The regulation of water services in the EU

The European Commission’s proposal for a Directive on the award of concession contracts has sparked vigorous public debate and intense opposition. This Directive is controversial because of the nature of the policy it proposes and because the sectors involved are highly sensitive. This Forum examines the weaknesses of the Commission’s proposal and presents an overview of the current issues in water regulation and the provision of water services. The authors analyse the regulation of natural monopolies, water efficiency and upstream competition in the water industry.     

The Ethics of Blockchain in Organizations

Journal of Business Ethics - Blockchain is an open digital ledger technology that has the capability of significantly altering the way that people operations (i.e. human resource management)...     

Entrepreneurial orientation,entrepreneurial competencies,innovation, and performances in SMEs of Pakistan: Moderating role of social ties

The current study examines the mediating role of innovation and entrepreneurial competencies in entrepreneurial orientation’s relationship with financial, social, and environmental performance. This research also determines the role of social ties in strengthening the association between innovation and entrepreneurial competencies with social, financial, and environmental performance. Using multi-source and time-lagged studies, the data was collected from 297 small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) in Pakistan, and structural equation modeling was used to test direct, indirect, and moderating hypotheses. The findings show that entrepreneurial orientation, entrepreneurial competencies, and innovation positively correlate with all the types of performance under investigation and confirm the mediating role of innovation and entrepreneurial competencies. Additionally, social network ties strengthen innovation—financial performance, and entrepreneurial competencies—social performance relationship. This research proposes significant theoretical and managerial implications by determining the impact of entrepreneurial orientation on SMEs in Pakistan.     

An Empirical Study of the Impact of CEO Characteristics on New Firms' Time to IPO*

An initial public offering (IPO) is one of the most critical events in the life of a firm. As the IPO market continues to attract attention from both entrepreneurs and investors, research examining the relationship between the firm's characteristics and its IPO performance is growing. In this paper, we use the upper echelon perspective to empirically examine the relationship between the firm's chief executive officer (CEO) and the firm's time to IPO, a relationship that has so far received little attention. Using data obtained from 237 IPOs in the U.S. software industry, we found that the CEO's prior executive experience, network, and age are significantly related to the new firm's time to IPO. This study extends the understanding of the important role of the CEO in the IPO and provides investors greater insight into those variables that influence the speed with which firms go public.     

ARTISTS' BELONGINGS-Luo Yongjin Photography Exhibition

Essay:Monica Dematté Opening: 16:00 - 18:00 / 22. 10. 2011 Duration: 10:00 - 18:00 / 23. 10. 2011- 16. 12. 2011 Venue: OFOTO Gallery. 2F, Building 13, 50 Moganshan Rd, Shanghai. Tel: 86 - 21 - 6298 5416 www.ofoto-gallery.comTo See the World in an Artist’s Studio - Luo Yongjin’s Sharp Eyes     

Environmental Effects of Production and Consumption Activities Within an Economy: the Aragon Case

The goal of this research paper is to analyze the households’ environmental impact in a regional economy such as Aragon, focusing on water consumption, and water and atmosphere pollution. Our objective is to include not only the direct impact but also the indirect one that is generated by the production of goods and services in global and per capita. The framework of analysis is a SAMEA (Social Accounting Matrix and Environmental Accounts) built for Aragon in 1999. This SAMEA is composed by SAM (Social Accounting Matrix) and also the Water Accounts, the Water Pollution Accounts and the Atmosphere Emissions Accounts. For this reason, the SAMEA describes the relationship between the institutional activities and the environment. In order to obtain environmental impact of household activity in Aragon and to measure the individual responsibility, we are going to calculate indicators from the SAMEA model considering only households as exogenous account. The environmental effects are estimated for two water resources categories, for six water pollution categories and for six atmosphere emissions categories.     

Ethnic-immigrants in founding teams: Effects on prospector strategy and performance in new Internet ventures

We investigated differences in strategy and performance between new Internet ventures with ethnic-immigrant members in the founding team and a matched set of Internet ventures with non-ethnic-non-immigrant team members. Results showed that new ventures with an ethnic-immigrant presence in the founding teams tended to pursue a more aggressive prospector strategy than those with non-ethnic-non-immigrant founding team members. Still, performance of the two groups of ventures was comparable. However, the positive effects of ethnic-immigrant presence on founding teams depended on team size and average age of the founding team members.     

An investigation of training activities and transfer of training in organizations

The purpose of this study was to investigate the extent to which organizations implement training activities for facilitating the transfer of training before, during, and after training and the relationship between these activities and the transfer of training across organizations.Training professionals from 150 organizations reported that 62%, 44%, and 34% of employees apply training material on the job immediately, six months, and one year after training. In addition, their organizations were significantly more likely to use training activities to facilitate transfer during training than either before or after training. Further, training activities before, during, and after training were significantly related to the transfer of training; however, activities in the work environment before and after training were more strongly related to transfer than activities during training. The practical and research implications of these findings are discussed for improving the transfer of training in organizations. © 2006 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.     

Reactions to unjust dismissal and third-party dispute resolution: A justice framework

Little previous research has examined why dismissed workers view their discharge as unjust and how they respond to third-party dispute resolution interventions. This exploratory field study relied upon a justice framework to understand complainant motivations for filing unjust dismissal disputes and their reactions to a voluntary conciliation program. Analysis of archival and interview data suggested that procedural justice principles dominated both motivations for filing claims and reactions to third-party intervention. These findings were consistent with previous justice and labor relations research. Implications for future research, management practice, and third-party dispute resolution are discussed.