The changing consumer in the Netherlands : Recent changes in environmental variables and their consequences for future consumption and marketing

Changes in many environmental (exogenous) factors during the eighties and early nineties affect marketing management and consumer behaviour in the Netherlands. Some of these factors relate to the effects of the economic recessions in the early eighties and the early nineties. Other factors are autonomous trends in a number of economic, demographic, and cultural factors. These factors determine a “macro marketing mix” for marketing management decisions of companies. In this article, we discuss the changing consumer environment and its impact on production and retailing of consumer goods and services in the Netherlands for the last decade of this century. This information on the Netherlands, as well as on the other nations of the European Community, is relevant for marketers operating in, or considering entering, the Dutch market. For governmental decision makers and scientists this information on future consumption and marketing is relevant for their policy and research.     

COUNTERING THE ASSAULT ON CAPITALISM

Capitalism is the most efficient system for solving problems and for advancing human welfare. Yet it faces opposition both from intellectuals and those with vested interests in big government. If business leaders would push for ‘liberate to stimulate policies’, they might succeed in creating a freer tomorrow and solving more of humanity's problems.     

The relationship between brokers’ influence, strength of ties and NPD project outcomes in innovation-driven horizontal networks

This paper examines the impact of a broker's perceived use of power – position (i.e., coercive, reward and legitimate) and personal (i.e., expert, information and referent) – on strength of ties between network members and new product development (NPD) project outcomes. Our sample consists of 100 individuals drawn from 42 organizations that were involved in different innovation-driven horizontal networks. The results of structural equation modeling suggest that the perceived use of both personal power bases and position power bases by the broker are positively related to the strength of ties between members. Strength of ties, on the other hand, is positively related to NPD project outcomes of design performance and development time. Finally, results show that the relationships between a broker's use of different power bases and NPD project outcomes are fully mediated by the strength of ties between networks members. Implications for research, theory, and practice are discussed.     

欧元对美元：存在统治地位之争吗

经过了虚拟欧元三年的经验,以及在实际欧元问世的前夕,欧元事实上完全有可能挑战美元国际货币的地位。欧元面值债券的发行量已经超过美元面值债券的发行量。世界已经享有一个两极的国际金融市场,尽管还不是一个两极的国际货币体系。持有美元作为大量的国际储备使得这种货币在货币危机时变成瓮中之鳖,完全依赖于美元作为主要储备货币、发票货币、和干预货币带来了根本没有必要的风险。因此,欧元成为美元主要竞争者的时期即将到来。     

Privacy and Personnel Selection: Reciprocal Rights and Responsibilities

Previous models of invasion of privacy in selection have stressed applicant rights to the exclusion of applicant responsibilities, and have slighted organizational incumbents' needs to acquire accurate knowledge about prospective co-workers. To correct this imbalance, a reciprocal model, enumerating and justifying possible rights and responsibilities of applicants, organizational management, and organizational incumbents, is postulated. This normative model is contrasted with the current mistrust that characterizes many selection interactions. Propositions suggesting ways of gaining the information that organizations require, while still respecting the privacy needs of applicants, are advanced. Tentative suggestions for how human resource professionals could initiate these positive changes are suggested as well.     

Materiality Judgments and Disclosure of Retiree Health Care Costs Under SFAS No. 81

Generally, researchers have difficulty empirically examining materiality judgments because amounts designated as immaterial are not disclosed. However, reporting requirements under SFAS No. 106 provide a unique opportunity to evaluate expense amounts designated immaterial under SFAS No. 81. We use the cumulative effect associated with the adoption of SFAS No. 106 to evaluate prior management materiality judgments. Univariate and logistic regression results suggest that the decision to disclose SFAS No. 81 costs is positively related to our measures of plan materiality. However, our results also suggest that voluntary disclosure factors may have influenced the disclosure decision.     

A Laddering Approach to the Use of Methods and Techniques to Reduce the Cycle Time of New-to-the-Firm Products

Millson, Raj, and Wilemon have developed the earliest extant knowledge on the implementation of methods and techniques to reduce new product development (NPD) cycle time by suggesting a hierarchy of generic NPD acceleration approaches. The purpose of this article is to extend Millson, Raj, and Wilemon's hierarchy by recasting and augmenting the conceptual basis of their hierarchy for new-to-the-firm products. Taking this hierarchy of generic NPD acceleration approaches as a starting point, the authors set out to form a number of generic NPD acceleration approaches by surveying the literature and conducting an experience survey with academics and managers. A logical and purposeful implementation sequence subsequently is established by using the laddering technique. The results indicate that managers make tradeoffs in NPD with regard to speed, development costs, and customer value, and that not all generic NPD acceleration approaches need to be implemented in order to obtain the greatest effectiveness. © 1999 Elsevier Science Inc.     

Commercial exploitation of new technologies arising from university research: start-ups and markets for technology

The creation of start-up firms is an important method of commercializing new technologies arising from R&D at universities and other research institutions. Most research into start-ups presumes that these firms develop products or services. However, start-ups may operate through markets for technology by selling or licensing rights to use their technology to other firms – typically established firms – who develop and sell new products or services based on the technology. In this study of 57 public start-up firms created to commercialize the results of university research, we find evidence that (1) operating through markets for technology is a common approach to commercialization, (2) start-ups that operate in markets for technology can be effectively distinguished in practice from start-ups operating through product markets, and (3) there are substantive differences in the business activities of firms depending on whether they operate through product markets or markets for technology.