bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Serial Entrepreneurs
Authors: Wright Mike , Robbie Ken , Ennew Christine
Published: March 2003

This study focuses on the dynamic nature of entrepreneurship through an analysis of serial entrepreneurs, those individuals who engage in multiple start‐ups, management buyouts, management buy‐ins and combinations of these activities. The paper develops a typology of habitual entrepreneurship and then examines serial entrepreneurs in detail as a subset of such entrepreneurs. The processes involved and the effects of individuals undertaking sequential ventures are analysed. The study identifies three types of serial entrepreneurial behaviour namely venture repeaters, organic serials and serial dealmakers, distinguished by the motivations and the methods used to develop their ventures. Case‐study evidence from the study also indicates that the role of active investors varies according to the type of serial entrepreneur and venture.
The 1996 Research Assessment Exercise for Business and Management
Authors: Cooper Otley Cary, David
Published: March 2003

A substantial component of government funding for university research in the UK is now based upon an evaluation of the quality of research being conducted in each university, on a subject by subject basis. This paper describes the processes involved in the 1996 Research Assessment Exercise (RAE) for business and management studies. It is argued that the strength of the current process lies in the peer review of the quality of research outputs. In addition, some of the issues needing to be resolved in undertaking such an exercise are described and evaluated. Finally, based on the authors' exposure to the full range of management research currently being conducted in the UK, some suggestions are made regarding future research directions.
Value Creation Versus Value Capture: Towards a Coherent Definition of Value in Strategy
Authors: Bowman Cliff , Ambrosini Véronique
Published: March 2003

Resource‐based theory has tended to focus on the development and protection of valuable resources. What determines a valuable resource has received less attention. This paper addresses three related issues concerning value and valuable resources: what is value? how is it created? and who captures it? We have tried here to integrate different strands of the literature to address these questions. First, we argue that a distinction needs to be made between use value, which is subjectively assessed by customers, and exchange value, which is only realized at the point of sale. Second, we argue that the source of new use values is the labour performed by organizational members, and that firm profits can be attributed to this labour. Profit differences between competing firms derive from labour performing heterogeneously across firms. Finally, we argue that value capture is determined by the perceived power relationships between buyers and sellers.
The Impact of Multiple Commitments on Intentions to Resign: an Empirical Assessment
Authors: Boshoff Christo , Gerhard Mels
Published: March 2003

A number of authors have recently drawn attention to the need to explore, conceptually and empirically, the relationships between different types of employee commitment and work outcomes. Management, continually grappling with the challenge of organizational effectiveness, is often interested in outcomes such as the individual job‐performance levels of employees and absenteeism as well as the number of resignations from the organization. One of these, turnover as measured by intentions to resign, and its relationship with multiple commitments in the organization, is the focus of this study. The first objective was to compare the impact of four constituent‐specific commitments (commitment to the organization, job, profession and supervisor), termed ‘employee commitment’, on intentions to resign. Second, the ‘key mediating construct’ proposition of organizational commitment suggested by Hunt and Morgan (1994) was empirically evaluated. The empirical results show that the impact of commitment to the profession on intentions to resign is the most influential. In addition, the data suggest that neither the ‘one of many’ model nor the ‘key mediating construct’ theory of employee commitment can be described as superior in explaining intentions to resign.
The Internet and the Deconstruction of the Integrated Banking Model
Authors: Li Feng
Published: March 2003

The rapid development of information and communication technologies (ICTs), with the Internet being one of the most significant, is shaking the foundation of the banking industry. Simply deploying the Internet as a more efficient distribution channel will not bring sustainable strategic advantages. To compete effectively, banks may need to embrace a new set of strategic priorities, based on the ‘unbundling’ of banking services and processes, and the ‘deconstruction’ of the integrated banking model. Such a radical transformation threatens the profitability and survival of some existing incumbent banks, and at the same time, it brings a cohort of new opportunities and powerful new players to the market. This paper reviews existing studies on the use of the Internet in banking, and highlights two prevailing models and the strategic thinking behind them. Based upon recent empirical evidence gathered from in‐depth case studies and other information sources in the UK, the paper discusses a number of emerging tendencies and explores possibilities to reconcile the discrepancies between the two prevailing models. The paper calls for a radical departure from existing strategies in the banking industry based on the concept of process integration and service bundling. A new framework is outlined for banks and other financial organizations in developing and evaluating their strategies. The latest evidence suggests that at least eight models of Internet banking, somewhere on the spectrum between the two prevailing models highlighted by previous studies, have emerged in the UK. These models are illustrated briefly in the paper. This is still a rapidly evolving area, and new research is clearly needed to understand the key dynamics of the banking industry in the networked economy. Finally, some themes for further research are highlighted.
An Exploratory Study into Failure in Successful Organizations: The Case of Marks & Spencer
Authors: Mellahi K. , Jackson P. , Sparks L.
Published: March 2003

