Corporate Culture and Commitment: Impact on Performance of International New Product Development Programs

To achieve success in today's competitive environment, firms increasingly must develop new products for international markets. To this end, they must leverage and must coordinate broad creative capabilities and resources, which often are diffused across geographical and cultural boundaries. Recent writings in the globalization and in the new product development (NPD) literatures suggest that certain “softer” dimensions that define the behavioral environment of the firm—that is, the firm's organizational culture and management commitment—can have an important impact on the outcome of these complex and risky endeavors. But what comprises these dimensions and what type of behavioral environment scenario is linked to high performance in the international NPD effort of firms has not been articulated clearly. This research focuses on these softer dimensions, with the objective of understanding and idengifying their specific makeup as well as their relationship to the outcome of international NPD programs. Based on an integration of three literatures—organizational, new product development, and globalization—the present study develops a research instrument, comprising 18 behavioral environment measurement items as well as several outcome measures, that is administered to a broad empirical sample of goods and services firms active in NPD for international markets. Using empirical results from 252 international NPD programs, three key dimensions are idengified: (1) the innovation/globalization culture of the firm; (2) the commitment of sufficient resources to the NPD program; and (3) top management involvement in the international NPD effort. These dimensions are used to derive four clusters of firms, where each grouping represents a distinctly different behavioral environment scenario. In a preliminary analysis, it is ascertained that other aspects of the firm such as “degree of internationalization,” location of the respondent to the NPD center, and other company parameters do not form the basis of cluster membership. By linking measures of performance to the four behavioral clusters, findings are developed that clearly support this study's hypothesis that international NPD outcomes are associated with the softer behavioral environment dimensions. Scenario performance ranges from “very high” to “very low” and appears to be linked clearly to the dimensions studied. The lower‐performing firms tended to emphasize positively only one, or sometimes two, of the three dimensions. The “best performers” were found to be firms with a “positive balanced” approach to international NPD, where all three behavioral environment dimensions are supported strongly. In other words, firms in this scenario have an open and innovative global NPD culture, they ensure that sufficient resources are committed to the NPD program, and their senior managers play an active and involved role in the international NPD effort. Given this evidence of a direct link between behavioral environment and international NPD performance, the present study's findings suggest some important messages for managers charged with the development of new products for international markets.     

Market Vision and the Front End of NPD for Radical Innovation: The Impact of Moderating Effects

“Market vision” is a mental model that helps focus the organization on a new market application for an advanced technology during the fuzzy front end of the new product development process. Previous research demonstrates that firms involved in the development of radically new, high‐tech products need to develop a market visioning competence (MVC) in order to develop an effective market vision (MV), and these capabilities, in turn, have been found to have a positive effect on key aspects of the early performance (EP) of these firms—specifically, the ability to attract capital and early success with customers. Based on a major empirical study of the nanotechnology sector, the research described in this paper takes an important step forward by focusing on factors in both the external and internal environment of the firm, and their moderating impact on the paths that link MVC, MV, and EP. External structural factors relevant to the firm's competitive environment as well as internal factors, including firm resources, size, incumbency, and technology, are shown to have significant moderating effects both on the way in which MV unfolds and on its capacity for affecting positive returns for the firm when undertaking radical innovation. Five of seven hypotheses were supported by the research. Both level of incumbency (the extent to which the firm has taken part in previous generations of a given technology) and resource availability are shown to positively impact the link between MVC and MV. Also, appropriability (i.e., protection for innovations) and reputation of the firm were found to positively impact the path to EP. Finally, a low level of industry concentration—that is, a large number of small firms—were found to have a positive effect on the path to EP. In sum, the findings support the structure of the model and the majority of the hypothesized moderating relationships, suggesting important implications for management.     

The impact of coffee certification on small‐scale producers’ livelihoods: a case study from the Jimma Zone,Ethiopia

What is the impact of product certification on small‐scale farmers’ livelihoods? To what extent does the participation of Ethiopian small‐scale coffee farmers in certified local cooperative structures improve their socioeconomic situation? To answer these questions, this article employs household data of 249 coffee farmers from six different cooperatives collected in the Jimma zone of Southwestern Ethiopia in 2009. Findings show that the certification of coffee cooperatives has in total a low impact on small‐scale coffee producers’ livelihoods mainly due to (1) low productivity, (2) insignificant price premium, and (3) poor access to credit and information from the cooperative. Differences in production and organizational capacities between the local cooperatives are mirrored in the extent of the certification benefits for the smallholders. “Good” cooperatives have reaped the benefits of certification, whereas “bad” ones did not fare well. In this regard the “cooperative effect” overlies the “certification effect.”     

Use of a Markov Model to Estimate Long-Term Insured Lives’ Mortality Risk Associated With BRCA1 and BRCA2 Gene Mutations

Abstract

There is uncertainty regarding the degree of insurance risk associated with BRCA1/2, the gene mutations associated with breast cancer. Most reports to date have been based on high-risk populations selected from families with multiple and/or early-onset cancers; more favorable data have been reported in studies without this selection bias.

