EMPLOYMENT EFFECTS OF THE MINIMUM WAGE: PANEL DATA EVIDENCE FROM CANADIAN PROVINCES

Recent U.S. studies offer conflicting evidence on minimum wage impacts. This paper studies the effects of 185 amendments to minimum wage on employment rates using panel data across Canadian provinces from 1981 to 2011. Ordinary least squares and instrumental variables (IV) estimates imply a 10% increase in minimum wage is associated with a 1%–4% reduction to employment rates for both male and female teens. We also find that an increase in the minimum wage is associated with lower employment of prime‐aged immigrants. Our results are robust to a wide array of IV and the use of controls for spatial heterogeneity. (JEL J30, J71, J23)     

Theorising change and stability in service ecosystems: a morphogenetic approach

Service scholars are recognising the complex, adapting, and dynamic nature of value creating service systems. There remains an opportunity to explore the dynamic properties of these multilevel systems and build explanations of how these complex systems change and stabilise providing the context for value creation. This paper builds on the continuing work and use of sociological theory in these efforts and argues for an alternative meta-theoretical approach and accompanying framework. Together this contribution provides a basis for building midrange theory to address the stabilising (morphostatic) and change inducing (morphogenetic) mechanisms in service ecosystems.     

The moderating effect of control systems on the relationship between commission and salesperson intrinsic motivation in a customer oriented environment

Using a social psychology theory, Cognitive Evaluation Theory (CET), the authors show how commission compensation can be viewed as a sales performance contingent reward and the extent of its use to reward performance, coupled with a sales control system, impacts salesperson intrinsic motivation in a relationship selling environment. In essence, the sales control mechanisms modify the impact of the commission based on whether it is perceived as controlling or informative. This is empirically tested using a sample of business-to-business salespeople. Partial support for three hypothesized relationships is shown providing preliminary evidence that CET is a way to study the integration of commission compensation rewards, sales control systems, and motivational impact. Implications of the findings for theory and for managers are considered, along with suggested directions for future research.     

An investigation of the influence of coping resources in salespersons' emotional exhaustion

Salesperson burnout continues to be a major concern among industrial marketing organizations. In this work, the authors examine whether certain coping strategies moderate the impact of work-related stressors on salesperson burnout; a previously unexamined area in the marketing literature. More specifically, this work examines if problem-focused coping and emotion-focused coping significantly moderate the impact of role stress (ambiguity, conflict) on feelings of emotional exhaustion in an industrial sales setting. Findings indicate that problem-focused coping strategies moderate the impact of role stress on salespersons' emotional exhaustion; actually reversing the overall impact from positive to negative. However, findings surrounding the moderating effect of emotion-focused coping are mixed, raising interesting questions for future research efforts.     

Expanding the sales professional's role: A strategic re-orientation?

Based in social exchange theory, this study empirically examines a model of salesperson participation in strategic communication activities. Results show that performance of sales professionals often stems from roles and activities that extend beyond the traditional selling function. Findings indicate that managers' orientation toward change, the firm's selling strategy, and salesperson's trust in their manager all play an important role in the salesperson's likelihood to engage in greater strategic communication activity. Participation in these activities is linked to individual selling performance. Thus, the study provides evidence that expanding the salesperson's role beyond the selling function can add firm value.     

Channel power, commitment and performance toward sustainable channel relationship

The primary purpose of this article is to expand our understanding of the sophisticated utilization of independent incentives and its influence on channel relationship commitment and performance toward sustainable channel relationship and competitive advantage. On the basis of a conceptual framework, this paper develops an analytical model to explore the correlations among channel power, relationship commitment and channel performance under the implementation of diverse independent incentives. The proposed model is empirically tested using LISREL and questionnaire survey data sampled from the liquid crystal display TV manufacturer-dealer channels of the optoelectronic industry in Taiwan. The results reveal that the sophisticated utilization of independent incentives through channel relationship commitment as the key mediator determines the channel performance; furthermore, relative to contractual incentives, relationship-building incentives appear to be more effective in promoting channel relationship commitment, thus leading to superior channel performance toward the ultimate goal of sustainable channel relationship management.     

Use of rules in decision-making in government outsourcing

The paper reports research on the nature of use of rules in decision making process by government entities in outsourcing commercial activities. The study used multiple data sources such as in-depth personal interviews of multiple categories of respondents, documentary evidence, and observation. The findings indicated that Government organizations use un-written ground rules as the main means of managing outsourcing processes.     

Exploiting the B2B knowledge network: New perspectives and core concepts

This editorial introduces the articles in this special issue of Industrial Marketing Management, which presents the best papers from the 23rd Annual IMP Conference, held at Manchester Business School, UK in September 2007. The papers have been selected to represent the interaction, relationship and network perspectives and encompass, value, relationship assets, trust, commitments and the constitution of networks.     

A simulation of business-to-business decision making in a relationship marketing context

The dynamic and interactive SUGARSCAPE simulation is adapted to represent agent-based relationship marketing models in business-to-business exchanges. Computer-generated selling agents operate in complex environments using relationship marketing approaches that may or may not be uniformly distributed inside their organizations. The intricate nature of these models also allows for diverse combinations of buyer traits that impact their decisions as well as seller profitability. These features include individual and firm exchange experiences, the ability to identify and to become loyal to sellers, and the sharing of information within and among buyer firms. Relationship marketing is played out or operationalized based on pricing tactics that show differences between asking prices and post-exchange value.     

Response bias in the measurement of salesperson orientations: The role of impression management

Impression management has long been recognized as a form of response distortion in the self-reported attributes and attitudes of salespersons and job applicants. In this study we examine whether measures of salesperson orientations may be susceptible to this self-enhancing response bias. Salesperson orientations examined include customer and selling orientations, and sales learning and performance orientations. Characteristics of these response biases include extreme responses to job desirable items, low construct reliability, low predictive validity, and a factor structure in which job-desirable items form a common factor. The analysis of a survey of pharmaceutical salespersons suggests self-enhancing responding may be a problem in the measurement of salesperson orientations. We identify steps that firms and researchers can take to identify self-enhancing responses.