Marks & Spencer (M&S) was one of the world’s great retailers, enjoying legendary and iconic status, being often held up as one of the best managed and admired businesses in the world. Its ‘fall from grace’ has been spectacular and dramatic and the company is currently fighting for its life. Based on extensive in‐depth interviews with company managers and utilizing a case‐study approach, this paper provides an exploratory study into failure at M&S and presents this in the context of the wider literature on organizational and managerial failure. It concludes that whilst external factors in the various trading environments affected the business, there were internal aspects of the crisis which exacerbated the situation and the problems.
How Issues Become (Re)constructed in the Media: Discursive Practices in the AstraZeneca Merger
Authors: Hellgren B. , Löwstedt J. , Puttonen L. , Tienari J. , Vaara E. , Werr A.
Published: March 2003

In this article, we put forward a novel way of exploring difference and contradiction in merging organizations. We examine how the media (re)constructs meanings in a major cross‐border merger. Based on an analysis of press coverage, we attempt to specify and illustrate how particular issues are (re)constructed in media texts through interpretations of ‘winning’ and ‘losing’. We also show how specific discourses are drawn on in this (re)construction. In the merger studied, discourse based on economic and financial rationale dominated the media coverage. Discourse promoting nationalistic sentiments, however, provided an alternative discursive frame to the dominant rationalistic discourse. We argue that the two basic discourses are enacted in three analytically distinct discursive practices in the media: factualizing, rationalizing and emotionalizing. We suggest that the ability of different actors such as top managers to make use of different discursive strategies and resources in promoting their ‘versions of reality’ in the media (or public discussion) is a crucial avenue for research in this area.
Mode 2 Management Research
Authors: MacLean D. , MacIntosh R. , Grant S.
Published: March 2003

The terminology of mode 2 knowledge production has become increasingly prominent in discussions on the nature and purpose of management research. This paper attempts to move our understanding of this terminology forward, by providing a detailed exposition of the five features of mode 2 knowledge production in the context of management research and by offering an empirical account of a research project conducted in mode 2. The paper relates the established problem–solving management research traditions of action research, cooperative inquiry, grounded theory and clinical method to the conceptual territory of mode 2. It then considers a specific form of knowledge production where all five features of mode 2 appear simultaneously. The paper demonstrates how the terminology of mode 2 might provide a useful basis for dialogue between management researchers from different methodological traditions. Moreover, the paper concludes that the specific form of mode 2 where all five features are present (called here 5mode2) does differ, in both its conduct and the character of its output, from any of the established approaches considered in this paper.
Using Cognitive Mapping in Management Research: Decisions about Technical Innovation
Authors: Swan Jacky
Published: March 2003

Case studies of firms attempting to adopt a particular type of technological innovation have demonstrated that the process of technological innovation may be mediated by decision‐makers' access to knowledge and by their cognitions—reflected in belief systems. This paper highlights the importance of cognitions in decisions about technological innovation. However, cognitive processes have been under emphasized in empirical work on technological innovation and part of the problem may have been lack of availability of research tools and techniques with which to explore cognitions. Cognitive mapping methodologies are reviewed in terms of their potential to fill this gap in the research into technological innovation. The paper discusses these methodologies, evaluates their limitations and argues that a distinction should be made between cognitive maps and the output of mapping techniques. This paper concludes that cognitive mapping may provide a useful addition to existing management research tools provided researchers are clear about what is revealed by the particular methodology used.
Taxation in General Equilibrium: an Introduction
Authors: Creedy John
Published: March 2003

This paper provides an introduction to some aspects of the role of taxes in a static general equilibrium framework. The standard diagrammatic framework is first used, in the case of fixed factor supplies, in order to examine selective commodity and factor taxes. A simple two‐sector model, with Cobb–Douglas production functions and preferences, and allowing labour supplies to be endogenous, is then constructed. Several tax policies are examined using numerical examples.
Monetary Policy Delegation and Optimal Wage Indexation
Authors: Mourmouras Iannis A.
Published: March 2003

This note shows that delegation of policy to a central banker who puts more weight on inflation stabilization than does the rest of society could reduce the alleged social inefficiency of private wage indexation decisions that arises in models of discretionary monetary policy.
Optimal Income Taxation and International Labour Mobility
Authors: Schjelderup G.
Published: March 2003

