What drives contract design in alliances? Taking stock and how to proceed

We collect and assess prior empirical evidence on contract design in alliances that has been published since Parkhe’s (1993) seminal study on inter-firm contracts. We elaborate on the effects of transaction-related factors, experience gained from prior relationships, and deliberate learning efforts on contracts. Our paper offers three contributions. First, we systematically review the existing literature on alliance contracts and summarize our findings. Second, while prior research has traditionally focused on contractual complexity, we place the content of contracts center stage and identify three contractual functions. While existing studies on contractual functions predominantly refer to safeguarding as a response to appropriation concerns, we also consider coordination and contingency adaptability as outcomes of adaptation concerns. Third, we disentangle the differential influences of previous experiences on distinct contractual functions and show that experience gained from prior relationships has different effects on safeguarding and contingency adaptability than on coordination. Overall, we add to the systematization of the current debate on alliance contract design and trace promising avenues for future research on the impact of transaction- and experience-related factors on the complexity and content of alliance contracts.     

Das Deprivationskonzept in der Rechtsextremismusforschung

Economic deprivation and unemployment is — especially in the public debate — a very popular model if one tries to explain the development of right wing extremism. In the scientific discussion the evaluation of the concept is controversial. The results of empirical studies range from median to no effects at all. One reason for this heterogeneity of results may be due to the variance of different concepts that are in use. Therefore the present study tries to develop a systematic view on different concepts of deprivation. In the empirical analyses a comparative test of the explanatory power of these concepts is presented. It is shown that only collective, especially collective emotional deprivation has a significant impact on ethnocentric attitudes. However, deprivation on the individual level is related to ethnocentrism if social contexts are framed by situations of real economic conflicts.     

Jugend, Gewalt, Fernsehen und Erwachsene — Ein Plädoyer für visuelle Bildung

In modern society, the question of the collective adult’s responsibility for children in the visual field must be renewed. Background is that complaining about a high level of violence in films, television and PC games to just reach more state-prescribed “looking-away” is quite unproductive. In order to counter the dominance of all kind of pictures passivity of young spectators. Instead of navie watching, children must develop very early the ability to consciously and critically see things in order for them to be able to decrypt correctly all kind of audiovisual messages. ‘Seeing’ is, similar to learning calculation on as well as writing and reading, an elementary task of modern general education, which can not be the mission of parents.     

Logik der Situationsdefinition und Logik der Handlungsselektion

This article presents a conception of “definition of situation” in reference to the theory of action of Max Weber which is an alternative to Hartmut Essers’ “theory of frame-selection” (TdFS). The basicdeficiency of the theory of Esser exists in the absence of the value-reference of the cultural frames what can be observed especially in Essers formalisations of the value-rational action. But the objec-tion is related to the whole TdSF. In order to overcome the utilitarian shortcoming of this model I propose to differentiate between the logic of the situation and the logic of the selection of action. The definition of the situation does not follow the principle of utility-maximizing, but the principle of value-reasoning. Both levels of selection-process are related to each other. But each of these levels has a specific principle of the selection, which cannot be violated without a decrease of the rationality of action.     

Rezensionen

Ohne Zusammenfassung     

Der Fragebogen Karls des Grossen

A document compiled by Charlemagne in the year 811 can be viewed as a precursor to the structured survey and thus as a part of the very beginnings of empirical social research. Charlemagne intended to use the list, which resembles a discussion guide employed in an intensive interview, to exert moral pressure on the secular and clerical leaders of his realm, who were gathered for a parliamentary assembly. At the same time, however, it is also evident that at least some of the questions were designed to gather information on the mood of the population throughout the empire. These questions were probably passed on to the sovereigns and clerics in the provinces. Another document from the year 811 would seem to indicate that answers to similar lists of questions did in fact arrive at the emperor’s court. Both documents attest to a means of gathering information that could be viewed as the first attempt to conduct at an opinion survey.