International dimensions of management: The trans-national efficacy of a venture development model

Entrepreneurship is commonly held to be a vital force in the US and other economies. Yet, little is known regarding the efficacy of entrepreneurial efforts developed in one country but attempted elsewhere. In response to calls for testable theoretical models, scholars have begun to investigate empirically the attendant phenomena associated with the venture development process. This article describes efforts to test in another nation a nine-stage entrepreneurial process model of venture development derived and validated in the USA. While some development stages appear to exist similarly across borders, others may not be present. Further, the sequence of stages in the US-derived model may differ when compared internationally.     

Measuring the quality of managerial learning on the job

This article describes the development of an instrument to measure the quality of managerial learning on the job. The instrument can be used to analyse the quality of the individual learning process on the job. The literature shows that two factors determine the quality of the learning process: the learning potential of the job context and the way in which the manager approaches their work. So the instrument has two components. The first component measures the four types of work experience that offer potential opportunities for individual learning. These are transitions, task-related characteristics, obstacles and support. The second component, the so-called learning behaviour, analyses the way the individual approaches the potential learning opportunities present in the job. This can also be divided into four categories: emergent learning, planned learning, instruction-oriented learning and meaning-oriented learning. Based on these two components, an instrument has been developed to measure the quality of learning on the job. This has been shown to be valid and reliable in a sample of European managers.     

Employee perspectives on communication and consultation: findings from a cross-national survey

Highlighting the ongoing significance of national models of employment relations, this paper examines whether variation in communication and consultation practices between countries is reflected in employee perceptions. Drawing upon a survey of around 3,500 employees in four European countries – France, Germany, Italy and the UK – the paper explores whether workers' views on various aspects of communication and consultation are similar or different. It finds that there are certain similarities, with particular types of information and forms of communication being valued across the countries. However, differences are also identified. It is suggested that national institutions may well shape employee expectations about the nature of communication and consultation, feeding through to how satisfied they are with these processes.     

An interactional perspective on perceived empowerment: the role of personal needs and task context

This study examines the influence of individual needs and task characteristics on a multifaceted definition of perceived empowerment using an interactional perspective. Respondents were Hong Kong Chinese employees and most of them lower-level or nonmanagerial level workers in business organizations. We used regression analyses to test a number of hypotheses informed by social psychology theories. The significant findings indicate that perceived empowerment is predicted by individual characteristics (need for achievement, need for power), task situations (receipt of task feedback, competency-based reward system, participation in goal setting) and their interactions. Limitations of the study and implications for future research are discussed.     

Islamic finance and market segmentation: Implications for the cost of capital

This paper considers the impact of full Islamic shari’ya compliance on developing stock exchanges in their effective provision of development capital. Evidence from a unique study focussing on the Sudan telecommunications company and its listings on the Khartoum as well as Arabian Gulf stock exchanges reveals that costs of capital are considerably higher in the former than latter markets. While there are firm governance benefits arising from Islamic finance monitoring costs are substantial and the banking system is better placed to administer financing arrangements. Larger firms are better placed to circumvent this segmentation through cross-listing on regional exchanges.     

The Effects of Competition in Short Product Life‐Cycle Markets: The Case of Motion Pictures*

It is critically important to understand the relationship between new product launch strategies and their interaction with the competitive environment, which results in the successful introduction of new products. Deciding when to launch new products is among the most significant issues facing managers when formulating new products strategy, especially for products with short product life cycles. However, little extant research has focused on the interaction of product launch timing and the competitive market environment. This study explores the effects of four types of competitive threats on the market performance of short product life‐cycle products. Threats from new products and incumbents are possible. Also, products in the same category and those in related product categories exert competitive pressures. In this paper, a framework of competitive threats is developed, and research questions are constructed and empirically tested using the motion pictures industry as the focus of this research. A set of simultaneous equations was estimated using a sample of 2,948 movies introduced in the U.S. market between 1997 and 2004. The results show that all competition types have negative direct, indirect (as mediated by distribution intensity), and total effects on the performance of a new product. For a focal product, incumbent products exert a greater negative impact on performance than new entrants. Surprisingly, products in different, but related, categories are more harmful to the performance of products than products in the same category. The results have important implications for launch timing and new product performance.     

Success Determinants when Tendering for International Consulting Projects

A unique database on individual proposals is used to analyse competition among consulting firms (CFs) for international projects. CFs, which sell services based on human capital, focus on developing countries when operating abroad and, thereby, are highly dependent on development agencies (DAs). The DAs have strict tender rules and claim that skill and experience are the most important factors when proposals are evaluated. Both economic theory and the results of the estimations suggest, however, that long-term relationships (LTRs) between the CFs and the clients are at least as important as traditional skill and experience factors. The LTRs are here measured by means of information about whether the CF has previously worked for the client (repeat purchases) or has visited the client. The results indicate that the client in some cases has pre-decided which CF to select. The client invites several CFs to compete for the tender anyway, either because he is forced to do so by the financier, or because he wants to subject an old supplier to competitive pressure. As the tender rules do not seem to be followed, a policy implication would be that the DAs can skip, or at least relax, their strict tender rules, or strengthen the sanctions associated with violations of the rules.     

Uniform and Non-Uniform Second-Best Input Taxes

We investigate second-best, input-based taxes foragricultural nonpoint pollution control when marketprices are endogenous and production isheterogeneous. Theoretically, we derive the optimalforms of taxes which take account of heterogeneity(non-uniform taxes) and a tax which does not (auniform tax). Empirically, we use a multi-factor,market-equilibrium simulation model to determineoptimal tax rates and associated equity effects,particularly differences in landowner gains/lossesacross a heterogeneous region. When market prices areendogenous, second-best tax policies result inpecuniary externalities that affect existingenvironmental externalities. In particular, thepecuniary externalities amplify the effect of producerheterogeneity on determination of sub-regionaldifferences in tax rates and returns to land,particularly for the uniform policy. With endogenousprices, the uniform tax rate is considerably higherthan any of the non-uniform rates and, ironically, thenon-uniform taxes result in less dispersion oflandowner gains across sub-regions than the uniformtax.