A temporal analysis of how entrepreneurial goal intentions,positive fantasies,and action planning affect starting a new venture and when the effects wear off

The road from intentions to actions and new venture creation is long. So far, the literature has provided insights into action-regulatory factors that contribute to new venture creation. However, the literature has neglected to take into account the temporal dynamics underlying these relationships. We contribute to action-regulation theories in entrepreneurship by theorizing about and investigating how the effects of action-regulatory factors hold over time. We hypothesize that the action-regulatory factors of entrepreneurial goal intentions, positive fantasies, and action planning have combined effects on new venture creation. Furthermore, we hypothesize that these effects become weaker over time. To test our hypotheses, we studied 96 Ugandan entrepreneurs over 30 months. Our results supported our hypotheses. Action planning moderated the effects of entrepreneurial goal intentions and positive fantasies on new venture creation. Furthermore, the effects were significant in the beginning and wore off over time. Our study shows that including a time frame in theoretical models is important to derive valid conclusions from empirical results and to develop more precise theories.     

The external returns to education: UK evidence using repeated cross-sections

Augmenting a Mincerian earnings function with industry level data we estimate the external return to schooling for a repeated cross-section of individuals in the UK over the period 1994–2004. For men age 30–49 we find that a one year increase in the industry average level of schooling is associated with an increase in individual wages of 2.6 to 3.9%, around 2 to 3 fifths of the private return to schooling. We illustrate the sensitivity of external return estimates to industry ICT use and union density, and individuals' own level of schooling.     

Targeting Export Support to SMEs: Owners' International Experience as a Segmentation Basis

This paper addresses the issue of how export support programs can be effectively targeted to SMEs. This paper argues that the normally low awareness and usage of export support programs among SME owners can be countered by segmentation based on their level of export experience. The paper develops a theoretical rationale for this segmentation basis and develops hypotheses related to it. The hypotheses are tested, and largely supported, using data from Canadian SME exporters and pre-exporters. Results indicate that segmentation based on owners' level of export experience can be an effective supplement to current segmentation bases. Implications of the results for providers of export support services are discussed in the concluding section.     

Time zone-related continuity and synchronization effects on bilateral trade flows

This paper finds the first empirical evidence of the time zone-related continuity effects on international trade. Several recent studies in the fragmentation/distance literatures provide theoretical justification for both positive (continuity) and negative (synchronization) effects of increased time zone differences on global export flows. This paper explicitly tests for the presence of both effects using bilateral manufacturing and service trade for 20 countries and 56 partner countries from 2000 to 2008. Results consistent with the theoretical expectations are found using a Poisson pseudo-maximum likelihood estimator. The general time zone difference effect on total exports is negative, suggesting the synchronization effect dominates. However, for services trade, the positive continuity effect is noted, indicating that time zones affect manufacturing and service trades differently. These results are robust to changes in the time zone, distance, and language measures, as well as alternate estimation techniques.     

The impact of visualizing use versus acquisition of a product on the appeal of its complement

Prior work on consumer visualization has focused on how visualization increases the appeal of the imagined product itself. Instead, the present work examines the effects of visualization on the appeal of the imagined product's complement. The authors distinguish between two visualized consumption actions: use and acquisition. Both are predicted to increase the appeal of the complement, but this increase is expected to be asymmetric, with imagined acquisition leading to a greater increase than imagined use. Specifically, the authors propose that imagining use evokes consideration of how one would interact with the product, which increases the salience of the imagined product's attributes. Conversely, imagining acquisition evokes consideration of why one would purchase the product, which increases the salience of the imagined product's goals. As complementarity is defined by products’ shared goals (not physical attributes), it is predicted and shown that imagining acquisition results in a greater increase in the appeal of the complement than imagining use. Four studies demonstrate the asymmetric effect of imagined use versus acquisition on preference, choice, and willingness‐to‐pay for a complement. The studies also provide evidence for the proposed process and rule out several alternative explanations. Implications for theory and practice are discussed.     

Child injury prevention in Vietnam: achievements and challenges

As with other South Asian countries, injury is becoming a leading cause of death and morbidity among children in Vietnam. In response to the increasing burden of child injury, government and non-government agencies in Vietnam have combined efforts during the last decade to develop and implement various child injury prevention strategies and programmes. This article provides, through a review of relevant documents and interviews with major stakeholders, an overview of these efforts and highlights major challenges to child injury prevention in the country. The findings point to notable achievements in terms of increasing awareness of injury facing children at all levels in the community and developing a sound injury prevention policy framework in a relatively short period of time. However, much needs to be done to implement necessary environmental and legislative changes, strengthen child injury surveillance and injury prevention research; and to improve access to health services. The insight into the experience of Vietnam could benefit other low- and middle-income countries with a high burden of child injury.