Deborah L. Kellogg and Lawrence F. Cunningham International Journal of Information Systems and Social Change, Volume 5 Issue 3
This paper reports the results of a quasi-experiment designed to identify linkages between customer attributes and apology types in service recovery in informal resolution settings. Understanding these relationships is critical for enabling more effective and dynamic social relationships between the service provider and the customer/client with the use of technology, namely Customer Relationship Management Systems (CRM). The authors find that simple apologies decrease anger, restore distributive and interactional justice, and increase satisfaction. More importantly, the paper suggests that there are significant nuances in apology types and complex relationships between customer types and effective deployment of the apology in informal resolution settings. Further, the analysis suggests that apologies with explanations are more effective among customers with service experience and that apologies with compensation are most effective for all customers. When apologies are used with successive failures there is some evidence that the apology explanations are not equally effective for all customer types. The paper concludes with a discussion of the linkages between apology, service recovery and CRM systems in informal complaint resolution to improve senior level decision making, employee performance in service recovery, and customer satisfaction in for profit and non-profit organizations.
Katherine Gunny, Tracey Chunqi Zhang Journal of Business Finance & Accounting,Vol. 41, Issue 7-8, Pages: 950-973
This study examines whether firms manage earnings to meet analyst forecasts to signal superior future performance. Prior research finds that firms use earnings management to just meet analyst forecasts and that these firms have a positive association with future performance (Bartov et al., 2002). There are two potential explanations for the positive association ” signaling and attaining benefits that allow for better future performance (i.e., the real benefits explanation). Prior studies cannot provide evidence of signaling because they do not control for the real benefits explanation. Our research design enables us to control for the real benefits explanation because we can identify potential signaling firms within the sample of firms that just meet analyst forecasts. We use a unique database from the National Bureau of Economic Research to construct a proxy for the manager’s belief about future firm value due to patents
Lawrence F. Cunningham, Clifford E. Young and Hongxia Zhang Journal of International Marketing Strategy,Vol. 1, Issue 2, pp. 39-XX
This study investigates customer-based views of generic services from a Chinese consumer perspective. The data for the study were collected using students in a university setting as surrogates for Chinese consumers and were analyzed using a multidimensional scaling technique. The study indicates that only two dimensions, customization/standardization and person/object are responsible for most of the variance in the classifications. The paper discusses the implications of the findings in both the context of theory and for service businesses operating in the Chinese environment. The study is limited by the use of university students as surrogates for consumer and the limitations of multi-dimensional scaling. Despite these limitations, the study is useful to Chinese managers of service organizations because it provides information on how Chinese consumers view generic services in general and in relation to each other in the Chinese environment. Chinese managers may gain insight into the possible ways that these managers may reposition their service in relation to other services. For Chinese service managers, this information may lead to the formulation of better strategy especially in the area of non-technical services. [Full Text]
David Chandler Organization Science, Volume 25 Issue 6, August 2014, Pages 1722-1743
The institutional environment is complex. This complexity is characterized by forces that ebb and flow in wavelike patterns as societal expectations evolve, with attention coalescing around specific events and then dissipating. Some of these critical events are broad and affect many firms, whereas others are narrow and affect individual firms. In either case, when they occur, these events elevate organizational susceptibility to societal demands but encourage different kinds of behavior in response. This study seeks to model this complexity in an area of growing interest for organization scholars—business ethics. In particular, I examine how firms respond to shifting societal pressures for greater ethical behavior by adopting and implementing the Ethics and Compliance Officer position, from 1990 to 2008. Results demonstrate that although firms decide when to adopt in response to broad fieldwide critical events, it is narrower firm-specific critical events that determine resource commitments in implementation.
Traci Sitzmann, Stefanie Johnson Learning and Individual Differences, Volume 34 Aigist 2014, Pages 1-11
Instructors often rely on seductive details, such as jokes, stories, and video clips, to keep trainees entertained. However, this extraneous information may inadvertently detract from the course content, and the between-person nature of past research precludes understanding the dynamic process by which seductive details influence learning. Using a
repeated measures field study, we found that seductive details indirectly improved learning performance by reducing negative affect and indirectly hindered learning performance by …
Carol Callaway Dee, Cindy Durtschi, and Mary P. Mindak Issues in Accounting Education, Volume 29, Issue 3, pp. 443-458.
Grand Teton Candy Company (GTCC) is considering an initial public offering (IPO). To go public, GTCC will need an audit by a large accounting firm with a solid reputation and experience in audits of IPOs. As a precursor to the formal audit, Elsie Driggs, one of the owners of GTCC, has hired her brother’s CPA firm to ensure the books are in order. Her brother notices some red flags of fraud, so he forms a team of young accountants from his firm to carefully comb through his sister’s records to ensure she does not have problems when the formal audit takes place. You have been placed on the team and your task is to investigate your boss’ suspicions that there is fraud at Grand Teton Candy Company. You are to prepare a written report for your boss that includes the name of the fraudster(s), what he or she did, and how the perpetrator(s) benefited from the crime.
