Empirical analysis of media versus environmental impacts on park attendance

This study examined whether park attendance was affected by red tide events. The analysis found that the presence of red tide, objectively measured with four models including nearby cell counts, did not affect park attendance. However, the appearance of the search phrase “red tide” in local newspapers revealed significant reductions in average daily park attendance of 398 (21 percent) visitors, representing revenue losses of $16,955. An effective red tide impact mitigation strategy may be to educate members of the press regarding the public response resulting from red tide coverage.     

A darker side of knowledge transfer following international acquisitions

We consider a knowledge flow that dominates the international acquisition context but can actually harm foreign acquired firms' performance: non–location‐specific knowledge transfer from acquirers to acquired firms (N‐LSKT). Considering its behavioral consequences, we argue that such knowledge transfer often may destabilize existing power structures in foreign acquired firms prompting conflict and power struggles, and as a result negatively affects their performance. We find support for this adverse knowledge transfer effect. Only at very high levels of N‐LSKT, when acquirers are likely to extend their own capabilities and associated power structures more completely, do the performance effects improve. Further, predeal success of acquirers and post‐deal functional integration amplify, while acquirers' strategic control over the acquired firm alleviates the generally negative effects of N‐LSKT. Copyright © 2015 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

The Commodification of Race in Singapore: The Customer Service Implications of the Other-Race Effect on Tourism and Retailing

This paper examines the phenomenon known as the other-race effect, which is the ability to recognize the faces of those of one race, easier than the faces of those from another race. Typically, the race that is easier to recognize is the individual's own race, and most previous research has focused on this type of comparison. This study, though, analyzes the ability of Chinese Singaporeans to recognize the faces of people of color versus White faces in a customer service context, and compares those results with the ability of White subjects in the United States to recognize the same faces. This approach is particularly applicable to the Asia Pacific region. Tourism accounts for a significant part of the regional economies, and marketers are becoming more sensitive to the changing needs of the multicultural marketplace where inter-racial interactions between customers and service providers in retailing and tourism are on the rise. Results of the research indicate evidence of the other-race effect. Asians who were more exposed to people of color than to Whites, recognized Black faces better than White faces. The results are interpreted based on the theoretical premise that people are better at recognizing faces of races for which there is a higher level of interaction, exposure, and familiarity.     

Inside the board room: the influence of nationality and cultural diversity on cross-border merger and acquisition outcomes

This study is among the first to systematically examine how increasing nationality and cultural diversity on the boards of large U.S. corporations influence their cross-border merger and acquisition (CBMA) decisions. We find that firms with foreign representation on boards more frequently engage in less profitable CBMAs. We also find that the negative role of foreign directors in the strategic decision-making process is due at least in part to the cultural differences between foreign and U.S. directors, especially in transactions with a high degree of uncertainty. Finally, we show that the adverse effect of foreign directors prevails in the post-SOX (Sarbanes–Oxley Act) period and reduces with longer foreign director tenure and more inclusive board culture. Overall, our findings suggest the presence of foreign directors could negatively affect CBMA decision-making effectiveness, consistent with the argument that national cultural diversity hinders communication and collaboration within boards.

     

Scope,timing and strategic adjustment in emerging markets: Manufacturer strategies and the case of MRI

This study examines the realized strategies of all domestic manufacturers in a growing, high technology, industrial market characterized by high levels of regulatory, demand, and technological uncertainty. These manufacturers have behaved quite differently and experienced varying levels of success in the market. A typology of entry strategies grounded in an intensive analysis of these data is presented. Specifically, it addresses the timing and scope of a firm's entry into the market, strategic adjustments over time, and the impact of these decisions on the firm's performance. It is proposed that these strategies represent trade-offs between the risks of resource commitment and competitive preemption. Specific, testable hypotheses based on this typology are also provided.     

A note on the decomposition of cost efficiency into technical and allocative components

In this note a simpler method of cost efficiency decomposition than that of Kopp and Diewert (1982) is proposed. The method is obtained by application of a duality theorem for cost and distance functions.     

The Impact of Organizational Form on Producer Contracting Decisions

A variable that has not yet been considered in the contracting literature is the impact of agribusiness organizational form on the producer's contracting decision. Contracts with cooperatives are more complicated decisions for producers than a standard marketing contract with noncooperatives because of the requisite membership capital investment in the firm. Contracting with cooperatives requires producers to make a dual supply and investment decision. Individual membership equity holdings in all agricultural cooperatives are increasing, but they are generally most substantial in the value-added, new-generation cooperatives. Portfolio theory is used to analyze the producer's decision to contract with three alternatively structured value-added processing organizations in an uncertain environment: a traditional cooperative, a new-generation cooperative and an investor-oriented firm. In the cooperative cases, the contract requires both supply and equity investment.     

Film Geopolitics in Practice: Marketing The Miracle of Bern

This essay demonstrates how critical geopolitics of film can benefit from attention to behind-the-scenes practices in films' lives by examining “territorial appeals”: invocations of territorial interest or identity to justify a project or win support for a position. By tracing marketing strategies in the emergence of The Miracle of Bern, a 2003 film that celebrates West Germany's World Cup football victory over Hungary in 1954, the essay shows opportunities and limitations of territorial appeals to win production funds, find distributors, and shape discourse at home and abroad. This study of negotiations among a variety of actors and institutions reveals how marketing – in all its forms – is on the “front lines” of national identity construction and perception.     

Developing the Leadership Capacity and Leader Efficacy of College Women in Science,Technology, Engineering,and Math Fields

The current study examined the extent to which college women in science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) majors demonstrated differential levels of leadership capacity and/or leader efficacy than their non‐STEM, female peers. Data represented 14,698 women from 86 institutions of higher education in the United States. Results indicated similar levels of leadership capacity but significantly lower leader efficacy for women in STEM majors. Implications explore unique predictors of leader efficacy for women in STEM majors along with recommendations for changes to policy and professional practice that might address how the differential organizational contexts shape leadership development.