Where do the new U.S. immigrants live?

"Analyzing the location choices of the post-1964 U.S. immigrants results in three main findings: (1) these immigrants are more geographically concentrated than natives of the same age and ethnicity and reside in cities with large ethnic populations; (2) education plays a key role in location choice, reducing geographic concentration and the likelihood of being in cities with a high concentration of fellow countrymen and increasing the probability of changing locations after arrival in the United States; (3) internal migration within the United States occurs more frequently among immigrants than natives and facilitates the process of assimilation for the more educated individuals."     

Ethnic influences on service expectations: Results of pilot study

This paper presents the first stage of the results of a study on the ethnic influence on service expectations. The study explores the difference in importance of various service expectations between service customers of different ethnic backgrounds, in particular of Canadian and Chinese customers. Through a variety of statistical analyses, significant variables influencing service expectations were identified. The results of this comparative analysis indicate that there is a difference in customer expectations based on ethnicity. Further, service firms can capitalize on these differences to enhance their service offerings and increase customer satisfaction.     

Advertising strategy and effective advertising: comparing the USA and Australia

A considerable body of research makes cross-cultural comparisons of advertising content and executional factors. Much of this work compares very different cultures. This study compared the strategic elements found in television commercials that have received industry recognition for effectiveness in two similar cultures, the USA and Australia. The study found that effective messages were similar in terms of selling propositions, tone and positive versus negative appeals. Specifically, the messages were similar in terms of their emphasis on product attributes and performance and a heavy reliance on humour. Effective campaigns differed in their creative strategy, rational versus emotional appeals and the presence of a brand-differentiating message. It is suggested that the differences in advertising arose from differences in the marketplace and cultural environment.     

Underpricing and entrepreneurial wealth losses in IPOs: theory and evidence

We model owners as solving a multidimensional problem when takingtheir firms public. Owners can affect the level of underpricingthrough the choices they make in promoting an issue, such aswhich underwriter to hire or on what exchange to list. The benefitsof reducing underpricing in this way depend on the owners' participationin the offering and the magnitude of the dilution they sufferon retained shares. We argue that the extent to which ownerstrade off underpricing and promotion is determined by the minimizationof their wealth losses. Evidence from a sample of U.S. initialpublic offering confirms our empirical predictions.     

Cultural Dimensions and Prototypical Criteria for Multi-Criteria Decision Support in Electronic Markets: A Comparative Analysis of Two Job Markets

Electronic markets are virtual meeting places where buyers and sellers interact to trade products or services. The main motivation for both buyers and sellers to participate in an electronic market is the desire to maximize their private utility (Bakos 1998). Electronic markets therefore usually provide some form of communication, decision or negotiation aid for buyers and sellers to support their utility maximizing goals. This paper presents a comparative analysis of two electronic job market case studies conducted at a university in Europe (Brussels, Belgium) and in the United States (Newark, New Jersey). At the occasion of the universities’ career fairs, students (n = 392) and local companies (n = 57) were invited to participate in an electronic job market to identify the best job offers (n = 137) and students, respectively. Participants were able to create personalized software agents to aid their search and decision making activities in the market. Every software agent was embedded with a multi-criteria decision support tool to produce a rank ordered list of students or job offers. Preference data gathered from market participants’ use of the multi-criteria decision model allow us to construct relational preference structures using a technique based on the mathematical theory of fuzzy relations (Bandler and Kohout 1980). These preference structures express relationships among the criteria that students and companies have used to identify job offers and companies, respectively. The purpose of the paper is to present the communicative and cultural implications of these relational preference structures. The theories of Hofstede (1983), Hall (1977) and Trompenaars (1993) on cultural dimensions allow us to discuss cultural differences on the choice of prototypical criteria. The paper concludes with implications for the use of electronic markets in the staffing industry and the role of software agents in such job markets.     

Measuring the Employer's Return on Investments in Training: Evidence from the Literature

Three components of the literature on measuring the employer's rate of return to investments in employee training are reviewed: (1) studiesthat use large samples of firm-level or establishment-level data collected through mail or phone surveys, (2) studies that use data from one or two companies to conduct an 'econometric' case study, and (3) company-sponsored case studies. The strengths and weaknesses of each of these approaches are evaluated and the estimated returns on investments (ROIs) are compared. The analysis indicates that the employer's return on investments in training may be much higher than previously believed. In order to obtainaccurate information on the employer's ROI from training, researchers should be encouraged to gain access to company databases and to supplement them with data-gathering efforts to collect information on variables needed to isolate the effect of training.