Attribution asymmetry in perception of companies' successes and failures

This study assessed the asymmetry in the causal and dispositional attributions for a company's failures and successes from the perspective of an external observer in the context of morality- vs. competence-related events. Eight hundred respondents participated in a fve-factor experiment within a covariation model. We found asymmetry in the attributions of successes and failures in that company factors were found to have contributed more to successes than failures. Successful companies were perceived as open, innovative and stable, whereas unsuccessful companies were viewed as less innovative and unstable. This study contributes to the knowledge of how observers react to the successes and failures of companies with respect to two broad categories of attribution targets

Awarding Innovation: An Assessment of the Digital Media and Learning Competition

Increasing availability and accessibility of digital media have changed the ways in which young people learn, socialize, play, and engage in civic life. Seeking to understand how learning environments and institutions should transform to respond to these changes, the John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation (the Foundation) launched the Digital Media and Learning (DML) Initiative in 2005. This report highlights the successes and challenges of one component of the DML Initiative: the DML Competition (the Competition)

The Behavioral Paradox: Why Investor Irrationality Calls for Lighter and Simpler Financial Regulation

It is widely believed that behavioral economics justifies more intrusive regulation of financial markets, because people are not fully rational and need to be protected from their quirks. This Article challenges that belief. Firstly, insofar as people can be helped to make better choices, that goal can usually be achieved through light-touch regulations. Secondly, faulty perceptions about markets seem to be best corrected through market-based solutions. Thirdly, increasing regulation does not seem to solve problems caused by lack of market discipline, pricing inefficiencies, and financial innovation; better results may be achieved with freer markets and simpler rules. Fourthly, regulatory rule makers are subject to imperfect rationality, which tends to reduce the quality of regulatory intervention. Finally, regulatory complexity exacerbates the harmful effects of bounded rationality, whereas simple and stable rules give rise to positive learning effects

Employee voice : the roles of organizational identification, informational justice and power distance

Partnering with a non-profit organization located in the United States of America, we investigate the effect of organizational identification and information justice on employee voice intentions. In order to provide depth to our study we will investigate the moderation effect of power distance on these two variables and their relationship to employee voice intentions. Findings indicate that organizational identification and information justice positively relate to employee voice intentions, however we did not find that power distance had a significant moderation effect. We conclude that organizational identification and informational justice are antecedents of employee voice behaviors and discuss limitations of the study.Em parceria com uma organização sem fins lucrativos localizada nos Estados Unidos da América, investigamos o efeito da identificação organizacional e da qualidade da informação prestada aos colaboradores sobre as opiniões expressadas por esses mesmos colaboradores. A fim de dar profundidade ao nosso estudo, vamos investigar o efeito de moderação da distância ao poder sobre estas duas variáveis e a relação dessas variáveis com opinião expressa pelos colaboradores. Os resultados indicam que a identificação organizacional e a qualidade da informação se relacionam positivamente com a expressão de opinião. No entanto, não encontrámos um efeito de moderação significativo por parte da distância ao poder. Concluímos que a identificação organizacional e a qualidade da informação são antecedentes dos comportamentos do colaborador em relação à expressão da sua opinião e discutimos limitações do estudo

Empowerment and/or disempowerment: the politics of digital media

This article examines prevailing institutional norms that are visible in international policy discourse concerning the goals of investing in digital technologies. An analysis of policy discourse associated with the World Summit on the Information Society shows how, despite the use of terms such as “open” and “participatory,” the practice of information and communication technology project implementation displays evidence of failures to empower local people. The discussion is framed by the lessons about asymmetrical institutionalized power from theories concerned with the dynamics of techno-economic change contrasted with the prevailing market-led technology diffusion perspective. The context for the article is the experience of contributing to a high-level policy report for the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization’s 2013 review of progress toward knowledge societies. Examples drawn from digital technology applications are used to illustrate the asymmetrical power relations embedded in these developments

Getting Infrastructure Priorities Right in Post-Conflict Reconstruction

infrastructure, conflict, reconstruction, water

The Usage of Personal Data as Content in Integrated Marketing Communications

Personal user data has proven extremely valuable for firms in the digital age. The wealth of data available to firms has provided unprecedented access into the world of the consumer. Companies hoping to capitalize on their user's data have turned to several interesting outlets. This research addresses the repurposing of user data as content in marketing. By analyzing four cases of data presented as marketing communications across two companies, this research provides new insights into the public release of private user data for marketing purposes. Four cases of personal data used in marketing communications were chosen specifically for their time proximity, characteristics of the sending firms, and their disparate outcomes. These instances of marketing communications, two by Spotify and two by Netflix, were released during November and December of 2017 and each resulted in a diverse range of public opinion. An analysis of these cases was conducted using the comprehensive framework of integrated marketing communications (Tafesse & Kitchen, 2017). There is a significant difference in the perceptual outcomes of integrated marketing communication campaigns which display user data as content. This analysis provides insights into the characteristics of marketing communications and how their outcomes fit into broader marketing strategies. These case studies provide opportunities for marketers to improve their campaigns in line with their desired audience outcome. Patterns of scope, strategy, mode, and outcome do not suggest success or failure in the context of marketing communications, but rather a set of insights marketers should keep in mind when pursuing communication strategies which harness personal user data.No embargoAcademic Major: Marketin

Informational Regulation of Industrial Safety - An Examination of the U.S. "Local Emergency Planning Committees"

A major trend in the regulation of industrial risks to human health and the environment is the provision of relevant information to (and the empowerment of) all stakeholders and risk bearers. This paper provides a concrete look at one of the key items in implementing this "regulation by information" in the United States: the so-called LEPCs or Local Emergency Planning Committees. We summarize the literature on the subject, report on some interviews we made at selected LEPCs in the states of Vermont and Maryland, and present preliminary figures from a recent survey we just completed of more than 200 LEPCs. The ending sections also contain some international comparisons and an appraisal of the actual LEPCs. La nouvelle tendance dans les réglementations concernant les risques industriels à la santé humaine et à l'environnement est de diffuser l'information pertinente à toutes les parties prenantes. Cet article considère l'un des outils clés de cette « régulation des risques par l'information » : les comités locaux de planification d'urgence, aux Etats-Unis (désignés en anglais par le sigle LEPC). Nous dressons un bilan de la littérature sur le sujet. Nous intégrons des éléments importants résultant d'entrevues faites auprès de LEPCs sélectionnés dans les États du Vermont et du Maryland. Et nous présentons certains résultats préliminaires d'une enquête récente que nous venons de réaliser auprès de plus de 200 LEPCs. Les sections finales contiennent également plusieurs comparaisons internationales et une appréciation du fonctionnement actuel des LEPCs.Chemical plant safety, Community participation, US Emergency Planning and Community Right-To-Know Act, Clean Air Act, Local Emergency Planning Committees (LEPCs), Risk Management Program, Stakeholders involvement, Sûreté des usines chimiques, participation du public, US Emergency Planning and Community Right-To-Know Act (EPCRA), Clean Air Act, Comités locaux de planification d'urgence (LEPC), Programme de gestion de risque, Implication des parties prenantes