Enterprise‐level training in developing countries: do international standards matter?*

Several studies have examined the determinants of training in developing countries but few have paid attention to the potential importance of international standards such as ISO 9000 or ISO 14000 on the firm's training decision. This article examines training determinants using recent employer surveys for five developing countries: Ethiopia, Honduras, Indonesia, Morocco and Nicaragua. It finds that ISO certification status is an important determinant of training, even after controlling for other characteristics such as workers’ formal schooling, firm size, industry and foreign ownership. This points toward the importance of international standards, including product quality and production standards, for firm training. The article also discusses policy implications related to the findings and provides directions for further research.     

Dynamic cross-cultural competencies and global leadership effectiveness

Analyzing data from a sample of 420 global leaders (matched with 221 supervisors), we found a combined effect of personality characteristics (extraversion, openness to experience, and lower neuroticism) and cross-cultural experiences (organization-initiated cross-cultural work experiences and non-work cross-cultural experiences) as predictors of dynamic cross-cultural competencies (tolerance of ambiguity, cultural flexibility, and reduced ethnocentrism). These competencies, in turn, are predictors of supervisors’ ratings of global leadership effectiveness. Our study suggests that developmental cross-cultural experiences occur through both work-related and non-work activities. The results suggest that both selection and development are critical for building a pipeline of effective global leaders.     

Where do consumers draw the line? Factors informing perceptions and justifications of deviant consumer behaviour

Deviant consumer behaviour in the marketplace is an ongoing problem causing harm to the organisation, employees, and other consumers. To address this problem, this study explores consumer perceptions of right and wrong using the novel concept of a deviance threshold – the mental line in the sand dictating right and wrong. Using consumer-based interviews with a card-sort activity, findings supported and extended dimensions proposed to explain why some behaviours are perceived as more serious or unethical than others. Moreover, why specific neutralisation techniques are used and how they affect categorisations of behaviours within an individual’s deviance threshold is explained. This study offers alternative strategies tailored to challenging consumer justifications to curb deviance. Implications support abandoning the universal approach to deterrence.     

Mediation with Incomplete Information: Approaches to Suggest Potential Agreements

In bilateral Negotiation Analysis, the literature often considers the case of complete information. In this context, since the negotiators know the value functions of both parties, it is not difficult to calculate the Pareto efficient solutions for the negotiation. Thus rational negotiators can reach agreement on this frontier. However, these approaches are not applied in practice when complete information is not available. The research question of our work is “It is possible to help negotiators achieving an efficient solution in the absence of complete information regarding the different parameters of the model?”. We propose to derive incomplete information about the preferences of negotiators from the statements they make and the offers they exchange during the negotiation process. We present and discuss three approaches that use this information in order to help a mediator proposing a better solution than the compromise the negotiators have reached or are close to reach.     

用ISO解决问题——医疗组织选用IS09001:2000作为管理体系

当爱荷华医师诊所(PCI)和美国州医疗服务局(MED)寻找能更好管理组织的方法时,二者都不约而同地选择了IS09001:2000标准,希望它能起到有效组织运作、改进患者服务的作用.     

Knowledge spillovers in biotechnology: sources and incentives

This paper sheds light on the questions, Why does knowledge spill over? and How does knowledge spill over? The answer to these questions we suggest lies in the incentives confronting scientists to appropriate the expected value of their knowledge considered in the context of their path-dependent career trajectories. In particular, we focus on the ability of scientists to appropriate the value of knowledge embedded in their human capital along with the incentive structure influencing if and how scientists choose to commercialize their knowledge. We conclude that the spillover of knowledge from the source creating it, such as a university, research institute, or industrial corporation, to a new-firm startup facilitates the appropriation of knowledge for the individual scientist(s) but not necessarily for the organization creating that new knowledge in the first place.     

Retaining repatriates: the role of organizational support practices

The issue of repatriate turnover continues to be a challenge for many multinational companies today. This article describes several repatriate support practices offered by organizations—and how effective they are at lowering repatriates’ turnover intentions. We found that supportive repatriate practices offered by companies improved the repatriates’ general perceptions about their companies. Repatriates who were offered more of these supportive practices, and believed that such programs were relevant and important for their successful repatriation, felt as though their company cared about their overall well-being—and ultimately, had a greater desire to remain with the company upon repatriation. These findings were based on a study with 58 expatriates from four North American-based multinational organizations.     

ARE WATCH PROCEDURES A CRITICAL INFORMATIONAL EVENT IN THE CREDIT RATINGS PROCESS? AN EMPIRICAL INVESTIGATION

The Boot, Milbourn, and Schmeits (2006) model (Boot model) predicts certain credit rating events are likely to be more informative than others and that credit watch procedures are an important driver of such differences. We test the core empirical predictions of their model. Our sample comprises U.S. corporate issuer credit ratings provided by Moody's, 1990–2006. Our findings fail to uncover compelling evidence for the empirical predictions of the Boot model in relation to the role of watch procedures as coordinating mechanisms. Rather, our findings are more supportive of the view that rating agencies are always at an informational advantage relative to investors.