Fundraising or promoting philanthropy? A qualitative study of the Massachusetts Catalogue for Philanthropy

Philanthropic institutions are increasingly involved in efforts to promote or expand philanthropy in the US, yet little research has been done in relation to such efforts within the “new philanthropy” environment. This qualitative study examines one such effort: the Massachusetts Catalogue for Philanthropy. The study focuses on understanding what key individuals associated with the Catalogue think about its purpose(s) as a means of beginning to answer the underlying questions: How are these new philanthropy promotion projects different from traditional fundraising and to what degree are they contributing to a new philanthropic paradigm? Results and data analysis indicate that participants have varying opinions about the purpose of the Catalogue that come from two perspectives. One sees the Catalogue as a tool for institutional fundraising for small charities featured by the Catalogue in the annually published Catalogue for Philanthropy; the other sees the Catalogue as a mechanism for the overall promotion of philanthropy in the state by educating donors, creating a new conceptualization of philanthropy, and strengthening philanthropy. Copyright © 2005 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Vertical disintegration in the corporate hotel industry

Overtime, and with the advent of moving to asset-light, the companies in the corporate hotel industry have given up parts of the value chain. This has enabled new intermediate markets to emerge which have divided a previously integrated production/service process and enabled sets of specialized firms to enter and for the industry to become vertically disintegrated. This paper examines the drivers, as well as the necessary conditions and enabling processes, which have facilitated this industrial change. For the major hotel companies, competing in a disintegrated industry has far-reaching consequences which have a spill-over effect on tourism education and research.     

Strategic profiles of Brazilian exporters and performance implications

This study presents a taxonomic classification of manufactured products exporters based on strategic orientation which is the result of an analysis of a sample of 414 Brazilian exporters of manufactured goods. The analyses used Cluster analysis, MANOVA, ANOVA, post-hoc tests and crosstabs. The study identified four patterns of strategic orientation of Brazilian exporters and provided indications of correlations with firm and manager characteristics. The article includes a discussion of implications for export performance. Findings suggest that joint attention to planning and differentiation seems to pay off, but planning alone is insufficient to ensure winning results. The study has contributed to the literature by identifying clearly discernible patterns of strategic orientation of Brazilian exporters and their association with firm and manager characteristics. The study also discusses how export performance correlates with strategic orientation.     

The role of technical expertise in firm governance structure: evidence from chief financial officer contractual incentives

We provide evidence that the presence of technical expertise in firm governance structure reduces reliance on contractual incentives to control the potential agency problem for executives whose responsibilities require specialized knowledge. Specifically, we find that firms with financial expertise in the form of a board finance committee, or a chief executive officer with a financial background, tend to use lower levels of incentive‐based compensation for their chief financial officers. Our findings suggest financial experts provide stronger oversight and/or direction with regard to firm financial policies and strategies, thereby allowing firms to reduce reliance on incentive compensation. Our study provides insight into the role of technical expertise and board committees in firm governance, and into the benefits of common functional expertise within top management teams. Copyright © 2010 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Characteristics of Innovative Firms in the Brazilian Computer Industry

A number of studies have reported characteristics of innovative firms; however, these studies have typically been conducted in freely competitive markets. Angela da Rocha, Carl Christensen and Newton Paim have studied firms within the Brazilian computer industry. The Brazilian government regulates the entrance of foreign competitors to this market. Thus, the authors are able to ask whether the characteristics of innovative firms in a protected market differ from characteristics previously reported in competitive markets. With only a few minor exceptions, the reported profiles of innovative firms are quite similar. These results suggest that characteristics of innovative firms are generalizable across certain industry and environmental conditions, including protected markets.     

Comparisons and Contrasts Between Elementary/Primary ’School Situated Design’ and ’Workplace Design’ in Canada and England

There is a lack of evidence that examines, together, the triad of how teachers in elementary/primary schools are translating curriculum requirements for teaching design, within technology frameworks, in their classrooms, how their students then proceed with design, and how ’school situated design’ relates to ’workplace design’. This paper explores the relationships between designerly thinking and behaviours situated in classrooms and in the workplace, beliefs about how designing is learned in schools and in the ’real world’, and children’s, teachers’ and designers’ understanding of design. These are be illustrated by extracts from interviews with teachers, children and designers and evidence of designing in classrooms and in the workplace. Similarities and differences between evidence from ’school situated design’ and ’workplace design’ and from Canada and the United Kingdom (UK) are discussed. This revised version was published online in July 2006 with corrections to the Cover Date.     

Corporate social responsibility: making sense through thinking and acting

This article investigates how companies make sense of CSR. It is based on an explorative comparative case study of 18 companies in the Netherlands using background information, interviews and annual reports. Initially, the sensemaking process of CSR is guided and coordinated by change agents who are specifically appointed to explore the implementation of CSR in their company. These change agents initiate the CSR process within their own organisations. The meaning they develop stems from their personal and organisational values and frames of reference. By attuning the vocabulary of CSR to the language of their colleagues, they aim to gain support for this undertaking in their organisation. This sensemaking procedure can be divided into pragmatic, external, procedural, policy-oriented and value-driven processes. The capability of an organisation to embed CSR is the result of trial and error, personal preferences and the use of language by the change agent that fits the (dynamic) situation at hand. Thus, each organisation needs a tailor-made approach to implement CSR successfully.