Product Ratings as a Market Reaction to Deregulation: Evidence From the German Insurance Market

This study provides the first investigation of information markets as a reaction to deregulation of product forms in insurance markets. The article studies the case of Germany, where insurance product ratings entered the market after relaxation of product regulation in 1994. The ratings’ potential for enhancing the performance of a deregulated insurance market is analyzed by considering both market structure and governance characteristics of the rating market, since the theoretical literature predicts that both are important determinants of rating outcomes. Data from a unique panel data set containing disability insurance ratings from the three major rating agencies are also examined in light of theoretical predictions. Results suggest that market governance and competition characteristics are favorable for the production of unbiased and informative ratings. Ratings for disability insurance support this interpretation, since the characteristics of the ratings conform to theoretical predictions about ratings in well‐functioning rating markets.     

Entrepreneurial rents and the theory of the firm

The creation of entrepreneurial rents occurs under conditions of uncertainty. Yet current theories of rent appropriation such as transactions cost theories of the firm focus their efforts primarily on how quasi-rents – rents that have already been created – are appropriated by parties to that exchange. Entrepreneurs face a dual challenge, that of creating entrepreneurial rents and appropriating some of these rents. Moreover, this challenge usually exists at a time when the entrepreneurial rents that might be created are not known or anticipatable. Indeed, entrepreneurs not only concern themselves with ensuring that they are able to appropriate at least some of the rents that might be eventually created but in fact they may not create any rents or potentially lose value. Understanding the dual nature of the rent creation and the rent appropriation problem has a variety of implications for the study of entrepreneurial organizations and generally for theory of the firm discussions.     

The Face of Fairness: Self-Awareness as a Means to Promote Fairness among Managers with Low Empathy

Although managing fairness is a critical concern for organizations, not all managers are predisposed to enact high levels of fairness. Emerging empirical evidence suggests that personality characteristics can be an important antecedent of managers’ fair behavior. However, relatively little attention has been devoted to understand how to promote fairness among managers who are naturally predisposed to engage in lower levels of fairness. Building upon self-awareness theory, we argue that increasing managers’ self-awareness can motivate managers with low trait empathy to engage in greater levels of justice. We test the interactive effects of trait empathy and state self-awareness using an experimental study (N = 76) in which individuals were asked to communicate negative news. In support of our hypothesis, our results indicate that increasing self-awareness through self-focusing situations can help promote interactional justice when communicating negative news for individuals with low trait empathy. The theoretical and practical implications of these findings are discussed.     

Principled moral reasoning: Is it a viable approach to promote ethical integrity?

In response to recent recommendations for the teaching of principled moral reasoning in business school curricula, this paper assesses the viability of such an approach. The results indicate that, while business students' level of moral reasoning in this sample are like most 18- to 21-year-olds, they may be incapable of grasping the concepts embodied in principled moral reasoning. Implications of these findings are discussed. James Weber is currently an Assistant Professor of Management at Marquette University. He has published articles on managerial values and moral reasoning and the teaching of business ethics in Research in Corporate Social Performance and Policy: Empirical Studies of Business Ethics and Values, International Journal of Value Based Management, Human Relations, and Journal of Business Ethics. Sharon Green is currently an Assistant Professor of Accounting at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. Her research emphasizes information processing aspects of decision making in governmental, auditing and educational contexts. Her publications have appeared in Accounting Review and Research in Governmental and Non-Profit Accounting.     

Marketing innovation: a systematic review

ABSTRACT

This study aims to investigate the development of ‘marketing innovation’ defined as the implementation of new marketing practices involving significant changes in the design, distribution, promotion or pricing of a product or service. We conduct a systematic review to provide conceptual, methodological and thematic guidance for scholars interested in studying marketing innovation. Our findings suggest while marketing innovation is often merged with the dominant technological focus underpinning product or service innovation, there is a growing trend to consider the innovation potential offered by the development of new distribution channels, branding strategies, communication types or pricing mechanisms. Digitisation, a key driver for marketing innovation, enables new communication methods, branding strategies, offering designs, and transaction settings. There is a growing trend to focus on cocreation, service-dominant logic and user community perspectives.     

The Development and Regulation of China's Insurance Market: History and Perspectives

China's private insurance market has been developing rapidly since the 1980s. Regulation of the market has developed in tandem with its growth. This article provides a systematic overview of China's insurance regulatory system and the evolving process of insurance supervision and regulation. The nature and direction of regulatory changes are evaluated in light of theories of public reform and the special character of China among developing economies.     

The Purpose and Process of Science: Contrasting Understandings in UK Research Establishments

This paper is based on an ESRC-funded study into scientists' perceptions of management. Changes in the organisation, purpose and process of science were heralded with the publication of the White Paper (Cm2250 1993). However, to date there has been little empirical work into how research scientists understand such issues. Our research, based on qualitative interviews conducted with scientist/managers in seven government-funded research establishments, found that scientists' notions of scientific purpose varied, not just according to the nature of their work, but also evolved as careers progressed and the contexts within which they worked changed (in particular as the need to generate income through commissioned work has increased). The data also reveal a diversity in scientists' understanding of the relationship between discovery and applied science. Of central importance to R&D managers is the extent to which these scientists saw their aspirations as achievable within the changing context of public sector science. From the data we generate an Ideal Type model of approaches that may be taken to reconcile the imperatives of applied and fundamental research and develop an understanding of the key role of senior management in creating an effective interface with external stakeholders and the development of culture and vision within the laboratory that will enable effective synergy.     

Reaching those at highest risk to fires and burns: Young children,older adults,and people in low-income communities

Injury specialists have not successfully convinced policy makers and the public that injuries can be controlled. That failure may be due in part to the lack of a unified understanding of injury control. The two most important models utilized in injury control are Haddon's Matrix1 and the Public Health Approach (PHA). This paper argues that the PHA should be combined with the two axes of Haddon's Matrix to result in a model that is coherent and comprehensive. Thus it is better than either one of the original models on their own. Haddon's Matrix has two axes. The first includes elements of the epidemiological triad, host, vector, and environment and likens injury to disease. The second axis includes three time intervals, pre-event, event, and post-event. The importance of including time was that injury was conceptualized as predictable and preventable. The weakness of Haddon's matrix is that it lacks a systematic plan of action. The Public Health Approach is a methodology for addressing injury, which consists of a hierarchy of four levels; surveillance, risk factor identification, intervention evaluation and program implementation. The use of the PHA with no specific orientation or means of application is its weakness. The PHA lacks a systematic point of application. Haddon's Matrix lacks a systematic action plan. Therefore we propose the PHA as the systematic strategy for the more theoretical framework of Haddon's matrix. By combining these concepts a coherent and comprehensive three-dimensional framework is defined. The unified model closes the potential gaps in the two original models and includes a systematic approach not previously achieved. This unified model is practical in defining individual studies and groups of studies. It can be used as an inventory, for a complete understanding of a particular injury. Diagrams of the model are presented to help teach the concepts of injury described in this unitary model. In conclusion, we can say that the inclusion of three injury concepts in one framework provides a rigorous and coherent construct for the understanding of injury and implementation of control activities. It can therefore be used to design more comprehensive programs for injury control and promote policies and funding commensurate with the magnitude of the injury problem.