Network influence and organizational performance: The effects of tie strength and structural equivalence

We combine theory and empirical evidence to develop and test three related claims about how ties strength and structural equivalence affect interorganizational performance similarity. First, network partners attain similar levels of performance because direct network ties facilitate information and resource sharing, and the diffusion of organizational practices. Organizations occupying similar network positions attain similar levels of performance because they face similar competitive constraints. Second, because mechanisms underlying performance similarity implied by direct network ties and similarity in network positions are different, strength of network ties and network position affect different dimensions of organizational performance. Third, we expect that tie strength will affect aspects of performance that are more likely to be influenced by processes activated by the direct contact between network partners. We expect structural equivalence to affect more strongly those aspects of organizational performance that are more directly influenced by competition. An analysis of interorganizational networks and organizational performance within a regional community of hospitals provides evidence in support of these claims. Models estimated on a sample of 8190 interorganizational dyads suggest that the effects of tie strength and structural equivalence on organizational performance are highly differentiated and contingent on specific aspects of performance. We show that these conclusions are robust with respect to a wide variety of other factors that may be responsible for performance similarity including competitive interdependence, structural homophily, and resource complementarity.     

The Service Brand as Relationships Builder

This article examines the appropriateness of the notion and application of relationship marketing in various contexts. Theoretical and conceptual similarities between the broad notions of ‘the brand’ and of relationship marketing as risk reducers, simplifiers of choice and guarantee of quality are uncovered. We put forward a notion of relationship marketing as a further step in the branding process, whereby whenever perceived risk and consumer involvement are high, relationship marketing acts as a supplementary tool enabling consumers to maintain cognitive consistency and psychological comfort. Experts' opinions regarding branding in a service context expanded on these concepts. Especially for more intangible offerings, such as financial services, the experts stressed the use of corporate brand identity as the basis of relationship building both inside and outside the organization and as a means to achieve differentiation and provide the focus for homogeneous and consistent service delivery. Finally, we suggest the concept of the service brand as a holistic process beginning with the relationship between the firm and its staff and coming alive during the interactions between staff and customers.     

Maximum Likelihood Estimation of Input Demand Models with Fixed Costs of Adjustment

Traditional models of input demand rely upon convex and symmetric adjustment costs. However, the fortune of this highly restrictive approach is due more to analytical convenience than to empirical relevance. In this note we examine the model under more realistic hypothesis of fixed costs, show that it can be cast in the form of a Double Censored Random Effect Tobit Model, derive its likelihood function, and finally evaluate the performance of the ML estimators through a Monte Carlo experiment. The performances, although strongly dependent on the degree of censoring, appear to be promising.     

Semiautomatic robust regression clustering of international trade data

The purpose of this paper is to show in regression clustering how to choose the most relevant solutions, analyze their stability, and provide information about best combinations of optimal number of groups, restriction factor among the error variance across groups and level of trimming. The procedure is based on two steps. First we generalize the information criteria of constrained robust multivariate clustering to the case of clustering weighted models. Differently from the traditional approaches which are based on the choice of the best solution found minimizing an information criterion (i.e. BIC), we concentrate our attention on the so called optimal stable solutions. In the second step, using the monitoring approach, we select the best value of the trimming factor. Finally, we validate the solution using a confirmatory forward search approach. A motivating example based on a novel dataset concerning the European Union trade of face masks shows the limitations of the current existing procedures. The suggested approach is initially applied to a set of well known datasets in the literature of robust regression clustering. Then, we focus our attention on a set of international trade datasets and we provide a novel informative way of updating the subset in the random start approach. The Supplementary material, in the spirit of the Special Issue, deepens the analysis of trade data and compares the suggested approach with the existing ones available in the literature.

     

Nice and Nasty Theory of Mind in Preschool Children: Nature and Nurture

Experimental research suggests the differentiation of ‘nice’ and ‘nasty’ theory of mind (ToM). Over 5000 parents from the Twins Early Development Study reported on nice (e.g., being considerate) and nasty (e.g., blaming others) behaviours following their twins’ second, third, and fourth birthdays. Factor analyses yielded four factors and it was proposed that these related to prosocial behaviour necessitating ToM (Nice ToM), antisocial behaviour necessitating ToM (Nasty ToM), and prosocial and antisocial behaviour not necessitating ToM (Nice and Nasty). Interscale correlations, gender differences, and their relationship with language were consistent with this distinction. Both ToM scales showed moderate heritability and significant environmental influences (shared and nonshared). Bivariate analyses indicated somewhat distinct aetiological influences on Nice ToM versus Nasty ToM. However, further research is needed to confirm whether this distinction reflects interactions between ToM and temperament, or two underlying genetic and cognitively distinct ToM abilities.     

Gendered Organizational Cultures: Narratives of Women Travellers in a Male World

The paper will present various self-identity narratives of women pioneers in male occupations who ‘take their place’ in a male gendered organizational culture. These narratives belong to a single discourse of what may be called ‘travellers in a male world’. This discourse presumes the existence of a territory marked out as male which is trespassed upon by females who are formally members of the same occupational community, but who, in actual practice, must stake out their positions in the field. Social structures coerce discourse positions and set up a series of expectations and social obligations, although several subject positions can be taken up for oneself, and for the ‘other’. This process has been labelled ‘positioning gender relations within an organizational culture’ and has been described as liminal work, performed discursively and in transitional spaces. Gender relations can therefore be viewed as cultural performances learned and enacted on appropriate occasions both by men and women.     

Parametric Versus Nonparametric Inference on Zenga Index of Inequality: Issues and Evidence From Survey Data

Recent growing disparities suggests to move from inequality measures based on comparing the incomes of the less fortunate with the overall mean, as the Gini, to the new Zenga index, which instead contrasts the means of the less and the more wealthy subpopulations. After providing a thorough analysis of the theoretical and practical aspects of obtaining parametric and non-parametric confidence intervals for the Zenga inequality measure, we develop a cross-regional study based on the Swiss Income and Consumption Survey, wave 2005. Results show that coverage accuracy and average length of confidence intervals improve when the parametric model offers a good fit to the data.     

Combining Achievement and Well-Being in the Assessment of Education Systems

Countries’ education systems are often compared using academic achievement measures from large-scale assessments like PISA. These exercises are criticized because achievement is but one of the aims of education and comparisons don’t take into account each country’s socio-demographic composition, cultural and historical background and organizational features. We use data from OECD countries to assess countries that can serve as models for education policy to promote both high mathematics achievement and student well-being. We adopt a novel methodological approach based on imputation methods to simultaneously estimate mathematics achievement and students’ sense of belonging while taking into account countries’ socio-demographic and organizational features. Results indicate that, in general, education systems have been able to organize and use their resources to promote either mathematics performance or student well-being, but not both simultaneously. The East Asian approach to education is successful in promoting student achievement in mathematics while Austria, Norway and Spain have greater success in promoting students’ sense of belonging.