This paper discusses use of a Markov model to estimate mortality risk associated with BRCA1/2 gene mutations in female life insurance applicants. The goal is to derive a range of risk estimates based on different assumptions of breast and ovarian cancer incidence. A particular strength of the model is that transition probabilities after cancer diagnosis vary with age and cancer stage, as do excess hazard rates.

Data calculated by the model indicate that no single mortality curve characterizes risk for all life insurance applicants with a BRCA1/2 mutation. Rather, mortality risk depends on breast and ovarian cancer incidence rates and subsequent mortality rates, and on the method used to deal with competing breast and ovarian cancer incidence and mortality rates. Further refinement of risk estimates will depend on better incidence data and on resolution of complex statistical problems, such as informative censoring.

Widespread use of genetic information by insurance consumers could have important economic implications. For companies that sell individually underwritten products, profitability might decrease. Consumers might find higher prices and reduced availability, with a corresponding decrease in quantity of insurance purchased. Insurance and consumer ramifications would vary by cover, with living-benefit products, such as critical-illness insurance, most adversely affected. Societal choices are limited. Given assumptions in the cited scenario, it is likely premiums would rise and quantity of insurance purchased would decrease even with no change in existing social policy; attempted legal or regulatory remedies would further accentuate price increases and reductions in quantity purchased.     

Wer trägt die Verantwortung?

Zusammenfasung  Haftungsrecht bei der Wundversorgung — Bei der Versorgung problematischer Wunden kommt es h?ufig zu einem Zusammenspiel mehrerer Beteiligter. Dabei kann es zu Gef?hrdungssituationen für den Patienten kommen – durch Unklarheit darüber, wer in welchem Ma?e für die Wundbehandlung verantwortlich ist oder durch Kommunikationsm?ngel.     

Vom ?Alles-oder-Nichts-Prinzip“ zur Quotelung der Versicherungsleistung – Rechtsvergleichende überlegungen zur Reform des Versicherungsvertragsrechts in der Schweiz und in Deutschland

The reform of the German Insurance Contract Law (??d-VVG??) and the ongoing revision of the Swiss Insurance Contract Law (??ch-VVG??) show numerous parallels, driven by the aim of policyholder-/consumer-protection. This article is exclusively about the parallel tendency in both laws largely to abolish the ??All or nothing?? rule ??Alles-oder-Nichts-Prinzip?? (i.e., the principle according to which, the insurer is either obliged to pay the full amount insured or is fully relieved from its payment obligation) and to replace it instead with a system of the proportionate reduction of insurance benefits. The abolishment of the ??Alles-oder-Nichts-Prinzip?? affects the legal consequences of (1)??in Germany??the causation of the insured event (2)?the violation of contractual obligations, (3)?increase of the hazards and (4)??in Switzerland??the violation of pre-contractual disclosure obligations. The article will show that, despite this parallel tendency, both systems continue to have considerable differences in how they apply and will apply the proportionate reduction of insurance benefits.     

Interest on Reserves and the Flexibility of Monetary Policy in the Euro Area

This paper shows that remunerating required reserves can increase the flexibility of monetary policy. The remuneration at the current policy rate implies constant net marginal interest costs of holding required reserves. This allows the central bank to change the policy rate also within a reserve maintenance period without inducing a problematic reserve shifting on behalf of the banks. In the euro area, required reserves are remunerated at an average rate. Therefore, the way in which reserves are remunerated has to be changed in order to make use of the advantage of a higher flexibility of monetary policy.     

Lack of progress in tourist information search research: a critique of citation behaviour and knowledge development

ABSTRACT

Knowledge construction is a crucial factor in the development of any field of study. While empirical papers sustain knowledge development in a field, systematic analysis of the literature and critiques of influential papers are core components of high-level knowledge construction. The aim of this paper is to critically evaluate Fodness and Murray’s ([1999]. A model of tourist information search behavior. Journal of Travel Research, 37(3), 220–230.) seminal paper on information search and to assess how the model has been developed by the subsequent literature. A critique of the model highlighted that the original work had a number of shortcomings, particularly given recent advances in information technologies. The method consisted of a meta-analysis of 575 studies that cited Fodness and Murray’s work. The meta-analysis demonstrated that none of the subsequent studies attempted to further develop this well-cited model. The analysis also highlighted that many of the citations to the original study were superficial, and in some cases, incorrect, raising serious questions about citation practices in the tourism field more broadly. The main implication is that, in order to advance our understanding of tourism, we need robust studies that confirm and build on past research efforts to move the field forward.     

Online representations of RVing neo-tribes in the USA and Australia

Road trips in recreational vehicles (RVs) are popular ways to experience freedom, warmer climates and flexibility in the USA as well as Australia. Ownership of such vehicles is increasing in both markets. Nevertheless, very little is known about the individuals who engage in RVing activities and about the neo-tribes that they form and organise through clubs. Also, cross-regional comparisons of RVers are currently missing from the literature. This article conducted analyses of the text (words and images) of websites belonging to two RV clubs in the USA and two clubs in Australia as well as of the websites of the countries' respective RV advocacy groups. The goal was to examine the specific neo-tribes as they were represented on these websites. The results revealed similarities but also clear differences, with the USA RV clubs appearing to be much more focussed on delivering the defining aspects of neo-tribes, such as fellowship, organisation of online scenes, and the facilitation of an RVing lifestyle.