Showing papers by "Boston College published in 1997"

The corporate social performance-financial performance link

Abstract: Strategic managers are consistently faced with the decision of how to allocate scarce corporate resources in an environment that is placing more and more pressures on them. Recent scholarship in strategic management suggests that many of these pressures come directly from sources associated with social issues in management, rather than traditional arenas of strategic management. Using a greatly improved source of data on corporate social performance, this paper reports the results of a rigorous study of the empirical linkages between financial and social performance. Corporate social performance (CSP) is found to be positively associated with prior financial performance, supporting the theory that slack resource availability and CSP are positively related. CSP is also found to be positively associated with future financial performance, supporting the theory that good management and CSP are positively related.? 1997 by John Wiley & Sons, Ltd

A General Theory of Network Governance: Exchange Conditions and Social Mechanisms

Abstract: A phenomenon of the last 20 years has been the rapid rise of the network form of governance. This governance form has received significant scholarly attention, but. to date, no comprehensive theory for it has been advanced, and no sufficiently detailed and theoretically consistent definition has appeared. Our objective in this article is to provide a theory that explains under what conditions network governance, rigorously defined, has comparative advantage and is therefore likely to emerge and thrive. Our theory integrates transaction cost economics and social network theories, and, in broad strokes, asserts that the network form of governance is a response to exchange conditions of asset specificity, demand uncertainty, task complexity, and frequency. These exchange conditions drive firms toward structurally embedding their transactions, which enables firms to use social mechanisms for coordinating and safeguarding exchanges. When all of these conditions are in place, the network governance form has adv...

On the Number and Size of Nations

Abstract: This paper studies the equilibrium determination of the number of countries in different political regimes, and in different economic environments, with more or less economic integration. We focus on the trade-off between the benefits of large jurisdictions and the costs of heterogeneity of large and diverse populations. Our model implies that (i) democratization leads to secessions; (ii) in equilibrium one generally observes an inefficiently large number of countries; (iii) the equilibrium number of countries is increasing in the amount of economic integration.

The external ties of top executives: Implications for strategic choice and performance.

Abstract: We are grateful to Eric Abrahamson, Ron Burt, Eric Leifer, Aneil Mishra, and Bob Yavitz for their contributions on earlier drafts of this manuscript. The paper has also benefited from the constructive comments of Associate Editor Mark Mizruchi and three anonymous ASO reviewers. We examine the extent to which executives' boundary spanning relations inside and outside their industry affect organizational strategy and performance. We posit that the informational and social influences of external ties will be reflected in the degree to which the organization's strategy conforms to or deviates from the central tendencies of its industry and that the alignment of executives' external ties with the firm's strategy will be beneficial to firm performance. Using a multiyear sample of firms in the branded foods and computer industries, we find that executives' intraindustry ties are related to strategic conformity, that extraindustry ties are associated with the adoption of deviant strategies, and that alignment of executives' external ties with the informational requirements of the firm's strategy enhances organizational performance. Our results also show that a unique or differentiated strategy is not universally advantageous and that the benefits accruing from strategic conformity are especially strong in the more uncertain computer industry.'

The assimilation of software process innovations: an organizational learning perspective

Abstract: The burden of organizational learning surrounding software process innovations SPIs-and complex organizational technologies in general-creates a "knowledge barrier" that inhibits diffusion. Attewell Attewell, P. 1992. Technology diffusion and organizational learning the case of business computing. Organ. Sci.31 1-19. has suggested that many organizations will defer adoption until knowledge barriers have been sufficiently lowered; however, this leaves open the question of which organizations should be more likely to innovate, even in face of high knowledge barriers. It is proposed here that organizations will innovate in the presence of knowledge barriers when the burden of organizational learning is effectively lower, either because much of the required know-how already exists within the organization, or because such knowledge can be acquired more easily or more economically. Specifically, it is hypothesized that organizations will have a greater propensity to initiate and sustain the assimilation of SPIs when they have a greater scale of activities over which learning costs can be spread learning-related scale, more extensive existing knowledge related to the focal innovation related knowledge, and a greater diversity of technical knowledge and activities diversity. An empirical study using data on the assimilation of object-oriented programming languages OOPLs by 608 information technology organizations strongly confirmed the importance of the three hypothesized factors in explaining the assimilation of OOPLs.