This paper considers how a linear income tax should be set optimally when individuals are internationally mobile. The optimum tax analysis is founded on a social welfare function where each individual counts in the social welfare according to residence time in the home country. The discussion of the optimal income tax is organized from two perspectives. The first relates to the optimum income tax when a uniform lump sum transfer is used, while the second concerns the optimal rate of tax when a transfer is used which depends on time of residence in the taxing jurisdiction.
Organization Design and Information‐Sharing in a Research Joint Venture with Spillovers
Authors: Beath John , Poyago‐Theotoky Joanna , Ulph David
Published: March 2003

The paper presents a non‐tournament model of process innovation with spillovers in the R&D process when firms engage in Cournot competition in the product market. It is shown that careful modelling of information‐sharing and coordination of research activities leads to the conclusion that a Research Joint Venture (RJV) will economize on scarce R&D resources. There is an analysis of the effects of R&D cooperation, in the form of an RJV, on the organization of R&D, i.e. the efficient number of research labs. R&D expenditure, which precedes production, results in lower unit costs. R&D is modelled as a two‐stage process: in the first stage, firms incur expenditure that will generate new knowledge, while in the second stage this knowledge is employed to reduce unit costs. A distinction is made between single and complementary research paths. It is shown that the RJV will operate one lab in the case of a single research path exploiting its coordination advantage. In the case of complementary research paths the number of labs the RJV will operate crucially depends on the stage of the R&D process at which diminishing returns occur: it will operate both labs when diminishing returns occur at the first stage (creation of knowledge), while it will be indifferent as to the number of labs, one or two, when diminishing returns occur in the second stage (cost reduction).
The Czech Labour Market in Transition: Evidence from a Micro Study
Authors: Gottvald J. , Pedersen P. J. , Simek M.
Published: March 2003

In contrast to the other countries in eastern and central Europe, unemployment has so far increased only modestly in the Czech Republic. Results are reported from a panel survey of a sample of initially unemployed workers in the industrial centre of Ostrava, interviewed in three rounds during 1993. Results are reported regarding the wage in the former job, the reservation wage, the wage in a new job and the minimum acceptable wage in another job for those who have become employed during the panel study. Finally, results from estimating a hazard function for leaving unemployment are reported.
Task‐Based Segmentation of Rural Labour Contracts: Theory and Evidence
Authors: Pal Sarmistha
Published: March 2003

The paper examines the theoretical and empirical validity of task‐based segmentation of rural labour contracts in seasonal agriculture. Regular labour is hired to perform tasks that are difficult to supervise for which casual labour is not incentive‐compatible, and a regular wage above the reservation wage ensures no shirking in these tasks. It is argued that there is a hoarding cost of regular labour which is the cost when productivity is low during the slack season. This implies that minimization of supervision costs necessitates the employment of regular labour in certain tasks, but enhances hoarding cost. Results from the ICRISAT villages in India suggests that daily regular wages are lower than daily casual wages, adjusted by the probability of unemployment. Estimates of a tobit selection model suggest that (a) task characteristics are not significant even among the farms hiring regular labour, (b) larger employment‐intensive farms tend to hire more regular labour irrespective of the choice of crop, and (c) there is a significant substitutability between regular and family labour. These results seem to question the very basis of task‐based segmentation and strengthen the hoarding cost argument: farms hiring regular labour use it indiscriminately in both non‐monitorable and monitorable tasks and, if possible, they may substitute family labour for regular labour with a view to minimizing hoarding cost.
Time Deformation in UK Consumers’ Expenditure
Authors: Cook Steven
Published: March 2003

Cook, Holly and Turner recently developed a hypothesis of a positive relationship between the durability of consumers’ expenditure and the asymmetric behaviour it exhibits. Supportive evidence was found by applying Sichel’s tests of business cycle asymmetry to the component series of UK consumers’ expenditure, which represent goods of differing durability. In this paper the relationship is re‐examined using the original data, by implementing Stock’s diagnostic tests of time deformation. The results provide further support for the durability–asymmetry hypothesis.
Sliding Scales and Wage Flexibility in 1920s Britain
Authors: Manning Neil , Woodward Nicholas
Published: March 2003

This note uses a cross‐section of industry‐level wage and unemployment rate information for early 1920s Britain to demonstrate that, in general, sliding scales had little impact on wage settlements. The evidence overwhelmingly suggests that industries which had an above‐average unemployment rate in the early 1920s experienced a disproportionate fall in nominal wages. There are also compositional effects in the sample which suggest that industries which had a predominantly male workforce, or were highly exposed to international competition in product markets, saw above‐average rates of wage deflation.
Gambling And The UK National Lottery
Authors: Moore Peter G.
Published: March 2003

