Entrepreneurial types and economic growth

Most literature on economic growth focuses on expenditure in research and development (R&D) because of its ability to produce technological change. Models based on this principle, however, fail to account for the exceptional growth exhibited in recent year by country such as China where R&D expenditure is virtually non-existing and for the lack of growth observed in countries such as Japan where R&D expenditure is significant. We propose a model in which entrepreneurs may be research-based (those incurring R&D expenditure) or imitators (those not incurring R&D expenditure) and show that, when the returns to R&D expenditure are low, such as in many emerging economies, the presence of a high number of imitative entrepreneurs who increase competition and product supply is sufficient to generate economic growth regardless of the distribution of activity between research-based and imitative and in spite of low R&D expenditure.     

Ethics,spirituality and self: managerial perspective and leadership implications

This paper argues that the self, as both the centre of our identity and the focus of our spiritual life, has not been given enough consideration with regard to the ethics of managers and leaders. Informed by models of self‐realisation and the Jungian process of individuation, our discussion suggests that the way we perceive and interpret our self affects our moral behaviour. In particular, integrity of the self fully participates in enhancing servant leadership and consistent ethical practice. We illustrate the argument with comments from various managers on the statement: ‘Being true to your self’.     

Internationalization of multi-source feedback systems: a six-country exploratory analysis of 360-degree feedback

In the past few years, few human resource practices have received as much attention as multi-source feedback systems (MSFSs). In the US and Canada, it is estimated that over one-third of organizations are using some form of MSFS and recent surveys show that this practice is still gaining popularity. Concurrently, a substantial amount of literature has focused on the effectiveness of this performance management practice. However, while few would dispute the popularity of MSFS, relatively little has been published on the use of these systems outside North America and thus little is known about their form and effectiveness in international contexts. This paper outlines the results of an international survey of MSFS. Interview data from HR managers and consultants from Argentina, Australia, China, Slovakia, Spain and the UK demonstrate that MSFS are being implemented, in slightly different ways, in each of these six countries. The main challenges in the application of MSFS in these various countries are the communication efforts necessary before and after implementation, and the inherent difficulty in giving and receiving feedback. The results of this study also provide data as to the perceived future of MSFS in each of the countries surveyed.     

Who is the “Self” that Buys?: An Exploratory Examination of Imaginative Consumption and Explanation of Opinion Leadership

The present research, first, combines literatures on self‐theory, imaginative consumption, and opinion leadership. Second, the research, using self‐theory, explores individual difference variables predictive of imaginative consumption in two studies using different populations. The results reveal fashion product involvement, self‐esteem, fashion knowledge, idea shopping motivation, and probability of a mispurchase influence the degree to which an individual imaginatively consumes fashion products. Third, the research makes a contribution by explaining from where opinion leaders derive their abilities—imaginative consumption. In contributing to scholarly work, the research explains the role of imagination and opinion leadership in both theories of self‐verification and self‐enhancement. Managerial implications include identifying potential opportunities for marketing communications and retail management. The findings are promising and encourage further exploration of the phenomenon of imaginative consumption.     

Sustainability and forest transitions in the southern Yucatán: The land architecture approach

Consistent with the challenges of sustainability science, land architecture offers a comprehensive approach to land system dynamics useful for numerous types of assessments, ranging from the vulnerability of coupled human–environment systems to forest transitions. With antecedents in several research communities, land architecture addresses the tradeoffs within and between the human and environmental subsystems of land systems in terms of the kind, magnitude, and pattern of land uses and covers. This approach is especially cogent for changes in tropical forests, given the broad-ranging forces acting on them and the equally broad-ranging consequences of their loss. The rudiments of the land architecture approach are illustrated for changes in seasonal tropical forests in the southern Yucatán of Mexico, the pivot of which is the Calakmul biosphere reserve. Simplifying the dynamics involved, the region-wide land architecture is the collective design of stakeholders with different land-use goals that favor tradeoffs in subsystem outcomes serving better either the reserve and related programs or the smallholder farmers that populate the region. A major tradeoff involves forest cover per se, which holds implications for forest transition theory. Evidence for an incipient transition involves the scale of analysis taken. The dynamics involved hold too much uncertainty to forecast a permanent transition to more forest cover and imply that more complex but robust versions of the theory are required.     

Does delaying service-failure resolution ever make sense?

Conventional wisdom suggests that service providers should respond to their failures as quickly as possible. Some research, however, points out that delaying resolutions may produce highly desirable results. The study here investigates these competing views by examining under which conditions an immediate or a delaying resolution produces more positive consumer responses in term of re-patronage and negative word-of-mouth intentions. Based on the concept of service separation, this research identifies an interaction effect between service separation (separated service, non-separated service) and response timing (immediate response, delaying response) on consumers' post-consumption intention. This research also finds that the relationship between service separation-response timing interaction and consumer response is mediated by consumers' negative emotions. This study contributes to refining our understanding of consumer psychology in service recovery. Practically, the studies also enable service providers to better allocate their resources to recover different types of services' failure.     

Expectations of Working Relationships in International Buyer–Seller Relationships: Development of a Relationship Continuum Scale

This study is an attempt to develop a scale to measure expectations of buyer–seller working relationships on a cross-cultural basis in the hospitality industry. The focus is on North American and Asian hotel salespeople. The scale development drew from previous research in guanxi relationships, purchasing, and selling strategies. While the results did not support a reliable unidimensional scale that could distinguish between transactional and collaborative working relationships, the methodology did create a framework for further scale development.