An Entrepreneurial System View of New Venture Creation

This paper reports the results of a two-phase study that explores new venture creation within the context of an entrepreneurial system. First, a genealogy of high-technology companies is presented depicting a high spin-off rate resulting from the presence of seven incubator organizations. Second, semantic structure analysis ( Spradley 1980 ) based on semi-structured interviews with founders is used to develop a taxonomy. This taxonomy depicts the relationship among components in one entrepreneurial system, Boulder County, Colorado, that encourages, supports, and enhances regional entrepreneurial activity. Findings indicate that incubator organizations, spin-offs, informal and formal networks, the physical infrastructure, and the culture of the region are related uniquely and interact to form a system conducive for dense high-technology entrepreneurial activity. Additionally, greater rates of new venture formation were found following critical moments in the life of incubator organizations.     

Pricing training and development programs using stochastic CVP analysis

This paper sets forth, analyzes and applies a stochastic cost‐volume‐profit (CVP) model specifically geared toward the determination of enrollment fees for training and development (T+D) programs. It is a simpler model than many of those developed in the research literature, but it does incorporate one advanced component: an ‘economic’ demand function relating the expected sales level to price. Price is neither a constant nor a random variable in this model but rather the decision‐maker's basic control variable. The simplicity of the model permits analytical solutions for five ‘special prices’: (1) the highest price which sets breakeven probability equal to a minimum acceptable level; (2) the price which maximizes expected profits; (3) the price which maximizes a Cobb–Douglas utility function based on expected profits and breakeven probability; (4) the price which maximizes breakeven probability; and (5) the lowest price which sets breakeven probability equal to a minimum acceptable level. The model is applied to data provided by the Center for Management and Professional Development at the authors' university. The results suggest that there could be a significant payoff to fine‐tuning a T+D provider's pricing strategy using formal analysis. Copyright © 2005 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Employee leasing. The antebellum 1800s and the twenty-first century: A historical perspective of the contingent labour force

Management strategies have evolved over the centuries in response to economic and social needs of individuals and organizations. The maintenance of a flexible labour force was a management practice employed by industrialists more than a century ago. The use of employee leasing in the United States dates back to the industrial revolution that occurred during the nineteenth century. Industrialists leased bondsmen to supplement their labour force. This practice, known as 'hiring-out', permitted employers to obtain labour without making heavy investments in human resources. The motivations for maintaining a contingent labour force today are essentially unchanged from a century ago. This paper addresses the nineteenth-century use of a contingent labour force by the large Southern firm of Andrew Brown and Company in the period prior to the US Civil War.     

An integrated model of sales managers’ communication practices

Drawing from several diverse streams of research, the authors develop the rationale and empirical background for considering the role of sales manager communication practices. Using a multifaceted conceptualization of communication as its base, the study justifies, proposes, and evaluates a model describing the relations among sales managers’ communication practices and salesperson ambiguity, satisfaction, performance, and commitment. The results support the hypothesized model and suggest that sales manager communication practices are associated with these important salesperson job outcomes. Mark C. Johlke is an assistant professor of marketing in the Cameron School of Business at the University of North Carolina at Wilmington, Wilmington, North Carolina. Dale F. Duhan is an associate professor of marketing and director of International Bussiness Programs in the College of Business Administration at Texas University, Lubbock, Texas. Roy D. Howell is dean of the College of Business Administration at Texas Tech University, Lubbock, Texas. Robert W. Wilkes is the United Supermarkets professor of marketing and marketing area coordinator in the College of Business Administration at Texas Tech University, Lubbock, Texas.     

Interpreting shocks to the relative price of investment with a two-sector model

Consumption and investment comove over the business cycle in response to shocks that permanently move the price of investment. The interpretation of these shocks has relied on standard one-sector models or on models with two or more sectors that can be aggregated. We show that the same interpretation can also be motivated with a model that captures key features of the US Input–Output Tables and cannot be aggregated into a standard one-sector model. Our alternative model yields a closer match to the empirical evidence of positive comovement for consumption and investment subject shocks that permanently move the price of investment.     

Postcard reminders versus replacement questionnaires and mail survey response rates from a professional population

Nonresponse is a major problem in the use of mail questionnaires. The great number of variables that can influence response rates has resulted in an extensive literature on the subject, but a literature that is restricted to few examples of replication. Moreover, many of the studies reported in the literature were not conducted under controlled conditions. This article presents the results of a study using a single-factor experimental design to test the efficacy of two different follow-up forms in improving response rates. The results indicate that replacement questionnaires are to be preferred over postcard reminders when using a one-time follow-up in surveying a professional population.     

The Political Economy of Price Cap Regulation

The last decade has witnessed a dramatic substitutionof price cap regulation for rate-of-return regulationin the telecommunications industry. The 1996Telecommunications Act empowers state regulators toset the terms of competitive entry in local telephonemarkets. We investigate whether the form of regulationendogenously affects the regulator's behavior withrespect to competitive entry. The evidence revealsthat regulators in price cap jurisdictions tend to setmore liberal terms of entry in comparison withregulators in rate-of-return jurisdictions. Thissuggests that price cap regulation suffers fromincomplete contracting, undermining the potentiallysuperior incentive properties of this importantregulatory reform.