Ethical encounters of the second kind

When our society holds widely shared norms and values, we can agree on what constitutes unethical business practices. To the extent our social consensus is unraveling, agreement becomes increasingly problematic. Unfortunately, mainstream Western moral philosophy offers no guidance in this situation. We must therefore begin to focus on the types of social relationships that must exist for there to be agreement on what is right, good and just. This line of argument is, at best, merely suggested in discussions and articles on business ethics. Jonathan B. King is Associate Professor of Managment at the College of Business at Oregon State University. He received his B.A. in philosophy from Antioch College (1965); subsequently served for eight years as an officer in the United States Navy; received his M.B.A. (1975) and Ph.D. (1980) in Business, Government and Society from the University of Washington. His primary research interests are in the areas of epistemology and moral philosophy — e.g., the contribution of the liberal arts to interpretive thought, the sociology of moral knowledge, and the organizational distortion of information. His most important publications are: Teaching Business Ethics, Exchange1984 and A Case for the Humanities Perspective, Organizational Behavior Teaching Journal1984     

Economic determinants of family development processes

Economic activities of families have important influences on processes of family development and family change over time. Knowledge of these special relations has expanded in recent years, as has the literature on the economics of family life as a general field. As a result, scholars and professionals in consumer studies and home economics need conceptual frameworks that organize areas of specific findings and identify specific issues for research. A conceptual framework which identifies four economic activities performed by families and six fundamental family development and family change processes is proposed. Then, a matrix of testable hypotheses is formulated, emphasizing economic activities as independent variables in family development and change. The matrix portrays the central roles economic influences play in contemporary family life, and suggests a complete, holistic understanding of these influences. The matrix also provides a conceptual guide to the design of empirical research and synthesis of findings on the economics–family development interface.     

Understanding business customer value in a retail environment: a scale development study

Our study has two primary objectives. First, we intend to contribute to the understanding of critical success factors retailers need to consider when aiming for the growing target group of business customers. To this end, we develop a new scale for measuring business customer value in a retail environment, based on a literature review and in-depth interviews with scholars and decision-makers from retail, wholesale and market research in Germany, Switzerland and the UK. Second, we examine the relative importance of the dimensions of business customer value through a combination of statistical techniques, such as exploratory factor analysis and confirmatory factor analysis. We determine that business customer value should be measured along seven dimensions. In descending order of relative importance, these are: conditional value, value of business services, value of personal care, value of assortment quality, value for money, value of assortment size and variety and emotional value. Retailers from different branches of trade, such as food, DIY, electronics or office supplies, are provided with strategic guidelines that will help attract business customers.     

The Home Improvement,Maintenance, and Repair Industry

Spending on existing housing is important not only for the building materials, building products, and construction markets but also for the macroeconomy. It accounts for about half of total spending on housing capital. The new construction, home improvement, maintenance, and repair markets use overlapping distribution channels, labor, and capital inputs. The various segments of the housing industry touch many other industries and exhibit different patterns over the course of the business cycle. Understanding the unique characteristics of these segments helps business economists and macroeconomists in planning and interpreting changes in the economy as well as estimating better forecasting models.