Age structure shifts in Research & Development (R&D): Some statistical evidence and an integrative approach to link behavioural aspects of individual and group age in collaborative R&D

Since empirical material concerning the age structure of industrial R&D organizations is scarce an attempt is made to present some statistical evidence in support of the wide-spread notion of a shift toward a higher median age in R&D laboratories during the past years. Then, on an individual level of analysis the results of an extensive review of existing empirical research on the covariation of individual age and scientific performance are summarized in brief. On a group level of analysis research relating age of collaborative R&D groups (i.e., average length of time group members had worked together in a particular group) to group performance is discussed. To integrate the contradictory findings of prior research two analytic concepts are introduced, namely the discrimination of different situations of collaboration and the identification of two basic functions of interactions in collaborative R&D. Based upon these concepts an integrative approach to account for time-related performance patterns on an individual and group level of analysis is laid out. Finally, possibilities of a diagnostic application of the suggested concepts are indicated.     

Tax‐Aided Financial Services Companies and the Cost of Capital

Over the past two decades, the governments of several European countries have implemented special tax devices to attract the finance centres of multinational companies. This paper determines how the cost of capital for investments made by multinationals is affected by the tax regimes, bringing into play the Irish financial services company, the Belgian co‐ordination centre, the Dutch finance company and the Luxemburg company coupled with a Swiss finance branch. It gives evidence that intermediation of a tax‐aided services company in the financing scheme of a foreign subsidiary provides an important tax saving. However, the home and source countries' tax regimes influence the hierarchy of the less heavily taxed treasury and finance centres. The methodology relies on the marginal effective tax rates theory and consists of an extension of Alworth's (1988) model to include treasury centres.     

Measuring International Skilled Migration: A New Database Controlling for Age of Entry

Recent data on international migration of skilled workers defineskilled migrants by education level without distinguishing whetherthey acquired their education in the home or the host country.This article uses immigrants' age of entry as a proxy for wherethey acquired their education. Data on age of entry are availablefrom a subset of receiving countries that together represent77 percent of total skilled immigration to countries of theOrganisation for Economic Co-operation and Development. Usingthese data and a simple gravity model to estimate the age-of-entrystructure of the remaining 23 percent, alternative brain drainmeasures are proposed that exclude immigrants who arrived beforeages 12, 18, and 22.     

MAPS: A Planning System for International Market Entry

This paper describes an international marketing expert system that helps managers make strategic decisions regarding market entry. The system is called MAPS, for MArket-entry Planning System. MAPS is being developed using a combination of AI knowledge representations (i.e. rules, semantic networks, text-analysis techniques) and multi-attribute decision models based on weighted linear algebraic formulas for judgment and evaluation. Previous research by the author and colleagues resulted in several components of MAPS, developed largely as stand-alone products. These components were developed using a shell called CEVAL (Candidate Evaluator). CEVAL and other AI tools are currently being used to integrate the components into a comprehensive system that addresses most of the major issues facing international market planners. This system serves both an educational and a decision-support purpose.     

Iterative Project Processes Within Temporary Multi‐Organizations in Construction: The Self‐, Eco‐, Re‐Organizing Projects

Theory‐based studies claim that informal processes interfere with the formal mechanisms and structures of projects in the construction sector. These processes structure and transform multi‐organizations. This four‐year case study reveals empirical evidence about how processes effectively evolve over time and affect formal mechanisms and structures. The results show: (1) the significant differences between what is planned and what actually unfolds in project processes; (2) how iterative processes overshadow linear ones; (3) how informality and “iterativity” eventually end up as self‐, eco‐, and re‐organizing projects and organizations, confirming that projects (re)create the very processes and structures that initiate them.     

MANAGEMENT CONTROL: THE ROLES OF RULES,MARKETS AND CULTURE[1]

This paper addresses the question of efficacy of Management Control Systems in organizations. It shows that control systems are based on a combination of three underlying approaches — markets, rules and culture — in order to obtain desired behaviours from organizations’ members. These three approaches are then discussed in terms of Hofstede's work-related values characterization. It is shown that each firm or organization defines its own balance among the three bases of control identified above. This balancing is dynamic and organizations must continuously adapt their Management Control Systems to changes in the overall culture(s), in technology and in the competitive forces. The general evolution of Management Control Systems is seen to be towards a lessening of the importance of rules-based controls and towards an increased reliance on controls imbedded in the organizational culture. ^{[2] [2]} We are grateful to Kavasseri V. Ramanathan, Richard B. Peterson, Jeremy Dent, to the participants of the EIASM ‘Accounting and Culture’ Workshop, and to Geert Hofstede for their advice, encouragement and cogent criticism. Financial Support of the Accounting Development Fund at the University of Washington is gratefully acknowledged.
     

Like or dislike? Adolescents’ responses to personalized social network site advertising

Increasingly, personal data posted by users of social network sites (SNSs) can be used to personalize advertising. The present study investigates how adolescents respond to personalized ads in terms of attitude toward the ad, brand engagement and intention to forward, and whether privacy concerns moderate their responses. According to pretest results, a medium level of personalization was expected to be optimal in terms of advertising effectiveness. A within-subjects experiment involving 40 participants aged 14–18 years was performed. Three conditions of personalized advertising were designed with, respectively, low, medium, and high levels of personalization. The study found that the highest personalization condition generated the most positive response and that privacy concerns did not moderate the effects of personalization. The privacy paradox is discussed as an alternative explanation, along with other implications of the results.