Networks of power and networks of capital: evidence from a peripheral area of the first globalisation. The energy sector in Naples: from gas to electricity (1862–1919)

At the moment of Italian political unification, the Mezzogiorno (i.e. Southern Italy) was affected by a deep institutional change and it entered the wave of financial market openness, attracting all forms of investments from international capital markets. Naples – after having lost its previous role as the Bourbon kingdom’s capital city – enabled projects of large scale urban planning, beginning with basic public utilities. In this process, public and private lighting was chronologically the first area of interest – parallel with railway development planning – where international finance played a role. As evidence of the dynamics which brought this peripheral European area into the orbit of the first globalisation, this article addresses the complex business of energy supply in Naples – between 1862 and World War I – both from the point of view of its financial dynamics and the parallel evolution and organisational characteristics of the business actors involved. The Social Network Analysis (SNA) will support the reconstruction of the diversified and transnational businesses which the Neapolitan energy business was integrated in, at the same time giving evidence of both the bindings linking legally independent companies and the multiple relations between the actors involved. The transition from gas to electricity during this time marked the transition from weak to strong corporate ties according to the evolutionary trends both of technology and international financial markets.     

Exploring the relationships between innovation and internationalization of small and medium‐sized enterprises: A nonrecursive structural equation model

This article seeks to provide more insights on the two‐way link between internationalization and innovation by considering total, direct, and reciprocal effects using a nonrecursive structural model. Innovation is defined through product and process development, while internationalization is defined through inward and outward internationalization in both closer and farther markets. The results suggest that these two major sources of growth are linked by different sets of relations, from the investment in product and process innovation to outward internationalization in a closer market, or from inward and outward internationalization in farther markets to the investment in product innovation. Copyright © 2013 ASAC. Published by John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Target Costing,Business Model Innovation,and Firm Performance: An Empirical Analysis of Chinese Firms

Market orientation theory was used to relate the implementation of target costing systems and business model innovation to firm performance using a sample of 189 electronics and information industry manufacturers in China. As expected, the implementation of target costing was positively associated with both business model innovations and firm performance. Further, the diversity of product development teams was also crucial. It positively moderated the association between target costing and business model innovation. Finally, the business model innovation was positively related to firm performance. Copyright © 2012 ASAC. Published by John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Synergy between R&D and advertising on shareholder value: Does firm size matter?

Using the hierarchical linear model, we examine whether R&D and advertising and their synergy influence firm value. We also investigate whether firm size moderates the market value effects of R&D, advertising, and the synergistic effect of R&D and advertising on firm value. We find that R&D and the synergy between R&D and advertising have significant positive effects on shareholder value. Moreover, we find that the effects of R&D and advertising are significantly higher in large firms than small firms, while the synergistic effect is significantly positive in small firms but not in large firms. These results offer important insight for executives on the implications of resource allocation on R&D and advertising expenditures to create firm value. Copyright © 2016 ASAC. Published by John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Transport infrastructure and tourism development

This paper investigates the significance of transport infrastructure as a factor in destination development, showing it to be part of the classical demand for international tourism functions. An application involving the island of Mauritius is presented, whereby total tourist arrivals are modeled. The findings show that tourists from Europe/America and Asia are particularly sensitive to the island’s transport infrastructure. Those from Europe/America are also sensitive to its nontransport infrastructure. Both types of infrastructure, as well as income of tourists, distance, and relative prices are important ingredients in their own respect in the tourism demand equation. Mauritius is an expanding destination, with the European and American markets being most promising.     

The extended website stage model: a study of Canadian winery websites

Rao, Metts, and Mora Monge (2003) proposed a stage model to reflect the progression small businesses follow in their use of Internet technology. We extend their work in two ways. We introduce marketing integration into this technology-focused model and further differentiate the transactions stage of the framework. We then use the model to examine differences in the degree of sophistication of websites used by businesses in the Canadian winery sector. Data collection entailed a content analysis on a census of English language Canadian winery websites (N = 206). A supplementary survey was used to distinguish among those sites that were making use of relatively advanced technologies. A multinomial logit analysis was applied to examine a series of research questions based upon our integrated model. Implications of the findings for scholarship and practice are discussed. Copyright © 2009 ASAC. Published by John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Gender fatigue: The ideological dilemma of gender neutrality and discrimination in organizations

Although gender discrimination remains a feature of working life in many contexts, research on gender in organizations has shown that workplaces are often constructed as gender neutral. This poses an ideological dilemma for workers: how can they make sense of gender discrimination at work while presenting their workplace as gender neutral? This article explores that dilemma through an analysis of how information communication technology (ICT) workers talk about gender discrimination. Instead of denying gender discrimination, workers acknowledge it can happen but construct it as singular events that happened in the past and they place the onus on women to overcome such obstacles. Navigating the ideological dilemma around gender neutrality and discrimination, interviewees display what the article characterizes as gender fatigue. Copyright © 2009 ASAC. Published by John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Canadian takeover announcements and the job security of top managers

This study measures the turnover rate of top managers (Chief Executive Officers or Presidents) in acquisition targets following the public announcements of takeovers in Canada. Turnover rates following the announcements of completed and unsuccessful takeover attempts did not differ from each other but were higher than the norm for CEOs from a control group of nontarget firms. The turnover rate was particularly high for widely‐held firms and negatively correlated with the preannouncement performance of the targets. Overall, results suggest that a major objective of takeovers in Canada is to reduce management failings, inefficiency, and agency costs. Copyright © 2007 ASAC. Published by John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.