Women's Wealth and Intimate Partner Violence: Insights from Ecuador and Ghana

Intimate partner violence (IPV) by men against their partners is one of the most glaring indicators of women's lack of empowerment. Drawing upon the 2010 Ecuador Household Asset Survey (EAFF) and the 2010 Ghana Household Asset Survey (GHAS), nationally representative surveys for Ecuador and Ghana, respectively, this study investigates the relationship between women's ownership of assets and physical and emotional abuse by spouses against currently partnered women over the previous twelve months. It uses the value of a woman's total assets compared to those of her partner as the main proxy for a woman's bargaining power. Differentiating between physical and emotional violence in both countries, the study finds that women's share of couple wealth is significantly associated with lower odds of physical violence in Ecuador and emotional violence in Ghana. Moreover, the association between women's share of couple wealth and IPV is contingent on the household's position in the wealth distribution.     

Usefulness,Enjoyment, and Self‐Image Congruence: The Adoption of e‐Book Readers

One challenge when launching new technologies is to overcome consumer resistance to change so as to accelerate market acceptance. This is the case of e‐book readers. The present study investigates individuals’ perceptions of the utilitarian and hedonic values of such devices and their congruence with self‐image as determinants of adoption. Additionally, consumer profile and familiarity with the new technology as a whole influence individuals’ perceptions of this particular technology and its congruence with self‐image. Findings show that perceived enjoyment and self‐image congruence complement perceived usefulness in forging a favorable attitude toward e‐book readers and adoption intention, and that knowledge proves essential in the adoption process. Moreover, people highly involved with reading tend to perceive e‐book readers as useless, which hampers their adoption.     

Human resources management in Spain: is it possible to speak of a typical model?

There is no shortage of literature studying the relationships between the various processes of human resources management, considered individually, and the strategy of the company. Nevertheless, studies that adopt a joint approach are scarce. In this study, working from the universalist, contingent and configurational perspectives, we seek to identify the possible existence of human resources management models and their links with the strategy of the company. Empirical analysis conducted with 130 industrial companies reveals three distinct models of human resources management but with behaviours independent of the strategies followed by the companies. At the same time we find, within each model, orientations of particular processes that are common among them and are thus characteristic of a universalist approach.     

High-performance work systems and firms' operational performance: the moderating role of technology

This paper analyses the moderating effect of technology on the potential impact of high-performance work systems (HPWS) on firms' operational performance. The paper distinguishes between production technology and the technological intensity of the industry. This potential effect is analysed in a sample of 965 Spanish manufacturing firms. Results support the moderating role of the technological intensity of the industry, while qualifying the hypothesized moderating effect of production technology.     

Learning about compliance under asymmetric information

Over time, inspection agencies gather information about firms’ pollution levels and this information may allow agencies to differentiate their monitoring strategies in the future. If a firm is less successful than its peers in reducing emissions, it faces the risk of being targeted for increased inspections in the next period. This risk of stricter monitoring might induce high-abatement cost firms to mimic low-abatement cost firms by choosing lower emission levels, while the latter might try to avoid being mimicked. We explain firms’ compliance decisions and the inspection agency's monitoring strategy by means of a signaling game which incorporates dynamic enforcement and learning. Interestingly, we show that the ongoing signaling game between firm types might lead to firms over-complying with the emission standard.     

Explaining Market Heterogeneity in Terms of Value Perceptions

In the past decade, companies and academics have become aware of the great benefits of creating value for customers. However, little empirical research has yet been conducted in the area of services with respect to how customers may differ in their perceptions of value and what variables can explain such differences. This article provides an insight into how three relationship-based contingencies are likely to explain market heterogeneity in customers' perceptions of value. In particular, we explore how special treatment of the customer by the service provider, the level of customer involvement with the service, and the customer's accumulated experience with a particular company may act as predictors of market heterogeneity in the customer's perceptions of value within a service setting. Results offer evidence for the important role of relationships and experience in a service context mainly characterised by standard encounters, and provide interesting managerial insights to tailor strategies that effectively respond to market heterogeneity.     

Leadership,sourcing modes and IT project management

Information technology (IT) project management has always been a major concern for firms. Researchers have demonstrated that the different characteristics of a project directly affect project management practices and have suggested that different leadership profiles are better suited to different project conditions. The aim of the proposed model is to aid in the understanding of the relationship between the type of IT project (represented by its sourcing mode) and the leadership profile adopted by a project manager. Using a case approach, we studied four successful IT projects. Our results suggest that projects using a partnership or recuperation sourcing mode require a more flexible profile of management than projects characterized by internal governance or outsourcing, which require a more control‐oriented profile of management. Copyright © 2010 ASAC. Published by John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

CSR development in post‐communist economies: employees' expectations regarding corporate socially responsible behaviour – the case of Romania

Drawing on stakeholder theory and the evolutionary approach to institutions, this paper investigates the channels through which corporate social responsibility (CSR) is developed in post‐communist economies by focusing on the employee background factors that shape the employees' expectations with regard to corporate socially responsible behaviour. We identify three channels through which exogenous and endogenous CSR are developed: employees with work experience in multinational enterprises (MNEs) (leading to exogenous CSR), employees with CSR knowledge (leading to exogenous CSR) and employees with experience of the socialist system (leading to endogenous CSR). Furthermore, we argue that the interactions between these channels lead to hybrid CSR in transition economies. We use a questionnaire‐based survey with employees of domestic and MNEs in Romania and we conduct regression analysis. We find that employees with work experience in MNEs act as channels for exogenous CSR, while employees with experience of the socialist system act as channels for endogenous CSR. Furthermore, employees with experience of the socialist system and CSR knowledge or work experience in an MNE act as channels for hybrid CSR in transition economies. Based on our results, we put forward implications for theory, managers and policy makers.