Individual influences on knowledge acquisition in a call center training context in Germany

From both a practical and a theoretical point of view, it is important to identify factors that foster knowledge acquisition in organizational training programs. Recent models of training effectiveness have proposed relationships between trainees’ characteristics and subsequent learning. The present study tested the impact of trainees’ pretraining expectations, post‐training reaction to training, expectation fulfillment and commitment on declarative knowledge acquisition, while controlling for education and motivation to learn. Participants were call center agents (N = 84), working in 10 call centers in Germany. Results showed that, in addition to education and motivation to learn, only expectation fulfillment significantly predicted learning. Implications for practice and future research were discussed.     

Performance implications of delayed competitive responses: evidence from the U.S. retail industry

The timing of competitive actions and responses is a key management concern that has important performance consequences. This study focuses on the timing and consequences of competitive responses. Theory predicts a negative linear relationship between response delay and responder performance mirrored by an opposing positive linear relationship between response delay and first mover performance. In contrast, our study suggests that response delay has a curvilinear relationship with responder performance, and a linear relationship with first mover performance. We test our propositions using retail industry data and discuss the implications. Copyright © 2008 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Are managers agents or stewards of their principals?

Agency theory has been the dominant framework for a theoretical conceptualization of corporate governance. According to this view, the governance problem of uncertainty about managerial behavior can be solved by assuming opportunistic behavior and setting up governance mechanisms to curtail opportunism. However, the adequacy of agency theory has recently been challenged because distrust-based governance mechanisms that are in line with the theory’s recommendations have been ineffective to avoid managerial misconduct. Moreover, agency-based control and incentive systems have even been accused of being harmful. Stewardship theory has been proposed as an alternative approach. Building on a contrasting assumption about managerial behavior, this approach recommends trust-based governance designs that may, however, result in a one-sided and potentially disadvantageous system, too. On the basis of an in-depth analysis and critique of both theories this paper explores ways to either separate or combine the rival approaches. Due to shortcomings of these strategies a new perspective for the design of corporate governance systems is presented that opens the possibility of overcoming the theoretical tension.     

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The Decline of Schooling Productivity in OECD Countries

Based on Baumol's cost-disease model, we develop two alternative measures of the change in the productivity of schooling. Both productivity measures are based on changes in the relative price of schooling. We find that in most OECD countries the price of schooling has increased faster in 1970–94 than would be compatible with constant schooling productivity. In addition, we show that the average performance of pupils has remained constant at best in most OECD countries. Our results imply a larger decline in the productivity of schooling in many OECD countries than in the United States.     

Growth Dynamics in the Biomedical/Biotechnology System

This article aims to understand the dynamics of growth in the biomedical/biotechnology system that consists of a variety of actors ranging from universities, medical supplies firms, and drug research firms, to clinical service suppliers. Based on a comparative study made in Ohio and in Sweden, we have analyzed three main factors: technology competencies, technology transfer, and networking capabilities. Our findings show a set of differences that can be grouped into two categories, viz. management and agglomeration externalities. Differences in management appear at three points: the resources allocated to technological competence development, managerial skills in the technology transfer phase, and the use of technology councils. Ohio seems to offer a better environment for starting up new firms and enabling these firms to successfully commercialize their technological assets. The agglomeration externalities that make a difference between the two regions might be grouped into two categories: increasing returns arising from network externalities and the advantages of networking with a variety of supporting organizations in the system.     

Company Competencies as a Network: The Role of Product Development

Product development managers and academics like to assure themselves and each other that new product development is one of the most critical areas of company competence and contributes positively to company success. But does top management agree? Because if they do not, the consequences will heavily influence the resource allocation to product development and career possibilities of new product developments manager. This study examines how top managers view the importance of product development relative to other central competence areas. Although asking managers about their perception is one way of evaluating the importance, its contribution to company success is another important measure. In this study, the impact of product development, relative to other important competence areas, is measured to assess further how critical product development is for overall company success.The authors investigate these matters in a survey of top managers in 513 Danish production companies. Ten areas important for achieving company objectives are identified. These are product development, market intelligence, production management, strategy and vision, sales, market responsiveness, promotion, internal co-operation, image, and supply management. Product development is rated a fairly important competence as it ranks number four, with sales, market responsiveness, and production management ranking numbers one to three. Yet a distressing negative impact on overall company success is found for product development proficiency, whereas success is positively related to production management, image, and differentiation of products. Further analysis reveals that product development contributes positively to success by enabling product differentiation and enhancing promotion proficiency. Influenced by and influencing many other competencies, product development is found to be a central competence.Results support a nonfunctional and broad perspective of how bundles of competences interact and impact on success and establish a positive overall contribution to product development.     

On the endogeneity of an exogenous OCA-criterion: specialisation and the correlation of regional business cycles in Europe

This paper examines whether changes in the degree of correlation of employment cycles across regions (of Belgium, France, Germany, Ireland, the Netherlands, and Spain) can be explained by changing patterns of specialisation. The empirical method adopted carries out pooled regressions for all possible region-pairs which relate moving correlations between the residuals of HP-filtered regional employment to their own past and an index of specialisation. As a test of robustness, the benchmark estimations which originally include dummies for common borders, German unification and relative differences between regional incomes are systematically tested down. The empirical results again highlight the problem of a common monetary policy for uncommon regions within the euro zone.

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The authors would like to thank an anonymous referee and the participants in the annual NOEG conference in Innsbruck for helpful comments.     

Multinational corporations,inter-organizational networks and subsidiary charter removals

This paper provides insights into the dynamics of a charter removal at a Hungarian subsidiary of the Siemens telecommunication switching division. By using inter-organizational network theory, we investigate how host-country factor endowments, the resource position of a subsidiary and the density of network exchange relationships within the organizational network influence the removal of a multinational corporate subsidiary's charter. The dispersion of resources in a multinational corporation drives intra-firm competition, which will typically lead to the removal of a subsidiary's charter if the subsidiary lacks specialized resources – typically an outcome of host country comparative disadvantages – and simultaneously holds a position on the periphery of the organizational network.