Knowing and Caring About Politics: Gender and Political Engagement

Abstract: This paper demonstrates that women are less politically interested, informed, and efficacious than men and that this gender gap in political engagement has consequences for political participation. Only when gender differences in political interest, information, and efficacy are considered along with gender differences in resources can we explain the relatively small disparity between the sexes with respect to political activity. When we searched for the origins of the gender gap in political engagement, we found that it can be explained only partially by gender differences in factors such as education that are associated with political engagement Furthermore, these gender differences in political orientation seem to be specific to politics-rather than the manifestation of general personal attributes Investigation of the extent to which the cues received by males and females that politics is a man's world are responsible for the gender gap in political engagement yielded results that were suggestive, but ...

Approximate Asymptotic P Values for StructuraS-Change Tests

Abstract: Numerical approximations to the asymptotic distributions of recently proposed tests for structural change are presented. This enables easy yet accurate calculation of asymptotic p values. A GAUSS program is available to perform the computations.

Inequality, Income Growth, and Mobility: The Basic Facts

Abstract: During the 1950s and 1960s, mean wages in the United States grew rapidly, and the dispersion around this growing mean changed very litde. Starting in the 1970s and continuing into the 1980s and 1990s, these patterns were reversed: mean wages grew slowly, and inequality increased rapidly. These changes in labor markets were reflected in changes in the distribution of family income.' The mean of the distribution of family income did increase after 1973, in spite of the near constancy of mean real wages, as family members increased the number of hours they worked. However, the increase in inequality of wages was mirrored by an increase in the dispersion of family income. A large descriptive literature has documented the rise in inequality, while a smaller behavioral literature has sought to delineate the causes of this rise.^ These changes in the distribution of family income a£Fected rates of poverty directly. During the 1950s and 1960s, temporary increases in poverty during recessions were more than offset by declines in poverty during economic expansions. As long as the poor gained along with everyone else fi-om the secular growth in the mean, one could be confident that poverty rates would ratchet down. This is exactly what happened as poverty rates fell from 22.4 percent in 1959 to 11.1 percent in 1973.

The salience of 'culture's consequences' : The effects of cultural values on top executive commitment to the status quo

Abstract: While top executives are argued to play a central role in strategic adaptation, evidence suggests that they are not equally open to organizational change. This study extends earlier investigation of the determinants of top executive commitment to the status quo (CSQ) to the international arena, examining the influence of cultural values on executive open-mindedness toward change. Using data from a survey of top managers in 20 countries, analyses reveal that values of individualism, uncertainty avoidance, power distance, and long-term orientation are significantly related to executives’ adherence to existing strategy and leadership profiles. Further, while confirming earlier findings that industry tenure is positively related to strategy CSQ, results show that tenure does not significantly affect leadership CSQ once cultural values are controlled. In summary, the findings reveal that culture has an important impact on executive mindsets, as demonstrated by the fact that executives of differing cultural background are not equally open to change in organizational strategy and leadership profiles. Second, the findings suggest that executives’ views of appropriate leadership profiles reflect the imprint of cultural socialization moreso than professional experience. Finally, and more broadly, the study offers empirical support for the view that values figure prominently in shaping executives’ strategic and leadership orientations. © 1997 by John Wiley & Sons, Ltd

