Eisenhardt's impact on theory in case study research

This article summarizes the key points of Eisenhardt's (1989), “Building theories from case study research,” and its impact on research in management and marketing. The present article uses citation data from the Web of Knowledge database which shows that Eisenhardt (1989) has 2509 citations to the end of 2008, and that the articles first citing Eisenhardt (1989), most frequently citing Eisenhardt (1989), and most recently citing Eisenhardt (1989) appear in high-ranking journals. The citation impact for Eisenhardt (1989) far exceeds that of other articles appearing in the same issue of the Academy of Management Review. Eisenhardt (1989) continues to receive high numbers of citations annually. The use of citations indicates an increasing engagement with Eisenhardt's (1989) framework, and an influence across several business disciplines. In a comparison with Armstrong's (2003) measure of important findings, this present study concludes that Eisenhardt's (1989) article is important in terms of the replication, validity, usefulness, and surprise values of her findings.     

How do female entrepreneurs perform? Evidence from three developing regions

Using the World Bank Enterprise Survey data, we analyze performance gaps between male- and female-owned companies in three regions—Eastern Europe and Central Asia (ECA), Latin America (LA), and Sub-Saharan Africa (SSA). Among our findings are significant gender gaps between male- and female-owned companies in terms of firm size, but much smaller gaps in terms of firm efficiency and growth (except in LA). Part of the reason women run smaller firms is that they tend to concentrate in sectors in which firms are smaller and less efficient (in ECA and SSA). By contrast, we find no evidence of gender discrimination in access to formal finance in any of the three regions, although in ECA women are less likely than men to seek formal finance. Finally, while female entrepreneurs receive smaller loans than their male counterparts, the returns from each dollar they receive is no lower in terms of overall sales revenue.     

An Exercise To Explore The Future Impact Of New Technologies

New technologies have the potential to drastically change the way people and firms conduct business. But the future is difficult to predict, and the inherent uncertainty of a new technology's impact can be troubling. This article describes an exercise that has participants evaluate a 1937 U.S. Government sponsored technology forecast. The forecast identified thirteen inventions that were predicted to have a significant impact on society during the subsequent 10–25 years. These inventions included the television, facsimile machine, mechanical cotton picker, and trailer homes, among others. Participants in the exercise are challenged to evaluate the accuracy of the 1937 forecast, and develop and understanding of the issues inherent in predicting the future impact of new technologies. They are then challenged to identify today's new technologies, and make predictions regarding these technologies' future impact. Today's new technologies may change important aspects of everyday life over the next few decades, and significantly influence the competitiveness of certain firms. The exercise illustrates how difficult it can be to anticipate the future impact of new technologies. New technologies take time to develop, and most forecasts are overly optimistic regarding the rate of development and adoption. New technologies can also develop in ways not anticipated, and a new technology may have uses that are difficult to foresee. These challenges notwithstanding, it is still important to regularly track new technologies and attempt to anticipate their potential impact. The greatest danger comes not from having inaccurate predictions of the future impact of new technologies, but from having not thought about the potential impacts. The exercise was developed for use in an executive MBA program to encourage participants to think beyond the budgets and deadlines that drive much of their regular work activity. It was designed to challenge them to reevaluate whether they, and their firm, were thinking about how new technologies might impact their industry. The exercise has the greatest impact and applicability when conducted at corporate programs or with Executive MBA students, but can be used in a typical MBA or MS program as well. It can be conducted in a three‐four hour session, or over multiple shorter sessions. © 2002 Elsevier Science Inc. All rights reserved.     

Equalization and the Decentralization of Revenue–Raising in a Federation

We study federal economies in which regional governments have responsibility for delivering public services and redistributive objectives apply. The implications of these for the assignment of revenue–raising instruments and fiscal transfers, both vertical and horizontal, are considered. Models of heterogeneous regions of varying degrees of complexity and generality are constructed. For each case, we determine what fiscal instruments must be given to the regions and what intergovernmental transfers must be made in order that the social optimum is achieved. With heterogenous households and regions, the social optimum can be decentralized by making regions responsible for redistribution and implementing equalization transfers that depend on the number of households of each type.     

The WOW factor: Creating value through win-back offers to reacquire lost customers

Customer reacquisition provides firms with high financial and service improvement benefits. The implications of this research are meant to stimulate a new research stream towards a theory of customer reacquisition management as well as to provide service firms with a framework to regain defected customers. Through two studies, we develop an empirical model that identifies the factors driving win-back offer effectiveness. The findings indicate that, in order for win-back offers to be effective, service providers must consider a customer's reasons for leaving and their relationships with the current service provider. Value determinants (price and service benefits provided in the win-back offer), social capital and service importance play a prominent role in shaping customer switch-back intentions regardless of the level of previous satisfaction, regret, or delight with the new service provider.