USING DUAL FRAME DESIGNS TO REDUCE NONRESPONSE IN TELEPHONE SURVEYS

This article reports on the results of a series of experimentsdesigned to improve response rates for telephone surveys. Inthree surveys telephone households were selected using bothstandard random digit dialing (RDD) techniques and lists oftelephone numbers purchased from a commercial firm. In the RDDportions of the samples "cold contact" interviewing methodswere used; in the list frame portions advance letters were mailed,and the listed household name was used in the introduction.Experiments were designed to test the effects on response ratesof the advance letters and use of the listed household nameas a means of establishing rapport. The advance letters increasedresponse rates, but no difference could be attributed to theuse of names. The mixture of RDD and list sampling techniquesis also used to evaluate the effects of relative response rateson substantive findings. The cost consequences of these dualframe designs are assessed along a number of dimensions, andthe cost and error components of these designs are discussed.     

Aspects of occupational mobility and attainment among immigrants in Australia

The occupational distributions of the native-born and foreign-born in the Australian labor market differ greatly. The disparity between the occupational distributions is greatest among the middle age-bracket, and among immigrants from Eastern Europe and the Mediterranean region. Analysis of occupational attainment using unit record data from the 1981 Census shows that as duration of residence in Australia lengthens, the occupational distribution of the overseas-born converges toward that of the Australian-born. Moreover, birthplace groups differ in the degree of upward mobility associated with length of residence in Australia: immigrants from non-English-speaking countries tend to make greater occupational advances than their counterpart from English-speaking countries. This suggests a higher degree of international transferability of human capital skills among immigrants from English-speaking countries. The analysis also highlights the concentration of immigrants from non-English speaking countries in low-ranked occupations, and the relatively minor influence of education on the occupational attainment of immigrants from these birth place regions.     

Leveraging middle managers’ brokerage for corporate entrepreneurship: The role of multilevel social capital configurations

Building on recent efforts to bring a socio-political perspective to social capital research, we develop and test a multilevel framework that explains why middle managers who occupy brokerage positions differ in their ability and willingness to engage in entrepreneurial behavior. More specifically, we provide a contextualized understanding of the links among middle managers' brokerage, their political-support ties, and their personal initiative. Results derived from data on 383 middle managers and 72 top managers in 34 business units indicate that political-support ties with top managers strengthen the relationship between middle managers’ brokerage and personal initiative. However, this positive effect depends on the social capital resources available in the focal business unit. It is attenuated in business units with a supportive and trusting social context and amplified in business units with high levels of internal connectedness. By uncovering these incompatibilities and complementarities, our study demonstrates the value of accounting for different social capital configurations and the interplay of their inherent social capital resources when examining the effects of brokerage on corporate entrepreneurship.     

The ecosystem blueprint: How firms shape the design of an ecosystem according to the surrounding conditions

Ecosystems are formed by organisations that jointly create a value proposition that a single firm could not create in isolation. To deliver this value proposition, the partners need a focal firm, the orchestrator, to be align them towards the joint value proposition. Thus, how orchestrators design the alignment structure of an ecosystem is at the very heart of the ecosystem concept – yet it has not been sufficiently addressed by extant research. This is all the more true for the question of how the design of an ecosystem is shaped depending on surrounding conditions. This paper applies a qualitative study with ten cases and, based on the attention-based view of the firm, contributes to research on ecosystems in several ways. First, it explains which ecosystem designs are beneficial under which conditions. Second, it elucidates the structure and activities within ecosystems and shows that start-ups can be just as good ecosystem orchestrators as incumbents. Third, it explains the circumstances under which single vs. multi orchestrator ecosystems occur. Fourth, it presents the conditions when incumbents or start-ups make better orchestrators. Finally, it is among the first studies to apply the attention-based view to business ecosystems, and shows that doing so yields intriguing insights into this emerging field of research.     

The relationship between presenteeism and job satisfaction: A mediated moderation model using work engagement and perceived organizational support

Research on presenteeism has largely focused on its prevalence, determinants and consequences on the health of both employees and organizations. To date, few studies have examined the influence of presenteeism on workers’ attitudinal and motivational responses. Based on the Effort–Recovery Theory, this study evaluates the mediating effect of work engagement in the relationship between presenteeism and job satisfaction. Building on previous work, this study also proposes to consider perceived organizational support as a moderator of the work engagement–job satisfaction relationship. Presented in the form of a mediated moderation model, the results of bootstrapped regression analyses show three main results. First, presenteeism is negatively associated with work engagement and job satisfaction. Secondly, work engagement is one of the factors through which presenteeism influences job satisfaction. Thirdly, perceived organizational support moderates the association between work engagement and job satisfaction so that, at a low level of work engagement, feeling supported by the organization makes a difference on job satisfaction. Overall, this research is part of the limited number of studies that have focused on the interplay existing between presenteeism and its consequences in terms of job attitudes.     

Organizing the corporate planning function

A survey of corporate Planning in Britain suggests that the way the process is organized varies with the need of the firm. There appear to be two types of needs which foster the development of the planning activity—strategy development and co-ordination. In capital intensive companies, threatened by technological or market change, there is a need for reappraisal of the firm's overall strategy. On the other hand, in a large diversified firm the requirement may be to co-ordinate the plans of different divisions and departments, particularly investment proposals. This article suggests a framework for the analysis of these planning needs.     

Incentive-based management for nonprofit organizations

Nonprofit organizations should consider using incentive-based management programs so long as such programs are studied thoughtfully, implemented carefully, and closely tied to other important management practices. The article describes the experiences of one nonprofit organization, Citizens' Scholarship Foundation of America (CSFA), in successfully conducting a staff incentive program during the past several years. The author also reports briefly on the results of a recent survey among CSFA staff involved in the incentive plan, outlining the benefits of such a program in helping the organization to reach its objectives. Finally, the author addresses potential pitfalls to avoid in implementing an effective staff incentive program.     

Of orphans and balloons

Technologies with significant implications for expenditures continue to reach the health care system. These technologies range from orphan drugs/biologicals used to treat rare diseases to balloons used to treat the common occurrence of benign prostatic hyperplasia (BPH) in aging men. Because payment for these technologies can represent a serious financial drain on third-party payers, utilization has to be carefully evaluated, monitored, and controlled.