Judging the relevance of deductive inquiry: The central role of theory

Abstract

This article argues that the relevance of deductive research is best judged according to how well it serves theory. This unavoidable basic tenet is examined for its implications to the practice of traditional social science: (a) that theory building would be a valued activity; (b) that scholars would focus on elaborating and critiquing a small number of influential theories; (c) that research papers would be theory based and hypothesis driven; and (d) that other aspects of relevance that deductive researchers now wish to embrace (e.g., social responsibility and practicality) are dependent on good theory.     

Evaluating Expert Systems in a Financial Domain: A Study Demonstrating Issues in Case Selection,Validation Standards and Evaluator Bias

This article describes and generalizes a validation study of four commercially available personal financial planning expert systems and the rationale for the research methodology used. Our evaluation of these systems adds to the understanding of verification and validation issues related to case selection, validation standards and evaluator bias. The article describes the systems, their domain and the empirical method—field tests using hypothetical cases—and relates that method to the literature. Comparing same-task systems combines multiple system perspectives and multiple models. Our methodology did efficiently and effectively identify conflicting terminology, omissions and system weaknesses but was inadequate for comparing the complex plan recommendations. The results re-emphasize the importance of continual knowledge base updating, formal system testing and the need for external evaluation. The results also show the value of comparing multiple, same-task systems.     

Executive Gender Pay Gaps: The Roles of Female Risk Aversion and Board Representation

Using a large sample of executives in S&P 1500 firms over 1996–2010, we document significant salary and total compensation gaps between female and male executives and explore two possible explanations for the gaps. We find support for greater female risk aversion as one contributing factor. Female executives hold significantly lower equity incentives and demand larger salary premiums for bearing a given level of compensation risk. These results suggest that females’ risk aversion contributes to the observed lower pay levels through its effect on ex ante compensation structures. We also find evidence that the lack of gender diversity on corporate boards affects the size of the gaps. In firms with a higher proportion of female directors on the board, the gaps in salary and total pay levels are lower. Together, these findings suggest that female higher risk aversion may act as a barrier to full pay convergence, despite the mitigating effect from greater gender diversity on the board.     

Neither Mothers Nor Breadwinners: African-American Women's Exclusion From US Minimum Wage Policies, 1912-1938

We examine two key US labor market policies: state-level minimum wages for women from 1912-23 and the federal minimum wage established under the Fair Labor Standards Act of 1938. Each of these regulations implicitly defined which groups were and were not expected to conform to the hegemonic male breadwinner/female homemaker model of gender relations. In fact, social reformers and labor leaders advocated these policy measures as a means of extending the male-breadwinner family to recent European immigrants and white southerners. The male-breadwinner family and public policies designed to foster it became one means of defining a commonality of whiteness among different ethnic groups during a period of assimilation. Through the inclusion and exclusion of particular occupations and industries, African-American women were assigned a subordinated gender identity as neither full-time mothers nor legitimate breadwinners. They responded by forging their own gender identity as co-breadwinners.     

Women's employment patterns during the U.S. inter-war period: A comparison of two states

Establishment data from New York and Ohio, two U.S. states representing mature versus dynamic industrial sectors, are used to decompose changes in women's employment during economic fluctuations in the 1920s and 1930s. By decomposing changes in women's employment, one can distinguish between changes which reflect the gender distribution of employment between various industry categories and changes which reflect employer decisions to mobilize specific groups of workers. The empirical findings suggest that during the inter-war period, economic restructuring in Ohio's mass-production industries resulted in substitution toward women workers. Nevertheless, in both states, working women's segmentation into industries which were less hard hit by the Great Depression confined their employment losses. The results suggest that patterns of gender segmentation which are ordinarily quite rigid may be redefined during the political, social and cultural upheaval that accompanies economic restructuring.     

Competing resort hotels Word-of-mouth communication and guest retention

Word-of-mouth (WOM) communications were the most often reported method of first learning about hotel choices in an ocean resort area. WOM communications were associated positively with customer retention by resort hotels, ie resort hotels having the most WOM communications had the highest reported most recent visits from customers known to have stayed at the respective hotels. Specific hotel services perceived to have been better than expected were found to be associated with WOM communication. The study Included a five-page questionnaire sent to samples of customers of six hotels. Comparisons of WOM communications by customers across hotels are provided.     

Tourism organizations and land trusts: a sustainable approach to natural resource conservation?

This study explores current and potential collaboration efforts between land trusts (LTs) and tourism entities in the USA. LTs and tourism entities have convergent needs and goals regarding natural resource protection, possibly making them suitable partners. Sustainable tourism development needs natural resource protection; land trusts have proved economically viable and effective methods for protecting natural areas. While some case studies have described collaboration efforts by selected LTs and tourism entities, this mixed methods exploratory study is based upon survey data from 279 local and regional LTs operating across the USA. The study is grounded in both the Primary Environmental Care (PEC) conceptual model and Jafari's Background Tourism Elements concept, providing clarity on current and potential collaboration efforts between LTs and tourism entities. The survey showed that tourism-related characteristics, especially scenic qualities, were acceptable to land trusts, and that tourism was the most mentioned industry within LT areas. Only 39% of LTs currently work with tourism entities; however, only 4% of LTs report opposition from tourism entities to their conservation work. LT managers were strongly in favor of future collaboration with tourism interests. All five of the key components required for the PEC model were found.