The effect of the human pheromone androstenol on product evaluation

The chemical communication between humans has received considerable attention recently. Among the findings in psychology and anthropology have been the effects of putative human pheromones on the evaluation of persons. This article investigates if the finding that the pheromone androstenol influences person evaluation extends to the evaluation of products. In a laboratory experiment, 120 participants randomly assigned to either an experimental or control group rated three magazines. It was found that male consumers evaluate male magazines as more masculine and more positively under the influence of the putative male pheromone androstenol, whereas no such effects were found for magazines rated neutral or feminine and with respect to female consumers. Possible contextual and other factors influencing these results are discussed. © 2005 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.     

Limits to global sourcing?: Strategic consequences of dependency on international suppliers: Cluster theory,resource-based view and case studies

This paper argues for the inclusion of an analysis of industry clusters when making decisions about global or local sourcing. Suppliers are viewed as valuable resources that can contribute to a firm's competitive advantage. Two contrasting case studies illustrate that, contrary to common expectations, a high global sourcing quota does not necessarily improve a firm's competitiveness. Rather, there may be limits to global sourcing, if a firm is unable to become a preferred customer of its strategic suppliers. Achieving preferred customer status is easier for firms located in the same regional or national cluster than it is for foreign firms attempting to access a remote supplier. This paper contributes a new and more differentiated approach to global sourcing decisions by integrating the cluster concept. Furthermore, our findings enrich the discourse of strategic management by supporting the view that resources which enable a firm to achieve sustainable competitive advantages can be located beyond its legal boundaries.     

Fixed price equilibria in a multifirm model

In a simple temperary equilibrium model with three commodities (labour, goods and money) and two sectors, there are different firms, each having its own production function. There now exist four types of fixed price equilibria (Keynesian, classical, repressed inflation, undercounsumption). In the last type, consumers are not rationed, some producers are rationed on the goods market, and other producers on the labour market. There exist three different aggregate production functions, that have to be applied in Keynesian, classical, and repressed inflation situations respectively. For the fourth case no aggregate production function exists.     

Tie the Ties: The Significance of the Binding Networks in SMEs’ Internationalization Process

This research examines the obstacles for small and medium sized enterprises’ (SMEs) internationalization and the roles of networks in SMEs’ internationalization process. It finds that the key obstacles for SMEs internationalization are lack of market insights, lack of knowledge and skills necessary for internationalization, and lack of skilled labor. In Thailand, personal networking has played the most prominent role in the early stage of SMEs’ internationalization. Trust is reported to be the critical component for a long lasting relationship in the network. “Friendship” is viewed as the ultimate level of relationship in the trusted network.     

The Course of Research into the Economic Consequences of German Works Councils

In her recent survey, Carola Frege concludes that economic analysis of the works council has reached a ‘dead end’. The present paper offers a very different assessment. The evolving economic literature is shown to follow three distinct phases, the last of which contains some of the most positive evaluations to date of works council impact on establishment performance. Although these estimates are exaggerated, and the effects of works councils are likely to be small on average, the new literature redirects our research focus towards factors producing swings around this average, including differences in works council types and their workplace environments.     

towards relevant economic doctrines

In the second of two articles, Sir Alfred Sherman, advisor to Conservative leaders in the 1970s and 1980s and a founder of the Centre for Policy Studies, continues his review of post-war economic policy and calls for a new tableau economique that would identify the contradictions in economic policy.