International network extension processes to institutionally different markets: Entry nodes and processes of exporting SMEs

This article is about how SMEs reduce their liability of network outsidership in the process of establishing a network insider position in foreign business networks. By examining how SMEs establish insidership positions in institutionally different business networks, the authors contributes to the network approach to firm internationalization. From a detailed longitudinal and retrospective case study of four SMEs from mature market entering emerging country markets and four SMEs from such immature markets entering mature markets, the authors develop propositions based on intra-group and inter-group analysis. The propositions concern the parties to which the exporter initiates and develops relationships when plugging into the foreign network (the entry node), and how the firm reaches an insider position in this network (the entry process). Three distinct network types are identified along this entry process: the exposure network, the formation network and the sustenance network.     

Foreign Firms and Chinese Employment

This paper examines the effect of foreign direct investment (FDI) on employment in the Chinese manufacturing sector. As one of the world's largest recipients of FDI, China has arguably benefited from foreign multinational enterprises in various respects. However, one of the main challenges for China, and other developing countries, is job creation, and the effect of FDI on employment is uncertain. The effect depends on the amount of jobs created within foreign firms as well as the effect of FDI on employment in domestic firms. We analyse FDI and employment in China using a large sample of manufacturing firms for the period 1998–2004. Our results show that FDI has positive effects on employment growth. The relatively high employment growth in foreign firms is associated with their firm characteristics and their high survival rate. Employment growth is also relatively high in private domestic Chinese firms. There also seems to be a positive indirect effect of FDI on employment in private domestically‐owned firms, presumably caused by spillovers.     

Entry into Swedish Retail and Wholesale Trade Markets

This paper examines, using a zero-inflated negative binomial regression model, what determined entry into the Swedish retail and wholesale trade markets between 1990 and 1996. According to the results, high returns on equity and low sunk costs seemed to attract more entry into retail trade industries, while recent entry and higher total industry sales were associated with more entry into both retail and wholesale trade local markets.     

Determinants of consumers’ aesthetic responses to Point‐of‐Purchase materials

The four‐dimensional nature of the Kaplans’ model of aesthetic response to images was tested on Point‐of‐Purchase (POP) material. It was found that only two robust dimensions emerged in the analysis, Clarity and Mystery. These however, had a significant influence on the subjects’ rating of the POP’s attractiveness. Path analysis suggested each of these dimensions was independent of the other. The implications of the findings are discussed and possible future areas of research identified.     

The business model in entrepreneurial marketing: A communication perspective on business angels' opportunity interpretation

Entrepreneurial marketing has emerged as a recent perspective within the marketing field, taking the challenges and characteristics of small firms and founding teams into account. Specifically, in the early stages of entrepreneurial marketing, besides potential customers a variety of other stakeholders tend to be in the center of attention. Among these stakeholders, business angels as early-stage investors represent a vital target group. In this paper, we aim to shed light on entrepreneurial marketing in the early phases of new venture creation, in which entrepreneurial firms have an inherent need to market the value of a business opportunity toward potential investors. In particular, we contribute to the literature by introducing the business model as a narrative device for the marketing of early-stage new ventures toward potential business angels. In this regard, the business model is suggested as playing a critical role through making the inherent economic value of a technology explicit. Building on narrative theory, we investigate the role that the business model plays in the decision-making process of 17 business angels. Based on our findings, we propose a model that links the business model to a business angel's interpretation of an investment opportunity and discuss implications for theory and practice.     

The mortality among industrial insured lives in Norway 1931–1940

Abstract

Industrial insurance was introduced in Norway in 1903 by The Norwegian Life Insurance Company FRAM which was alone in this branch of life insurance activity until 1918, when The Life Insurance Company Norske Folk adopted industrial insurance also. Later on other companies too have started industrial insurance, but Fram is still by far the largest industrial insurance company in Norway, and to-day works with industrial insurance with weekly, monthly and daily premiums (calendarpremium).     

Identifying intraorganisational and interorganisational alliance conflicts—A longitudinal study of an alliance pilot project in the high technology industry

The extant literature on alliances tends to neglect the effects of intraorganisational relationships within each alliance partner on the implementation of the alliance. To address this gap, this paper investigates both interorganisational and intraorganisational conflicts occurring during the implementation of a service alliance and aims at developing categories of conflicts as well as analysing how these conflict categories affect the implementation of the alliance. Thus, the overall purpose is to contribute to our understanding of implementation issues in alliances for the delivery of services. In order to do so, one case of a high-technology alliance has been studied longitudinally, with the researcher acting as a participant observer. Three interrelated categories of conflicts are developed through an analysis of the data: 1) the scope of the alliance, 2) the customer relationship, and 3) the implementation process. One important conclusion of this study is that the perspectives of several of the stakeholders, including the customers indirectly involved in the alliance, should be included when implementing service alliances.     

Hedging labor income risk

We use a detailed panel data set of Swedish households to investigate the relation between their labor income risk and financial investment decisions. In particular, we relate changes in wage volatility to changes in the portfolio holdings for households that switched industries between 1999 and 2002. We find that households do adjust their portfolio holdings when switching jobs, which is consistent with the idea that households hedge their human capital risk in the stock market. The results are statistically and economically significant. A household going from an industry with low wage volatility to one with high volatility ceteris paribus decreases its portfolio share of risky assets by up to 35%, or $15,575.     

Globalization and imperfect labor market sorting

This paper focuses on the ability of the labor market to efficiently match heterogeneous workers to jobs within a given industry and the role that globalization plays in that process. Using matched worker–firm data from Sweden, we find strong evidence that openness improves the matching between workers and firms in industries with greater comparative advantage. This suggests that there may be significant gains from globalization that have not been identified in the past — globalization may improve the efficiency of the matching process in the labor market. These results remain unchanged after adding controls for technical change at the industry level or measures of domestic anti-competitive regulations and product market competition. Our results are also robust to alternative measures of the degree of matching, openness, and the trade status of an industry.     

Commitment to Sustainability in Small and Medium‐Sized Enterprises: The Influence of Strategic Orientations and Management Values

Ecosystem degradation and social sustainability have become important issues in the corporate sphere during the last few decades. However, research discussing corporate social responsibility and related concepts has often focused on larger companies, sometimes neglecting the specifics of small and medium‐sized enterprises (SMEs). The main purpose of this study is to examine the relationships between two common strategic orientations, market orientation (MO) and entrepreneurial orientation (EO), in relation to sustainability commitment, sustainability practices and management values in SMEs. Questionnaire responses from 450 Swedish SMEs were analyzed, confirming the influence of MO, EO and sustainability practices on commitment to sustainability, implying that firms committed to sustainability see both market and entrepreneurial advantages of sustainability. The results also show that different parts of MO and EO differ in importance for commitment to sustainability among SMEs. Implications concern the importance for firms and policymakers to work with sustainability issues using both internal and external perspectives. © 2015 The Authors. Business Strategy and the Environment published by ERP Environment and John Wiley & Sons Ltd