Do small firms compete with large firms?

Despite the pervasive phenomenon of scale economies, the majority of firms have always been small firms. The emergence of small firms as a means of economic development on both sides of the Atlantic has been one of the major new topics of economic policy since the 1980s. This has drawn renewed attention to the question: How are small firms able to exist? The theories of strategic niches and dynamic complementarity imply that small firms seek out markets where they are able to avoid competition with their larger counterparts. This paper tests the validity of these theories by examining the extent to which small-firm profitability is set by large-firm profitability. Considerable evidence shows that the price-cost margins of small firms do not tend to follow those of large firms. This supports the theory that small firms pursue a strategy of producing in distinct product niches.     

Tourism dance performances authenticity and creativity

Despite shifts in scale and context, dance performance in tourism settings, unlike some other artistic expressions, remains “authentic” and creative. Possible explanations for this include the manner in which “authentic” and “creative” are defined, the unique properties of dance as expressive behavior, and the particular politico-economic situation of different settings. The data used for this study are cross-cultural, assessing Native American, Oceanic, Caribbean, and African studies of dance performance, primarily those collected during fieldwork in Haiti and Cuba. The analysis is interpretive, based on cultural framing and examination of dance behavior and its affect.     

The Moderating Role of Trust in SME Owner/Managers' Decision-Making about Collaboration

This paper analyzes the impact of trust and trust agents on small to medium-sized enterprises' (SMEs) ability to derive benefits from it. The findings suggest that trust is a significant factor moderating the way SME owners/managers perceive the potential benefits of networks. These findings support earlier research that posited that networking provides an avenue for SME owners/managers to learn about potential business opportunities. However, Australian owner/managers that belong to networks do not demonstrate behavior and practices typical of either explorative or exploitative networks. Instead, the findings suggest that in addition to the typical networks, a third type of network should be added to the literature—embryo-explorative networks. Such networks describe SMEs owners/managers who attend network meetings and report on what they learn about new opportunities from the networks; however, they do not tend to engage in typical collaborative activities (such as joint marketing venture) as described in the networking literature. Embryo-explorative networks are defined as those that have yet to develop into the explorative networks—probably because there has been insufficient time to build trusting relationships required to foster collaborative ventures that involve some risks.     

Ethical judgment in business: culture and differential perceptions of justice among Italians and Germans

This study focuses on the cultural context of ethical decision making by considering the relationship between power distance and ethical judgment. Specifically, we propose that this relationship exists because of the influence of peers on ethical judgment and perceptions of justice. Considering the importance of peers in stage three of Kohlberg's model of moral development, we argue that peers are the basis for social comparisons, social cues and social identification and, hence, are critical to an individual's beliefs about justice. Using scenarios developed by Reidenbach and Robin, data were collected from German and Italian graduate business students. Germany and Italy differ substantially in power distance, but not in the three other cultural dimensions of Hofstede. Results show that the ethical assessment of the respondents from the two countries differs when justice criteria are used. Theoretical and practical implications of the results are discussed.     

Value Creation in the Mobile Market

In recent years competitive pressure in mobile markets has increased remarkably. New business models and thus new actors have entered the market. This contribution analyzes the reconfiguration of value structures and strategies in mobile markets. For this purpose, mobile network operators’ service portfolio is analyzed on the basis of a worldwide survey, and the relevant current and future value creation activities are identified with consideration of additional actors and influence factors. On that basis, roles are developed, linked with regard to value flows and combined to a reference model for the mobile market value net. Subsequently, scenario planning is used to develop a set of criteria for the construction of corresponding future scenarios and the application of the reference model is demonstrated with such a scenario.     

The Impact of Children on the Lifetime Earnings of Australian Women: Evidence from the 1990s

This article presents estimates of the consequences of having children for the lifetime earnings of Australian women in the late 1990s.     

Price Expectations,Distressed Mortgage Markets and the Housing Wealth Effect

Using a unique combination of regulatory and survey microdata, we examine the importance of the life cycle theory of consumption in estimating housing wealth effects for the Irish mortgage market. Since the recent financial crisis, this market has experienced substantial house price declines and negative equity. Thus, house price expectations are likely to be important in influencing housing wealth effects. We find a positive correlation between consumption and changes in housing wealth among our sample of mortgaged Irish households. Furthermore, we find that this positive association only exists when housing wealth changes are perceived to be of a permanent nature.     

Comparing the impact of management on public and private sector nurses in the UK,Italy, and Australia

The research examined the impact of management upon employee outcomes (perceptions of discretionary power, well-being, engagement, and affective commitment), comparing public and private sector nurses in Australia, the United Kingdom, and Italy. Overall, 1,945 nurses participated in a self-report survey within these core- and laggard-New Public Management countries. While management influenced employee outcomes for each country, there were significant differences between the public and private sectors, with private sector nurses reporting higher perceptions of outcomes. Importantly, nurses’ engagement was affected by management practice for each country. This study raises important implications for nurse managers, especially public sector managers, described within.     

Short-term forecasting of crime

The major question investigated is whether it is possible to accurately forecast selected crimes 1 month ahead in small areas, such as police precincts. In a case study of Pittsburgh, PA, we contrast the forecast accuracy of univariate time series models with naïve methods commonly used by police. A major result, expected for the small-scale data of this problem, is that average crime count by precinct is the major determinant of forecast accuracy. A fixed-effects regression model of absolute percent forecast error shows that such counts need to be on the order of 30 or more to achieve accuracy of 20% absolute forecast error or less. A second major result is that practically any model-based forecasting approach is vastly more accurate than current police practices. Holt exponential smoothing with monthly seasonality estimated using city-wide data is the most accurate forecast model for precinct-level crime series.