An Encompassing Test of Real Interest Rate Equalization*

Much confusion about the real interest rate connection amongst different countries may result from a narrow approach to analyzing the data. Using an encompassing methodology that accommodates many different types of times‐series processes, we find that real interest rates are mean‐reverting long‐memory variables. We show that cointegration methodology can often fail in this environment. Using a more general approach, we detect a limited connection between real interest rates across countries. In particular, Germany is connected with several European countries, but the US is connected only with Canada and possibly the United Kingdom.     

让一线管理者成为真正的领导

在那些做得最好的企业里,一线管理人员将60％～70％的时间花在工作现场．其中,有许多时间用在高质量的个人辅导上。这些企业还放权给管理人员,让他们制定决策、相机行事     

Promoting access to intellectual property: patent pools, copyright collectives, and clearinghouses

This paper reviews and compares patent pools, intellectual property (IP) clearinghouses, and copyright collectives as systems for promoting efficient access to licensable IP in a 'market for technology'. These systems promote downstream use of innovations by economizing on search and transaction costs in licensing, as well as potentially mitigating the conditions that lead to the 'tragedy of the anti-commons' and other coordination problems in multilateral licensing. We compare and classify different systems in terms of their features, review some existing systems, and discuss their economic characteristics.     

Spawned with a silver spoon? Entrepreneurial performance and innovation in the medical device industry

Entrepreneurs in high‐technology industries often have prior experience at incumbent firms, but we know little about how knowledge obtained at the prior employer impacts entrepreneurial performance. Drawing on previous work from strategy, economics, and organizational sociology, I assess the impact of industry experience on entrepreneurial performance and innovation in medical device start‐ups. I find that spawns (ventures started by former employees of incumbent firms) perform better than other new entrants. Interestingly, my findings suggest that this superior performance is not driven by technological spillovers from parent to spawn, but rather by nontechnical knowledge related to regulatory strategy and marketing. Copyright © 2008 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

CEO Regulatory Foci,Environmental Dynamism,and Small Firm Performance

This research proposes and tests that regulatory foci of small business chief executive officers (promotion focus and prevention focus) relate to firm performance differentially when levels of environmental uncertainty vary. Results suggest that a promotion focus is positively related to firm performance, whereas a prevention focus is negatively related to firm performance. Further, these relationships are moderated by the degree of environmental dynamism such that in more dynamic environments, the relationship between promotion focus and firm performance is strengthened, whereas the relationship between prevention focus and firm performance is negatively affected. The reverse was found for less dynamic environments. Theoretical and practical implications as well as future research avenues are offered.     

Empirically testing ES success factors in business process reengineering

Previously proposed success factors for Expert Systems implementation are field tested in the context of business process reengineering (BPR) projects. Due to its nature mimicking human expert behavior, ES technology applications in BPR provide a unique opportunity to study major organization changes within a relatively short time. Using Pearson correlations and multivariate regression analysis, eight ES implementation success factors proposed in the literature were empirically tested in this study in terms of their importance to the BPR benefits derived from the application. Sixty-two ES applications within E.I. Dupont de Nemours and Company dealing with business process changes significant enough to be called BPR were used. Despite the relatively small sample size, six of the eight success factors were corroborated: user satisfaction with the ES, the importance and difficulty of the business problem addressed, user attitudes toward ES technology and the particular ES project, the degree of user involvement in the ES implementation process, and the ES developer(s) skills.     

From low- to high-tech project management

Project management is a complex activity and it involves, among other things, an attitude, style and philosophy. The main proposition of this article suggests that different projects must be approached by different managerial philosophies. The article presents a conceptual managerial classification of projects based on their technological uncertainty — specifically the newness and complexity of the technology involved. It classifies all projects into four types: lowtech, medium tech, high-tech and super high-tech, and then proceeds to describe the major differences among them.
Special attention is then paid to the 'higher' technology types — high-tech and super high-tech projects — and to the attitudes and tools that are needed for managing them. Such projects, if well executed and successful, may help improve competitive advantage and commercial position. They involve however substantial risk and high probability of failure. Several examples of super high-tech projects carried out in the past are described, and their management style discussed in light of the classification presented here. These examples include the SR-71 'Blackbird' aircraft, the 'Apollo' moon-landing program, Data General's 'Eagle' computer and NASA's program of developing the Space Shuttle.