Sins of the Father’s Firm: Exploring Responses to Inherited Ethical Dilemmas in Family Business

How do individuals respond when they perceive that their family business has been built upon unethical business conduct? Drawing on an expanded version of Hirschman’s typology of generic responses to declining situations (Exit, Voice and Loyalty: Responses to Decline in Firms, Organizations, and States, Harvard University Press, Cambridge, MA, 1970), which includes responses of Exit, Voice, Loyalty, and Neglect, we offer a model that predicts probability of intended response behavior as a function of normative obligation (i.e., what one perceives ought to be done), managerial discretion (i.e., what one perceives can be done), and successor commitment to the firm. The model is tested on 124 business school students exposed to a scenario depicting an inherited ethical dilemma occurring in a family business from Arthur Miller’s play All My Sons, and shows support for elements of the proposed framework. Most notable is a significant negative relationship between normative firm-directed commitment and the response of Neglect.     

LABOR MARKET CONDITIONS AT SCHOOL‐LEAVING: LONG‐RUN EFFECTS ON MARRIAGE AND FERTILITY

In this study, we assess the long‐run impact of labor market conditions at the time of school‐leaving on marriage and fertility outcomes. We draw data from the National Longitudinal Survey of Youth 1979. Our sample left school between 1976 and 1989, and we use variation in the state unemployment rate at the time of school‐leaving to identify persistent effects. We find that men who left school when the state unemployment rate was high are less likely to be married and have children at age 45, but are more likely to be divorced. Women, however, are more likely to have children. (JEL J1, J2)     

The Norm Theory of Capital Structure: International Evidence*

Akerlof proposes that the norms of decision makers can bridge the gap between New Classical economic theories and conflicting empirical evidence. We apply his framework to cross‐country capital structure decision making and propose a norm theory of capital structure. Consistent with its predictions, we find that two principal components that represent the manager–subordinate relationship and the manager–environment relationship in a national culture are significantly and negatively related to the median leverage ratio at the country level. This study is among the first to provide a direct link between national culture and capital structure as made operational through managerial norms.     

Servicescape moderation on personality traits, emotions, satisfaction, and behaviors

This study aims to extend the previous servicescape literature and to examine servicescapes as a moderating variable on a comprehensive model of individual personality traits, emotions, satisfaction, and approach-avoidance behaviors. The highlight of the present research is to incorporate the effects of different personality traits (i.e., extroversion, openness to experience, and arousal-seeking tendency) and moderation of different servicescape situations (i.e., Gestalt versus Non-Gestalt) on emotions, satisfaction, and approach-avoidance behavior. The value of assessing the effects of different personality traits with different settings is demonstrated. This study utilizes an experimental design with the appropriate manipulation of ambient stimuli of the combined colors and music to form differential servicescapes and participants were randomly assigned to these servicescapes. Survey data from 261 participants were then collected on personality traits, emotions, satisfaction and approach-avoidance behavior and the data were analyzed by structural equation modeling to test the present research framework. Results indicate that Gestalt versus Non-Gestalt servicescape situations moderated the relationship between arousal-seeking tendency and emotions. Pleasure was found to enhance satisfaction, and satisfaction was found to enhance approach-avoidance behaviors. Limitations, managerial and future implications are explained further in the content of the paper.     

Patterns of Self-Efficacy Within NAFTA: United States,Canada, and Mexico

Self-efficacy has been shown to be a key attribute of successful business leaders and in today's global economy, must be studied in terms of patterns of crossvergence. The paper examines both individual characteristics (gender, age, work experience, and management experience) and culture as they relate to self-efficacy in North America. Women in our sample had slightly lower self-efficacy, which increased with work and management experience. Age and membership in an individualistic culture were not related to self-efficacy; in fact, our Mexican participants demonstrated slightly higher self-efficacy propensities. These results suggest that organizations might consider devoting special attention to development of mentor and other programs particularly to females initiating their career. However, expected cultural patterns relating to self-efficacy might not hold as strongly, particularly with empowered groups such as executives and MBA students. Individual characteristics, particularly experience levels, have a greater impact on self-efficacy and should receive heightened considerations when organizations are making selection and other personnel decisions.     

Direct medical costs of treatment in newly-diagnosed high-grade glioma among commercially insured US patients

Aim: This analysis assessed the direct medical costs of newly-diagnosed, temozolomide (TMZ)-treated glioblastoma (GBM) from the perspective of a US commercial setting.

Materials and methods: The analysis included subjects identified from the IMS PharMetrics LifeLink Plus? claims database from January 1, 2008 to August 31, 2014 who were ≥18 years of age, had ≥1 malignant brain cancer diagnosis, had brain surgery ≤90 days prior to TMZ initiation, had TMZ treatment, and were continuously enrolled for ≥12 months pre-diagnosis and ≥1 month post-diagnosis. Per-patient per-month (PPPM) and cumulative costs from 3 months pre-diagnosis to various post-diagnosis follow-up time points were calculated. Multivariable analyses were used to estimate adjusted mean cost and identify contributors of cost.

Results: The study included 2,921 subjects (median age?=?56 years; 60% male). After diagnosis, the median (interquartile range, IQR) number of inpatient, emergency department, and outpatient visits were 2 (1–4), 1 (1–3), and 19 (13–27); median (IQR) length of stay per hospitalization was 5 (3–9) days. Mean total cumulative costs per patient from 3 months pre-diagnosis to 12 months and to 5 years post-diagnosis were $201,749 (197,490–206,024) and $268,031 (262,877–274,416). Mean (SD) PPPM costs were $818 (1,128) and $7,394 (8,676) pre- and post-GBM diagnosis, respectively. The variables most predictive of cumulative costs included radiation therapy (+$81,732), ≥2 weeks of hospitalization (+$49,629), and ≥7 MRI scans (+$40,105).

Conclusions: The direct medical costs of newly-diagnosed, TMZ-treated GBM in commercially insured patients are substantial, with estimated total cumulative costs of $268,031.     

The Moderating Effect of Supervisor’s Behavioral Integrity on the Relationship between Regulatory Focus and Impression Management

The desire to control how others see us is a ubiquitous phenomenon. Decades of research have suggested that the results associated with how others see us are too great an influence to ignore. The tactics we use and behaviors we engage in to control how others see us is known as impression management. This study examines the relationship between regulatory focus and the use of exemplification or supplication impression management tactics. We use regulatory focus theory to examine this phenomenon. First, we investigate the main effects that occur between prevention-focused individuals and exemplification, and between promotion-focused individuals and exemplification and supplication. We then introduce supervisor behavioral integrity as a moderator between regulatory focus and impression management. Our findings suggest a positive relationship between prevention-focused and exemplification, and between promotion-focused and exemplification and supplication. We also find that behavioral integrity strengthens the relationship between prevention-focused and exemplification and promotion-focused and supplication, but not promotion-focused and exemplification. Implications and future research directions are discussed.