Gender schematicity and preference for gender-typed products

Two experiments demonstrated that subjects preferred products described in terms congruent with their self-perceived schema for masculinity or femininity. In Experiment 1, male subjects were classified as highly masculine or not so masculine on the basis of their self-ratings. Those who were highly masculine preferred a product described in very masculine terms and those who were not so masculine preferred a product described in feminine terms. In Experiment 2, female subjects were classified as highly feminine or not so feminine on the basis of self-ratings. Highly feminine subjects liked a product best when it was described in highly feminine terms, next most when it was described as having both masculine and feminine attributes, and least when it was depicted as totally masculine. Subjects who saw themselves as less feminine showed the opposite pattern of preference. These effects did not appear to be mediated by differential processing of schema-consistent information.     

Learning the Organisation: Confusions and Contradictions For New Managers

Diane Preston, who is Lecturer in Human Resource Management at Loughborough University Business School, draws on a study of graduates from four sites of a multinational chemical company to discuss the process of socialisation of new managers. She argues that of particular significance is the new managers’ relationship with their own manager; where the manager is supportive and encouraging, this creates a positive lens through which other organisational activities are seen.     

Earnouts: A study of financial contracting in acquisition agreements

We empirically examine earnout contracts, which provide for contingent payments in acquisition agreements. Our analysis reveals considerable heterogeneity in the potential size of the earnout, the performance measure on which the contingent payment is based, the period over which performance is measured, the form of payment for the earnout, and the overall sensitivity of earnout payment to target performance. Our tests of the determinants of contract terms yield support for the view that earnouts are structured to minimize the costs of valuation uncertainty and moral hazard in acquisition negotiations.     

Claiming the Throttle: Multiple Femininities in a Hyper‐Masculine Subculture

This feminist re‐examination of an ethnography of Harley‐Davidson motorcycle owners uncovers a world of motivations, behaviors, and experiences undiscovered in the original work. The structure and ethos of subculture are understood differently when examined through the lens of feminist theory. Through the voices of women riders in a hyper‐masculine consumption context we discover perspectives that cannot easily be explained by extant theory of gender and consumer behavior. We find women engaging, resisting, and co‐opting hyper‐masculinity as part of identity projects wherein they expand and redefine their own personal femininities. This study reveals invisible assumptions limiting the original ethnography and thus reiterates the problems of hegemonic masculinity in the social science project.