Gary Kochenberger, Jin-Kao Hao, Fred Glover, Mark Lewis, Zhipeng Lü, Haibo Wang, Yang Wang Journal of Combinatorial Optimization, July 2014, Volume 28, Issue 1, pp 58-81
In recent years the unconstrained binary quadratic program (UBQP) has grown in importance in the field of combinatorial optimization due to its application potential and its computational challenge. Research on UBQP has generated a wide range of solution techniques for this basic model that encompasses a rich collection of problem types. In this paper we survey the literature on this important model, providing an overview of the applications and solution methods.
John Byrd, Elizabeth S Cooperman Journal of Sustainable Finance & Investment, Volume 4 Issue 3, July 2014, Pages 230-248
Social and environmental shareholder activists engage in a form of corporate social governance by submitting proxy resolutions for a specific change in corporate behavior deemed to be harmful to society. Using a unique data-set for environmental health shareholder resolutions filed by shareholder activists at 70 different companies during 2006–2011, we examine the success rate of resolutions and characteristics affecting the “vote vs. negotiated withdrawal” decision. Supporting a self-interest hypothesis, resolutions …
David Chandler Academy of Management Review, Volume 39 Issue 3, July 2014, Pages 396-406.
Institutional theory tells us that institutions “matter”(Powell, 1996: 297). They matter because they are powerful predictors of action, both enabling and constraining actors within socially constructed ranges of acceptable behavior (Greenwood, Oliver, Sahlin-Andersson, & Suddaby, 2008). In spite of the importance of demonstrating that institutions matter, however, institutional theory can be less helpful in terms of explaining why institutions are so influential. In particular, there is still much work to be done to investigate the values on …
Vinit M. Desai British Journal of Management, Volume 25, Issue 3, Pp. 589–606
Several perspectives assert that organizations facing uncertainty tend to imitate other organizations’ actions. While one might therefore expect to see great homogeneity across fields characterized by uncertainty, it is surprising that this homogeneity has not been observed more frequently in practice. Research investigating this puzzle has typically focused on the role played by organizational characteristics or the information organizations possess about their environments. Instead, this study turns attention to the information others possess about the organization. To that end, I disaggregate organizational uncertainty into the uncertainty facing decision makers and the uncertainty faced by others about what those decision makers might ultimately do, providing a more fine grained analysis of uncertainty and its impact on competitive action than typically offered in this literature. I suggest that uncertainty in competitors’ evaluations of the organization provides an opportunity for the organization to differentiate itself rather than imitate others. I also suggest that this effect is stronger than the effects of the uncertainty facing the decision makers themselves. Related hypotheses are tested on a panel of medical malpractice insurance providers. The study’s perspective generates unique predictions regarding imitation and differentiation in this industry and across other contexts featuring both uncertainty and competition.
John Byrd, Elizabeth S Cooperman Journal of Sustainable Finance & Investment,Vol. 4, Issue 3, Pages: 230-248.
Social and environmental shareholder activists engage in a form of corporate social governance by submitting proxy resolutions for a specific change in corporate behavior deemed to be harmful to society. Using a unique data-set for environmental health shareholder resolutions filed by shareholder activists at 70 different companies during 2006-2011, we examine the success rate of resolutions and characteristics affecting the “vote vs. negotiated withdrawal” decision. Supporting a self-interest hypothesis, resolutions … [Full Text]
Jiban Khuntia, Jahangir Karimi, Mohan Tanniru, Arlen Meyers Journal of Commercial Biotechnology, Vol. 20 Issue 3, June 2014
This article describes the initiative and actions related to establishing a Digital Health Consortium (DHC) at the University of Colorado Denver. The consortium is a part of the Center for Information Technology Innovation (CITI) in the Business School. The objective is to augment existing information systems program offerings in health information technology with the support of industry affiliates and other partners of the university. The CITI-DHC is an industry-academia led initiative with a mission to accelerate digital health transformation through education, research, and service. We illustrate the vision and plan for the consortium, that will be fulfilled with academic and industry stakeholders, and who will be engaged with the platform to support digital health care innovations through collaborations.
Vinit M Desai Strategic Organization, vol. 12 no. 2, May 2014, pp. 85-108
The typically disparate literatures on organizational learning and impression management have both separately sought to examine how organizations respond following failure, with the former asking how organizations learn from these events and the latter investigating how organizations use public disclosures to manage perceptions following these events. This study integrates these perspectives to ask how disclosures might impact learning through failure. The study distinguishes between major and minor failures, asserting that public disclosures exert a distinct influence on learning through either form of experience. Related hypotheses are tested on failures arising within the US air-traffic control system. Although no support is obtained for predictions about major failures, the study finds that facilities can learn through minor failures but the process is impeded by public disclosures, suggesting the notable influence that these disclosures have over audiences’ perceptions of the organization or its role in these events. This approach addresses a longstanding tension regarding why some organizations learn more effectively than others by emphasizing how organizations shape interpretations of their experience.
