Kriminalitätsfurcht im urbanen raum

Ziel ist die Erkl?rung von Kriminalit?tsfurcht auf verschiedenen Dimensionen (affektiv, kognitiv, konativ). Es werden drei theoretische Modelle zur Erkl?rung von Kriminalit?tsfurcht empirisch überprüft (Viktimisierungsmodell, Disorder-Modell, Modell sozialer Integration). Auf der Grundlage einer postalischen Bev?lkerungsumfrage (N = 3.612) in 49 Hamburger Stadtteilen werden Mehrebenenmodelle getestet. Dabei zeigt sich, dass die Kriminalit?tsfurcht zwischen den Stadtteilen signifikant variiert. In der Mehrebenenanalyse best?tigen sich Effekte von Individualvariablen (perzipierte physical und social incivilities, pers?nliche und indirekte Viktimisierungen, Vertrauen zu Nachbarn, perzipierte Polizeistreifen, Alter, Geschlecht) und Kontextvariablen (problematische Sozialstruktur, Bev?lkerungsdichte) auf die verschiedenen Dimensionen der Kriminalit?tsfurcht.     

Wachstumsbedingungen von Ein-Personen-Gründungen – Eine Längsschnittbeobachtung über acht Jahre

This study analyzes the growth potential of one-person startups on the basis of the framework model proposed by Gilbert, McDougall and Audretsch (2006) by postulating five key groups of enterprise growth predictors: entrepreneur characteristics, resources, strategy, industry, and organizational structures and systems. The framework model was adapted to suit the specific circumstances of one-person startups. The model was tested using a longitudinal data set comprising 188 Austrian one-person startups which were observed over a period of eight years. At the end of the observation period, the businesses included in the study had an average of 1.33 employees. The gender of the founder, capital requirements at the time of establishment, and growth strategy proved to be the most important predictors of growth. In addition, human capital resources also tended to have a positive impact. In summary, it is possible to draw empirically reliable conclusions about growth potential on the basis of the “seriousness” of an one-person startup project.     

Hierarchie und Entlohnung

In this paper, we suggest a wage scheme that accounts for the hierarchical structure of an enterprise. We employ concepts of cooperative game theory and modify the van den Brink (2008) approach. Besides results on how the hierarchy affects wage differentials between levels of the hierarchy, we deal with the allocation of employees to the different levels.     

Rechtsextremismus von Jugendlichen

Compared to other topics, right wing extremism has been experiencing a decrease in attention from the general public. However, the extent of right wing extremism and its causes are still to be explored. Based on a self-administered survey of 4,300 juveniles in Bavaria, the extent of right wing attitudes among juveniles is determined. In addition, several explanatory concepts are assessed using path analysis. Next to anomy theory and social disintegration theory, the following concepts are tested: socio-economic status and relative deprivation, theory of transgression, theory of the authoritarian personality, and contact thesis. Among the concepts tested, the theory of the authoritarian personality reveals the most profound impact on right wing attitudes; the concept of social disintegration, too, yields considerable, though less pronounced, regressions weights. Based on these findings, consequences for the future development of explanatory concepts are discussed. In our perspective, right wing attitudes are considered to be a result of social change and social disintegration to which some juveniles react with archaic patterns of the self and of social relations: People considered different in terms of ethnicity or other socially relevant characteristics are downgraded while at the same time the own person is emphasized.     

Wirkungen des TV-Duells im Vorfeld der Bundestagswahl 2005 auf die Wahlentscheidung

During the election campaign to the German Federal Election 2005 the incumbent chancellor Gerhard Schröder and his challenger Angela Merkel met one another on the occasion of a televised debate, the so-called “TV-duel”. This debate was viewed by roughly one third of the German electorate. It is analyzed, whether the perception of the TV-duel winner has had an influence on the voting decision. In the empirical analyses special regard is given to the stability of the winner perception until election day and the influence of subjective expectations towards the debate performance of the candidates. The data analyzed were collected by means of a new interviewing technology via the television screen of the respondents. It is shown, that the winner perception was largely stable and only marginally influenced by the media coverage following the debate. Subjective expectations towards the debate performance of the candidates turn out to be of no importance for the voting decision. The effect of the winner perception on voting behaviour was mediated by changing candidate orientations.     

Globalisierung und Wandel internationaler Unternehmen

In the globalization discourse the relation between the change of companies as business organizations and the diagnosed overall globalization process often remains unclear. Three different analytic levels of this problem are distinguished: (1) the relation between globalization and company internationalization, (2) the relation between international companies as a whole and their internationally distributed units as sub-organizations and (3) the relation between the internationalization of companies and their overall change as companies. Based on the example of the German automobile industry three dominant research programs are revisited (international automobile research, sociology of organizations and management sociology on international companies) and the conceptual framework of company-(internationalization)profiles is presented. It is argued that the specific dynamics of the German Big Three Volkswagen, BMW and Mercedes-Benz in the 1990s has to be interpreted as the coincidence of fundamental changes in headquarters, plants and the international division of labor between them.