Corporate characteristics and the corporate socialization of local (Mexican) managers of U.S. multinational corporations

This paper examines the proposition that local nationals employed as (local) managers by foreign subsidiaries of multinational corporations have managerial attitutes which are generally between those of indigenous managers employed by domestic firms in both the parent and host countries. The evidence strongly suggests that the concept has validity, and that the organization attributes of capital, R&D, and marketing intensity influence the managerial attitudes of the three groups of managers and the differences among these attitudes.     

Sales expectations and inventory changes in retail trade

In this paper a single equation inventory investment model is estimated for the United States retail sector. Monthly data for the 1970s are utilized. In estimating the model it is alternatively assumed that expectations were formed according to a seasonal model, to perfect foresight, and to a narrowly rational expectations model. We find that a model in which expected sales and the expected rate of inflation are narrowly rational can explain most of the variation in retail inventory investment during the time period studied. The results of the estimation imply that retailers have a relatively short forecast horizon, that they can react quickly to either unexpected sales or to a deviation of actual from desired inventory stocks, and that an increase in the real of interest has a statistically negative impact on retail inventory investment.     

Firms' acquisition decisions and Tobin's q ratio

We develop the hypothesis that Tobin's q ratio signals favorable opportunities for a firm to make acquisitions and then undertake an empirical test of this hypothesis within the context of a more general “multicausal” model. The results of this test support our hypothesis. The empirical study is also notable in that our data consists of a representative sample of large manufacturing firms (selection to the sample is not conditional upon merger activity) and the time period covered (1971–1978) postdates the conglomerate merger boom era of the 1960s.     

Customer service as a marketing strategy

Customer service in distribution is increasingly becoming a requirement for an integral part of marketing strategies for physical distribution. Customer services, many of which herefore were considered ancillary in allowing shippers and other transportation users to differentiate product/service offerings, are now necessary in order to compete successfully in the marketplace. This trend should gain considerable momentum as prices become higher and use of discretionary prices decreases. Therefore, it is imperative for marketing and distribution managers to accurately appraise and reevaluate the role of customer services.     

The role of generally accepted reporting methods in the public sector: An empirical test

This study explores the role of standard or generally accepted accounting and reporting methods in the public sector. It differs from prior studies that address public sector accounting issues in that it considers more directly how the political process influences decisions to report financial information. The primary contention is that adopting standard reporting methods reduces costs to public officials that arise from factors that characterize political markets. Empirical evidence based on data from the state governments is consistent with this contention, but theoretical and methodological problems restrict our ability to ascertain which specific factors are relevant.     

Reconfiguring Belonging in the Suburban US South: Diversity, ‘Merit’ and the Persistence of White Privilege

In the past few decades, a diverse body of scholarship has complicated the image of American suburbs as spaces of white, middle‐class homogeneity. Revisionist suburban histories and accounts of African American and immigrant suburbanization have drawn attention to the longstanding presence of non‐white others in US suburbs. Yet despite diversification, white privilege remains deeply entrenched in suburbia. This article explores the shifting character of white privilege in the US — especially in the US South — and asks how whites interpret diversity and identify those with whom they are, or are not, willing to share their privileges. This article uses the results of a pilot study in a subdivision near Columbia, South Carolina, to explore how white suburbanites articulate belonging in neighborhood space. This discussion highlights the ways in which respondents reject the pre‐civil‐rights order marked by overt racial discrimination, but also reveals the ways in which they evaluate the relative merit of minority groups and identify certain differences as unacceptable. While limited in scope, this study encourages scholars to further explore the ways in which shifting configurations of race become intertwined with processes of contemporary suburban change.     

New replacement part buying

This article reports on buying industrial equipment in the paper manufacturing industry. An analysis of written call reports by sales representatives at 26 paper mills, and interviews with sales representatives indicated that several generalizations on industrial buying behavior for this industry are possible. Buying behavior for the equipment part describes five decision stages and five overlapping buying centers.     

Organization technology and the media and purpose dimensions of organization communications

Data collected from field research using structured observations indicate for task communications significant relationships between organization technology certainty (using Perrow's typology) and use of verbal and sign media and no significant relationship with use of object and written media. These data also indicate relationships between technology certainty and stimulus and problem solving communications purposes. Directionality of communications moderates these technology-purpose relationships, even exposing some additional relationships. The last section of this article proposes a reconceptualized model of organization communications, considering technology certainty, member mobility, and leadership style as independent variables and directionality as a moderating variable.