‘The Muncy–Vitell Consumer Ethics Scale: A Modification and Application’

This study compares college students with other adults in terms of the Muncy–Vitell (1992) consumer ethics scale. Further, the study updates the Muncy–Vitell consumer ethics scale with modifications that include rewording and the addition of new items. These new items can be grouped into three distinct categories – (1) downloading/buying counterfeit goods, (2) recycling/environmental awareness and (3) doing the right thing/doing good. The study also compares these two groups in terms of their attitude toward business. Results show that there is indeed a significant difference between these two groups in terms of ethical perceptions, but not in terms of the “recycling” items and the “doing good” items. There was also little difference between the groups in terms of their attitude toward business indicating that attitude toward business does not explain their different ethical perspectives.     

Consumer Protection and Environmental Protection: Contradictions and Suggested Steps Towards Integration

The author states that traditional consumer policy, as carried out by the European Union for example, does not meet the requirements of sustainable development. Traditional consumer policy helps the consumer to consume as much as he wishes, whereas sustainability sometimes requires reduction of consumption. The disparity cannot be bridged by attempting to balance out two fundamentally different policies. Sustainability must be acknowledged as the basis, and consumer policy must be reshaped taking environmental needs into account. The author pleads for the employment of a mix of legal, economic, and behavioural scientific means to reach the necessary goals. It is argued that NGOs should play a dominant role in the "greening" of consumer policy.     

Zukunft der Bahn: Ein Kommentar zum PRIMON-Gutachten

Anfang dieses Jahres wurde ein Gutachten zur zukünftigen Struktur der Deutschen Bahn AG in Vorbereitung auf den angestrebten B?rsengang des Unternehmens vorgelegt. Welches sind die zentralen Aussagen des so genannten PRIMON-Gutachtens, und wie sind sie aus wirtschaftspolitischer Sicht zu bewerten?     

<Emphasis Type="Italic">Is it ‘who I am’, ‘what I can get away with’, or ‘what you’ve done to me’</Emphasis>? A Multi-theory Examination of Employee Misconduct

Research on detrimental workplace behaviors has increased recently, predominantly focusing on justice issues. Research from the integrity testing literature, which is grounded in trait theory, has not received as much attention in the management literature. Trait theory, agency theory, and psychological contracts theory each have different predictions about employee performance that is harmful to the organization. While on the surface they appear contradictory, this paper describes how each can be integrated to increase our understanding of detrimental workplace behaviors.Deborah L. Kidder is an Associate Professor in the Department of Management at Towson University, in Towson, MD, USA. Her Ph.D. is in Industrial Relations from the University of Minnesta. Her research interests involve issues of trust and equity, perceptions of (un) fairness at work, and the consequences of (un)fair treatment for employees and organizations. She teaches courses in Human Resource Management, Organizational Behavior, Leadership, and Negotiation.     

Retailer Heterogeneity,Intra-Brand Competition and Social Welfare

This paper considers a model where a manufacturer sells its product to consumers through competitive retailers who are heterogeneous in marginal distribution costs and geographic locations. We study the welfare implications of resale price maintenance (RPM), which eliminates the intra-brand competition. We show that with RPM, the manufacturer can make more profit at the cost of the consumers. RPM helps the high-cost retailers to stay competitive in the market, and therefore increases the total distribution cost of the society. We suggest that antitrust authorities should be concerned when intra-brand competition is lessened.     

Kapitalprivatisierung der Deutschen Bahn AG

Die geplante materielle Privatisierung der Deutschen Bahn AG kann als logischer Schritt der formalen Bahnprivatisierung vom 1.1.1994 angesehen werden. Welche Privatisierungsmodelle werden gegenw?rtig diskutiert? Sollte die Deutsche Bahn AG mit oder ohne ihr Betriebsnetz an die B?rse gehen? Ist die Deutsche Bahn AG überhaupt b?rsenf?hig?     

Corporate Social Performance as a Business Strategy

Having the ambition to contribute to the practical value of the theory on corporate social performance (CSP), this paper approaches the question whether CSP can contribute to the competitive advantage of firms. We adopted an explorative case-study methodology to explore the variety of positive and negative effects of CSP on the competitiveness of organizations. As this study aimed at identifying as great variety of these effects as possible, we selected a diversified group of respondents. Data was thus collected through embedded units of analysis in a petrochemical company, and triangulated with the opinions of experts on CSP. Overall, we found various positive and negative effects of CSP on the competitiveness of organizations. CSP is therefore not an innocent adventure for executives, but rather a strategy for achieving corporate objectives. If not carefully implemented, the CSP strategy may harm the competitive advantage of the firm, as our results have suggested.Paper presentated at the EBEN annual conference 2004, Enschede, The Netherlands June 24–26     

Ensuring trust in one time exchanges: solving the QoS problem

We describe a pricing structure for the provision of IT services that ensures trust without requiring repeated interactions between service providers and users. It does so by offering a pricing structure that elicits truthful reporting of QoS by providers while making them profitable. This mechanism also induces truth-telling on the part of users reserving the service.     

Understanding Business Creation: Serendipity and Scope in Two Decades of Business Creation Studies

This is the acceptance speech by Paul D. Reynolds upon receiving the 2004 International Award for Entrepreneurship and Small Business Research. The award is sponsored by the Swedish Foundation for Small Business Research (FSF) and the Swedish Business Development Agency (NUTEK). In this speech Reynolds reflects on his contribution to entrepreneurship research.