A Model of Work-Based Learning

Abstract: A comprehensive model of work-based learning is illustrated combining explicit and tacit forms of knowing and theory and practice modes of learning at both individual and collective levels. The model is designed to bring together epistemic contributions which are typically studied in isolation. The learning types produced from the model represent processes the intersection of which can contribute to the development of a comprehensive theory for integrating learning and work. At the individual level, work-based learning might start with conceptualization which provides practitioners with a means to challenge the assumptions underlying their practice. In experimentation, they engage their conceptual knowledge in such a way that it becomes contextualized or grounded. However, within the world of practice, in applying theoretical criteria or advanced analytical techniques, one confronts technical, cultural, moral, and personal idiosyncrasies which defy categorization. Hence, experience is required to reinforce the tacit knowledge acquired in experimentation. In fact, learning acquired through experience, often referred to as implicit learning, is the foundation for tacit knowledge and can be used to solve problems as well as make reasonable decisions about novel situations. Nevertheless, reflection is required to bring the inherent tacit knowledge of experience to the surface. It thus contributes to the reconstruction of meaning. At the collective level, conceptualization again makes a contribution in informing spontaneous inquiry but is now embedded within the more formal methods of applied science. Scientists seek to describe and explain social reality through the manipulation of theoretical propositions using the rules of hypothetico-deductive logic. The theories of applied science are often not helpful to practitioners, however, unless they are incorporated into practice. This is the purview of action learning wherein real-time experience, especially problems occurring within one's own work setting, constitutes the primary subject matter. As practitioners come together by being involved with one another in action, they may become a community of practice wherein they learn to construct shared understanding amidst confusing and conflicting data. Hence, community of practice returns knowledge back into its context such that groups learn to observe and experiment with their own collective tacit processes in action. Action science is called upon to bring the individuals' and group's mental models, often untested and unexamined, into consciousness. It is a form of “reflection-in-action” which attempts to discover how what one did contributed to an unexpected or expected outcome, taking into account the interplay between theory and practice. Applications of the model can spur conceptual and practical developments that might lead to a comprehensive theory of work-based learning. The discussion takes up such issues as transition links between learning types, their segmentation by function or process, and implications for epistemology. A sample program, incorporating many of the learning types in the model, is demonstrated. The paper argues that all eight types of learning need to be brought into consideration if learners are to achieve proficiency and become critical while learning at work.

BCS to Bose crossover: Broken-symmetry state

Abstract: A functional integral formulation, used previously to calculate ${\mathrm{T}}_{\mathrm{c}}$ and describe normal state properties of the BCS-Bose crossover, is extended to T${\mathrm{T}}_{\mathrm{c}}$. The saddle point approximation is shown to be qualitatively correct for T\ensuremath{\ll}${\mathrm{T}}_{\mathrm{c}}$ for all couplings, in contrast to the situation above ${\mathrm{T}}_{\mathrm{c}}$. Several features of the crossover are described. The difference between the T=0 ``pair size'' and the (prefactor of the T dependent) Ginzburg-Landau coherence length is pointed out: the two quantities are the same only in the BCS limit. The evolution of the collective modes from the BCS to the Bose regime is discussed together with the mixing of the amplitude and phase in the absence of a particle-hole symmetry.

Mediators of gender differences in mathematics college entrance test scores : A comparison of spatial skills with internalized beliefs and anxieties

Abstract: This study was designed to investigate whether spatial skill, math anxiety, and math self-confidence functioned as mediators of a significant gender difference in the Mathematics Scholastic Aptitude Test (SAT-M) among the top third of a college-bound sample. Using path analytic techniques, the decomposition of the significant gender-SAT-M correlation into direct and indirect effects indicated that there were no direct effects of gender on SAT-M. Mental rotation and math self-confidence showed indirect effects, mediating the gender-SAT-M relationship; math anxiety did not. Of these indirect effects, 36% was mediated by math self-confidence; 64% by mental rotation. For both these variables, most of the mediational effects of the gender-SAT-M relationship did not occur by way of the causal pathway leading through geometry grades. Thus, the mediational effects cannot simply be attributed to the presence of geometry items on the SAT-M or to math self-confidence acquired during prior geometry coursework.

The Relationships among Momentary Emotion Experiences, Personality Descriptions, and Retrospective Ratings of Emotion

Abstract: In psychological research, respondents often make retrospective ratings of their emotional experiences after an extended period of time. The present study sought to determine whether such memory-based ratings are influenced by respondents' descriptions of their own emotionality, over and above a summary of their momentary emotion ratings. Participants completed self-report measures of neuroticism and extraversion and made momentary ratings of their emotions across 90 days. At the end of the study, participants recalled what their emotions had been during the course of the study. Findings indicated that retrospective ratings of emotion contained accurate information about momentary emotion reports. Also, the retrospective ratings were influenced in the direction of respondents' personality descriptions. Individuals who described themselves as neurotic remembered experiencing more negative emotion than they reported on a momentary basis; individuals who described themselves as extraverted displayed a trend ...

