Five Modern Lessons from a 55-Year-Old Technological Forecast

The first comprehensive forecast of technological trends and social implications by the U.S. government was published by the National Resources Committee in 1937. It focused on 13 major innovations. In their article, Steven Schnaars, Swee Chia and Cesar Maloles examine the accuracy of those forecasts and draw some conclusions based on their review of that report.     

The employment elasticity in manufacturing: a comment on Mazumdar

We show that Mazumdar's recently proposed methods for estimatingthe elasticity of the wage bill with respect to output growth,and for decomposing the growth rate of the wage rate into anoutput effect, an employment effect, and a price effect, areproblematic. The decomposition proposed is a tautology becauseit can be equally derived from an accounting identity. Likewise,we show that the alleged elasticity of the wage bill with respectto output growth has to take on a value of unity by definition.     

Observational Learning from Acquisition Outcomes of Innovation Leaders

We examine how learning from observing the acquisition outcomes of innovation leaders affects the acquisition decisions and performance of followers in an industry. Followers tend to increase the probability of acquisition and the size of an acquisition when innovation leader acquisitions produce more favorable outcomes, and reduce both when innovation leader acquisitions suffer more unfavorable outcomes. Industry competition, environmental uncertainty, prior acquisition experience, geographic proximity, and managerial incentives are important mechanisms affecting observational learning in acquisitions. Follower acquisitions perform better when innovation leaders’ acquisition outcomes convey more favorable signals, and more poorly when they convey more unfavorable signals.     

To Help or Not to Help? The Good Samaritan Effect and the Love of Money on Helping Behavior

This research tests a model of employee helping behavior (a component of Organizational Citizenship Behavior, OCB) that involves a direct path (Intrinsic Motives → Helping Behavior, the Good Samaritan Effect) and an indirect path (the Love of Money → Extrinsic Motives → Helping Behavior). Results for the full sample supported the Good Samaritan Effect. Further, the love of money was positively related to extrinsic motives that were negatively related with helping behavior. We tested the model across four cultures (the USA., Taiwan, Poland, and Egypt). The Good Samaritan Effect was significant for all four countries. For the indirect path, the first part was significant for all countries, except Egypt, whereas the second part was significant for Poland only. For Poland, the indirect path was significant and positive. The love of money may cause one to help in one culture (Poland) but not to help in others. Results were discussed in the light of ethical decision making.

Job offers of multi-national accounting firms: the effects of emotional intelligence,extra-curricular activities,and academic performance

This study investigates the effects of academic performance, extracurricular activities (ECA) and emotional intelligence (EI) of potential accounting-major graduates on the outcomes of their respective interviewing activities and the number of final job offers given by the multinational Big 5 public accounting firms. The following outcomes are identified: (a) the number of initial job interviews is affected by both a graduate's academic performance and level of participation in ECA; (b) the number of subsequent job interviews is affected by both the number of initial job interviews as well as the level of a graduate's EI; (c) the number of final job offers is affected by the graduate's level of EI and both the number of initial and subsequent job interviews. The results indicate the relevance of EI in the job search process and will also be useful for accounting educators to plan their curricula more effectively to enhance the job placement of their graduates with the Big 5 firms.     

A Gender Analysis of Bank Loan Negotiations in Uganda

This paper highlights the differences between men and women in bank loan negotiations. It presents findings of an ex post facto design study that involved administering questionnaires to 289 respondents who had ever applied for a loan from a Ugandan commercial bank from 1999 through 2005. Results showed that male and female respondents differed in their negotiation behavior and outcomes. Female respondents scored higher than male respondents on self-enhancement and yielding. Male respondents scored higher than female respondents on inaction. Results further showed that female respondents receive lower payoff than male respondents from bank loan negotiations, and that both male and female respondents encounter problems in mixed gender negotiations.     

Exploring the Impact of Customer Satisfaction on Food Retailers' Evolution: Managerial Lessons From Austria

Many studies have shown that customer satisfaction affects customer behavior and loyalty. There are, however, relatively few studies that examine the impact of customer satisfaction on store repatronage behavior by store-type choice. This study examines why Austrian consumers choose a certain store type (i.e., supermarket or bakery) for purchases in a particular product category (i.e., baked goods). Moreover, it assesses the impact of customer satisfaction on customer loyalty (i.e., the repatronage intention). The study found that customers valued different attributes for each store type. It also suggested that customer satisfaction and customers' intention to recommend varied by store type. Additionally, the bakery customers' tendency to spend more is positively related to their satisfaction level. Managerial implications for both types of stores are provided.     

Women in grassroots leadership: Barriers and biases experienced in a membership organization dominated by men

Among governing boards traditionally dominated by men, the presence of women is becoming more common. However, these women may face prejudices and discrimination that prevent them from feeling and ultimately being successful. This qualitative study focused on the experiences of women who participated in a grassroots organization's leadership training program. Interviewees revealed that they believed gender‐related obstacles were preventing them from being effective leaders. Four significant themes emerged: persisting stereotypes and bias, separation and isolation, desire for change, and potential for added value. In response, the authors recommend organizations and practitioners engage in more intentional and complete implementation of path‐goal theory throughout the leadership development process.