Strategic niche management of social innovations: the case of social entrepreneurship

Strategic niche management (SNM), a tool to understand and manage radical socio-technical innovations and facilitate their diffusion, has always departed from a technical artefact. Many radical innovations, however, do not revolve around such an artefact. Social entrepreneurship is a new business model that combines a social goal with a business mentality and is heralded as an important new way to create social value such as sustainability. This study examines if and how SNM can be applied to such a social innovation. It identifies theoretical and practical limitations and proposes solutions. The main conclusion is that SNM can be used to analyse radical social innovation, although it requires rethinking the initial entry point for research and management. Exemplifying quotes are proposed as an alternative. Second, this paper suggests using values to describe niche–regime interaction as a better way to anticipate future niche–regime interactions.     

Being Different Can Hurt: Effects of Deviation from Physical Norms on Lawyers' Salaries

A recent federal appeals court ruling barred employment bias against obese people. A reconsideration of the association between being overweight and salary is therefore in order. This article examines the effect of being overweight and thin on lawyers' salaries as reported in the 1984 National Lawyer Survey. Using regression models derived from the clinical nutrition literature as well as models based on the lawyers in the sample themselves,we find an effect of being overweight on salary for men and not for women attorneys. There is also an effect of being thin on men's but not on women's salaries. Importantly, the influence of thinness means that the effect of weight on salary is not linear. We suggest that the relationship between salaries and appearance may result from social perceptions of people deviating from an "ideal" physique.     

Going Multinational: What are the Effects on Home‐Market Performance?

Abstract. This paper compares the home‐market performance of German multinational enterprises (MNEs) and national firms, both before and after switching from national to multinational activities. Regarding the former case, our results show that future multinationals outperform domestic firms. When assessing the ex post performance of multinationals, selectivity issues must be taken into account. Applying an endogenous treatment model, it turns out that after switching, both productivity and wage growth are higher at newly founded MNEs. While capital intensities increase compared with those of national firms, employment growth rates are negatively related to switching, suggesting that home and foreign employment are substitutes.     

Using retirement planning software to assess Americans' preparedness for retirement: an update

This article is an update of a previous analysis of retirement planning software. In this updated analysis, the author uses data from the 1995 Survey of Consumer Finances along with statistical analysis of retirement software to examine whether consumers who follow the software retirement saving parameters are saving enough for retirement.     

Quality assurance in managed vision benefits

Quality assurance is an important responsibility of those who purchase managed vision care benefits. In conducting a quality assurance program, it is important to respect patient confidentiality and the practitioner's right to exercise professional discretion. An effective program will not only accomplish its main objective of attaining high-quality care, but it can also enhance member satisfaction and improve provider relations.     

Time series momentum

We document significant “time series momentum” in equity index, currency, commodity, and bond futures for each of the 58 liquid instruments we consider. We find persistence in returns for one to 12 months that partially reverses over longer horizons, consistent with sentiment theories of initial under-reaction and delayed over-reaction. A diversified portfolio of time series momentum strategies across all asset classes delivers substantial abnormal returns with little exposure to standard asset pricing factors and performs best during extreme markets. Examining the trading activities of speculators and hedgers, we find that speculators profit from time series momentum at the expense of hedgers.