The British National Lottery has now been running for almost three years and it arouses social and ethical misgivings in several quarters, whether in its contribution to the British gambling scene or in the size and distribution of its prizes or in its contributions to the good causes which it was introduced to benefit. Bringing wide experience and an expert eye to analyse and comment on the lottery, Dr Moore, DSc PhD FIA, is Emeritus Professor of Decision Sciences at London Business School, Sussex Place, Regent’s Park, London NW1 4SA.
Business Ethics Research As Dialogue: A European Perspective
Authors: Collier Jane
Published: March 2003

Britain’s Economic and Social Research Council offered criteria for excellence in research which appear to express a shared basic idea of research–as–dialogue. This approach does not appear to be met very well by business ethics research in the USA or the UK, but it was seen to be impressively present in some of the German contributions to the European Business Ethics Network conference held in Frankfurt last year. Dr Collier analyses the conditions which may underlie this difference of approach and considers the contribution of modern “discourse ethics to the process of dialogue, concluding that dialogue “is an essential characteristic of research excellence”, and that without it we therefore fail to meet both our own standards and the needs of the business community”. Dr Collier is Lecturer in Management Studies the Judge Institute of Management Studies at the University of Cambridge, and Fellow of Lucy Cavendish College.
Scoring an Own Goal? Ethical issues in the UK professional soccer business
Authors: Hawkes Toby
Published: March 2003

It is only in recent years that soccer has become big business, and the ethical strains are beginning to show. What is the “product” and where do fans figure in the list of “stakeholders”? The writer is completing his MBA at London Business School, and is a lifelong football fan.
The Ethics of the International Arms Trade
Authors: Maitland Gavin
Published: March 2003

Unless one is a pacifist there is little difficulty in theory in ethically justifying a country’s entitlement to produce or to purchase, or even to market, weapons for the preservation of internal order or external peace. In practice, however, the international arms industry gives considerable cause for ethical misgivings, which are here explored. “It is difficult to escape from the notion that the primary factor behind the international sale of arms is the generation of profits. If companies are left unchecked, there is considerable evidence that companies will exploit commercial opportunities to the detriment of ethical considerations.”
Business Ethics on the Internet: 3
Authors: Fairweather Ben , Dixon Steve , Kingsley Trezise Edward
Published: March 2003

In two previous articles, the authors introduced a variety of ways in which the internet can be used for research into business ethics. This article looks at web‐based bulletin boards, and at MUDs and MOOs, to complete the comprehensive overview of the types of facility currently available. The article then goes on to review four further websites, focused around information and communications technology (ICT) aspects of business ethics. Ben Fairweather is a Research Fellow, and Steve Dixon is Webmaster, at the Centre for Computing and Social Responsibility, De Montfort University, The Gateway, Leicester, LE1 9BH, UK (email ccsr@dmu.ac.uk, website http://www.ccsr.cms.dmu.ac.uk/). As one of the websites reviewed is the Centre’s own, this time they are joined by a guest reviewer, Edward Kingsley Trezise, Senior Lecturer in Computing Ethics and Management Ethics at Cheltenham and Gloucester College of Higher Education, and Chairperson of the British chapter of the European Business Ethics Network (EBEN‐UK).
Teaching business ethics: are there differences within Europe, and is there a European difference?
Authors: Spence Laura
Published: March 2003

Book reviewed in this article:

Zsolnai, La´szlo´ (ed) The European Difference: Business Ethics in the Community of European Management Schools
The responsible shareholder: a case study
Authors: Warren Richard C.
Published: March 2003

Shareholders are sometimes considered to be, in moral terms, the owners of a company, they are after all the carriers of the residual liabilities and bear a higher proportion of the financial risk. However, in company law, the shareholders’ responsibility is limited, and in financial terms shareholders are only liable up to the fully paid value of the share certificate. Moreover, when the shares are sold, the responsibility and risk are transferred completely to the new bearer of the shares. Whether this gap in moral and legal perceptions can be judged to be satisfactory in business ethics terms is a moot point and will be partly explored in this case study which seeks to analyse the shareholder’s responsibility towards a firm in which they own shares. The case study company chosen as a vehicle to explore these issues is that of Turner & Newall; a company that subjected its employees, communities and customers to a major health hazard – asbestosis. This paper will use the Turner & Newall archive materials to illustrate the moral hazards that can arise for shareholders. In particular it will examine the ethical responsibilities of shareholders towards those stakeholders who were exposed to the dangers of asbestos. This case is a significant test of the veracity of the legal system of company control, and exposes the ineffectiveness of that system in accountability terms. The case study also deals with specific issues that arose in the asbestos crisis, as well as with more general issues in our present system of corporate governance and shareholder responsibilities.
Representations of the woman leader in Finnish business media articles
Authors: Lämsä Anna–Maija , Tiensuu Tanja
Published: March 2003

