非正式融资:理论、现实与对策

本文从理论和现实两个角度阐述了非正式融资①存在的必然性和合理性,并对我国非正式融资存在的特殊原因、历史作用和发展障碍进行了较为全面地分析,在此基础上提出了发展非正式融资的政策建议.     

Measuring Cross-Category Specials Purchasing: Theory, Empirical Results, and Implications

The typical Hi-Lo grocery retailer offers consumers thousands of price specials each week to build traffic and influence economic performance. Retailer reliance on price specials may engender heavy cross-category specials purchasing by shoppers. Retailers contend that high cross-category specials purchasing can damage profitability because many of the specials presented to consumers have reduced gross margins. The present study measures the level of cross-category specials purchasing in a Hi-Lo grocery market and develops and tests a model of the determinants of cross-category specials purchasing using shopping basket level data, information from surveys of shoppers, and retailer promotions. The results of the study show about 39% of all items purchased on a shopping trip were on special and that about 30% of consumers surveyed were highly sensitive to price specials, purchasing more specials than regular priced items on their shopping trip. The findings indicate that the consumer search behaviors, such as reading flyers, significantly affected the level of cross-category specials purchasing as did the demographic variable - household income. The study concludes with a series of practical implications for managers to help them gain profitable shopping baskets and set of implications for researchers interested in developing new insights on cross-category specials purchasing.     

Isaak,Robert. Green Logic: Ecopreneurship,Theory and Ethics

Teaching Business Ethics -     

Globalisation,inequality and redistribution: Theory and evidence

This paper constructs a simple theoretical model to study the implications of globalisation for inequality and redistribution. It shows that when globalisation increases inequality, a policymaker interested in maximising the sum of welfares of all agents increases redistribution. Empirically, the paper examines the effects of globalisation on inequality and redistribution in a panel data set of 140 countries for the period from 1970 to 2012. It finds that both inequality and redistribution have been increasing with globalisation. The results are robust to the inclusion of many different controls and the exclusion of outliers.     

顾客体验:理论渊源、演变及其梳理

随着体验经济时代的来临,顾客体验受到了理论界和企业界的重视,相关的研究也较多,但是比较零散。通过对相关文献收集、回顾、梳理,对国内外学者有关顾客体验概念、维度和应用研究进行了比较分析。结合我国国情,指出顾客体验研究的未来方向:一是基于我国消费者新特征的顾客体验研究,二是顾客体验的测量研究;三是以顾客体验作为企业品牌资产提升和竞争力提高的切入点的应用研究。     

拓展新型贸易理论 妥善应对贸易摩擦

在现代经济学中,国际贸易理论主要研究有形和无形商品的跨国交易、生产要素的国际流动等问题。在国际贸易理论的发展过程中,产生了重商主义的国际贸易理论、绝对优势理论、比较优势理论、要素禀赋理论、新贸易理论以及新新贸易理论等等。这些贸易理论构成国际贸易教科书的基本内容,有一个重要的特点:将国际贸易与自给自足进行比较,以此辨别来自国际贸易的利益。这种理论告诉人们,与自给自足相比,国际贸易能够获得更多的好处,这就是国际贸易利益。依据这种国际贸易     

搜索引擎营销的原理与模式分析

搜索引擎营销作为网络营销的主要手段之一,是网络天然的过滤器装置,用户通过搜索引擎可以搜索、过滤出所需的信息,企业则通过搜索引擎锁定准确有效的目标客户。本文首先对搜索引擎的基本结构和工作原理进行了介绍,然后对搜索引擎的三种基本模式进行了分析。     

Key account management: Theory,practice and challenges

Key account management is a natural development of customer focus and relationship marketing in business‐to‐business markets. It offers critical benefits and opportunities for profit enhancement to both sides of the seller/buyer dyad.

This paper describes a framework for understanding the development of key account relationships. It has also incorporated a comprehensive guide to the current practice of key account management and comments on the challenges for the future of key account management practice. The paper is based on research involving in‐depth interviews with key account managers, their managers and their main contacts in the customer organisation.

The scope of key account management is widening and becoming more complex. The skills of professionab involved in it at strategic and operational levels need to be constantly updated and developed. This paper demonstrates how key account management can be implemented and points decision‐makers in the right direction for better practice in the long term.     

The Nature of the Firm, Agency Theory and Shareholder Theory: A Critique from Philosophical Anthropology

Standard accounts on the nature of the firm are highly dependent on explanations by Coase, coupled with inputs from agency theory and shareholder theory. This paper carries out their critique in light of personalist and common good postulates. It shows how personalist and common good principles create a framework that not only accommodates business ethics better but also affords a more compelling understanding of business as a whole.Joan Fontrodona is Assistant Professor of Business Ethics and Academic Director of the Center for Business in Society at IESE Business School. He is member of the Academic Board of EABIS and member of the Executive Committee of EBEN-Spain.Alejo José G. Sison is the Rafael Escolá Chair of Professional Ethics (TECNUN) with appointments from the Philosophy Department and the Institute of Enterprise and Humanism of the University of Navarra.