Not just understudies: The dynamics of short-term leadership

Contrary to the stereotype that the period between CEOs is a hiatus, interim and acting executives serve during an important strategic window. A model is presented to illustrate the dynamics of short-term leadership, including the precipitating circumstances for the temporary administration, the tasks of short-term leadership, and the moderating factors seen to affect the selection and success of the next chief executive. Researchers and practitioners are urged to consider more carefully the potential that a well-managed interregnum has to repair damage from a traumatic departure, buffer between administrations, and prepare the organization to accept and work with new leadership. © 1995 by John Wiley & Sons, Inc.     

Online Group-Buying of Tourism Products: Effects of Value and Trust on Site Attachment,Altruism, and Loyalty

Although online group-buying is increasing rapidly, little theoretically based research has been conducted on behaviors of online group-buyers of tourism products. Thus, the purpose of this study is to develop and test a theoretical model examining the relationships among value, trust, site attachment, altruism, and loyalty in the context of online group-buying of tourism products. The results indicate that the six hypothesized relationships among value, trust, site attachment, altruism, and loyalty are significant and thus validate the theoretical model. The findings of this study provide theoretical and practical implications for academics and managers of online group-buying sites.     

Culture and evaluation of service quality — a study of the service quality gaps in a Taiwanese setting

This research is built upon the work of Parasuraman, Zeithaml and Berry (1985) by exploring the service quality gap within a Taiwanese hospitality setting and reports the findings from 164 interviews among hotel managers, service staff, and hotel guests. One motive for the research was whether concepts derived from an American‐Euro‐centric conceptualisation of service relationships was transferable to another cultural setting. It was found that the influence of national, ethnic culture on perception of service is limited, but the factor of kuan‐hsi (personal relationship) and mien‐tsu (face) had some role to play in guest‐staff relationships. However, it is concluded that the globalisation of hotel corporate modes of operation have more influence in shaping expectations and thus the ServQual model has validity in such settings.     

Social security and saving — A critical note on the feldstein hypothesis

Zusammenfassung In der vorliegenden Arbeit wird versucht, Feldsteins Hypothese, wonach die Sozialversicherung das Sparen dämpft, an Hand internationaler Querschnittdaten zu überprüfen. Ausgehend von einem Ansatz, den Feldstein aufbauend auf das Lebenszyklusmodell in den Jahren 1977 und 1980 entwickelte, wird versucht, die Validität der Ergebnisse in bezug auf Änderungen in den Variablendefinitionen, der Zeitperiode sowie der Sampleauswahl aufzuzeigen. Weiters wird der Einfluß von geringen Modellmodifikationen (Berücksichtigung der Arbeitslosenrate als Unsicherheits-bzw. Stimmungsindikator) sowie Änderungen der Schätzmethode (gewogene oder ungewogene Regression bzw. OLS oder TSLS) auf die Resultate untersucht. Die Ergebnisse zeigen, daß die Feldstein-Hypothese keineswegs als ein empirisch allgemein gültiges Gesetz angesehen werden kann, sondern eher als zufällig zustandegekommen.     

The iconicity of celebrity and the spiritual impulse

Celebrity has a powerful material presence in contemporary consumer culture but its surface aesthetic resonates with the promise of deeper meanings. This Marketplace Icon contribution speculates on the iconicity of celebrity from a spiritual perspective. The social value or authenticity of contemporary celebrity, and the social processes through which it emerges, are matters of debate amongst researchers and competing approaches include field theory, functionalism, and anthropologically inflected accounts of the latent need for ritual, myth and spiritual fulfillment evinced by celebrity “worship.” We focus on the latter area as a partial explanation of the phenomenon whereby so many consumers seem so enchanted by images of, and stories about, individuals with whom they, or we, often have little in common. We speculate that the powerful presence of celebrity in Western consumer culture to some extent reflects and exploits a latent need for myths of redemption through the iconic character of many, though by no means all, manifestations of celebrity consumption.     

Semi-quantitative risk assessment method for product management

The workshop presented a semi-quantitative risk assessment technique that can be used to judge the total risk on all undesired consequences/events for a product manufacturing operation. The technique requires an experienced team to judge risk utilizing a numerical rating system that, although arbitrarily chosen, is self consistent and provides a relative assessment of product manufacturing risk. Once calculated, the risk is compared to the product's net income for making risk management and product planning decisions. The workshop included an exercise where all participants could try the technique.     

Going Native: Effects of Disclosure Position and Language on the Recognition and Evaluation of Online Native Advertising

Despite recent industry attention, questions remain about how native advertising is perceived and processed by consumers. Two experiments examined effects of language and positioning in native advertising disclosures on recognition of the content as advertising, effects of recognition on brand and publisher evaluations, and whether disclosure position affects visual attention. Findings show that middle or bottom positioning and wording using “advertising” or “sponsored” increased advertising recognition compared to other conditions, and ad recognition generally led to more negative evaluations. Visual attention mediated the relationship between disclosure position and advertising recognition. Theoretical, practical, and regulatory implications for disclosures in native advertising are discussed.     

Decreasing Utility for Money and Optimal Corporate Debt Ratio

Increasing the ratio of debt capital to total capital increases leverage or sensitivity of equity earnings per share to changes in pretax earnings on composite capital. If (1) total capital needs, and (2) probabilistic pretax earnings on composite capital are held fixed while the debt ratio is increased, the result is an increased variability of after tax earnings per dollar of equity capital. With the “price” (variability) growing with still further increases in debt ratio, “nonuniform utility of money” concepts are helpful in revealing this growing variability as an “investor barrier” to still greater debt ratios.     

The employee brand: Is yours an all-star?

In this article, a typology is presented which will help organizations better reflect the brand image they desire. The assisting typology is based on the extent to which employees know and understand the organization's mission, values, and desired brand image, and the degree to which they perceive their psychological contracts with the organization as being honored. Organizations can be classified as all-stars, rookies, injured reserves, or strike-out kings, based on the characteristics of a preponderance of their employees. As categorized, rookie organizations cannot deliver the desired brand image because most of their employees lack the knowledge and understanding to do so. Injured reserve organizations, on the other hand, cannot achieve the same because firm employees perceive their psychological contracts with the organization as having been violated, which renders the individuals unwilling and unmotivated. For their part, strike-out king organizations share rookie and injured reserve organizations' worst characteristics. Finally, and conversely, all-star organizations consistently deliver the desired brand image to others because their employees are both able and motivated to do so. To help firms attain this highly desired status, specific guidelines are presented herein which may help organizations become “all-stars” in their own right.