Quality of Management and Quality of Stakeholder Relations Are They Synonymous

Abstract: This article presents an integrative conceptual framework for linking corporate social performance, stakeholders, and quality of management, then tests this framework empirically. Results provide strong support for the hypothesis that perceived quality of management can be explained by the quality of performance with respect to specific primary stakeholders: owners, employees, customers, and (marginally) communities, but treatment of ecological environmental considera- tions is not a significant factor.

Social participation and charitable giving: A multivariate analysis

Abstract: Despite an abundance of survey data on charitable giving, researchers have not analysed these data asking the kinds of theoretical questions and employing the kinds of multivariate statistical techniques that would advance our understanding of the social processes leading to charitable behaviour. This article reports the authors' first findings from their continuing efforts to develop and test such a multivariate causal model of the social, demographic, economic and motivational determinants of individual charitable giving. The first section outlines ouridentification theory of charitable giving. In the second section we discuss the data and how we operationalise our variables. The third section examines whether there is broad quantitative support for major tenets of the model developed if applied at the household level. In the fourth section we enquire about which factors are most strongly related to giving behaviour. We conclude with a discussion about the centrality of communities of participation for inducing charitable giving and about the practical implications for fundraising.

Dust acoustic waves in strongly coupled dusty plasmas

Abstract: Dust grains, or solid particles of \ensuremath{\mu}m to sub-\ensuremath{\mu}m sizes, are observed in various low-temperature laboratory plasmas such as process plasmas and dust plasma crystals. The massive dust grains are generally highly charged, and it has been shown within the context of standard plasma theory that their presence can lead to new low-frequency modes such as dust acoustic waves. In certain laboratory plasmas, however, the dust may be strongly coupled, as characterized by the condition ${\ensuremath{\Gamma}}_{d}{=Q}_{d}^{2}\mathrm{exp}(\ensuremath{-}d/{\ensuremath{\lambda}}_{D}{)/dT}_{d}g~1,$ where ${Q}_{d}$ is the dust charge, $d$ is the intergrain spacing, ${T}_{d}$ is the dust thermal energy, and ${\ensuremath{\lambda}}_{D}$ is the plasma screening length. This paper investigates the dispersion relation for dust acoustic waves in a strongly coupled dusty plasma comprised of strongly coupled negatively charged dust grains, and weakly correlated classical ions and electrons. The dust grains are assumed to interact via a (screened Coulomb) Yukawa potential. The strongly coupled gas phase (liquid phase) is considered, and a quasilocalized charge approximation scheme is used, generalized to take into account electron and/or ion screening of the dust grains. The scheme relates the small-$k$ dispersion to the total correlation energy of the system, which is obtained from the results of published numerical simulations. Some effects of collisions of charged particles with neutrals are taken into account. Applications to laboratory dusty plasmas are discussed.

Corannulene. A Three-Step Synthesis1

Abstract: Thermal cyclization of 7,10-diethynylfluoranthene (3) in the gas phase gives corannulene (2), the smallest bowl-shaped polycyclic hydrocarbon fragment of C60 with fullerene-like curvature. Bromocorannulene (10) and 1,6-dibromocorannulene (9) have also been obtained from flash pyrolysis of 7,10-bis(2,2-dibromovinyl)fluoranthene (8). Short, practical syntheses of several corannulene precursors from acenaphthenequinone are described which have made corannulene available in gram quantities.

Entry Restrictions, Industry Evolution,And Dynamic Efficiency: Evidence from Commercial Banking

Abstract: This paper shows that bank performance improves significantly after restrictions on bank expansion are lifted. We find that operating costs and loan losses decrease sharply after states permit statewide branching and, to a lesser extent, after states allow interstate banking. The improvements following branching deregulation appear to occur because better banks grow at the expense of their less-efficient rivals. By retarding the "natural"evolution of the industry, branching restrictions reduce the performance of the average banking asset. We also find that most of the reduction in banks' costs are passed along to bank borrowers in the form of lower loan rates.

Neuroanatomical circuitry for mammalian maternal behavior.