This paper explores the kinds of representations of the woman leader produced discursively in the Finnish business media. The paper draws on the idea that jobs and organizations are gendered and, to the extent that gendered features are valued differently, with masculinity being favoured particularly in managerial positions, the status of women and men leaders becomes unequal. Based on the assumption that the media form a powerful force which creates and maintains meanings in contemporary society, we focus on articles published in a leading business newspaper and major business magazines in Finland. Three discourses are built based on the texts, namely a patriarchal, a victim and a professional discourse. The results of the study imply that the texts are largely reified in terms of masculinity, and that one underlying problem is the shortage of female role models and lack of the feminine perspective in the dominant discourse. It is suggested that, if we are to develop alternative, “new” ways of constructing the woman leader into being, the writing in the business media texts should opt to test the limits of the current discourses by voicing comments regarded as expressly feminine, instead of taking the masculine as the dominant norm.
Understanding the framework of business in Islam in an era of globalization: a review
Authors: Uddin Syed Jamal
Published: March 2003

Despite the fact that Islam is one of the major religions, the frameworks of this faith are yet to be fully understood. As a consequence, it is being confused with activities contrary to its teachings. Islam has an elaborate treatment for almost every aspect of life including the affairs of business. Business is an acceptable and dignified occupation, which has to be conducted within the given frameworks. Islam encourages the creation, acquisition and consumption of wealth, and the fulfilling of certain conditions in so doing. Wealth is held in trust as a gift from God. The terms of reference of this trust are to be complied with. Ethical principles do play a major role in shaping the behavior of a Muslim, in or out of business. In an era of globalization, the need for a better understanding of the premises of Islamic faith cannot be overemphasized.
The Fiscal Straitjacket
Authors: Sentance Andrew
Published: March 2003

Andrew Sentance concludes that it will be difficult for the new British Government to limit government borrowing without raising taxes.
The Business of Economics is Business
Authors: Stout David
Published: March 2003

Advances in the subject have greatly developed the ways in which economists within a business can contribute to stategic decisions. Unilver is a case in point. The two keys to the change in the role of industrial economists have been the prevalence of strongly contested global oligopoly markets of the kind Unilver faces, and developments in the application of game theory. Economists still have to tread carefully inside companies and combine with other skills and especially with the decision‐takers. Four examples are given of the contribution economists can make and should be making.
The Case for ‘Weaker’ Leadership
Authors: Schwenk Charles R.
Published: March 2003

This article argues that the pendulum in the debate on leadership has now swung too far in the direction of the “tyranny of opinion” and that this has increased the chances of wrong decisions being taken. But if this is so, what are the practical means by which diversity and conflict can be channelled into the decision‐making process. After discussing a wide range of research, the author describes his own preferred technique of formally using a devil’s advocate to test proposals for change – but without setting out alternative proposals.
Company–specific Factors and International Competitiveness
Authors: Taggart James H. , Taggart Jennifer M.
Published: March 2003

This article arises from concern about the inadequacy of the theoretical and empirical evidence on the costs and benefits to business of the EU single currency. It uses a survey of companies in the UK (which has not had a stable currency regime) and Ireland (committed to the ERM) together with the “process” dimension of the Buckley et al (1988) 3‐P model of the international competitiveness of the firm to highlight implications for exporters of long‐term government commitment to exchange‐rate stability. The results indicate a positive link between currency stability and three measures of “process” competitiveness: commitment to international business, economies of scale and economies of scope.
Management Gurus: The Secret of their Success?
Authors: McGovern Patrick
Published: March 2003

This article reports further work on the validity and value of “guru” theories, using Peter Scott‐Morgan’s ‘The Unwritten Rules of the Game’ as a case study. The author argues that explanations of the popularity of the management gurus should recognise the value of the substance of their theories – and not attribute their popular success merely to style or context. He discusses the flaws in the ‘Unwritten Rules’ approach and argues that these are, paradoxically, interrelated with the very characteristics of those ideas which managers find most attractive.
US Manufacturing in the Early 1990s: the Chase and Challenge
Authors: Ettlie John , Ward Peter T.
Published: March 2003

This article, based on a chapter in a forthcoming book, starts by outlining the strengths and weaknesses of US manufacturing processes by comparison with the international competition. It then goes on to discuss the lessons which emerging theory and practice can offer managers in their efforts to improve competitiveness.
Books: Valuing Human Assets
Authors: Ambler Tim
Published: March 2003

Books Reviewed in this article:

