Regime‐switching in stock index and Treasury futures returns and measures of stock market stress

We investigate bivariate regime‐switching in daily futures‐contract returns for the US stock index and ten‐year Treasury notes over the crisis‐rich 1997–2005 period. We allow the return means, volatilities, and correlation to all vary across regimes. We document a striking contrast between regimes, with a high‐stress regime that exhibits a much higher stock volatility, a much lower stock–bond correlation, and a higher mean bond return. The high‐stress regime is associated with higher average values of stock‐implied volatility, stock illiquidity, and stock and bond futures trading volume. The lagged implied volatility from equity‐index options is useful in modeling the time‐varying transition probabilities of the regime‐switching process. Our findings support the notions that: (1) stock market stress can have a material influence on Treasury bond pricing, and (2) the diversification benefits of combined stock–bond holdings tend to be greater during times with relatively high stock market stress. © 2009 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Jrl Fut Mark 30:753–779, 2010     

Heterogeneity in Professional Service Firms

Research on professional service firms emphasizes similarities in their organization and management and distinctiveness from other types of organization. In this paper we take a different tack and focus on the differences between professional service firms, that is, on heterogeneity across different professional sectors. We argue that differences between professions on a number of dimensions affect the nature of professionals' work and, in turn, the organization and management of firms across different professional sectors. Drawing on the sociology of professions literature we focus on three key dimensions of knowledge, jurisdictional control and client relationships to compare legal, auditing and engineering consulting firms. We consider how differences in these dimensions across the three professional services sectors impact upon the way firms are organized. We offer a number of propositions explicating how differences in the nature of knowledge, jurisdictional control and client relationships have implications for organizational form, team-working and pricing systems.     

Toward a theory of managing context in Six Sigma process-improvement projects: An action research investigation

In this paper, field studies, extant literature, and domain knowledge are used to develop a theory of managing context in Six Sigma process-improvement projects. By means of a participatory action research investigation involving ten projects in manufacturing and service firms, this paper examines the interrelationship among project context, elements, and success. Rich text-based information for each project was analyzed for the underlying patterns and relationships using the NVIVO 8 qualitative data analysis software package. The insights gained from this in-depth field investigation are presented in the form of 12 inductively derived research propositions that, when taken together, uniquely contribute to context-based theory-building in this area.     

The impact of the academy of marketing science on marketing scholarship: An analysis of the research published inJAMS

This article presents an analysis of the research published in theJournal of the Academy of Marketing Science (JAMS). A brief history of the journal is chronicled, and its output in recent years is considered. Special attention is paid to the content of the articles published and the research methods used. An analysis of frequent contributors is also conducted. Much of the analysis focuses on the past 10 years. The conclusion is thatJAMS has made a significant impact on marketing scholarship and has emerged as a top marketing journal of which all the fellows of the academy can justifiably be proud. In an article by Wheatley and Wilson (1987), he was ranked number one in the country based on articles published in theJournal of Marketing Research during 1980–1985. He holds the all-time record for the maximum number of publications in theJournal of Health Care Marketing. He is ranked number one based on publications inJAMS since its inception through Volume 23 (1995). He is also number one based on publications inJAMS during the 10-year period of 1986–1995. He has published 67 articles in major refereed journals. The second edition of his book titledMarketing Research: An Applied Orientation was published recently (Prentice Hall, 1996). The book has received widespread adoption at both the graduate and undergraduate levels, with more than 100 schools using it. He is the winner of numerous awards and honors for research, teaching, and service to the profession. An erratum to this article is available at .     

Service quality delivery through web sites: A critical review of extant knowledge

Evidence exists that service quality delivery through Web sites is an essential strategy to success, possibly more important than low price and Web presence. To deliver superior service quality, managers of companies with Web presences must first understand how customers perceive and evaluate online customer service. Information on this topic is beginning to emerge from both academic and practitioner sources, but this information has not yet been examined as a whole. The goals of this article are to review and synthesize the literature about service quality delivery through Web sites, describe what is known about the topic, and develop an agenda for needed research. In the offline worl...30% of a company’s resources are spent providing a good customer experience and 70% goes to marketing. But online...70% should be devoted to creating a great customer experience and 30% should be spent on “shouting” about it. Valarie A. Zeithaml is the Roy and Alice Richards Bicentennial Professor and Area Chair at the Kenan-Flagler Business School of the University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill. She obtained an M.B.A. and doctorate from the University of Maryland and has devoted the past 20 years to researching and teaching the topics of service quality and services management. She is the author of three service books:Delivery Quality Service: Balancing Customer Perceptions and Expectations, Driving Customer Equity, andServices Marketing, a textbook now in its second edition. She has won numerous teaching and research awards, including the Ferber Award from theJournal of Consumer Research, the Maynard Award from theJournal of Marketing, the Jagdish Sheth Award from theJournal of the Academy of Marketing Science, and the O’Dell Award from theJournal of Marketing Research. She has consulted with more than 40 service and product companies. A. Parasuraman (D.B.A., Indiana University) is a professor and holder of the James W.McLamore Chair in Marketing at the University of Miami. He has received many distinguished teaching and research awards. In 1988, he was selected as one of the “Ten Most Influential Figures in Quality” by the editorial board ofThe Quality Review. In 1998, he received the American Marketing Association’s “Career Contributions to the Services Discipline Award.” In 2001, he received the Academy of Marketing Science’s “Outstanding Marketing Educator Award.” Dr. Parasuraman has published numerous articles in leading scholarly and managerial journals. He has served as editor of theJournal of the Academy of Marketing Science for a 3-year term (1997–2000). He has authored or coauthored several books, the most recent of which isTechno-Ready Marketing: How and Why Your Customers Adopt Technology (2001). Arvind Malhotra is an assistant professor at the Kenan-Flagler Business School at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. He has conducted award-winning research on how companies exploit information technology to reinvent themselves for e-business. He teaches e-commerce strategies to executive M.B.A.s and strategic use of information technology to M.B.A. students.     

