Buyer and seller perceptions of transportation purchasing variables

The study in this article involved the investigation of 15 carrier selection variables over three dimensions by three groups with high involvement in the purchasing decision—traffic managers, sales representatives, and sales managers. The primary focus of the study was the identification of significant differences in the assessment of importance of the technical abilities of a carrier, the service orientation of a carrier and the image of a carrier as perceived by sales managers and sales representatives representing the selling systems, and traffic managers representing the buying systems.     

The interplay of corporate entrepreneurship,environmental orientation,and performance in clean‐tech firms—A double‐edged sword

Clean‐tech innovations are an important driver in solving global issues such as climate change and for the sustainable development of economies around the world. Whereas a large part of the literature focuses on clean‐tech ventures, less is known on corporate entrepreneurship, that is, entrepreneurial behavior in established firms and its relation to sustainability. This paper extends the sustainable entrepreneurship debate to corporate entrepreneurship, which represents a fruitful avenue to further developing clean technologies. We focus particularly on clean‐tech firms' organizational preparedness for corporate entrepreneurship (OPCE), that is, how well a firm's structures and processes are set for entrepreneurial activities. On the basis of contingency theory, this study investigates how the level of OPCE influences the environmental and financial performance of clean‐tech firms and whether their environmental orientation affects these relationships. Building on data from 103 firms, we find support for a positive effect of OPCE on both environmental and financial performance. Both effects are stronger the higher the external environmental orientation. In contrast, the leverage of internal environmental orientation is not equally positive. Our study reveals that the effect of OPCE on financial performance diminishes for firms that are more strongly driven by an internal than an external environmental orientation.     

Virtually No Effect? Different Uses of Classroom Computers and their Effect on Student Achievement

Most studies find little to no effect of classroom computers on student achievement. We suggest that this null effect may combine positive effects of computer uses without equivalently effective alternative traditional teaching practices and negative effects of uses that substitute more effective teaching practices. Our correlated random effects models exploit within‐student between‐subject variation in different computer uses in the international TIMSS test. We find positive effects of using computers to look up information and negative effects of using computers to practice skills, resulting in overall null effects. Effects are larger for students with high socioeconomic status and mostly confined to developed countries.     

Zwischen Selbstbehauptung und Verfolgung. Deutsch-jüdische Zeitungen und Zeitschriften von der Aufklärung bis zum Nationalsozialismus

Ohne Zusammenfassung     

Global Sourcing Decision‐Making Processes: Politics,Intuition, and Procedural Rationality

Global sourcing (GS) is a firmly established phenomenon in modern business practice that requires specific expertise from different organizational functions, such as purchasing, production, logistics, and research and development to analyze and select sourcing alternatives effectively. In this context, global sourcing decision‐making (GSDM) processes pose major challenges because two dimensions of functional politics, namely goal misalignment and power imbalance across functions, appear to influence procedural rationality in a manner not understood to date. Likewise, intuition also seems to play a role for the procedural rationality of GSDM processes. To elucidate the conditions under which procedural rationality is hampered or enhanced by politics and intuition, we studied five cross‐functional GSDM processes, in front of extant strategic decision‐making literature. We derive formal propositions on how functional politics and intuition influence the procedural rationality and present contingencies for the divergent role of intuition as well as functional politics in GDSM processes. Our research contributes to existing GS literature by providing a theoretical model of important microfoundations of how GSDM processes evolve. The findings also guide managers on how to structure GSDM processes such that GS projects can be conducted in a more rational fashion.     

Managing supplier sustainability risks in a dynamically changing environment—Sustainable supplier management in the chemical industry

Varying definitions and interpretations of sustainability standards have become a major concern for purchasing and supply management (PSM). As the foremost interface to an increasingly global supply base, PSM plays an important role in the mitigation of sustainability-related risks. By conducting responsible purchasing and supplier management, the risk of corporate reputational damage to the buying firm, caused by supplier misconduct, can be avoided. However, resources for effective risk-mitigation are limited and the applicability of supply risk assessment and supplier assessment methods have not been evaluated for sustainability. In this paper, we explore how leading PSM functions identify, assess, and treat supplier sustainability risks and elaborate on the integration of sustainability risk management in supplier management processes. Based on the findings from a multiple case study in the chemical industry and by drawing on the dynamic capabilities view (DCV), we propose that mature and sustainable supplier management capabilities are a source of competitive advantage in terms of lower exposure to reputational risks and enhanced operational performance.     

Asset Funding in der betrieblichen Altersversorgung

In Germany, the most widespread funding method for occupational pension schemes is self-funding via book reserve. The term “asset funding” applies to situations when the company sets aside separate assets to fund these liabilities. This is a significant factor for a company’s risk management. International accounting standards and the requirements of Basel II are helping to make asset funding of book reserves more and more attractive. This article represents a first step towards a full-scale scientific analysis of this complex of issues. In particular, it provides a systematic classification of the various methods of asset funding and presents corresponding investment strategies.