Dimensions of CEO–Board Relations

Interactions between CEOs and their boards of directors are a prominent focus of management and strategy research. Despite the extensive literature on CEO–board relations, to date there has been limited integration of theoretical perspectives and measurement schemes. Through an extensive analysis of published studies, we hope to facilitate future research on CEO–board relations. We begin with a comparison of key theoretical approaches. Next, we conduct a content analysis of 51 empirical articles. We find that prior studies have an unbalanced focus regarding both topics and theoretical perspectives, and that there is limited consistency in the choice of measures. Based on this review, we lay out a number of promising directions for future research. We also find that, while there has been progress in international research on CEO–board relations, there are still many unanswered questions regarding the generalizability of governance theories across different geographic settings.     

Narcissism in organizational contexts

The literature on narcissism in organizational contexts is reviewed. We begin by describing the context of narcissism and several relevant theoretical approaches to understanding it. We next describe research on narcissism in a range of organizational topics, from leadership to meta-organizational issues. We conclude by highlighting several reoccurring themes involving the role of narcissism in organizational contexts, with an emphasis on articulating directions for future research.     

Disclosure standards for vertical contracts

In this article, we investigate the welfare consequences of disclosure of vertical contracts. When much of retail competition is among products provided by a dominant supplier, disclosure provides a means through which the supplier can use its prices to coordinate the retail behavior of its wholesale customers. From the retail consumers' perspective, such coordination is unwanted, leading them to favor opacity of contracts. When retail competition is across brands made by different suppliers, disclosure becomes a conduit through which suppliers compete indirectly via their retail surrogates. Consumers welcome the increased competition accompanying such disclosures. In short, the efficacy of disclosure standards depends critically on the suppliers’ market reach and the relative intensity of intrabrand versus interbrand retail competition.     

Managing the physician revenue cycle

To be able to effectively manage physician revenue cycles, the hospital revenue cycle team must understand and address several issues in physician practices: Physician organizational structures. Payment methodology. Registration. Provider compensation modeling. Provider on-boarding process. Systems integration. Communication processes and culture.     

Quantifying the structure of food demand in China: An econometric approach

This article examines food demand structure and its dynamics for 11 commodities in urban China. The analysis is based on household‐level expenditure survey data for two cross‐sectional surveys of Chinese households pertaining to food expenditure patterns during 1995 and 2003. Pre‐committed components of commodity demands, that are insensitive to economic variables, are explored. We use the generalized quadratic almost ideal demand system (GQAIDS) for its empirical superiority to the generalized almost ideal demand system (GAIDS), and estimate the associated parameters via full information maximum likelihood procedure (FIML) accounting for endogeneity of total expenditures on food for home consumption (FAH). We also use quality‐adjusted commodity unit values to control for quality differences resulting from commodity aggregation and food choice. Furthermore, we derive GQAIDS elasticity formulas, and estimate income elasticities without restrictions. The results partially support the hypothesis that an average Chinese household has incorporated elements of Western diet (fine grains) into traditional Chinese food diet over time. Moreover, the outcome of a simple test developed here points to possible preference changes for a majority of food staples under study.     

Selfishness,altruism, and inequality aversion toward consumers and farmers

One hypothesis explaining the persistence of farm programs in the United States is the public's altruism toward farmers. We utilize economic experiments to identify the motivations of selfishness, altruism, and inequality aversion toward anonymous members of the general population and toward different types of farmers. We find that people are generally less selfish and more altruistic toward small farmers than other members of the population. We also find that (i) people are more averse to inequality in a market‐like setting as compared to a nonmarket setting, (ii) there is significant heterogeneity across people in terms of other‐regarding preferences, and (iii) experimental choices accurately predict preferences for “real‐world” income re‐distribution policies that entail giving up one's own money to benefit farmers, but fail to predict preferences for policies that redistribute others’ incomes.     

Does It Matter Who Verifies Production‐Derived Quality?