Brian Friedman, James Hatch and David Walker, Delivering on the Promise: How to Attract, Manage and Retain Human Capital

Jeffrey Pfeffer, The Human Equation

Tom Copeland, Tim Koller and Jack Murrin, Valuation: Measuring and Managing the Value of Companies (Revised Edition)

Andy Neely, Measuring Business Performance
Six Principles of Breakthrough Strategy
Authors: Markides Constantinos
Published: March 2003

This article proposes a view of strategy based on the author’s research on companies that have strategically innovated in their industries, and done so successfully. Each of these companies developed a strategy which was not only fundamentally different from those of its competitors, but also turned out to be tremendously successful. The author calls this combination a “breakthrough” strategy.
Where Are the Utilities Going Next?
Authors: Hosein David
Published: March 2003

This provocative article suggests that the utilities in countries where restructuring has been succesfully completed are poised to steal a march on many companies in more glamorous industries. Partly for historical reasons, utilities are exceptionally strong in particular competencies. With successful competitive strategy increasingly based on competencies, and because privatisation and liberalisation were such a baptism of fire,the author argues that utilities are “way ahead of their time”.
Global Interdependence, the Corporation and the Changing World
Authors: Sutherland Peter
Published: March 2003

This second of the annual Stockton Lectures starts by reflecting on the achievements of the founding fathers of the modern world economy in the immediate aftermath of World War II. Their legacy has been increasing interdependence and globalisation. Peter Sutherland argues that these have had a positive impact almost throughout the world and that these positive consequences of the market economy system do not necessarily have to be associated with increasing gaps between the rich and poor. He makes the case for multinationals to show commitment to what he calls “the common good” (as opposed only to shareholder returns). He examines the fundamental contradiction between free trade and national sovereignty and argues for more supranational (rather than just intergovernmental) decision‐making and implementation. However, he also emphasises that some areas are not appropriate for integration or supranational action, most notably tax and workers’ rights. These should remain within the domain of national governments. He concludes by discussing threats to the world economy posed by the tension between the US and the EU on trade‐related issues, and argues that inappropriate use of the WTO process threatens to destroy the whole system which has yielded so many economic benefits worldwide since 1945.
The Dynamics of Rivalry
Authors: Warren Kim
Published: March 2003

Firms face a constant challenge to understand and manage competition over time: what to do when and how much, for how long, and with what expected effect. In this battle, managers use resources they already have to develop the further resources they need, faster and more sustainably than competitors. Just three forms of rivalry capture the dynamics of these processes: developing potential customers, capturing rivals’ customers and competing for sales to shared customers. Each of these applies not only to customers, but also to other assets that must be won against rivals. In complex industries, interactions between many competitors can be simplified by grouping firms together, and industry evolution and scenarios for the future can be evaluated using extensions of this approach.
Irish Ports: Commercialisation and Strategic Change
Authors: Mangan John , Cunningham James
Published: March 2003

For many countries, ports are critical to trade flows. If they operate efficiently, the whole economy benefits – and if not it suffers. Worldwide, they have recently been candidates for commercialisation or even privatisation. This case history describes the commercialisation process in the Irish Republic, which gave leading ports freedom to manage their own affairs as separate, independent, publicly‐owned companies. The country's unprecedented economic growth, which was export‐led, increased the pressure on the ports sector and may even have masked continuing inefficiencies and difficulties at individual ports. The Irish Government is now pressing ahead with reform of the remaining, smaller ports, using the experience of the first phase of commercialisation.
SEB Group: Building a Subversive Strategy
Authors: Metais Emmanuel
Published: March 2003

To drive growth and innovation in an apparently mature market, firms need to subvert the rules of the game. The SEB Group, a French producer of small household appliances, illustrates how this can be achieved. The three characteristics of SEB's strategy were a bold, emotionally‐involving vision, a stretch between reality and aspiration and efficient leverage of existing resources.
TV, PC, or Mobile? Future Media for Consumer e‐Commerce
Authors: Barwise Patrick
Published: March 2003

Many believe that within three or four years the wireless Internet will overtake the fixed‐line Internet in consumer penetration and business‐to‐consumer (B2C) e‐commerce. Some believe that distinctions between media will soon disappear because of digital convergence: that it will soon be meaningless to ask whether the device used for home shopping is a PC or a TV. This article argues that the various new media will continue to be distinguishable from each other despite convergence and that the dominant device, even in B2C markets, will continue to be something like today's PC.
B2C e‐Commerce 2000 2010: What Experts Predict
Authors: Hammond Kathy
Published: March 2003

