The use of performance information in cutback budgeting

Not having access to mainstream financial services, such as a bank account or a credit card, can lead to a variety of social and economic exclusions. In a number of countries, particularly Ireland, Spain, Canada and the UK, credit unions— member-owned financial co-operatives—play a significant role in reaching under-served and excluded communities, as well as providing ‘safe’ avenues for savings and credit. Yet many credit unions are facing financial and operational problems. This article looks at the experience of Welsh credit unions. The research has implications for policy development and government–credit union relations in Wales and further research on credit unions and financial inclusion.     

Cross-Cultural Perceptions of Business Ethics: Evidence from the United States and China

A number of empirical studies have examined business ethics across cultures, focusing primarily on differences in ethical profiles between cultures and groups. When managers consider whether or not to develop a business relationship with those from a different culture, their decision may be affected by actual differences in ethical profiles, but potentially even more so by their perceptions of ethicality in the counterpart culture. The latter issue has been largely ignored in extant empirical research regarding cross-cultural ethical profiles. In this study, we employ a design that allows for a more complete analysis of cross-cultural perspectives, examining both the manner in which selected cultures view themselves and the manner in which those same cultures perceive the ethical profiles of others. To this end, we surveyed master’s students in business fields at several universities in the United States and China—two countries/cultures that engage in a significant amount of business transactions—and examined differences in personal ethical profiles across cultures, differences in one group’s ethical profile and the way it is perceived by the other group, and differences in perceived ethical profiles across cultures; that is, differences in how groups view each other. Findings suggest meaningful discrepancies in the ethical perceptions formed toward the counterpart culture. Results support a role for ethical perceptions in future research, and further examination and inquiry into the development and adaptation of ethical perceptions in cross-cultural business dealings.     

Spatial spillovers and employment growth in the service sector

This article examines the impact of local knowledge spillovers on employment growth in the service sector at both the theoretical and empirical level. It is argued that, in addition to life cycle and tradability effects, spillovers in services are likely to be strongly influenced by distinctive service characteristics and labour-related factors, which impact on the channels through which spillovers are transmitted. Empirical models of employment growth suggest significant differences in spillover effects between industry and services and across public, private, business and personal services. In particular, many services appear to benefit from spillovers arising from a diverse local economy.     

Jobs mismatch and productivity impact of information technology

This paper studies the link between jobs mismatch and the impact of information technologies (ITs) on the efficiency of small service firms. From the perspective of job matching theory, the paper explores how small service firms that use ITs obtain an optimal matching between new skill requirements and workforce skills. The hypotheses suggest that optimal equilibrium will be obtained by matching IT intensity to ITs training and the proportion of workers with high educational levels. The study tests the hypotheses on a large sample of small services firms in Spain. The results confirm that matching the educational levels of the workforce with the IT intensity of the firm increases the efficiency of small service firms, while mismatch will decrease it. The contribution of IT training to firms' efficiency depends on training intensity but not on IT intensity.     

Spending time,spending money: passenger segmentation in an international airport

Changes within the air transport sector have required many European airports to either develop or expand their commercial activities. Strategies have included the expansion of retail space, a broadening of the tenant and merchandise mix and the development of a passenger segmentation strategy. This paper explores the efficacy of this approach by identifying the behaviour of different passenger segments while in an international airport. Using a framework of strategic market segmentation, it identifies how travellers allocate their time having entered ‘airside’ and details any purchases made. Using observational research and a face-to-face quantitative survey, 301 passengers were tracked and interviewed. Through a broad based, a priori form of segmentation, significant differences in shopping behaviour are identified. Such findings assist with the development of the airport's commercial strategy and allow a number of observations to be made about the value of market segmentation from both a theoretical and managerial perspective.     

Antecedents of market orientation in semi-public service organizations: a study of Dutch housing associations

The purpose of this study is to explain which factors affect the market orientation of semi-public service organizations in their transition from public to private. Change capacity and interdepartmental and organizational system factors are hypothesized to affect market orientation, which is operationalized in behavioural and cultural dimensions. Results of a survey among top-level executives of Dutch housing associations show that interdepartmental and organizational system factors have a significant effect. The most important antecedents, however, are two change capacity factors: process improvement control and top management emphasis. This suggests that change capacity is crucial for understanding market orientation in many service industries.     

