Student clubs: experiences in entrepreneurial learning

Student-led clubs that seek to enhance entrepreneurial learning can be found in many universities. Yet, like many areas of extra-curricular activity in entrepreneurship education, their role in supporting learning has not been researched widely. The paper introduces research that addresses this gap and investigates the nature of the learning process student's encounter when they take part in clubs. The study explores the literature on entrepreneurial learning; it examines the different concepts and considers their contribution to understanding student learning experiences. From the literature, a conceptual framework is presented, highlighting the key aspects of entrepreneurial learning relevant for the field research. The methodology is introduced, including a series of qualitative studies and a survey of students. The study focuses on two types of student-led clubs ‘entrepreneurship clubs’ and ‘Enactus clubs’ and provides a comparative analysis. The findings reported show a range of student learning benefits that simulate important aspects of entrepreneurial learning, such as learning by doing, learning through mistakes and learning from entrepreneurs. More nuanced findings are also presented showing differences in learning benefits between club forms and heighten benefits for students taking leadership roles. Ultimately, the paper contributes to research in entrepreneurship by illustrating how student clubs support entrepreneurial learning.     

Minimum distance estimators for count data based on the probability generating function with applications

This paper studies properties of parameter estimators obtained by minimizing a distance between the empirical probability generating function and the probability generating function of a model for count data. Specifically, it is shown that, under certain not restrictive conditions, the resulting estimators are consistent and, suitably normalized, asymptotically normal. These properties hold even if the model is misspecified. Three applications of the obtained results are considered. First, we revisit the goodness-of-fit problem for count data and propose a weighted bootstrap estimator of the null distribution of test statistics based on the above cited distance. Second, we give a probability generating function version of the model selection test problem for separate, overlapping and nested families of distributions. Finally, we provide an application to the problem of testing for separate families of distributions. All applications are illustrated with numerical examples.     

The paradox of employee psychological well-being practices: an integrative literature review and new directions for research

Abstract

It is well established that many HR practices aimed at increasing employees’ psychological wellbeing (PWB) and organisational performance conflict and even contradict one another. We address this long-standing issue by undertaking an innovative integrative literature review using the paradox metatheory as a lens. Unlike the contingency approach, a paradox perspective deems real-world tensions as normal, which can also be harnessed, and benefit employees and the organisation. We make three contributions; firstly, we identify contradictory employee PWB and organisational performance HR practices; secondly, we offer a solution in addressing the inherent tension between PWB and organisational performance by developing a new sensemaking conceptual framework; and thirdly, we offer a more nuanced perspective of prevailing arguments by distinguishing endogenous factors that organisations can influence to enhance the synergies between employee PWB and organisational performance HR practices. The intended impact of this paper is to instigate a paradigm shift and shape a new trajectory of thinking about how employee PWB and organisational performance practices can exist side-by-side.     

Export specialization and economic growth around the world

This paper empirically investigates the extent to which technological characteristics in exports affect the patterns of trade-led economic growth across countries. Data of the Balassa index, which captures a country's revealed comparative advantage, are obtained for industries classified by technological intensity. Regression results based on a sample of 71 countries since 1970 suggest that economies have tended to grow more rapidly when they have increasingly specialized in exporting high-technology as opposed to traditional or low-technology goods. The findings are robust to the presence of various control variables as well as the consideration of parameter heterogeneity and in the endogeneity of export structures.     

Stochastic modelling and industrial networks—complementary views of organisational buyer behavior

This paper investigates the common ground between two apparently contrasting approaches to the understanding of organizational purchasing behavior; stochastic modelling and the IMP (or “markets as networks”) approach. These two schools of inquiry have travelled along parallel tracks for many years but there has never been a systematic attempt to analyse the ontological, epistemological and methodological similarities between them. We present a coherent theoretical framework to investigate the common ground between stochastic modelling and IMP and demonstrate that the two approaches offer complementary insights that can and should be exploited in the context of research into organizational purchasing behavior.     

流媒体技术及应用

互联网的宽带化发展为流媒体技术的产生和发展提供了强大的动力和广阔的应用空间。流媒体技术将广泛应用于互联网上的多媒体新闻发布、视频点播、电子商务、远程教育、视频会议等网络信息服务的方方面面。本文将从流媒体的概念、技术体系、应用前景等方面分别进行阐述。由于音/视频文件一般很大,受网络带宽的限制,下载需较长时间。运用流媒体技术,音/视频文件通过服务器向用户实时传送并播放,用户只需几秒时间延迟便可进行观看,具有非常明显的优势。     

A warm welcome for destination quality brands: the example of the Pays Cathare region

In this paper, the salient complexities characterising quality management at the tourism destination are outlined, and in light of these, a number of quality principles are deemed particularly appropriate for the further investigation of destination quality management (DQM). The complexities include the significant number of services provided at the destination, the highly fragmented nature of the tourism destination product and the large number of small businesses that go to comprise this product. General principles are drawn from the SERVQUAL, Kano and EFQM Business Excellence models in order to provide a tentative framework for investigating how one destination has striven to overcome these challenges. The example of the Pays Cathare Region in southern France, which has been recognised by the European Commission as an example of best practice in integrated quality management (IQM), shows how these quality tenets can be translated from the theoretical framework into actual practice by means of its destination quality brand. Copyright © 2003 John Wiley &Sons, Ltd.