The Influence of Board Diversity,Board Diversity Policies and Practices,and Board Inclusion Behaviors on Nonprofit Governance Practices

This study examines how and when nonprofit board performance is impacted by board diversity. Specifically, we investigate board diversity policies and practices as well as board inclusion behaviors as mediating mechanisms for the influence of age, gender, and racial/ethnic diversity of the board on effective board governance practices. The empirical analysis, using a sample of 1,456 nonprofit board chief executive officers, finds that board governance practices are directly influenced by the gender and racial diversity of the board and that board inclusion behaviors together with diversity policies and practices mediate the influence of the board’s gender and racial diversity on internal and external governance practices. Additionally, we found an interaction effect that indicates when boards have greater gender diversity, the negative impact of racial diversity on governance practices is mitigated. The findings suggest that board governance can be improved with more diverse membership, but only if the board behaves inclusively and there are policies and practices in place to allow the diverse members to have an impact.     

Make,buy, organize: The interplay between research,external knowledge,and firm structure

We bridge current streams of innovation research to explore the interplay between R&D, external knowledge, and organizational structure—three elements of a firm's innovation strategy, which we argue should logically be studied together. Using within‐firm patent assignment patterns, we develop a novel measure of structure for a large sample of American firms. We find that centralized firms invest more in research, and patent more per R&D dollar, than decentralized firms. Both types access technology via mergers and acquisitions, but their acquisitions differ in terms of frequency, size, and integration. Consistent with our framework, their sources of value creation differ: while centralized firms derive more value from internal R&D, decentralized firms rely more on external knowledge. We discuss how these findings should stimulate more integrative work on theories of innovation. Copyright © 2013 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

The Impact of Service Characteristics on the Switching Costs–Customer Loyalty Link

This research investigates the interrelationship between service characteristics and switching costs and makes two contributions to the service retailing literature: (1) As a means of better understanding the effectiveness of switching costs, the study suggests a two-dimensional typology of switching costs, including internal and external switching costs and (2) it reveals that the effect of these switching costs on customer loyalty is contingent upon four service characteristics (the IHIP characteristics of service). We carried out a meta-analytic review of the literature on the switching costs–customer loyalty link and created a hierarchical linear model using a sample of 1,694 customers from 51 service industries. Results reveal that external switching costs have a stronger average effect on customer loyalty than do internal switching costs. Moreover, we find that IHIP characteristics moderate the links between switching costs and customer loyalty. Thus, the link between external switching costs and customer loyalty is weaker in industries higher in the four service characteristics (as compared to industries lower in these characteristics), while the opposite moderating effect of service characteristics for the internal switching costs–loyalty link is noted.     

Factors affecting couples' decisions to jointly shop

This paper explores the factors that influence individuals' decisions to jointly shop. Drawing from qualitative interviews and relevant theories, the researchers present a model of couple's likelihood of joint shopping. The model includes utilitarian motives (product purchase relevance and perceived financial risk), hedonic motives (expected shopping pleasure with one's partner), and a situational motive (time availability), along with two moderators (gender and relationship length). Online survey respondents answer questions relative to an experimental scenario involving the purchase of furniture or electronics. Results indicate that while all variables studied are influential, expected shopping pleasure and relevance of the purchase to both parties are the most influential aspects in the decision to shop together. Additionally, for males perceived financial risk has a stronger effect on their decision to jointly shop than it does for females.     

The Impact of Rate Regulation on Claims: Evidence From Massachusetts Automobile Insurance

The article tests the hypothesis that insurance price subsidies created by rate regulation lead to higher insurance cost growth. The article makes use of data from the Massachusetts private passenger automobile insurance market, where cross‐subsidies were explicitly built into the rate structure through rules that limit rate differentials and differences in rate increases across driver rating categories. Two approaches are taken to study the potential loss cost reaction to the Massachusetts cross‐subsidies. The first approach compares Massachusetts with all other states while controlling for demographic, regulatory, and liability coverage levels. Loss cost levels that were about 29 percent above the expected level are found for Massachusetts during years 1978–1998, when premiums charged were those fixed by the state and included explicit subsidies for high‐risk drivers. A second approach considers changing cost levels across Massachusetts by studying loss cost changes by town and relating those changes to subsidy providers and subsidy receivers. Subsidy data based on accident year data for 1993–2004 show a significant and positive (relative) growth in loss costs and an increasing proportion of high‐risk drivers for towns that were subsidy receivers, in line with the theory of underlying incentives for adverse selection and moral hazard.     

Communicating across tourism silos for inclusive sustainable partnerships

Abstract

Overcoming traditional tourism silos to develop long-term relationships with stakeholders is essential for transformational change. Adopting broader networks connects researchers to pertinent issues facing society, develops reciprocal capacities for learning, and creates inclusive sustainable partnerships. As critical tourism scholars and not-for-profit employees, we illustrate the journey of how we engaged collaboratively with diverse stakeholders, from businesses, not-for-profits and the university, to tackle issues of economic disadvantage and social exclusion. Critical hospitality and dialogue theory were adopted to provide a framework for the processes of collaboration, research, networking, and advocacy work for inclusive sustainable spaces. Drawing on our involvement with co-founding a collaborative research network, the Network for Community Hospitality, and analysis of data from two Ketso workshops and interviews with 41 network members, we present reflections on setting up and facilitating the network. In addition, two examples of collaborative Network activities are presented to illustrate the techniques and dialogic communication processes for doing critical hospitality. The article thereby contributes by providing empirically informed and reflexive understandings into the experiences of working and communicating within long-term inclusive partnerships with diverse stakeholders to create traction for positive social sustainable change.     

Attitudes of Tourism Students to the Environment and Climate Change

This paper reports on a global study of the attitudes of students studying in senior year and first-year postgraduate tourism and hospitality subjects to tourism and its relationship with the environment and climate change. The study determined that students are generally concerned about environmental degradation, feel knowledgeable about climate change, are concerned that it will become an even larger issue in the next 5 years and, generally, appreciate that tourism is a major contributor to carbon emissions. Moreover, some 70% had changed their behavior in the past 3 years to reduce their environmental impacts. However, specificity of knowledge about the causes of climate change was limited, which is symptomatic of a broader lack of detailed knowledge about environmental degradation, which in turn translates into rather generic behavior changes. Most significantly, less than 13% of students have changed their vacation patterns out of concern for the environment, with only a small minority intending to modify their travel patterns in the future.     

An Examination of Learning Preferences of U.S. and International Students

Learning styles and preferences are often discussed topics in educational psychology, but are less prevalent in business education. International students are another understudied segment of business education. This article reviews literature regarding learning styles and preferences and examines whether U.S. and international students have different learning preferences using the visual-aural-read/write-kinesthetic (VARK) model. The findings indicate a large percentage of both populations have multimodal learning preferences. For the students who have one preferred learning mode, differences do exist between international and U.S. students.