A Meta-Analytic Examination of Realistic Job Preview Effectiveness: A Test of Three Counterintuitive Propositions

We present a model of realistic job previews (RJPs) and, using separate meta-analyses, examine three counterintuitive hypotheses about their operation. We found modest support for two of the three hypotheses. Findings indicate that RJPs reduce the rate of job acceptance among persons with prior exposure to the job and increase the rate of job acceptance among persons with no prior exposure to the job. Results also indicate that RJPs can be more effective in reducing turnover if the organization is able to restrict the exit of new employees for a period of time after the RJP. Finally, RJPs show a pattern of being more effective in reducing turnover after longer periods of time following administration of the RJP; however, this pattern failed to reach conventional significance levels.     

Shopping patterns: An exploration of some situational determinants

Given the importance of specific behaviors, particularly choice behaviors, to marketing decisions, researchers have focused much of their attention on investigating determinants of choice behavior. Broader units of analysis, namely patterns of consumer behaviors, however, may also be useful in shaping marketing strategy. In fact, some research demonstrates that definite consumer shopping patterns exist. The present study goes beyond previous research by investigating the situational influences of time pressure and gift/self shopping on prestore and store visit shopping patterns.     

Defining the Relationship among Founding Resources,Strategies, and Performance in Technology-Intensive New Ventures: Evidence from the Semiconductor Silicon Industry*

The degree to which a firm's performance is dependent on its resources and strategies is widely debated in the literature. We examine this issue by analyzing historical data on the entire population of new independent firms started worldwide in the semiconductor silicon industry for the first 50 years of its existence. We measure resources (managerial capabilities and technological competencies) and strategies (emphasis on demand pull or technology push) at the time of founding and test their relationship with each other as well as with multiple measures of performance (lifespan and best year's sales). We find that firms founded on managerial capabilities emphasize demand-pull strategies at founding, whereas firms founded upon technological competencies emphasize technology-push strategies at founding. We also find that firms emphasizing technology-push strategies perform better than firms emphasizing demand-pull strategies. Lastly, we find that though managerial capabilities are related to a firm's best year's sales, this relationship is mediated by the firm's founding strategy.     

Financing SME Growth: The Role of the National Stock Exchange of Australia and Business Advisors

Lack of access to finance presents a major setback to the development of the Small and Medium Enterprise (SME) sector in Australia. Demand and supply of finance to the sector entails more complex issues than apply to large firms. SMEs have a pecking order of preference for finance; they prefer internal equity to debt and debt to external equity. Nonetheless, a significant number of growing SMEs require external equity. Using the grounded theory method, interviews with six owners and 13 accounting and legal advisors indicate entrenched lack of knowledge about initial public offering (IPO) and the National Stock Exchange of Australia (NSX) among SME owners and their advisors. The study finds that the NSX's poor performance is attributable to lack of visibility, low listings, lack of underwriters, thin trading, inefficient processes and poor location. The NSX is entrenched in a vicious cycle of poor performance that threatens its viability. It is unable to attract sufficient listings to generate the income required for effective operation. Greater exposure of small business advisors to the IPO process should increase demand for public equity through the NSX.     

Removing the contextual lens: A multinational, multi-setting comparison of service evaluation models

Four service evaluation models are identified from the literature that are commonly offered to depict the relationships amongst the primary service evaluation constructs of sacrifice, service quality, service value, satisfaction, and behavioral intentions. We comparatively test the models using samples of service consumers in Australia, Hong Kong, Morocco, the Netherlands, and the United States, as well as across varied temporal and service settings. The results of the comparative analyses reveal that one conceptualization, the “comprehensive” model, best captures the identified relationships. This model is the best fitting across all countries and settings, which indicates it has the greatest external validity. These findings are discussed relative to the limitations associated with the use of less generalizable models.     

A New Perspective on Cross-Cultural Ethical Evaluations: The Use of Conjoint Analysis

The present paper compares the ethical perceptions of Americans and Greeks using conjoint analysis. The two samples were presented with 2 scenarios manipulating three factors: gender of the transgressor, organizational status of the transgressor, and the magnitude of the transgression. For each scenario, conventional mean comparisons and conjoint analyses were performed on five ethical measurements. The matrix of means and the relative importances of the American sample were compared with that of the Greek sample. The results showed that Greeks paid more attention to the dollar amount involved and less attention on the organizational status of the transgressor than Americans did. The gender of the transgressor was the least important factor for both samples. The use of relative importance measures derived from conjoint analysis is shown to provide a new dimension in cross-cultural comparisons.     

The International Business Ethics Index: European Union

The present study expands the systematic measurement of consumers’ sentiments towards business ethical practices to the international arena. Data for the Business Ethics Index (BEI) were gathered in three countries of the European Union (UK, Germany, Spain). The Germans were the most pessimistic while the British were the most optimistic about the future ethical behaviour of businesses. John Tsalikis is an Associate Professor of Marketing at Florida International University. His articles have appeared in the Journal of the Academy of Marketing Science, Journal of Business Ethics, and Psychology in Marketing. Bruce Seaton is an Associate Professor of Marketing at Florida International University. His research interests include the role of national stereotyping in consumer choice and the application of experimental methods to investigate models of business ethics. His articles have appeared in the Journal of Advertising, Journal of Business Research, and Journal of Global Marketing.     

Comparing Big Givers and Small Givers: Financial Correlates of Corporate Philanthropy

In a departure from the traditional studies of corporate philanthropy that focus on board composition, advertising, and social networks, the authors investigate the financial correlates of corporate philanthropy. The research design controls for firm size and industry while observing firms from a variety of industries. The sample contains matched pairs of generous and less generous corporate givers. The authors find, as hypothesized, a positive relationship between a firm's cash resources available and cash donations, but no significant relationship between corporate philanthropy and firm financial performance, regardless of whether corporate philanthropy is measured as cash payouts or the aggregate contributions that charities actually receive, and regardless of whether financial performance is gauged using accounting measures or market measures. Whereas the link between available resources and corporate philanthropy is well accepted in the literature on corporate social responsibility, it has been rarely tested and never so definitively found as in this research.     

Contribution to hospital performance: market orientation vs. marketing effort and lack of competition

Marketing is still viewed with some skepticism by some hospital administrators who wonder if marketing is needed when the hospital is in a benign competitive environment. This research seeks to investigate the contribution of a marketing orientation to hospital performance beyond what can be achieved by merely spending money on promotion or not facing stiff competition. Findings reveal that having an authentic market orientation makes a significant contribution to a hospital's success above what can be achieved through promotional budgets and lack of competition.