An analysis of the global position of U.S. manufacturing

This article provides an overview of the changing export and import flows of U.S. manufactured goods in the global economy, offers some thoughts on the repercussions of these changes, and outlines possible outcomes. © 2003 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.     

E‐learning: emerging uses,empirical results and future directions

The use of network technology to deliver training is the latest trend in the training and development industry and has been heralded as the ‘e‐learning revolution.’ In an effort to separate hype from reality, this paper reviews practitioner and research literature on e‐learning, incorporating unpublished information from interviews with managers and consultants directly involved in e‐learning initiatives. Specific attention is given to why organizations use e‐learning, what the potential drawbacks to e‐learning are, what we know from research about e‐learning and what the future of e‐learning may hold.     

The Bubble and the Lost Decade

In this overview of the Symposium papers, we note that the bubble that occurred in Japan's asset markets in the late 1980s came at a time when the conventional indicators of Japan's economic performance were relatively stable. Following the collapse of the bubble, neither the Bank of Japan (BOJ) nor the Ministry of Finance (MOF) took timely and effective measures to deal with the recession that followed. While the evidence suggests that looser fiscal policy would have been ineffective, monetary policy measures might have worked. However, the BOJ followed a relatively tight monetary policy in 1991–93. In the face of the liquidity trap that ensued in the last of the 1990s, the conventional tools of stabilisation policy appeared to be of limited use. To help the Japanese economy to recover from the ‘lost decade,’ we thus discuss a number of unconventional and bold measures that the BOJ and MOF could pursue. It appears, however, that the political will is absent to undertake such measures. So long as this is the case, the effects of the lost decade will continue to act as a drag on the economy.     

The Purchase of Equipment in Consumer Production of Outdoor Experiences

Consumers use combinations of goods to produce experiences. In order to produce outdoor experiences, consumers include environmental amenities as production factors in addition to purchasable instruments such as equipment. While amenities are not marketed, equipment is. Inspecting consumer purchases of the latter may uncover attitudes towards the former. Purchases of equipment are realized money outlays in a market and constitute lower bounds for the willingness to pay for one factor in outdoor experience production. This study investigates income and demographic effects in the demand for outdoor equipment over time in Norway, and examines the proportion of purchasing households for each year. Results show that equipment is a luxury item, and that it becomes more popular over time. The findings are relevant to policymakers in two ways since use of equipment may entail environmental degradation, but purchases of equipment may reflect a willingness to pay for environmental standards.     

Comparing Big Givers and Small Givers: Financial Correlates of Corporate Philanthropy

In a departure from the traditional studies of corporate philanthropy that focus on board composition, advertising, and social networks, the authors investigate the financial correlates of corporate philanthropy. The research design controls for firm size and industry while observing firms from a variety of industries. The sample contains matched pairs of generous and less generous corporate givers. The authors find, as hypothesized, a positive relationship between a firm's cash resources available and cash donations, but no significant relationship between corporate philanthropy and firm financial performance, regardless of whether corporate philanthropy is measured as cash payouts or the aggregate contributions that charities actually receive, and regardless of whether financial performance is gauged using accounting measures or market measures. Whereas the link between available resources and corporate philanthropy is well accepted in the literature on corporate social responsibility, it has been rarely tested and never so definitively found as in this research.     

Doing Unto Others: The Reciprocity of Helping Behavior in Organizations

Reciprocity is a fundamental aspect of social life, and a phenomenon studied from a wide variety of philosophical, theological, and social scientific perspectives. In this study, we use social exchange theory to investigate why employees help other employees. We hypothesize, based on the norm of reciprocity (Gouldner, 1960), that a significant cause of an employee's helping behavior is how much organizational citizenship behavior (OCB) the employee has received from coworkers. To provide evidence of the discriminant validity of OCB received as an antecedent of helping behavior, we also assess its effects on another form of extra-role behavior, voice, as well as in-role performance. We found, in a sample of 157 employee-supervisor dyads, that OCB received was related to helping behavior after controlling for several antecedents of helping behavior identified in past research, and was less related to voice and in-role behavior, as hypothesized. Implications for theory and practice are presented.     

On the Scope of Conflict in International Merger Control

In this paper, we analyze the scope for conflict between national merger control agencies which simultaneously assert jurisdictions. We consider a positive model of merger control in which market definition and the analysis of dominance are both explicitly specified. Our main finding is that conflict in international merger control is less likely to occur when economic integration is high. Hence, economic integration should alleviate rather than exacerbate conflict. In addition, we observe that conflict is more likely to arise between countries of similar market size and for moderate competition policy rules.     

Ethical perceptions of Asian managers: evidence of trends in six divergent national contexts

Global link building is having a substantial impact in every sphere of Asian managerial activity. The economic upheavals of the Asian ?nancial crisis have cast a long shadow, and ethical clarity has become a social issue. For instance, corporate performance in terms of long-term survival, growth and global competency is seen to depend to a considerable extent upon the ethical infrastructur of managers and emerging managerial culture in Asia. One ?eld in which Asian managers and their managerial practices are often considered weak is the area of ethical clarity. Corporate managerial leaders in Asia need to develop new responses to the ethical complexities arising out of the increasing global interfaces. In spite of a growing awareness of the importance of ethical centrality in an intensely competitive international business arena, very little empirical work has been conducted to strengthen the relevant management literatures. The purpose of the research reported in this paper was to examine the perceptions of ethical probity among managers in six Asian countries. The results of the study indicate interesting convergences and divergences across countries and organisational demographies. The ?ndings lead to observations of the apparent similarities of ethical conceptualisation in global, societal and often in the organisational arena while revealing noticeable divergences in the domain of individual ethical perceptions.     

Determining farm effects attributable to the introduction and use of a dairy management information system in The Netherlands

Yearly production and reproduction data on dairy farms in The Netherlands were obtained to determine whether management information systems significantly improved herd performance variables (management information systems (MIS) effects). The analysis included 357 adopters of a management information system and 357 herds were used as controls. The data comprised years 1987 through 1996, and included for the adopters both the ‘before’ and ‘after’ period. Panel data analysis enabled to estimate MIS effects both within and between farms, allowing for a separation of farm‐specific effects and common (trend) effects. Adoption and use of a management information system resulted in a significant annual increase in rolling herd average milk (carrier) and protein production of 62 and 2.36 kg per cow, respectively. Calving interval was shortened by 5 days. The pay‐back period was approximately 5 years of the system (including the hardware), and therefore, MIS appears to be economically profitable.     

How does gender affect the adoption of agricultural innovations?

Why do men and women adopt agricultural technologies at different rates? Evidence from Ghana suggests that gender‐linked differences in the adoption of modern maize varieties and chemical fertilizer result from gender‐linked differences in access to complementary inputs. This finding has important policy implications, because it suggests that ensuring more widespread and equitable adoption of improved technologies may not require changes in the research system, but rather introduction of measures that ensure better access for women to complementary inputs, especially land, labor, and extension services.