Feedback‐seeking behavior within multinational corporations

Notwithstanding their concern with intra‐MNC control mechanisms, scholars have overlooked the complementary phenomenon of self‐regulatory behavior by subsidiaries. In this paper, we take the first steps towards addressing this gap by advancing and testing hypotheses dealing with the determinants of a major element of self‐regulatory behavior at the subsidiary level, i.e., the performance‐oriented feedback‐seeking behavior of subsidiary presidents. Utilizing data from 374 subsidiaries of 75 MNCs, we test hypotheses regarding the impact of subsidiary task and organizational context on the feedback‐seeking behavior of subsidiary presidents. The results of this study can be summarized as follows: (i) subsidiary presidents do engage in proactive performance‐oriented feedback‐seeking behavior; (ii) they vary in the extent to which they engage in such behavior; and (iii) these variations in feedback‐seeking behavior are at least partially systematic. Copyright © 1999 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Networks and cronyism: A social exchange analysis

From the perspective of social exchange theory, we explore the downside of social networking. In particular, we discuss the impact of network properties on cronyism. We identify two types of network, clique and entrepreneurial, and two forms of competition, inter- and intra-network. We argue that network competition generally increases the likelihood of cronyism, and the effect of competition on cronyism is moderated by network type. We outline directions for future research and derive practical implications.     

Anchoring on the acquisition premium decisions of others

Anchoring is a ubiquitous heuristic by which decision makers heavily rely on a piece of information (anchor) that appears prior to a decision. Yet, we know little about its role in strategic decisions. This study considers its influence on acquisition premiums by examining whether a focal premium decision may be anchored on the premium that another firm paid for the acquisition that directly preceded the focal acquisition in the same market because it presents a salient and compatible premium to decision makers. Our results support this premise, particularly when preceding acquisitions happened more recently and were similar in size to the focal deals, when focal deals were in a foreign market, and when acquirers lacked acquisition experience in the target market or had a higher acquisition rate. Copyright © 2014 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Changing Behaviour: Successful Environmental Programmes in the Workplace

There is an increasing focus on improving the pro‐environmental attitudes, behaviour and habits of individuals, whether at home, in education, travelling, shopping or in the workplace. This article focuses on the workplace by conducting a multi‐disciplinary literature review of research that has examined the influence of organization‐based behaviour change initiatives. The review includes only research evidence that measured actual environmental performance (e.g. energy use) rather than solely using self‐reported methods (e.g. questionnaires). The authors develop an ‘employee pro‐environmental behaviour’ (e‐PEB) framework, which contains individual, group, organizational and contextual factors that have predictive relevance across different behaviours and organizations. The review shows that the strongest predictors are environmental awareness, performance feedback, financial incentives, environmental infrastructure, management support and training. A key finding from this review is that attitude change is not necessarily a pre‐requisite for behaviour change in the workplace. Copyright © 2013 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd and ERP Environment     

Growth and Renewal in the United States: Retooling America's Economic Engine*

New research by the McKinsey Global Institute (MGI) examines the growth challenge facing the United States and explores how U.S. business and government can contribute to the economy's renewal by reinvigorating their drive toward higher productivity. As baby boomers retire and the female participation rate plateaus, the U.S. economy will receive significantly less lift from increases in the labor force and will have to rely increasingly on productivity gains to fuel growth. The report finds that the United States needs a 34% acceleration in productivity growth if it is to match the GDP growth rates of the past 20 years—and that this is possible. Three‐quarters of the necessary productivity growth acceleration can come from the efforts of private‐sector companies operating within the current regulatory and business environment. Even the best‐performing companies and sectors still have headroom to boost productivity by emulating the best practice of others and tapping into new innovations, and coming up with new innovations of their own. The remaining one‐quarter—and more—can come from government and business working together to address barriers that now limit growth. MGI lays out a seven‐point agenda for action to spur productivity.