Abstract: This paper presents an overview of the neural circuitry underlying maternal behavior in mammals. Because most of this work has been done on the rat, our review concentrates on that species. The hormonal events of late pregnancy, in particular, rising estrogen and prolactin levels and declining progesterone levels, are necessary for stimulating the onset of maternal behavior at parturition in primiparous females of many mammalian species.’ An important process to understand is the neural mechanisms influenced by ‘‘maternal hormones.” Several recent reviews argue that maternal behavior is facilitated when the tendency to approach infant stimuli and engage in maternal behavior is greater than the tendency to avoid or withdraw from such stimuli.’“ This kind of analysis suggests that the hormonal events of late pregnancy act on brain mechanisms to either decrease fear/aversion of infant stimuli or increase attractiodapproach towards infant stimuli, or both. These possibilities are illustrated in FIGURE 1. Several pieces of evidence support this scheme: (1) Nulliparous females of many mammalian species avoid or attack neonates.‘ Indeed, nulliparous female rats move out of the preferred part of their home cage if pups are placed there? (2) Although nonpregnant rats and sheep either show no preference for or actively avoid olfactory stimuli associated with neonates, animals that have been exposed to the hormonal events of late pregnancy show a strong attraction to such (3) Although the nulliparous female rat will not show immediate maternal responsiveness towards its young, if she is cohabited with them, she will come to show maternal behavior after about 5-7 days.’ This latency to respond can be shortened by a hormone regimen that mimics the endocrine changes of late pregnancy.’ Importantly, this latency can also be reduced in nonhormone-primed nulliparous females by making them anosmic.* Such females show maternal behavior after about only 24 hours of pup exposure. These findings have been interpreted to mean that nulliparous females find olfactory stimuli from young aversive and that maternal behavior will occur only after the aversive nature of such stimuli has been reduced by either habituation, hormonal effects, or experimentally induced a n ~ s m i a . ~ , ~ The effects of anosmia on maternal behavior in nulliparous rats support the model shown in FIGURE 1A: approach and attraction to nonolfactory stimuli may be relatively high in the absence of hormone treatment, and the hormonal events of late pregnancy downregulate the aversionproducing influence of pup odors.’ However, the fact that anosmic virgins do not

Long Memory in the Greek Stock Market

Abstract: We test for stochastic long memory in the Greek stock market, an emerging capital market. The fractional differencing parameter is estimated using the spectral regression method. Contrary to findings for major capital markets, significant and robust evidence of positive long-term persistence is found in the Greek stock market. As compared to benchmark linear models, the estimated fractional models provide improved out-of-sample forecasting accuracy for the Greek stock returns series over longer forecasting horizons.

The Rest of the Nonprofit Sector: Grassroots Associations as the Dark Matter Ignored in Prevailing "Flat Earth" Maps of the Sector

Abstract: Many nonprofit scholars recognize and study only paid staff nonprofits. More general, research-based, statistical overview 'maps" of the nonprofit sector (NPS)follow this same 'flat earth" approach. The rest of the NPS consists mainly of grassroots associations, which have cumulative magnitudes greater than paid staff nonprofits in America on several dimensions circa 1990-numbers of groups, memberships, members, active volunteers, yearly hours of volunteer time, and full-time equivalents (FTEs) of annual work by associational (not program) volunteers. These figures, combined with better estimates of numbers of IRS-missing paid staff nonprofits, constitute the first comprehensive "round earth" statistical map of the NPS as presented here. IRS listings and prevailing flat earth statistical maps based on them ignore about 90% of all nonprofits in the nation as well as half of volunteers and their work time. Suggestions are made for improving future NPS map making and research.

