The double-edged sword of purpose-driven behavior in sustainable venturing

This paper examines the relationship between purpose and purposeful organizing and how such arrangements influence the entrepreneurial journey as sustainable ventures move from idea to markets. We leverage an iterative multi-stage process-tracing design to understand the mechanisms whereby 14 different B Corp certified organizations embed purpose before, during and after the certification process. Our analyses reveal three types of venture paths for purpose-driven entrepreneurs, which are shaped by distinct imprinting sequences with three critical sensitive windows playing a pivotal role: the definition of scope of purpose, timing of purpose formalization through B Corp Certification and shifts in the source of feedback. Different imprinters occurring within the critical sensitive windows shape particular imprinting sequences triggering situations of both productive and counterproductive path development. Our results challenge the assumed linear relationship between purpose and purposeful organizing and more specifically the belief that seeking (purposeful) B Corp certification at firm foundation is necessarily productive for society and for the ventures themselves regardless of when the certification is achieved.     

National culture and labour-market flexibility

This paper develops a cultural explanation for labour-market flexibility, building on the work of Lipset. Using Hofstede's conceptual framework for categorizing national cultures, certain hypotheses are derived concerning the association of various labour-market institutions and rigidities connected with employment, pay bargaining the treatment of the unemployed, and Hofstede's dimensions of national culture. These hypotheses are tested on data for OECD countries, using ordinary least squares regression. The results demonstrate a strong statistical association between Hofstede's cultural indices and the various labour-market rigidities. In particular, there is a strong inverse relationship between Hofstede's MAS variable and all our labour flexibility variables. Cultural values reflecting feminine gender structuring appear to be strongly associated with labour-market inflexibility. There is also a strong statistical association between scores on the UAI dimension, and employment rigidities and pay-bargaining practices. Cultural attitudes to power inequalities as reflected in the PDI index inversely related to rigidities in pay-bargaining practices. While the results demonstrate only statistical associations, they are suggestive of the possibility that culture plays more determining role. This has important implications for deregulation/regulation strategies.     

The home field advantage: Implications for the pricing of tickets to professional team sporting events

Existing empirical estimates of the elasticity of demand for tickets to professional team sporting events are consistently inelastic, throwing into question the assumption of profit-maximizing behavior on the part of team management. We provide a new theory of team sport ticket pricing, based on the home field advantage, which implies that the elasticity of demand relevant for profit maximization is more elastic than the traditional ceteris paribus elasticity measure. Thus, the inelastic traditional point estimates are not necessarily inconsistent with team profit maximization.     

Strategic reward systems: a contingency model of pay system design

A limited number of studies have addressed the idea of ‘strategic’ reward systems—the matching of compensation systems to a firm's strategy. Prior research on this topic has been confined to U.S. firms, however, and a number of key questions remain unanswered. Using a sample of 917 employees from two large Swiss financial institutions, we found that pay systems are linked with divisional strategic orientation, but in a different form than prior studies. Additionally, we identify hierarchical position as an important variable in the tailoring of reward systems. Hierarchy has a significant main effect on pay plan design, and an interactive effect with strategic orientation. Copyright © 2001 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Minimum Wage Regulation under Devolution in Northern Ireland

This paper assesses the development and functioning of regional minimum wage regulation in Northern Ireland in the interwar period under a federal form of devolution. Unlike current devolution arrangements in Scotland and Wales, this gave the Stormont Parliament powers over employment and minimum wage regulation. Northern Ireland Trade Boards were set up by the Ulster Unionist Government under the Trade Boards (Northern Ireland) Act 1923 and functioned along the same lines as those in Great Britain. Uniquely in the UK in this period, employer opposition resulted in the main Trade Board in the Irish Linen Industry being replaced by voluntary collective bargaining machinery. About one-quarter of employees were covered by minimum wage regulation, including two-thirds of females in Belfast, keeping a protective floor under low pay.     

Effects of fear appeal format and consumer personality on ad processing and persuasion: A preliminary analysis

This paper investigates how communication format and consumer personality impact processing and persuasion within a fear appeal context. By altering the sequence of threats and recommendations contained within a fear appeal, two format conditions were created: a balanced format (a repeating sequence of a single threat followed by a single recommendation) and a traditional format (multiple threats followed by multiple recommendations). Using the repression-sensitization scale, subjects were classified as either sensitizers (those who cope by extensive thought) or repressors (those who cope by avoidance or denial). Under a balanced format condition, sensitizers produced more support arguments and fewer counterarguments and reported greater behavioral intentions to comply with message recommendations.     

CEO duality and firm performance: A contingency model

Several studies have addressed the CEO duality-performance relationship, with inconsistent results. This paper proposes that these inconsistencies can be resolved by integrating agency and stewardship perspectives on duality. Using data from 192 firms in 12 industries, both the direction and magnitude of the duality-performance relationship was found to vary systematically across Dess and Beard's (1984) environmental dimensions. These results provide partial support for both agency and stewardship perspectives.     

The choice between resale price maintenance and exclusive territories: Evidence from litigation

A manufacturer's choice between resale price maintenance (RPM) and exclusive territories to protect dealer provided services is examined empirically. The relative efficacy of RPM in solving the free rider problem depends on the life cycle of the product being distributed. A manufacturer of a product with a long life cycle is more likely to protect its dealers' investment in service with exclusive territories, whereas RPM becomes the more probable restraint for products of short life spans. Data gleaned from vertical restraint litigation strongly support this hypothesis.The author wishes to thank Howard P. Marvel, Laura A. Boyd, and two anonymous referees for comments on earlier versions of this paper. The financial support of The Procter and Gamble Fund is also gratefully acknowledged. Any errors are mine alone.