Evaluating the Role of the Sunshine Coast University (USC) in the Regional Economy

The research findings discussed in this paper present ideas from the second stage of a project to evaluate the role of higher education institutions (HEIs) in regional economies. Using data developed through a learning region framework, the research schematically represents HEI linkages to the region. Possible linkage scenarios for each of six dimensions associated with embeddedness are presented. The findings suggest that this qualitative approach moves us closer to better capturing the complexity and role of HEI in regional development.     

The era of #MeToo and what managers should do about it

#MeToo has become a global phenomenon since 2017, when many famous women came forward with allegations of sexual harassment (SH) against many famous men. Our purpose here is to help managers of both sexes understand their role in the wake of the #MeToo movement. We reviewed recent research on SH and #MeToo from both academic and practitioner outlets to get a pulse on what is currently being written on these topics. We also studied data we collected on current attitudes and behaviors men and women are experiencing in the wake of #MeToo, as well as examined one of the newer forms of harassment, namely online SH. We use our data and research to explore actions managers can take to prevent SH and respond to it when it occurs. In doing so, we provide new insights for business practice that both managers and scholars need to be aware of, and act upon, in the wake #MeToo.     

Selection of telemarketing employees by standardized assessment procedures

Previous marketing research has focused on the optimal use of an existing salesforce, reflecting relatively little interest in the effects of salesforce selection on subsequent sales performance. A predictive validity study is described herein in which 85 telemarketing employees in a large telecommunications company were, prior to being hired, administered a battery of cognitive-ability and self-report trait measures. Three months later they were assessed on their job performance. Two cognitive-ability tests—one measuring perceptual speed and accuracy, the other, divergent thinking ability—and a number of scales from both a widely used personality questionnaire (the California Psychological Inventory [CPI]) and a special-purpose telemarketing selection instrument (the Telemarketing Applicant Inventory) yielded significant validities (of between 0.18 and 0.41) for at least one of several aggregated job-performance measures. A predictively-effective composite was derived, consisting of the two cognitive-ability tests noted and three CPI scales (Self-Acceptance, Socialization, and Achievement via Conformance). The composite yielded statistically-significant and useful predictive validities (of between 0.32 and 0.49) for several aggregated job-performance criteria. Utility analysis—a technique often used to examine the organizational consequences of selection strategies—was performed, with the present results reflecting substantial gains to the hiring organization. The reported research highlights the importance of effective hiring practices in achieving optimal subsequent salesforce performance. © 1997 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.     

So Many Hospitals,So Little Information: How Hospital Value‐Based Purchasing Is a Game of Chance

As part of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, participating hospitals have part of their Medicare reimbursements withheld and then redistributed based on quality performance. The Hospital Value‐Based Purchasing reimbursement plan relies partly on ordinal rankings of hospitals to determine how money is distributed. We analyze the quality metric score distributions that underlie payment redistribution and show that there is not enough information to reliably differentiate hospitals from one another near the program point cutoffs, and conclude that a large part of the payment formula is driven by sampling variability rather than true quality information. An alternative plan for rewarding hospitals is developed.     

Refining the real estate pricing model

Investment theory dictates that capitalisation (cap) rates for freehold real estate should be determined by the risk-free nominal rate of return plus the risk premium (RP) less the expected growth rate, with an allowance for depreciation. However, importing the concept of the RP from the capital markets fails to guide investors through the complexities of the asset, or enable exploration of purchaser preferences and behaviour. A refined pricing model for real estate is proposed, based on a concept termed a risk scale, to distinguish between macro (market) and micro (stock) determinants of risk and growth within the RP. This pricing model is estimated for a major global investment market, using a cross-sectional inter-temporal framework, with a data-set of 497 transactions in the London office sector over 2010 Q2–2012 Q3. Average cap rates are estimated at just over 5%, with asset-specific attributes dominating yield determination, with submarket quality and tenant covenant most important; and unexpired term insignificant, surprising during the ‘flight to safety’ characterising the period. International investors bought at lower cap rates, despite the ongoing economic and financial instability of the study period. Improving understanding of pricing behaviour and market transparency is important and may be advanced through the pricing model.     

Strategic management and public leadership

Abstract

As a new and flatter organization replaces the traditional public organization, it would need more of strategic public management. Key decisions in team production relate to the employment of outcome measures for both monitoring of real activities as well as the reform of the structuring of these activities. Only outcome measures could constitute the starting-point for public sector strategic management. A concept of strategic management for public services must include a theory of public leadership, resulting from the mechanism of credit and commitment on the part of the team providing services. A theory of strategic public management must take into account the specific features of the public sector as well as include the implications of rule of law. Given the criticisms of the rational decision model, a theory of strategic management must pay attention to the lessons from public administration about bounded rationality and the possibility of pathologies or organized foolishness in public organization.     

The Global and Regional Dispersion of Publishing in the Field of International Marketing

ABSTRACT

This paper empirically examines the research productivity of academic institutions in the leading international marketing journals, leading generalist marketing journals, and leading international business journals between the years 1999 and 2003 from a regional and country-specific perspective. The research found that across the three groups of journals, the majority of works were authored by academics at institutions located in North America, although North Americans contribute significantly less in the international marketing and international business journals than leading generalist marketing journals. The findings suggest that there is a broadening of non-U.S. influence within the international marketing and international business journals, which should lead to a broadening of international marketing theory.     

Portfolio Manager Ownership and Mutual Fund Performance

This paper examines the association between a mutual fund manager's personal fund investment and mutual fund performance. From a data set of newly released managerial ownership disclosures, I find that fund ownership levels are diverse and, in many instances, quite large. Mutual fund returns are increasing in the level of managerial investment, consistent with personal ownership realigning decision-maker and shareholder interests. Also consistent with the reduction of agency costs, I find that managerial ownership is inversely related to fund turnover. However, there is no evidence of an association between managerial ownership and a mutual fund's tax burden.