Pinning and Promotion: How Local Television Stations Are Using Pinterest for Branding and Audience Connectivity

Over the past decade, social media have become an increasingly important component in the ways broadcasters communicate with their audiences. A relative newcomer to that mix is the social network Pinterest, which enables followers to post photos and other types of visuals based on topics of interest. A content analysis examined how 85 local television stations are using that social network for promotion and branding. Results showed that, rather than promotion, use of Pinterest primarily revolves around lifestyle content, including postings by stations and interactivity by followers.     

基于星敏感器指向的船载雷达轴系误差分离模型

针对现有船载雷达动态标校方法的不足,提出了一种基于星敏感器的船载雷达轴系误差标校方法。该方法以精确的星敏感器地平指向为比对基准,解算船载雷达的轴系误差。设计了基于星敏感器的船载雷达动态标校方案,分析了船摇测量误差对雷达测角精度的影响,推导了天线座垂向变形引起的雷达测角误差修正模型。根据测量目标的不同,分别建立了联合测星与跟踪目标时的船载雷达轴系误差分离模型。最后通过联合测星试验对轴系误差分离模型进行了验证。试验结果表明,利用动态标校成果修正后的船载雷达方位、俯仰系统残差分别为3″和9″,随机残差分别为40″和45″,满足雷达轴系误差标定要求,具有较高的实用价值。     

Boundary-crossing and the localization of capabilities in a Japanese multinational firm

We conducted a case study to explore the challenges encountered by a foreign subsidiary of a Japanese multinational firm when localizing its organizational capabilities in China. Drawing on the concepts of boundaries and boundary-crossing, we identify pragmatic and cultural knowledge boundaries, which denied opportunities for the host-country employees to contribute their local expertise to augment the firm's core capabilities within the domains of research and development and operational protocols. However, within those domains that were regarded as complementary to or peripheral to the firm's core capabilities, host-country employees were granted more scope to cross the associated pragmatic boundaries.     

Disaggregating entrepreneurial orientation: the non-linear impact of innovativeness, proactiveness and risk-taking on SME performance

Previous studies have generally established a positive relationship between aggregated measures of entrepreneurial orientation (EO) and firm performance. However, there are theoretical reasons suggesting that three dimensions of EO (innovativeness, proactiveness, and risk-taking) may possess differential relationships with performance in smaller firms. This study utilizes a sample consisting of 1,668 small-to-medium sized enterprises (SMEs) in nine countries across 13 different industries to provide a finer-grained analysis of the EO-performance relationship. Specifically, we theorize and test a non-monotonic influence of innovativeness, proactiveness, and risk-taking on SME performance. Innovativeness and proactiveness displayed predominantly positive U-shaped relationships with SME performance. Risk-taking, however, displayed a predominantly negative U-shaped relationship with SME performance. Further, individualism was found to positively moderate the relationships between innovativeness-performance and proactiveness-performance. Taken together, these results suggest that differential relationships exist between three dimensions of EO and SME performance, with important theoretical implications for future EO research.     

“Deal of the Day” Platforms: What Drives Consumer Loyalty?

“Deal of the Day” (DoD) platforms have quickly become popular by offering savings on local services, products and vacations. For merchants, these platforms represent a new marketing channel to advertise their products and services and attract new customers. DoD platform providers, however, struggle to maintaining a stable market share and profitability, because entry and switching costs are low. To sustain a competitive market position, DoD providers are looking for ways to build a loyal customer base. However, research examining the determinants of user loyalty in this novel context is scarce. To fill this gap, this study employs Grounded Theory methodology to develop a conceptual model of customer loyalty to a DoD provider. In the next step, qualitative insights are enriched and validated using quantitative data from a survey of 202 DoD users. The authors find that customer loyalty is in large part driven by monetary incentives, but can be eroded if impressions from merchant encounters are below expectations. In addition, enhancing the share of deals relevant for consumers, i.e. signal-to-noise ratio, and mitigating perceived risks of a transaction emerge as challenges. Beyond theoretical value, the results offer practical insights into how customer loyalty to a DoD provider can be promoted.     

Decomposing hospital productivity changes, 1985–1988: A nonparametric Malmquist approach

Annual data on U.S. hospitals from 1985–1988 are evaluated by ownership type—profit, nonprofit, state and local government, and U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs (VA)—for changes in hospital productivity over time. Distance functions are used to measure Malmquist indices of productivity change, which are then decomposed into indices of efficiency change and technology change. In contrast to previous studies using this approach, we allow for variable returns to scale and use both input and output orientations. We find that changes in technology dominate changes in inefficiency in determining changes in productivity.     

Time on Welfare

A bstract . Long-term welfare participation by women is examined using data from Akron , Ohio. Age at entry to welfare, previous work experience , and number of children are the best predictors of long-term welfare use. Race and education are not statistically significant. Changes in family structure are the major reason why women enter welfare. But labor market reasons predortant for married couples. Labor market reasons are the most important reason why women leave the welfare system. For "high risk" women, welfare is less a safety net than a dependency trap. Public policy should focus on pregnancy among high-risk teens.     

The measurement of left-right and libertarian-authoritarian values: A comparison of balanced and unbalanced scales

In this paper we compare the performance of balanced and unbalanced Likert scales of two core dimensions of political attitudes: left-right and libertarian-authoritarian values. The balanced scales control for the effects of acquiescence response sets, whereas the unbalanced scales do not. Using data from two panel surveys, balanced and unbalanced scales are compared for reliability, stability and validity both with each other, and with other measures of political ideology and values (left-right self-placement and postmaterialism). Both balanced and unbalanced versions of the left-right and libertarian-authoritarian Likert scales are found to be more stable and strongly associated with social characteristics than are the other measures. The unbalanced scales have slightly higher reliability than the balanced scales; they are also orthogonal, whereas balanced left-right and libertarian-authoritarian scales are moderately correlated. Unbalanced scales also display a slightly stronger relationship with social characteristics, but they do not differ in their pattern of association with political preferences. Differences between balanced and unbalanced scales are attributed to the effects of acquiescence bias. This needs to be considered when using the scales for substantive analyses, but its effects are not problematic.     

Neglected dynamics in panel data models; consequences and detection in finite samples*

The bias of various estimators for static cross-section and panel data models is assessed in a simulation study, where the actual data generating process is a dynamic adjustment mechanism with random individual effects. It is concluded that the consequences of incorrectly estimating a static model can be rather serious. Therefore, it is important to have an accurate technique available for the detection of dynamics. Two exact similar tests for the presence of a lagged dependent variable in panel data models are developed; in some simulation experiments these tests outperform standard asymptotic test procedures. Empirical results on Engle curves for food illustrate the above issues.