Statistical conclusion validity in experimental designs used in business research

This article is intended as a tutorial on the use of experimental design methodology in business research. In particular, the issue of statistical conclusion validity is considered. Several recently published reports that have used experimental methodology are discussed in detail. Each report illustrates serious errors in the match between the statistical analysis and the research design. A more reasonable design and analysis are suggested for each case. The paper concludes by offering some guidelines for the evaluation of experimental results and for the training of future researchers.     

Improving the Strategy-Innovation Link

In spite of the tremendous impact that new technology has had on every aspect of business operations, we have yet to develop a satisfactory way of incorporating innovation in our strategic thinking processes. However, we are making progress. A further step in our understanding is provided in this article by Gerhard Mensch, the recent winner of the Humboldt prize for his creative work in economics, and Vasudevan Ramanujam. They collaborate in developing a model that links strategy and innovation by relating innovation activities to strategic goals of the firm and the external pressures that are perceived by management.     

Generalizing industrial buying: A longitudinal study

This paper expands and updates a major survey conducted in 1970 by Scientific American, Inc. Both surveys were designed to measure the influence of key corporate groups or departments on the purchasing decision. Despite major differences in the two samples, there was very good agreement between the two surveys. All the Kendall's rank correlation coefficients were significant at the 0.05 level. The purchasing department continues to play a key role in the purchase of materials, component parts, and equipment, especially when it comes to taking advantage of new price differentials, surveying available makes, and choosing suppliers. The applications of the results are explored in two short cases.     

Policy issues raised by direct broadcast satellites

Direct Broadcast Satellites, which transmit television programs directly to the viewer's home, present several policy issues that will have to be resolved during the next few years. Some of these issues transcend DBS, hence they must be resolved in a larger framework. Those that exist essentially within the framework of DBS include issues at the program producer's end, issues at the viewer's end, and technology issues. These latter are particularly important because inappropriate or unwise policy choices made now may nullify the benefits promised by improved technology.     

Some evidence on the role of money illusion in labor supply behavior

The Keynesian idea that workers are subject to money illusion in their labor supply decisions is tested by estimating a labor supply function that includes the price level as an independent variable. The model is estimated with data drawn from various BLS publications and is aggregated by SMSA. The results indicate a significant negative supply response to price-level changes after controlling for the nominal wage rate, income, and the SMSA's unemployment rate. There is no significant difference between workers' supply response to the price level and the nominal wage rate, which suggests that workers are not subject to money illusion.     

Anderson's Concept of the Grotesque in Winesburg, Ohio

Wines burg, Ohio is the representative short-story of American writer Sherwood Anderson by which he makes a brilliant contribution to the development of modern American grotesque literature. This paper aims to interpret Winesburg, Ohio where there are a group of deformed people that living in the transitional period from agrarian tradition to industrial civilization. The dehumanizing impact of industrialization, the bondage of Puritan mo-rality and the lack of love are the fundamental causes of the Winesburg grotesques' twisted spirits and odd behaviors. Although they arc weird and unac-ceptable in the casual eyes, they do not thoroughly despair even never give up their pursuit of love and understanding with their hopes and dreams.Thus, these precious and beautiful internal qualities make them deserve to be sympathized, respected and loved by the reader, not to be despised.     

The economic relationship between service quality and market protection for regulated household-goods moving

In considering the effects of motor carrier regulation, the direct measurement of service quality is an often neglected issue. This paper is an empirical investigation of the relationship of entry controls to service quality for household goods (HHG) moving services. The major research questions, which are based on inferences in the economic literature, have considerable importance for HHG regulation. The major finding is that carriers who receive the greatest market protection from the ICC provide inferior service quality and do not compete away excess returns by raising the level of service quality. Based on the study results, a number of theoretical and policy implications are discussed.     

Developing industrial heritage tourism: A case study of the proposed jeep museum in Toledo, Ohio

There are a growing number of industrial cities in which promoting tourism maybe a helpful tool for urban restructuring and economic development. This paper identifies six key attributes of developing industry heritage tourism from the previous literature. These attributes have been used to evaluate a proposal for the National Historic Jeep Museum by the city of Toledo, Ohio. The investigation revealed that although the potentials for conserving and interpreting the museum are valued highly, there exist conflicting views by various stakeholders. Problems are attributed to poor community perceptions, a lack of strong support from the Jeep industry, the controversial reuse of existing facilities, ill-informed economic benefits and the issue of authenticity. The implications of the study provide suggestions for future improvements in the development of industry heritage tourism.     

The structural stability of the market model after the Three Mile Island accident

This article examines the stability of alpha and beta in the market model resulting from the Three Mile Island accident. The data consist of weekly returns on 70 utility stocks. Both a dummy variable test and the Fisher F statistics are utilized to test for stability. In addition to the individual stocks, the 70 utilities are partitioned into two portfolios for the test—nuclear and non-nuclear. The main conclusions are 1) for the non-nuclear portfolio, no change is observed; 2) for the nuclear portfolio, alpha fell and beta rose—the impact, however, is transitory and insignificant; and 3) the behavior of the residuals suggests that the result is consistent with an efficient market.