Present barriers to technology transfer: U.S. to Eastern Europe versus U.S. to Mexico

Technological innovations offer much promise for widespread technology transfer on a global basis. Yet, without taking social, economic, or political considerations into account, companies cannot transfer technology as effectively. Of particular importance is understanding technology transfer vis-à-vis emerging markets such as Mexico and Eastern Europe.     

Saying "No" to Compromise; "Yes" to Integration

The central fact underlying all relations is the question of power and how it can be used to get one's way. When power does not work, we move to compromise. This paper questions the validity of compromise as an effective means of settling differences. My standpoint is that compromise debases relationships, is wrong in principle and does not work in practice either. There is a better strategy: integration, when the contending parties find the wider solution that includes both their interests. Ethically right, integration also works better in practice, for it leads to longer-term, more productive and happier relations.     

“When to Hold ‘Em; When to Fold ‘Em”: Choosing Consumer Protection Battles

On April 25, 2005, the University of Utah hosted a symposium on consumer policy in honor of the retirement of Dr. John R. Burton. All seven of the papers presented addressed, either directly or indirectly, the nature of the consumer interest. In the companion piece to this article, Dr. Stephen Brobeck, executive director of the Consumer Federation of America (CFA), describes how a major consumer advocacy organization like CFA decides what public policy positions are in the consumer interest. In this article, Michael Burton, an assistant professor of political science at Ohio University and the son of the symposium's honoree, draws on his experience on the staffs of Congressman Paul E. Kanjorski (1991–93) and Vice President Al Gore (1993–98) to describe and defend the art of compromise in advancing the consumer interest. –Robert N. Mayer, University of Utah     

Anti‐dumping Reform: Time to Go Back to Basics

This paper traces and analyses both the legal and economic history of the US anti‐dumping regime, and sets forth the shortcomings of the current system, both in regards to efficiency and equity. It then presents and explains a series of proposals for reform of the system, ranging from abolition of anti‐dumping laws and regulations and their replacement with competition laws, down to less drastic but specific changes within the existing system to render it less onerous to consumers and exporters. The paper finally details the case for substituting safeguards actions for anti‐dumping actions.     

Decision making in personal selling: Testing the “K.I.S.S. principle”

The KISS principle (keep it simple, stupid) is often cited as an effective strategy in selling. The premise is that salespeople are more effective when they stick to basics and do not unnecessarily complicate that which is not necessarily complicated. This study tests the KISS principle in the context of salesperson decision making in the prospecting stage of the selling process. Two general research questions are addressed (1) does a simple versus more complex process affect outcomes of decisions made by salespeople, and (2) if so, whom does it affect? The results suggest that process does influence outcome and that lower‐performing salespeople's decisions are most likely to be affected by the decision process used. Higher performers seem to be able to focus on key characteristics of sales prospects regardless of the complexity of the decision task, suggesting that higher performers, at least implicitly, know when to keep it simple. © 1999 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.     

Saddled with Attention: Overreaction to Bankruptcy Filings

We analyze the effect of investor attention on stock prices around Chapter 11 bankruptcy filings. We measure investor attention as abnormal search volume from Google, and find that attention‐grabbing companies have more negative abnormal stock returns in the days before and during bankruptcy filings and more positive abnormal returns immediately thereafter. That is, for companies receiving high attention, investors overreact to a bankruptcy filing; for companies receiving low attention, they underreact. This pattern is more pronounced for companies with low institutional ownership and holds after controlling for standard predictors of stock performance during bankruptcy.