This article reports on a series of annual surveys of how a panel of experts expect usage of online channels to develop between now and 2010 in Europe and North America. The bursting of the internet bubble is not expected to reduce consumer usage of the Web for e‐commerce. Indeed, in the latest survey, the experts again revise upwards their earlier predictions of European online adoption and usage in the home. The survey covers the following: online access at home; consumer choice of access channels; volume of e‐commerce and each channel's relative importance; the impact of mobile; barriers to B2C e‐commerce; and regional differences.
How Market–Based Organisation Sustains Organic Innovation
Authors: Välikangas Liisa , Merlyn Paul
Published: March 2003

Large corporations persist in the belief that innovation can be acquired. But market leadership comes from truly organic innovation. Internal market forces can prove a dynamic mechanism to make such innovation a reality, say Liisa Välikangas and Paul Merlyn of the Strategos Instititue.
Venturing to Succeed
Authors: Birkinshaw Julian , Van Basten Batenburg Rob , Murray Gordon
Published: March 2003

Corporate venturing reached a peak of popularity at the height of the dot–com boom. But that was only the latest in a series of popularity peaks for an idea that has been around for 40 years. In spite of slipping out of corporate fashion, corporate venturing will return once again. The question is whether organisations will have learned the lessons in making the idea work.
Infants' Learning about Words and Sounds in Relation to Objects
Authors: Woodward Amanda , Hoyne Karen
Published: March 2003

In acquiring language, babies learn not only that people can communicate about objects and events, but also that they typically use a particular kind of act as the communicative signal. The current studies asked whether 1‐year‐olds' learning of names during joint attention is guided by the expectation that names will be in the form of spoken words. In the first study, 13‐month‐olds were introduced to either a novel word or a novel sound‐producing action (using a small noisemaker). Both the word and the sound were produced by a researcher as she showed the baby a new toy during a joint attention episode. The baby's memory for the link between the word or sound and the object was tested in a multiple choice procedure. Thirteen‐month‐olds learned both the word–object and sound–object correspondences, as evidenced by their choosing the target reliably in response to hearing the word or sound on test trials, but not on control trials when no word or sound was present. In the second study, 13‐month‐olds, but not 20‐month‐olds, learned a new sound–object correspondence. These results indicate that infants initially accept a broad range of signals in communicative contexts and narrow the range with development.
African American Fathers in Low Income, Urban Families: Development, Behavior, and Home Environment of Their Three‐Year‐Old Children
Authors: Black Maureen M. , Dubowitz Howard , Starr, Jr. Raymond H.
Published: March 2003

This study examined the relationship between paternal roles, regardless of residence, and the well‐being of 175 3‐year‐old children from low income, African American families. There were no differences in children's cognition, receptive language, behavior, or home environment related to father presence. Fathers (or father figures) were identified in 73% of the families, and 64% participated in an interview and videotaped observation. The relationships between paternal roles (parenting satisfaction, economic support, nurturance during play, child care, and household responsibilities) and children's cognitive skills, receptive language, behavior, and home environment were examined. After controlling for maternal age, education, and parenting satisfaction, there were significant relationships between paternal roles and each index of children's well‐being, suggesting that fathers' contributions were unique. Fathers who were satisfied with parenting, contributed financially to the family, and were nurturant during play had children with better cognitive and language competence; fathers who were satisfied with parenting and employed, had children with fewer behavior problems; and when fathers were living with the child, the home was more child‐centered. Neither the biological relationship of the father nor the parents' marital status entered into the models. These findings support ecological theories linking paternal involvement with children's well‐being and argue for the institution of family‐oriented policies that promote positive father involvement.
An Experimental, Observational Investigation of Children's Responses to Peer Provocation: Developmental and Gender Differences in Middle Childhood
Authors: Underwood Marion K. , Hurley Jennifer C. , Johanson Chantrelle A. , Mosley Jennifer E.
Published: March 2003

The primary goal of this research was to use an experimental, observational method to study the development of anger expression during middle childhood. Eight‐, 10‐, and 12‐year‐old girls and boys (N = 382) were observed during a laboratory play session that was provoking in two ways: Participants lost a computer game they were playing for a desirable prize, and their play partner was a same‐age, same‐gender confederate actor who taunted them. Children's responses to the provoking play sessions — facial expressions, verbalizations, and gestures — were reliably coded. Overall, children in these age groups maintained a remarkable degree of composure. Girls made fewer negative comments than boys did, and fewer negative gestures. Older children maintained more neutral facial expressions, made fewer gestures, and were more likely to remain silent when provoked. When they spoke, older children made fewer negative comments, fewer remarks about the game, and fewer positive comments about themselves or the actor.
Communication Patterns of African American Girls and Boys from Low‐Income, Urban Backgrounds
Authors: Leaper Campbell , Tenenbaum Harriet R. , Shaffer Tani Graham
Published: March 2003

