Transformational Leadership: Managing the Twenty‐First Century Sales Force

In today's more diverse sales organizations, sales managers face important interpersonal challenges to achieving high‐quality relationships, which result in better performance within their sales force. In this article, it is argued that cultural distance can negatively influence sales manager and sales subordinate relationships. The quality of these relationships ultimately influences the level of effort that sales subordinates exert toward achieving organizational sales goals. However, despite the potential obstacle of cultural distance, sales managers can utilize transformational leadership as a means to mitigate its adverse effects on one‐to‐one relationships with members of the sales force.     

FOCUS: A New French Course in Business Ethics

The Ecole Supérieure de Commerce de Rennes has recently introduced a final year group-taught compulsory course in Business Ethics. Its organisers here describe and discuss their aims, methods and results. Michael Brent is Head of the Human Resources Department at Groupe ESC Rennes, 2 rue Robert-d'Arbrissel, 35065 Rennes, and has an MA in Philosophy and diplomas in business and marketing, as well as several years European consultancy experience. Susan Grinsted teaches production management and related subjects at Rennes, with a first degree in Metallurgy and a PhD in Engineering as well as several years UK industrial experience and a previous appointment at Warwick University, England.     

A New Spin on the Jumbo/Conforming Loan Rate Differential

This article uses house-price transaction data to estimate volatility in house prices. The volatility parameter is an input into a mortgage-pricing model that is used to simulate the contract interest rate that balances the mortgage contract. By segmenting the house-price transaction into high- and low-valued homes, we are able to estimate a theoretical jumbo/conforming loan rate differential. Simulation results demonstrate that the differences in volatility between high- and low-priced homes can produce a contract loan rate differential, holding all else constant. The article also presents a discussion of the problems inherent to estimating volatilities form assets with infrequent trades and long holding periods.     

Taxation,redistribution, and observability in social dilemmas

In the presence of social dilemmas, cooperation is more difficult to achieve when populations are heterogeneous because of conflicting interests within groups. We examine cooperation in the context of a nonlinear common pool resource game, in which individuals have unequal extraction capacities and have to decide on their extraction of resources from the common pool. We introduce monetary and nonmonetary mechanisms in this environment. The two monetary mechanisms are tax extraction and redistribution of the tax revenue. These include a Pigovian per‐unit tax mechanism and an increasing block tax that only taxes units extracted above the social optimum. Another mechanism varies the observability of individual decisions. We find that the two tax and redistribution mechanisms reduce extraction, increase efficiency, and decrease inequality within groups. In contrast, observability impacts only the baseline condition by encouraging free‐riding instead of creating moral pressure to cooperate.     

Infrastructure Disruption in ‘Silicon Savannah’: Exploring the Idea of the Creative Class and their Relation to Quality of Place in Nairobi,Kenya

Debates around urbanization, infrastructure disruption and the creative class rarely appear alongside each other in research on African cities. This article connects these different narratives, which are currently exerting their influence on the future direction of these cities. The economic value of the creative class is that their work centres on innovation—a quality seen as essential to ‘new-economy’ urban growth. Quality of place (that which makes ‘New York New York’) is said to attract the creative class to certain cities, as lifestyle amenities are valued as much as employment opportunities. Nairobi is an example of an African city currently attracting both Kenyan and expatriate creative class workers, particularly in the information and communication technology (ICT) sector. In this article we take Richard Florida's creative class theory as a departure point to offer insights into why this group chooses to live in Nairobi and to describe Nairobi's quality of place, with a particular focus on infrastructure disruption. The case study reveals that Nairobi's quality of place differs fundamentally from the normative attributes prescribed by creative class theory and, in some instances, it is considered to be highly frustrating and unattractive.     

A guide to the seen costs and unseen benefits of e-commerce

As consumer shopping preferences shift from traditional retail channels toward e-commerce, the negative effects of e-commerce are easy to see and are often noted in the popular press. Yet, the benefits of this shift are often unseen. In this article, we first consider empirical evidence that suggests technological innovation is generally a net positive for society. We look at the unseen benefits along with each of the seen costs of e-commerce growth to fully understand the impacts on society. To do this, we consider packaging and waste, traffic and emissions, and energy and resource consumption—all considered costs of e-commerce. Based on this evidence, we propose that policymakers should exercise caution before developing policies that may alter this shift and limit innovation.     

The Subprime Virus

We examine the correlation between prime mortgage default risk and the introduction of subprime mortgages in a local area. We motivate our analysis with a model of a default contagion effect that spreads the effect of a mortgage foreclosure from one property to surrounding properties. Through numerical analysis, we demonstrate the effect of subprime mortgage originations to the risk of prime mortgages. Finally, we offer empirical support for our model by examining the spatial variation in MSA prime mortgage default rates and the level of subprime mortgage activity.     

Using the travel cost method to value visits and stigma in connection with ARV adherence in Uganda

This article uses the travel cost method to value both client visits to collect antiretroviral therapy (ARV) and stigma, which prevents ARV adherence. Using a representative sample for Uganda initiated specifically for this study, we found a willingness to pay (WTP) valuation for visits made in the range of US$14–US$17 and a willingness to accept (WTA) valuation of US$25 for visits missed. The valuations for stigma based on a novel measure of stigma using a new estimation method were close to the valuations for visits. These valuations can be used to estimate the benefits to carry out cost–benefit analyses (CBAs) of interventions aimed at increasing ARV coverage and adherence.     

Determinants of tourism success for DMOs & destinations: An empirical examination of stakeholders' perspectives

What is tourism success? Specifically, what does tourism success mean for a destination as opposed to a destination management organization (DMO)? The main objectives of this study were to examine the concept of tourism success as it relates to both destinations and to DMOs, and to determine if a relationship or distinction exists between the two. Eighty-four (84) knowledgeable tourism managers and stakeholders from twenty-five (25) Canadian destinations were interviewed. Responses were used to identify variables and build a model that supports the existence of a relationship between the success of tourism destinations and DMOs with respect to community relations, marketing, and economic indicators. Unique to DMO success were supplier relations, effective management, strategic planning, organizational focus and drive, proper funding, and quality personnel. Unique to destination success were location and accessibility, attractive product and service offerings, quality visitor experiences, and community support.