Mary A Malina, Frank H Selto Journal of Management Accounting Research,Vol. 27, Issue 1, Pages: 27-45.
We describe the context wherein a Fortune 500 company’s performance measurement model (PMM) has endured and evolved over a 15-year period. The PMM’s tenure and continued importance refute the alleged faddish nature of PMMs such as the Balanced Scorecard, at least in this case, and allow identification of factors that add to theory about PMM longevity. We use a behavioral-economic framework and qualitative and quantitative data to examine the mechanisms behind this successful PMM. Aspects of the … [Full Text]
David Chandler, William B. Werther Jr Sage Publications, Inc., 2014
Blending theory with practical application, Strategic Corporate Social Responsibility, Third Edition is a comprehensive CSR and strategy text. As such, it supports courses taught either as standalone electives or as core components of the business school curriculum across all discipline areas. Integral to the book’s unique format is its mix of theory and practical application divided into two parts. After five chapters that provide an overview of the field, core concepts, and practical challenges, the second half of the book illustrates the …
Toan Ong, Michael Mannino, & Dawn Gregg Electronic Commerce Research and Applications, Vol. 13, Issue 2, March-April 2014, pp. 69-78
This exploratory study investigates the linguistic characteristics of shill reviews and develops a tool for extracting product features from the text of product reviews. Shill reviews are increasingly used to manipulate the reputation of products sold on websites. To overcome limitations of identifying shill reviews, we collected shill reviews as primary data from students posing as shills. Using semi-automated natural language processing techniques, we compared shill reviews and normal reviews on informativeness, subjectivity and readability. The results showed evidence of substantial differences between shill reviews and normal reviews in both subjectivity and readability. Informativeness appears to be a mixed separator of shill and normal reviews so additional studies may be necessary. Overall, the study provides improved understanding of shill reviews and demonstrates a method to extract and classify features from product reviews with an eventual goal to increase effectiveness of review filtering methods.
Kang Rae Cho, Chia-Hsing Huang, and Prasad Padmanabhan International Business Review, Volume 23, Issue 2, Pages 371–380
We propose an alternate context-based extension to the agency theory-grounded explanation of foreign ownership mode choices proposed in the literature. Using a sample of Taiwanese firms investing in the greater China region over the 2001–2009 period, we show that both economic and non-economic factors influence the choice of foreign ownership mode. In addition, we document that higher institutional ownership percentages motivate Taiwanese firms to select shared ownership in the greater China region. Further, no long term compensation mix/ownership structure link is found. These findings run counter to a theory provided for foreign ownership mode choices of US based firms. Our findings provide support for the validity of stewardship and social capital theory, but not financial incentives-based agency theory, for Taiwanese firms investing in the greater China region.
Akram Al Ariss, Wayne F. Cascio, and Jaap Paauwe Journal of World Business, Volume 49, Issue 2, P. 173–179
Research on Talent Management (TM) has been lagging behind businesses in offering vision and leadership in this field. After sketching a comprehensive outline of knowledge about TM, theoretical as well as practical, we introduce the papers in this special issue and their important contributions. This introductory article contributes to filling the knowledge gap by offering a research agenda at multiple levels and in multiple contexts. We also discuss methodological issues in the study of TM, and conclude by identifying several key trends that are now, and will continue to influence the practice and study of TM in the future.
Wayne F. Cascio Human Resource Development International, Volume 17, Issue 2, Pp. 121-128
Global economic recovery from years of depressed growth has accelerated voluntary turnover, along with employer concerns about retention. More employers are also promoting from within their ranks, and this has put growing emphasis on HRD and career-development initiatives. This article argues that the biggest winners in this emerging economic environment, at least from a talent perspective, are organizations with positive employer brands, performance management strategies that help employees develop expertise that maximizes their potential, and innovative approaches to the design and delivery of HRD initiatives, especially technology-delivered instruction (e.g., mobile and virtual applications, simulations, MOOCs) and social-learning tools (e.g., wikis, communities of practice, social media). These strategies are by no means exhaustive, but they are three key elements of employee retention.
Yosef Bonaparte, George M. Korniotis and Alok Kumar Journal of Financial Economics, Volume 113, Issue 2, Pp. 300–324
We examine whether the decision to participate in the stock market and other related portfolio decisions are influenced by income hedging motives. Economic theory predicts that the market participation propensity should increase as the correlation between income growth and stock market returns decreases. Surprisingly, empirical studies find limited support for the income hedging motive. Using a rich, unique Dutch data set and the National Longitudinal Survey of the Youth (NLSY) from the United States, we show that when the income-return correlation is low, individuals exhibit a greater propensity to participate in the market and allocate a larger proportion of their wealth to risky assets. Even when the income risk is high, individuals exhibit a higher propensity to participate in the market when the hedging potential is high. These findings suggest that income hedging is an important determinant of stock market participation and asset allocation decisions.