Strategies for online communities

This study examines the participation of firms in online communities as a means to enhance demand for their products. We begin with theoretical arguments and then develop a simulation model to illustrate how demand evolves as a function of interpersonal communication and a firm's chosen strategy. In this model, the firm's strategy involves allocating advocates who promote its product in online communities. Our model results point to some key parameters informing firms' strategies when social learning processes shape demand. Copyright © 2008 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

The evolution of corporate no net loss and net positive impact biodiversity commitments: Understanding appetite and addressing challenges

The World Economic Forum has identified biodiversity loss as an increasingly significant and impactful risk facing business. However, businesses themselves can negatively impact on biodiversity. Recognizing this, a number of companies have developed their own biodiversity commitments, including those to achieve a no net loss (NNL) or net positive impact (NPI) on biodiversity by balancing or outweighing any negative impacts through mitigation activities. We reviewed corporate‐level NNL and NPI commitments over the last two decades to establish the extent of their adoption, retraction, and scientific foundation. Between 2001 and 2016, 66 companies had made NNL/NPI environmental commitments. Thirty three of these 66 companies made specific biodiversity commitments. The numbers of companies making commitments increased in that period. However, some commitments were retracted, or their status became unclear, leaving only 18 companies with active NNL/NPI biodiversity commitments in 2016. Added to this, many of the commitments are lacking science‐based criteria that would allow more transparent and systematic assessment of corporate activities. Thus, although commitments are being made, they may not be delivering as intended. To secure real biodiversity gains, we recommend advancing methods to assess biodiversity risks to businesses, and using science‐based criteria to deepen corporate commitments and actions. Concerted effort from all sectors is needed to halt and reverse biodiversity loss, and the “biodiversity policy super‐year” of 2020 is the perfect moment for business to deliver through well‐framed and implemented commitments to biodiversity NPI.     

The Costs of China's State-owned Enterprises

MOCT-MOST: Economic Policy in Transitional Economies -     

Political conflict,urban structure,and the fiscal crisis1

Les gouvernements locaux ont pour rǒle d'encourager d'une part la croissance économique, d'autre part l'intégration politique. Cette double fonction devient potentiellement contradictoire dans des conditions qui sont soit celles de la croissance, ou de la récession économique. Les gouvernements locaux sont donc organisés, et pour empěcher l'émergence de conflits politiques urbains intenses, et pour assurer l'adaptation continue aux besoins changeants de la croissance économique. Plusieurs mesures structurelles des politiques étatiques vont en ce sens:

• 1 la décentralisation conditionelle de la fiscalité et des dépenses
• 2 la ségrégation structurelle de l'économique et du politique remplissant ces fonctions.

Mais ces měmes mesures ont produisent aussi, dans le měme temps, des contraintes fiscales, qui sont ainsi l'une des traductions des conflits politiques possibles. Dans cette perspective, la crise fiscale est analysée en tant que stratégie de gestion politique des fonctions contradictoires des gouvernements urbains.     

CENTRALIZED PRAIRIE GRAIN COLLECTION: SAVINGS RELATED TO MARKET EFFICIENCY

A great deal of controversy and debate has arisen as to how many grain delivery points should be maintained to serve the grain growing areas of the Prairies. Many proponents for a change in the system have opted for a need for centralization. In this study, changes in the grain collection system are analyzed for a small region of Saskatchewan using a total of farmers' trucking and storage costs, road costs, elevators' and railways' costs. A modified Stollsteimer model was used to determine the effect on systems cost (sum of the five costs) as the number of grain collection points changed. Centralization of the system tended to reallocate costs from elevator and rail, to farm storage, trucking and road components. Elevator efficiency, to a major extent, determined the number of delivery points required. For the existing system (in 1974) the optimum number of points were estimated to be 80 (of a total of 178). For various alternatives examined, the optimum number varied between 46 to 107, under the existence of the Crowsnest Freight rates. The study suggests that a highly centralized system, (such as that consisting of up to five points for the study area, equivalent to 25 for the province) would increase the total costs of grain handlings and transportation. II y a eu beaucoup d'opinions et de discussions au sujet des centres de livraison de grains qui devraient etre maintenus en service dans les régions de cultures de grains des “Prairies”. Beaucoup de gens favorables à un changement du système sont partisans de la nécéssité d'une centralisation. Dans cette étude, les changements dans le système de collecte des grains sont analysés pour une petite partie du Saskatchewan en utilisant les coûts de transport et de stockage payés par les fermiers, les coûts de transport par chemin de fer et par route, ainsi que les coûts des élévateurs. Un modèle “Stollsteimer” modifyé a été utilisé afin de déterminer les effets sur le système de coûts, lorsque le nombre de centres de livraison de grains variait. Une centralisation du système tend à redistribuer les coûts des élévateurs et des transports par chemin de fer vers les. trois autres composantes (stockage et transport payés par les fermiers et le coût de transport routier). II est clair que l'efficacité des élévateurs, en majeure partie, détermine le nombre des centres de livraison requis. Pour le système existant en 1974, le nombre optimal de centres était estimé a 80 (sur un total de 178). En fonction de la prise en considération de plusieurs variantes et en utilisant le système des prix “Crowsnest Freight rates”, le nombre optimal variait de 46 à 107. l'étude suggère qu'un système hautement centralisé (équivalent à un maximum de cinq centres pour la région étudiée et a vingt-cinq centres pour toute la province) augmenterait le coût total de transport et de maniement des grains.     

