Advancing community resilience research and practice: moving from “me” to “we” to “3D”

Abstract

Research and practice aimed at enhancing community resilience to disasters such as hurricanes have focused primarily on the survival of individuals and the development of social capital and networks. Less consideration has been given to the dynamics of social-ecological conditions that can govern post-disaster outcomes. This article provides a rationale for moving research and practice towards an adaptive systems framework, drawing on the cascading challenges that Gulf of Mexico coastal communities have endured since the 2010 Deepwater Horizon (DWH) oil spill. The adaptive approach recognizes that, in some situations, crises can highlight avenues for improvement, where greater resilience can be achieved by addressing the dynamic context of a disaster. We discuss implications for clarifying interdependencies, bridging the science-society gap, and making course corrections through iterative processes. We also highlight how the approach might foster policy addressing global challenges such as changing climate conditions, rapid urbanization, and disease pandemics.     

Testing the impact of job‐related variables on a utility judgment training criterion beyond background and affective reaction variables*

We tested the incremental impact of a job‐related set of variables for explaining a utility judgment training effectiveness variable, that is, course completion skill preparedness, beyond background and course‐related variables. Our respondents were two different emergency medical service samples, 415 basics and 742 paramedics, from the 2008 US Longitudinal Emergency Medical Technician Attributes and Demographic Study. Extending earlier research into the training of US emergency medical services staff, we developed scales for measuring two course‐related affective reaction variables, quality of course materials and quality of lead instructor. We found for both samples that the quality of course materials and quality of lead instructor variables each significantly explained course completion skill preparedness variance beyond controlled‐for background variables. We also found that the set of job‐related variables explained further, additional variance and that job satisfaction was positively related to course completion skill preparedness for both samples. The limitations of the study and future research ideas are discussed.     

Managerial Aspirations and Suspect Leaders: The Effect of Relative Performance and Leader Succession on Organizational Misconduct

Journal of Business Ethics - Explanations of organizational misconduct frequently point to declining firm performance and/or the actions of unethical or suspect leaders. Evidence that...     

Capabilities and (Missed) Opportunity for Women’s Entrepreneurship in Kuwait

Abstract

Kuwait offers a powerful context for investigating the entrepreneurial cultures developing in Gulf countries in response to the concurrent trends of pursuing economic diversification and efficiency, and the constraints posed by cultural narratives that maintain inequality between the sexes. Bringing a capabilities lens to the analysis of entrepreneurship promotion programs means shifting from a focus on meeting basic human needs to ensuring capabilities development. To begin, we discuss the capabilities approach to entrepreneurship with a focus on the necessity/opportunity classification. Next, we review the entrepreneurship ecosystem in Kuwait, including its focus on opportunity entrepreneurs and the legal, economic, and sociocultural framework in which they operate. After considering the impact of Kuwait’s gender-blind approach on women’s entrepreneurship, we conclude with some suggestions for strengthening Kuwait’s potential for capability expansion through entrepreneurship.     

Overlooked issues in the conceptualization and measurement of counterproductive work behavior

The current paper addresses three important yet generally overlooked issues regarding the conceptualization and measurement of counterproductive work behaviors (CWBs). First, we argue that the field would benefit from the adoption of situation-specific CWB measures that are tailored to the organization or occupation being studied. Such an approach would ensure that CWB measures include sample-relevant behaviors and exclude irrelevant behaviors. Second, we discuss several potential sub-dimensions of CWBs that should be examined in future research. These sub-dimensions include: 1) legal vs. illegal activities, 2) hostile vs. instrumental aggression, and 3) task-related vs. non-task-related counterproductive behaviors. Finally, we consider the relevance of the bandwidth-fidelity principle to the measurement of CWBs.     

Earnings Management and Annual General Meetings: The Role of Managerial Entrenchment

We examine earnings management around the annual general meeting (AGM) and assess the influence of managerial entrenchment. Consistent with prior research, we show positive and statistically significant abnormal returns surrounding AGMs regardless of the level of managerial entrenchment. We find evidence of significant earnings manipulation primarily among entrenched managers. Specifically, they manage abnormal accruals downward two quarters prior to the AGM and significantly increase abnormal accruals in the quarter immediately before the AGM. Our evidence is consistent with AGMs triggering managers to disseminate information in a manner that shapes the market's perception of the firm.     

Short Sales and Fundamental Value: Explaining the REIT Premium to NAV

This study explores the role of short sale constraints in explaining the variation in premiums to Net Asset Value (NAV) in REIT pricing. We use proprietary information on short sales between June 2006 and September 2008 to examine how short sales and short sale constraints affect the variation in monthly REIT NAV premiums using panel vector autoregression models. We find that variation in short sale activity across individual REITs can account for at least one‐third of the variation in NAV premiums. Short sale constraints tend to be binding when there is strong demand and limited supply of shares to short. Excess demand leads to overvaluation and the correction of the overvaluation explains the under‐performance of premium REITs.     

Do Female Mutual Fund Managers Manage Differently?

We examine the performance and investment behavior of female fixed‐income mutual fund managers compared with male fixed‐income mutual fund managers. We find that male‐ and female‐managed funds do not differ significantly in terms of performance, risk, and other fund characteristics. Our results suggest that differences in investment behavior often attributed to gender may be related to investment knowledge and wealth constraints. Despite the similarities between male and female managers, we find evidence that gender influences the decision making of mutual fund investors. We find that the net asset flows into funds managed by females are lower than for males, especially for the manager's initial year managing the fund.     

CEO Stock Options and Equity Risk Incentives

Abstract:   We test the hypothesis that the risk incentive effects of CEO stock option grants motivate managers to take on more risk than they would otherwise. Using a sample of mergers we document that the ratio of post‐ to pre‐merger stock return variance is positively related to the risk incentive effect of CEO stock option compensation but this relationship is conditioned on firm size, with firm size having a moderating effect on the risk incentive effect of stock options. Using a broader time‐series cross‐sectional sample of firms we find a strong positive relationship between CEO risk incentive embedded in the stock options and subsequent equity return volatility. As in the case of the merger sample, this relationship is stronger for smaller firms.     

Corporate Decisions about Labelling Genetically Modified Foods

This paper considers whether individual companies have an ethical obligation to label their Genetically Modified (GM) foods. GM foods and ingredients pervade grocery store shelves, despite the fact that a majority of North Americans have worries about eating those products. The market as whole has largely failed to respond to consumer preference in this regard, as have North American governments. A number of consumer groups, NGO’s, and activist organizations have urged corporations to label their GM products. This paper asks whether, in such a situation, individual corporations can be ethically required to take such unilateral action. We argue that they cannot. Given the lack of solid evidence for any risk to human health, and the serious market disadvantage almost surely associated with costly unilateral action, no individual company has an ethical obligation to label its GM foods.