Rogues and Deviants: a game-theoretic perspective on opportunism in strategic alliances

ABSTRACT

This research examines how relational factors, such as monitoring, relative alliance identity (RAI), and trust, influence opportunism and, consequently, alliance performance. The authors suggest that the strategic alliances literature would benefit from recognising that opportunism does not always originate from the firm (rogue opportunism), but can also originate from individual employees (deviant opportunism). Hypotheses are tested in a multi-method approach within a business simulation and a cross-sectional sample of alliance executives. The results demonstrate a U-shaped relationship between trust and opportunism; however, monitoring moderates the relationship such that at high levels of trust, opportunism is practically non-existent. Further, results indicate that employees’ identification with the alliance impedes opportunism. Additionally, both types of opportunistic behaviours negatively impact the performance of partner firms and alliances.     

The structure of british industry's sales in foreign markets

The structure of British industry's foreign sales is analysed by its principal components: exports, sales arising from licenses issued abroad and the output from facilities financed by British foreign direct investment. Total foreign sales are analysed by industry and by foreign market and differences in structure on both these dimensions are considerable. The literature is analysed in order to determine a preliminary set of variables which explain the structure at this highly aggregated level. Examination of the data allows us to focus on the most important explanatory variables, which include exchange rates, government policies and supply and demand factors.     

Motivations and forms of corporate giving behaviour: insights from Australia

• Although corporate support for many nonprofit organisations (NPOs) represents only a relatively small component of their overall income its importance is growing. As a consequence, the need to understand corporate giving behaviour in a way that supports the development of strategically targeted and successful marketing campaigns is of growing importance to marketing managers in many NPOs around the globe.
• This paper presents the findings of a study into the ‘why’ and ‘how’ of corporate giving behaviour in Australia. In the seven case studies examined, there was no strong evidence that Australian corporations give for other than strategic profit maximisation or political reasons. In contrast to the literature, altruistic and managerial utility did not emerge as strong motivational factors.
• This study also found that corporations are likely to have a number of corporate giving programmes each with its own underlying motivation and strategic purpose which network together to form a hierarchy of corporate giving programmes.
• The paper concludes by discussing the implications of this research for NPO managers attempting to increase their level of corporate support.

Copyright © 2007 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Mindfulness-based training interventions for employees: A qualitative review of the literature

We provide a comprehensive qualitative review of 67 published studies that have examined mindfulness-based training interventions conducted with employees. The findings indicate that the most common research designs were the pre-test/post-test only design (35.8%) and the randomized waitlist control group design (26.9%). About two-thirds of the studies included a control group (61.2%), with approximately three-quarters (75.6%) of these studies using random assignment. Of the 63 studies that used a conventional experimental design, the majority (65.1%) included only one follow-up assessment, most often immediately after training. Results indicated a great degree of heterogeneity in terms of program content, although many studies used some adaptation of Kabat-Zinn's (1990) Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction (41.8%), an approach with a strong evidentiary base with clinical populations. All training programs incorporated practice, most (85.1%) used multiple methods of delivering the training material, and training varied considerably in total duration, session length, and the number of training sessions. Our review also found that the intended purpose of mindfulness-based training for employees was most commonly the reduction of stress/strain (80.6%), although a wide range of other targeted outcomes were documented. Based on our findings, we offer suggestions for future research aimed at advancing our understanding of mindfulness-based training interventions with employees.     

The rationale for an employment guarantee in South Africa

This article considers what would happen if unemployed people in South Africa had a right to a minimum level of regular work on decent terms. It looks at the example of India, where a law was passed in 2005 guaranteeing rural households up to 100 days of work a year at minimum wage rates. More than 55 million households now participate in this programme – a rare example of a policy innovation bringing about significant change in a society. India's employment guarantee has important implications for social and economic policy and gives new meaning to the concept of ‘a right to work’. The article explores how structural inequality limits South Africa's development options, and considers early lessons from South Africa's Community Work Programme to make the case for an employment guarantee in South Africa.     

The Effects of Brand Metaphors as Design Innovation: A Test of Congruency Hypotheses

Metaphors are a common tool in brand design, from the original, enticing Apple logo to the classic animalistic hood ornament of a Jaguar automobile. Metaphors are a powerful marketing tool as an efficient way to convey a great deal of meaning to consumers, including expressing product benefits, points of differentiation (e.g., “Iron Mountain's” name and logo, intended to express its superiority in data and document safekeeping), and even brand personality. The perspective taken here is that when applied to products, metaphors also serve as a form of design innovation. This study examines the interactions and effects of various applications of brand metaphor (linguistic, visual, and symbolic) and the forms those metaphors can take (human, animal, or nonmetaphoric) in influencing important outcomes including brand vividness, brand differentiation, and consumer preference. Based on two experiments across multiple product categories with 424 subjects, we find that the consistency of brand metaphor application and the use of animal‐based metaphors in particular have significant influence on key outcomes. Implications for brand management and design innovation through the more effective use of design metaphors are considered, as are implications for theory and future research in the area.     

Global liquidity risk in the foreign exchange market

Using a broad data set of 20 US dollar exchange rates and order flow of institutional investors over 14 years, we construct a measure of global liquidity risk in the foreign exchange (FX) market. Our FX liquidity measure may be seen as the analog of the well-known Pastor–Stambaugh liquidity measure for the US stock market. We show that this measure has reasonable properties, and that there is a strong common component in liquidity across currencies. Finally, we provide evidence that liquidity risk is priced in the cross-section of currency returns, and estimate the liquidity risk premium in the FX market around 4.7 percent per annum.     

Wildlife tourism as a common pool resource issue: enabling conditions for sustainability governance

Wildlife tourism is potentially a common pool resource (CPR) issue when the following are applicable: it is difficult to exclude tourists; their experiences are affected by others’ activities; and adverse impacts on the wildlife occur. CPRs are typified by non-excludability and subtractability. Relatively few efforts have been made to consider tourism in this way or to use the concept of CPR in tourism management schemes. This paper (1) explores the possibility of wildlife tourism being a CPR issue, (2) derives a list of enabling conditions required for the sustainability of such resources and (3) determines the applicability of the conditions through a case study. Having described the potential for wildlife tourism to be a CPR issue, the enabling conditions explored in the rest of the paper follow: the characteristics of the tourism resource system and its user groups, the associated institutional arrangements and the external environment. The application of CPR thinking to the case study, whale shark tourism in Ningaloo Marine Park, Western Australia, revealed the contribution of institutional arrangements, particularly those associated with the State Government, to sustainable management. The use of the enabling conditions as a tool for managing wildlife tourism is discussed.     

The impact of supervisor–subordinate relationships on morale: implications for public and private sector nurses' commitment

This paper used leader–member exchange theory as a lens for comparing the impact of the supervisor–subordinate relationship on public and private nurses' perceptions of morale and affective commitment. Many countries that are part of the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development are experiencing nurse shortages, and this theoretical framework proved insightful into factors contributing to turnover. The findings suggested that private sector nurses are significantly more satisfied with their supervision, enjoy greater morale and are more committed to their organisations. However, both groups were only slightly satisfied with their supervisor–subordinate relationships, implying that present management practices are not ideal for promoting effective workplace relationships. Implications for health-care management are discussed.