An Examination of the Relationship Between Employee Perception and Hotel Brand Equity

Brand management stresses the importance of satisfying the needs of external customers. Employee branding management shows an evolving trend as employees begin living the brand. It is, therefore, necessary that employees are convinced by the hotel brand prior to having confidence to “sell” the brand to customers. The present study aims to investigate employee perception toward hotel brand equity, particularly in the Hong Kong hotel industry. Factor analysis is used to identify four underlying factors—namely, employee commitment, employee engagement, employee identification, and service quality. The four constitute the perception of the employee on the evaluation of the brand. Correlation analysis is employed to examine relationship among the underlying factors and three dimensions of hotel brand equity—including brand image, brand awareness, and perceived quality. Moderate association is generally noted, and perceived quality has the most significant relationship with employee perception on brand equity. Managerial implications on employee branding management are introduced to hotel management. Topics for future research are also recommended.     

The uses of moral talk: Why do managers talk ethics?

When managers use moral expressions in their communications, they do so for several, sometimes contradictory reasons. Based upon analyses of interviews with managers, this article examines seven distinctive uses of moral talk, sub-divided into three groupings: (1) managers use moral talk functionally to clarify issues, to propose and criticize moral justifications, and to cite relevant norms; (2) managers also use moral talk functionally to praise and to blame as well as to defend and criticize structures of authority; finally (3) managers use moral talk dysfunctionally to rationalize morally ambiguous behavior and to express frustrations. The article concludes with several practical recommendations.Frederick Bird teaches Comparative Ethics at Concordia University, where he is an associate professor. He has recently written a text on the comparative sociological study of moral systems as well as a number of articles on business ethics and contemporary religious movements.Frances Westley is an Assistant Professor of Policy at McGill University in Montreal. She publishes in the area of visionary leadership, organizational culture and change, and strategic communications. James A. Waters was Dean, Graduate School of Management at Boston College. His research interests concerned the process of strategy formation in complex organizations, organizational change and development, and ethics in organizations. His work has been published in such journals as Organizational Dynamics, Academy of Management Review, Academy of Management Journal, Strategic Management Journal, California Management Review, Business Horizons, Journal of Applied Psychology, Business and Society, Canadian Journal of Administrative Science, Advanced Management Journal, Journal of Business Ethics, Organizational Behavior Teaching Review, and numerous anthologies. He died January 4, 1989.     

Assessment of statistical power in contemporary strategy research

The concept of statistical power was reviewed, and the power of 44 recently published empirical studies in strategic management was analyzed. Using small, medium, and large estimates of effect size, standardized 0.05 α, and assuming nondirectional nulls, the mean power figures were 0.23, 0.59, and 0.83 for the three levels, respectively. These results were generally similar to findings in other social sciences and were considered particularly important for strategic management research, given the correlational nature of many strategic management investigations and the complexity and evolving stage of the field which make small effect size more likely. Ways to improve statistical power in strategic management research were discussed.     

Community advisory panels within the chemical industry: Antecedents and issues

Community Advisory Panels (CAPs) are currently being sponsored by the American chemical industry as a way to repair lost trust. Over 200 CAPs are currently in operation. Their goals, composition and impact vary. Like governmental advisory committees they run the risk of being vehicles of persuasion as opposed to bodies which bring about organisational or health and safety changes. This article reviews the evidence we have to date about CAP operations and sets an agenda for future research.