The bright side and dark side of trust: The mediating effect of franchisor trust on performance

Previous literature has not examined the dual role of trust in franchise relationships. We extend the franchise and relational governance literature by showing that trust has both a “bright side” and a “dark side” in franchisor–franchisee relationships. Based on transaction cost and knowledge-based reasoning, we argue that intangible knowledge assets and environmental uncertainty have an indirect effect on performance via trust, due to its relational risk and knowledge exchange effect. Using data from the franchise sector in Germany, we show that trust positively mediates the impact of intangible knowledge assets and negatively mediates the impact of environmental uncertainty on franchisor performance. The first effect refers to the “bright side” of trust showing that intangible brand name assets increase trust which, in turn, has a positive effect on performance. Conversely, the second effect refers to the “dark side” of trust highlighting that environmental uncertainty diminishes trust resulting in a negative effect on performance.     

The West Bank Apartheid/Separation Wall: Space,Punishment and the Disruption of Social Continuity

Through the use of survey data from the West Bank, this paper explores the effects of the Apartheid/Separation Wall in the occupied territory of the West Bank on Palestinian society. How has the Wall separated a population from their loved ones, their orchards and crops, homes, and overall livelihood? How have these relationships transformed? Place and space have special meanings in Palestinian experience and consciousness, and yet Palestinians remain vulnerable to punishment through control of access to spaces and places.

The inability to reach one’s home or land has serious ramifications on the psyche of individuals and communities. Not only do physical barriers hinder social interactions, but they also impact society in numerous ways. The effects on Palestinian society are largely invisible and have long-term and far-reaching consequences. These consequences run deeper than the physical barriers that have created them.

Social continuity has repeatedly been disrupted due to the geopolitical transformation of land control and roads network, which favours one group (Israeli Jews) over another (Palestinian Arabs—Christian and Muslim). The policies of separation, through the wall, checkpoints, and the permit regime, have actually separated Palestinians from other Palestinians, and not Palestinians from Israelis.     

The Nominating Committee Process: A Qualitative Examination of Board Independence and Formalization

The nominating committee (NC) of the board identifies and nominates individuals for board service, thus establishing the board's composition. Despite this important role, relatively little is known about the NC process, including NC members' actions and thought processes. Based on interviews of 20 U.S. public company NC members, including 16 chairs, we focus on two primary questions: (1) what is the extent of influence that the Chief Executive Officer (CEO) has over committee processes, and (2) to what extent are committee processes formalized (i.e., framed and acted upon in a mechanistic way)? We find that there is continuing recognition of CEO influence in the director nomination process, the level of which varies widely by company. Also, there is considerable variability in the formalization of the director nomination process (e.g., some NCs use search firms and a matrix/grid approach to assessing director skill sets across the board, while others do not). Finally, we find that many interviewees have professional or personal ties to the CEO and that nearly all of the NCs focus on “chemistry” and comfort in the director nomination process, where the often‐stated goal is to enhance the board's ability to function effectively and to reduce risk in the director nomination process. The overall message of the interviews perhaps is best captured by one interviewee, who described a “strange little dance.” Throughout the interviews, we find evidence that the NC must “dance” through a complex decision landscape.     

Spending more time with the customer: service-providers’ behavioral discretion and call-center operations

Service Business - The purpose of the present study was to examine service providers’ behavioral discretion regarding length of service time, and the variables that affect their discretion....     

Governance Mechanisms for the Promotion of Social Capital for Knowledge Transfer in Multinational Corporations

The aim of this paper is to extend social capital approaches to knowledge transfer by identifying governance mechanisms that managers can deploy to promote the development of social capital. In order to achieve this objective, insights from the micro‐level, knowledge governance approach are combined with theory on the determinants of social capital. Three governance mechanisms are identified: market‐based mechanisms, hierarchical mechanisms, and social mechanisms. The findings, based on data from two Danish MNCs, indicate that although the use of social governance mechanisms promotes positive assessment of social capital, hierarchical governance mechanisms constrain its development. The application of market‐based governance mechanisms has no significant effect. In addition, the findings provide evidence that social capital has a positive impact on knowledge transfer.