This study investigated gender effects on the conversational strategies used among 106 African American children (mean age = 7 years) from urban, low‐income family backgrounds. Same‐ and mixed‐gender pairs of children from the same grade level in an inner‐city school were provided with toy bear puppets and asked to play together for 5 min. Conversations were coded using Leaper's Psychosocial Processes Coding Scheme, which classifies communication acts as either collaborative, controlling, informing, obliging, or withdrawing. Girls and boys were more similar than different. However, gender‐related variations were found. Boys were more likely than girls to use controlling acts and domineering exchanges in same‐gender pairs but not in mixed‐gender pairs. Girls were more likely than boys to use a combination of collaborative and informing acts. For partner gender effects we found that controlling acts and domineering exchanges were less likely — whereas informing acts were more likely — to take place when children were matched with a girl than when they were matched with a boy. Findings replicate many of the gender effects on communication style reported in a prior study (Leaper, 1991) that used a similar procedure and coding strategy with a sample of middle‐income children from mostly European American backgrounds.
On the Importance of Comparative Research: The Case of Folkbiology
Authors: Coley John D.
Published: March 2003

If our goal as researchers is to understand the range and complexity of human conceptual development, increased attention to comparative research is essential. I draw on research in the domain of folkbiology — commonsense understandings of plants and animals — to argue that several lines of comparative research are needed to understand the acquisition of folkbiology in particular and conceptual development in general. First, comparisons are needed between children and adults within a given society. It is impossible to understand the process of conceptual development without a detailed look at adult endstates in a domain. Second, comparisons are needed between adult endstates in different contexts. For a complete understanding of conceptual development we must understand the range of variability of adult conceptual systems. Finally, comparisons are needed among children developing in different contexts. Such research complements comparative work on adults and would serve to distinguish between universal and particular patterns of development and thus to inform and constrain accounts of conceptual development.
Word‐Learning Skills of Deaf Preschoolers: The Development of Novel Mapping and Rapid Word‐Learning Strategies
Authors: Lederberg Amy R. , Prezbindowski Amy K. , Spencer Patricia E.
Published: March 2003

Word‐learning skills of 19 deaf/hard‐of‐hearing preschoolers were assessed by observing their ability to learn new words in two contexts. The first context required the use of a novel mapping strategy (i.e., making the inference that a novel word refers to a novel object) to learn the new words. The second context assessed the ability to learn new words after minimal exposure when reference was explicitly established. The children displayed three levels of word‐learning skills. Eleven children learned words in both contexts. Five were able to learn new words rapidly only when reference was explicitly established. Two children did not learn new words rapidly in either context. The latter seven children were followed longitudinally. All children eventually acquired the ability to learn new words in both contexts. The deaf children's word‐learning abilities were related to the size of their vocabularies. The present study suggests that word‐learning strategies are acquired even when children are severely delayed in their language development and they learn language in an atypical environment.
How Infants Use Vision for Grasping Objects
Authors: McCarty Michael E. , Clifton Rachel K. , Ashmead Daniel H. , Lee Philip , Goubet Nathalie
Published: March 2003

The role of vision was examined as infants prepared to grasp horizontally and vertically oriented rods. Hand orientation was measured prior to contact to determine if infants differentially oriented their hands relative to the object's orientation. Infants reached for rods under different lighting conditions. Three experiments are reported in which (1) sight of the hand was removed (N=12), (2) sight of the object was removed near the end of the reach (N=40, including 10 adults), and (3) sight of the object was removed prior to reach onset (N=9). Infants differentially oriented their hand to a similar extent regardless of lighting condition and similar to control conditions in which they could see the rod and hand throughout the reach. In preparation for reaching, infants may use the current sight of the object's orientation, or the memory of it, to orient the hand for grasping; sight of the hand had no effect on hand orientation.
The Peer Group as a Context for the Development of Young Adolescent Motivation and Achievement
Authors: Ryan Allison M.
Published: March 2003

This study investigated the peer group as a context for the socialization of young adolescents' motivation and achievement in school. Social network analysis was used to identify peer groups of adolescents in middle school whose members regularly interacted with each other (N=331). Actual reports from these peer group members were used to assess peer group characteristics. Multilevel analyses indicated that peer groups did socialize some academic characteristics, controlling for selection factors. Students' peer group context in the fall predicted changes in their liking and enjoyment of school (intrinsic value) and their achievement over the school year. Students' peer group context was unrelated to changes in their beliefs about the importance of school (utility value) or expectancies for success over the school year.