The performance implications of demand-side diversification: evidence from the US telecommunications sector, 1990–1996

This article contributes to the emerging demand-side perspective in strategy by explaining the demand-side sources of the systematic performance differences (a) between firms that diversify to offer complementary products and those who choose not to diversify, and (b) across and within diversifying firms over time. The US Telecommunications Services sector during 1990–1996 provides a dynamic research setting to test our hypotheses concerning the value-generating effect of shared demand-side strategic assets across the diversifying firms' home- and target-market. We find that the overall quality of demand-side strategic assets of local telephone companies who chose to diversify to offer complementary long-distance services (to their local telephony customers) is higher than those who chose not to diversify. We also find that the variation in market-shares of the diversified local telephone companies in their respective target market(s) for complementary long-distance services is positively influenced by the quality of demand-side strategic assets deployed in the target markets.     

Viewpoint: let's teach medical students what patient partnership in clinical practice can be,with the involvement of educationally engaged patients

As highly influential health consumers, the importance of the patient's voice is portrayed in the literature, leading to new directions in heath policy and practice. The authors' experience of patient partnership in the context of medical education has provided us with an opportunity to develop an understanding of what patient partnership in education should be about and how this can be implemented in a sustainable manner within undergraduate curriculum. This viewpoint outlines the context for our philosophy of providing students with the opportunity to engage with patients' stories and needs, and to graduate students ready to conduct consultations in a patient centred manner. The Patient Partner Program is the vehicle by which this teaching and learning approach occurs. The Patient Partner Program recruits actual volunteer community patients to be educationally engaged with senior medical students, participating in regular weekly small group teaching encounters. The contribution of these patients is significant and there is evidence that patients themselves recognize the importance of their role in the programme. We believe the strength of the Patient Partner Program lies in the nurturing of relationships and the engagement of those involved. The challenges of achieving and maintaining true patient partnership are acknowledged including the students' perception of their learning needs as they move towards their junior doctor role, and providing students with meaningful formative feedback. These challenges should not be deterrents for pursuing partnership with patients in an educational setting.     

Output and input bias effects of U.S. direct payments

This study examines the national effect of U.S. direct payments on the extent and direction of biased technical change on U.S. agriculture. We also assess the economic significance of the estimated bias effects for economic policy modeling endeavors involving a reduction of domestic support payments. A two outputs (livestock and crops) and four inputs (labor, capital, land, and material) translog cost function was estimated from national time series (1948–2011) data. Results indicate that payments do not induce output‐biased technical change. We do find evidence of Hicksian bias that is land using and material input saving attributable to support payments. Global computable general equilibrium simulations suggest that price and output effects of discontinuing direct payments are 1/4 to 1/3 the size once the bias effects are incorporated.     

BASES OF INTERORGANIZATION CO-OPERATION: PROPENSITY, POWER, PERSISTENCE*

Co-operation may enable organizations to attain ends that they cannot achieve alone. However, the co-operating partners must have an unusual mix of (1) propensity, (2) power, and (3) persistence. Joint ventures are used in this article to elucidate these critical elements in the relationship.     

A new president in the White House: implications for Canadian agricultural trade

Canadian agricultural trade has experienced several volatile periods over the past 15 years. The Great Recession (2007–2009), the 2015–2016 global trade slowdown, unilateral policy actions by the United States against key trade allies and the multilateral system more generally, and the impacts of the Covid‐19 pandemic are among the most significant events during this period. Given the close integration of Canadian and US agricultural markets, the recent US election is likely to again impact the relative competitiveness of Canadian agricultural exports. While many observers suggest President‐elect Joe Biden will return to normal times regarding multilateral cooperation with key allies and international institutions such as the World Trade Organization, the new administration is likely to face headwinds given the significant fraying of ties with key trading partners and allies due to disruptive actions taken by his predecessor. This article provides an overview of potential implications of a Biden administration for Canada's agricultural trade. We start by reviewing recent trade shock events affecting Canada's agricultural trade with a particular focus on trade actions taken by the United States. Relevant components of the President‐elect Biden's platform, considerations affecting the implementation of this platform, and the implications of this for Canadian agricultural trade are considered.     

Individual Characteristics and the Disposition Effect: The Opposing Effects of Confidence and Self-Regard

We conduct two experiments to examine potential causes of the disposition effect. In Experiment 1, we rule out beliefs in mean reversion as a cause of the disposition effect. Although a belief in the mean reversion of stock prices should be independent of whether an investor owns or only follows the stock, we show only investors who own the stock behave as though prices will reverse. In Experiment 2, participants buy and sell securities over multiple periods. We find that self-regard and investing confidence (two types of self-esteem) have opposing influences on investors’ tendency to hold losing investments. Investors with lower self-regard hold losing investments longer than those with higher self-regard, and investors with higher confidence hold losing investments longer than those with lower confidence. We focus on investors’ tendency to hold losing stocks too long because prior research suggests the gain versus loss sides of the disposition effect are driven by different biases.     

Dependence and effectiveness in the nonprofit-corporate alliance: The mediating effect of objectives achievement

This study advances research on the link between dependence and perceived effectiveness in nonprofit-corporate alliances from the perspective of NPOs. Drawing on resource dependence theory and specialized nonprofit literature, the authors develop a theoretical framework that allows examination of factors that contribute to alliance effectiveness. The developed framework specifies a relationship between dependence and effectiveness accounting for the mediating effect of social and organizational objectives. Further, the article assesses the moderating effect of market conditions on these relationships. Results from a sample of 269 managers of Australian NPOs suggest that dependence does not influence effectiveness directly but that social and organizational objectives mediate this link. Furthermore, during periods of market volatility, social objectives are a stronger mediator than organizational objectives.