Building entrepreneurial tie portfolios through strategic homophily: The role of narrative identity work in venture creation and early growth

In this article, we present the results of a case study of an entrepreneur who successfully founded and grew a venture underpinned by a portfolio of strongly homophilous, dyadic ties. Building on our case, we discuss how the entrepreneur strategically constructed these ties through a form of narrative identity work, explore the shared identity narratives that he used to do so, and highlight the heterogeneous nature of the resulting tie portfolio. We go on to explore the factors that motivated the entrepreneur to purposefully construct an entrepreneurial tie portfolio in this way. Building on our findings, we discuss the nature of narrative identity work and its role in creating homophilous ties, explore the connection between the resulting shared identity narratives and trust, and discuss the central role of values in strategic homophily.     

On market forces and adjustments: acknowledging consumer creativity through the aesthetics of ‘debadging’

Abstract

This paper explores the social dynamics by means of which market forces are enacted at the level of everyday consumption. In particular, it draws on Holt's (2002 Holt, D.B. 2002. Why do brands cause trouble? A dialectical theory of consumer culture and branding. Journal of Consumer Research, 29: 70–90. [Crossref], [Web of Science ®] , [Google Scholar]) notion that as ‘unruly bricoleurs’, consumers kick-start processes of market adjustment and innovation through improvising ways to negotiate the demands of daily life. In this way, consumers can become active players in realising new possibilities for identity construction and empowerment that involve the creative re-appropriation of marketer-based meaning. To investigate those issues, we turn to a virtual community in the empirical setting of car customisation. Over an eight-month period, an internet-based methodology generated textual observations of online posting activity on five internet newsgroups attracting those interested in the particular pursuit of car modification. Participants used those web-forums to share information, passions, and enthusiasms. Analysis shows that grounded aesthetics function as vehicles for creativity and the reworking of dominant market logics (Vargo & Lusch, 2004 Vargo, S.L. and Lusch, R.F. 2004. Evolving to a new dominant logic for marketing. Journal of Marketing, 68: 1–18. [Crossref], [Web of Science ®] , [Google Scholar]). We conclude that online discussion threads offer valuable access to the emergent interplay of discursive resources in circulation among virtual communities and that this has implications for the conduct of environmental scanning. The paper illustrates how the discursive resource-base is nurtured, sustained, and transformed through various interpellations, including performing claims to prestige and self-defining distinctions, as well as constructing narratives of personal history and social dynamics.     

Matched analysis of parent’s and children’s attitudes and practices towards motor vehicle and bicycle safety: an important information gap

The purpose of this study was to compare parents’ and children’s attitudes and habits towards use of bicycle helmets and car seat belts. We hypothesized that parental perception of their children’s safety practices did not reflect actual behavior and further, that parental practices, rather than their beliefs about a particular safety practice, have a greater affect on their child’s risk-taking behavior. The study population consisted of children in grades four and five and their parents/guardians. Participation in the cross-sectional study was voluntary and confidential anonymous questionnaires were used. In separate and independent surveys, children and parents were questioned in parallel about their knowledge, habits and attitudes toward bicycle helmet use and car safety practices. In the study, 731 students participated with 329 matched child-parent pairs. Ninety-five percent of the children own bicycles and 88% have helmets. Seventy percent of parents report their child always wears a helmet, while only 51% of children report always wearing one (p < 0.05). One-fifth of the children never wear a helmet, whereas parents think only 4% of their children never use one (p < 0.05). Parents report their children wear seat belts 92% of the time while 30% of children report not wearing one. Thirty-eight percent of children ride bicycles with their parents and wear their helmets more often than those who do not ride with their parents (p < 0.05). Parents who always wear a seat belt are more likely to have children who sit in the back seat and wear a seat belt (p < 0.05). Parents’ perceptions of their children’s safety practices may not be accurate and their actions do affect their children’s. Injury prevention programs that target both parents and children may have a greater impact on reducing risk-taking behaviors than working with each group in isolation.     

Agriculture and small towns in Africa

Africa is urbanizing rapidly. Yet most dual economy models focus on the sectoral rather than spatial dimensions of development. This article adopts a “dual–dual” approach to measuring rural/urban and farm/nonfarm linkages. We develop an economy‐wide model of Ethiopia that distinguishes between cities, towns, and rural areas. The model captures detailed sectoral and regional linkages, internal migration flows, and externalities from urban agglomeration. We find larger linkages between agricultural production and small towns and show that redirecting urban growth toward towns rather than cities leads to broader‐based economic growth and poverty reduction. In contrast, industry and services, particularly within cities, are far less effective in reaching rural areas and the poor. Africa's current urbanization pattern—toward major cities rather than towns—will weaken national growth–poverty linkages. Urbanization that takes advantage of the synergistic relationship between agriculture and small towns has the potential to result in a more inclusive growth trajectory.