Food quality attributes arising from farming methods are of increasing interest to many Canadians, examples include environmentally sustainable production practices, humane animal treatment, organic, etc. The credence nature of these attributes necessitates some form of quality assurance to provide credible signals to consumers that these attributes are present. This paper examines trust in private, third‐party, and government organizations to provide credible quality signals for attributes that derive from on‐farm production methods, or “production‐derived” quality attributes. A nationwide survey reveals that farmer, third‐party, and government organizations are similarly trusted to provide accurate information about farming methods, while government standards relating to environmental sustainability were perceived as most effective. Data from a discrete choice experiment are used to explore attitudes toward pesticide‐free and environmentally sustainable quality claims in a bread product, and in particular whether it matters who verifies those quality claims. Results obtained using a latent class multinomial logit model reveal a distinct pattern of heterogeneity in consumer attitudes toward production‐derived quality attributes and toward the verification of those attributes. Those respondents who most value production‐derived food quality also receive the highest utility from government verification and significant negative utility from supermarket or third‐party verification. This segment of Canadian consumers has a clear preference for a more proactive government role in facilitating credible quality assurances for production‐derived quality attributes. In contrast, the source of quality verification was far less important to those consumers holding weaker preferences for production‐derived quality. Les attributs de qualité des aliments liés aux pratiques agricoles, telles que les pratiques de production écologiquement viable, le traitement sans cruauté des animaux, l’agriculture biologique, etc., intéressent de plus en plus de nombreux Canadiens. Comme ces attributs reposent sur la croyance des consommateurs, une certaine forme d’assurance de la qualité est nécessaire pour envoyer aux consommateurs des signaux crédibles sur la présence de ces attributs. Le présent article examine la confiance dans la capacité des organismes privés, des tierces organisations et des organismes gouvernementaux à fournir des signaux de qualité crédibles pour des attributs liés aux pratiques de production à la ferme, c’est‐à‐dire des attributs de qualité dérivés de la production. Dans un sondage pancanadien, les producteurs agricoles, les tierces parties et les organismes gouvernementaux ont obtenu un degré de confiance similaire dans leur capacitéà fournir de l’information précise sur les pratiques agricoles, tandis que les normes gouvernementales visant à assurer la viabilité de l’environnement ont été perçues comme étant les moyens les plus efficaces. Nous avons utilisé des données tirées de la méthode des choix discrets pour analyser les points de vue concernant les allégations de qualité«sans pesticides et production écologiquement viable» accordées à un produit panifié et pour déterminer si le type d’organisme chargé de vérifier ces allégations revêt une importance ou non. Les résultats obtenus à l’aide d’un modèle logit multinomial à classes latentes ont révélé une hétérogénéité marquée des points de vue des consommateurs concernant les attributs de qualité dérivés de la production et la vérification de ces attributs. Les répondants qui appréciaient le plus les attributs de qualité dérivés de la production ont également indiqué qu’ils retiraient la plus grande utilité de la vérification effectuée par un organisme gouvernemental et une utilité significativement négative de la vérification effectuée par des supermarchés et des tierces organisations. Ce segment de consommateurs canadiens a montré une préférence marquée en faveur d’un rôle plus proactif du gouvernement pour donner une assurance crédible des attributs de qualité dérivés de la production. En revanche, le type d’organisme chargé de la vérification de la qualité avait une moindre importance pour les consommateurs qui ont montré de faibles préférences pour la qualité dérivée de la production.     

Chinese International Students. An Avant‐Garde of Independent Travellers?

Though most long‐haul Chinese travellers participate in group‐based tours, many young Chinese are now travelling overseas to acquire educational qualifications. These ‘study tourists’ travel independently around their place of study, often accompanied by friends and relatives whom they are hosting. Understanding the characteristics of such independent behaviours may offer insights into China's future outbound travel market. This study of 1400 Chinese studying in Australia highlights distinctions between independent student travellers and youth travellers more generally such as backpackers. The findings challenge established typologies of independent youth travellers and raise prospective implications for marketers. Copyright © 2013 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Situational influences on normative evaluations of coastal tourism and recreation management strategies in Hawai’i

Acceptance of tourism and recreation management strategies depends on situational factors including social, resource, and facility impacts. If an area has adequate facilities, little crowding, and minimal environmental impacts, modifying existing management may be opposed. If an area is damaged and overcrowded, actions such as limiting access may be acceptable. This article measures normative acceptance of management strategies and how situational factors differentially influence acceptance. Surveys of 1399 tourists and residents at coastal sites in Hawai’i included eight hypothetical scenarios describing impacts to four factors: use level/density, presence of litter, damage to reefs, and condition of facilities. Respondents rated their acceptance of improving awareness/education, restricting use, increasing facilities, and improving maintenance for each scenario. Factors differentially influenced acceptance of these actions. Damage to reefs was the most important factor influencing acceptance of improving awareness. Use level was most important when rating acceptance of restricting people, and facility conditions were most important in acceptance of increasing maintenance and facilities.     

Reading Pro-Am theatre through a serious leisure lens: organisational and policy-making implications

Amateur theatre has often suffered from a stigma of incompetence, and the view that while participants enjoy their involvement, they are unable to impact on the professional realm. Recent policy from Arts Council England and major projects from the Royal Shakespeare Company and National Theatre Wales suggest the amateur contribution is increasingly being recognised and celebrated. This article explores the emerging role of the non-professional in contemporary British theatre through the ‘Pro-Am’ initiative – whereby amateurs and professionals work collaboratively. It initially considers how serious leisure theories such as collective amateurism, flow, subjective well-being, social identity and culture of commitment can be applied to the Pro-Am theatre context and explore the challenge of negotiating the commitments of a serious leisure pursuit with participants’ ‘real lives’. Methods employed include case study, semi-structured interviews, observation and a focus group. Data are presented from the perspective of professional practitioners who facilitate Pro-Am work in regional, producing theatres and other industry experts, supported by some additional participant comments. Implications for arts organisations delivering this kind of work are then addressed. Findings reflect many of the outcomes outlined in the theory, and we conclude that the broadening of categories and the increasing popularity of Pro-Am initiatives are breaking boundaries, changing the very nature of amateurism.