To trust or not to trust smart consumer products: a literature review of trust-building factors

Management Review Quarterly - Numerous “smart” consumer products are already available on the market, and the diversity of such smart products is expected to increase considerably in...     

MEDICARE AND INEQUALITIES IN HEALTH OUTCOMES: THE CASE OF BREAST CANCER

This article evaluates whether expanding Medicare to cover those between ages 55 and 64 will improve the health status of these near-elderly individuals. We compare the experiences of near-elderly and elderly women with breast cancer and pay special attention to those demographic groups traditionally thought to be disadvantaged. Using unique individual-level data from the National Cancer Institute, we find that expanding Medicare does not improve the probability that a black woman will have her cancer diagnosed early. However, if she does happen to be diagnosed early, a discretE-time hazard model of survival finds that the price effects of insurance will improve her odds of survival.     

The global field of multi-family offices: An institutionalist perspective

We apply the notion of the organisational field to internationally operating multi-family offices. These organisations specialise on the preservation of enterprising and geographically dispersed families’ fortunes. They provide their services across generations and countries. On the basis of secondary data of Bloomberg’s Top 50 Family Offices, we show that they constitute a global organisational field that comprises two clusters of homogeneity. Clients may decide between two different configurations of activities, depending on their preferences regarding asset management, resource management, family management and service architecture. The findings also reveal that multi-family offices make relatively similar value propositions all over the world. The distinctiveness of the clusters within the field is not driven by the embeddedness of the multi-family offices in different national environments or their various degrees of international experience. Rather, it is weakly affected by two out of four possible value propositions, namely the exclusiveness and the transparency of services.     

Shifting reactions to risks: a case study

Social science research in the field of risk analysis has emphasised evaluating the magnitude of individuals’ reactions to risks (e.g. strength and salience of concerns, frequency and forcefulness of behaviours that respond to risks). Fewer studies assess the factors that contribute to risk reactions or the types of risks to which reactions are directed (e.g. human health, wildlife health or ecosystem health risks; economic or aesthetic concerns). Theoretical and empirical research on amplification and attenuation of risk (e.g. the Social Amplification of Risk Framework) reveals that the strength of people’s reaction to risks can change markedly over time, as a function of new stimuli. We expand on this foundation to consider here how the types of risks members of the public react to may also shift over the course of their exposure to a hazard, particularly as more information about the hazard becomes available. This case study of risk reactions related to an outbreak of type E botulism in north-western Michigan, USA, demonstrates that the types of risks people react to can change substantially over time. We identify factors that contributed to changes in types of risk reactions, and then consider how these factors potentially distinguish the botulism outbreak from other outbreaks. This case study suggests that, under certain conditions, risk communication can meaningfully alter the types of risks that people react to in response to an environmental hazard. We discuss implications of these findings for risk research, risk communication and environmental conservation.     

Big is Beautiful: debunking the myth of small business,by Robert D. Atkinson and Michael Lind

Business Economics -     

Reorienting the Economy to the Rhythms of Nature: Learning to Live with Intermittent Energy Supply

In much current thinking about the necessary and rapid transition to a carbon-emissions-free energy system, there is implicit acceptance of the high-tech, high-energy nature of the current economy. But by asking deeper questions about this economy, we reveal new opportunities as well as new challenges. First, throughout most of history, both production and consumption were dramatically influenced by the weather, and activities were undertaken or curtailed according to varying availability of energy. In the future, if we again adjust energy demand to such intermittent supplies wherever and whenever possible, we can nevertheless benefit from many scientific and technological advantages that our ancestors did not have centuries ago. Second, in the pursuit of highly energy-efficient machines that might become new sources of highly concentrated energy, we have begun to rely on “clean energy” machinery made in significant part from non-recyclable materials. With our current generation of wind turbines, for example, we have sacrificed sustainability in the pursuit of a supposedly renewable-energy system. By contrast, if we reduce our need for always-on energy sources by adjusting energy demand to intermittent energy supply, we can greatly reduce the overall energy infrastructure needed, and we will face less pressure to sacrifice sustainability.     

Central Bank or Monetary Authority? Three Views on Money and Monetary Reform

The global financial crisis triggered profound changes in the conduct of monetary policy, with ultra‐low interest rates and asset purchases becoming the main policy tools. This represents a major shift towards interventionism that even ten years after the global financial crisis has not been reversed. In this article, I assess three views on money and monetary reform. I argue that a central bank regime with a narrow focus on refinancing property at market interest rates remains an attractive alternative to the current regime and provides an essential benchmark to assess the progress of monetary normalisation.     

Observers’ Impressions of Unethical Persons and Whistleblowers

Since there have been many recent occurrences of alleged wrongdoing by business persons and other professionals, it seems additional ethics research is needed to obtain knowledge that will impact real-world behavior. An empirical study assessed business students’ impressions of hypothetical wrongdoers and whistleblowers. To some extent, impressions of an unethical executive and a whistleblower were influenced by the same variables and in opposite directions. Female respondents judged the unethical executive less favorably and the whistleblower more favorably than did males. The executive was rated less favorably and the whistleblower more favorably when the executive sought a small gain than when the goal was a large gain or prevention of a loss of either magnitude. Some manipulations, however, impacted impressions of one actor, but not the other. Perhaps ethics training can make students aware that issue␣framing and moral intensity components may bias decisions. Wayne H. Decker, Ph.D. (University of Pittsburgh) is a Professor of Management and former Chair of the Management and Marketing Department in the Perdue School of Business at Salisbury University. His publications include articles in the Journal of Managerial Issues, Journal of Applied Business Research, Journal of Business and Enterpreneurship, Review of Business Research, Journal of Retail Banking, and Real Estate Finance. His current research interests are ethics, managerial humor, leadership, and career development. Thomas J. Calo, Ed.D. (George Washington University) is a Lecturer in Management in the Perdue School of Business at Salisbury University. He is a former corporate and public sector human resources executive who is now teaching full-time. He is a Certified Professional of the International Public Management Association for Human Resources. His reseearch interests are in the areas of business ethics, leadership, and the psychosocial aspects of mid-career professionals.