Salience Counts—And So Does Accuracy: Correcting and Updating a Measure for Free-List-Item Salience

Abstract: Through a series of almost comical errors (for which the senior author takes full responsibility), a recent JLA article on English color terms inaccurately described a measure of free-list-item salience (Smith et al. 1995:206). Fortunately, the analysis suffered little material harm; but in order for the measure to have general value for studies utilizing free-listing data collection, colleagues need a more accurate description of its calculation than appears in the 1995 article. For a set of free-list data, the index is designed to take into account both the frequency and rank order of items in the lists. Its correct formulation is

Histones in Transit: Cytosolic Histone Complexes and Diacetylation of H4 During Nucleosome Assembly in Human Cells †

Abstract: The organization and acetylation of nascent histones prior to their stable incorporation into chromatin were examined. Through sedimentation and immunoprecipitation analyses of HeLa cytosolic extracts, two somatic non-nucleosomal histone complexes were detected: one containing nascent H3 and H4, and a second containing H2A (and probably H2B) in association with the nonhistone protein NAP-1. The H3/H4 complex has a sedimentation coefficient of 5−6S, consistent with the presence of one or more escort proteins. H4 in the cytosolic H3/H4 complex is diacetylated, fully in accord with the acetylation state of newly synthesized H4 in chromatin. The diacetylation of nascent human H4 is therefore completed prior to nucleosome assembly. As part of our studies of the nascent H3/H4 complex, the cytoplasmic histone acetyltransferase most likely responsible for acetylating newly synthesized H4 was also investigated. HeLa histone acetyltransferase B (HAT B) acetylates H4 but not H3 in vitro, and maximally diacetylates ...

Excess Volatility and Closed-End Funds

Abstract: If investors are rational, the variance of closed-end mutual fund returns should equal the variance of the underlying securities in their portfolios. In fact, this paper shows that the average closed-end fund's monthly return is 64 percent more volatile than its assets. Unlike variance- bound tests, this facilitates an excess volatility test that does not rely on strong assumptions about discount rates or dividend streams. Although, largely idiosyncratic, 15 percent of the average fund's excess risk is explained by market risk, small firm risk, and risk that affects other closed-end funds.

Estimating the Rational Expectations Model of Speculative Storage: A Monte Carlo Comparison of Three Simulation Estimators

Abstract: The non-negativity constraint on inventories imposed on the rational expectations theory of speculative storage implies that the conditional mean and variance of commodity prices are nonlinear in lagged prices and have a kink at a threshold point. In this paper, the structural parameters of this model are estimated using three simulation based estimators. The finite sample properties of the Simulated Methods of Moments estimator of Duffie and Singleton (1993), the Indirect Inference estimator of Gourieroux, Monfort and Renault (1993), and the matching score estimator of Gallant and Tauchen (1996) are assessed. Exploiting the invariant distribution implied by the theory allows us to assess the error induced by simulations. Our results show that while all three estimators produce reasonably good estimates with properties that stack up well with those of the PMLE, there are tradeoffs among the three estimators in terms of bias, efficiency, and computation demands. Some estimators are more sensitive to the sample size and the number of simulations than others. A careful choice of the moments/auxiliary models can lead to a substantial reduction in bias and an improvement in efficiency. Increasing the number of simulated data points can sometimes reduce the bias and improve the efficiency of the estimates when the sample size is small.

Orientation Specificity in Representations of Place

Abstract: How organisms code information that allows them to recognize one place in space as distinct from another has been studied neuroanatomically, neurophysiolo gically, and behaviorally in animals. Neurophysiological studies with rats show that cells in CA1 and CA3 regions of the hippocampus respond selectively to the place occupied by a rat, with one place being discriminable from another by its unique configuration of surrounding, local cues (e.g., Muller, Kubie, Bostock, Taube, & Quirk, 1991; O'Keefe, 1979; O'Keefe & Speakman, 1987). A place cells' sensitivity to cue configurations is indicated by its diminished response following a change in the relative location of the cues but by little change in its response rate if one cue is removed from the configuration, as long as the spatial relations among the remaining cues are preserved (O'Keefe, 1979; O'Keefe & Conway, 1978). Findings showing that hippocampal lesions severely disrupt a rat's ability to learn the place occupied by the goal but leave intact its ability to learn an egocentrically defined route to the goal provide behavioral evidence for the role of the hippocampus in cognitive mapping (e.g., O'Keefe &Nadel, 1978). Place learning has been studied behaviorally in human adults on a more limited scale than it has in animals, in part, because it is difficult to control and manipulate large-scale visual environments. Studies that focus on how people cognitively represent configurations of visual cues that can