The Accuracy of Initial Trust Judgments

This dissertation is dedicated to answer the questions: are we able to achieve accuracy in our initial trust perceptions: study 1) and what mechanism may account for this accuracy: study 2)? The first study conducted was field based, using temporary student teams. I used the social relations model: SRM) to determine how trust perceptions shift over time relative to individual and team perceptions. I found that individuals\u27 perceptions remain moderately consistent over time and calibrated with their teams\u27 perception only in terms of integrity perceptions. Further, individuals were able to achieve meta-accuracy: I know how much you trust me ) at both the generalized and dyadic levels. The second study was conducted in an experimental laboratory, examining trust at the dyadic level within a negotiation context. The perceivers\u27: trustors) trust perceptions were manipulated based on false feedback regarding their partners\u27: targets or trustees) response to a survey examining their perspective on the use of ethical negotiation tactics. I found that individuals\u27 initial perceptions were correlated with their post-negotiation trust perceptions, partially mediated by the perceivers trusting behaviors and the targets\u27 trustworthy behavior. The initial trust manipulation, however did not have an influence on the negotiated outcomes nor the second stage game. The results of study two support the notion that trust is a self-fulfilling prophecy

Using Mathematical Programming For Marketing Plan Optimization

While a growing number of companies are embracing analytical metrics to measure the performance of their critical business processes, many neglect to apply the same mathematical rigor to their marketing efforts. This paper examines how to apply a disciplined quantitative approach to resource allocation within the context of marketing. This project will examine a company that manufactures and sells electric power generation components. This firm’s executive management believes that developing nations in Asia have a particularly strong need for power generation equipment as they build and expand new infrastructure at a rapid pace. Management objective is to construct a marketing plan that will maximize both total revenue as well as revenue from a targeted geographic region, while working within the budgetary and other constraints. Operations Research offers sophisticated tools for translating complex business situations into mathematical expressions. These expressions may then be evaluated to identify one or more optimal solutions. Multivariate Testing is used to quantify all the relevant variables for the mathematical model. This statistical tool allows the researcher to simultaneously test the effect of various input factors on the response variable, and also test for any interactions between factors. These interactions are often significant in predicting the response outcome. Using indexed utility values produces a blended model that can simultaneously satisfy both objectives. This blended model results in a marketing plan that will increase total revenue by more than five million dollars, a 57% gain. At the same time, the plan will generate an 18% increase in targeted revenue, positioning the company for future growth. The project shows that companies can, and should, insist on the same degree of financial accountability from their marketing investments that they would expect from any other capital or operational expenditures

Assessing the Impact of Organizational Practices on the Productivity of University Technology Transfer Offices: An Exploratory Study

We present quantitative and qualitative evidence (field research) on university technology transfer offices (TTOs). These offices negotiate licensing agreements with firms to commercialize university-based technologies. A stochastic frontier production function framework is used to assess the relative productivity of 113 university TTOs. Our field research provided a useful reality check on the specification of the econometric model. The empirical findings imply that licensing activity is characterized by constant returns to scale. Environmental and institutional factors appear to explain some of the variation in TTO efficiency. Relative productivity may also depend on organizational practices in university management of intellectual property, which potentially attenuate palpable differences in the motives, incentives, and organizational cultures of the parties to licensing agreements. Unfortunately, there are no existing data on such practices, so we rely on inductive, qualitative methods to identify them. We present detailed information on our use of these methods. This information may be useful to economists who are contemplating fieldwork. Based on 55 interviews of managers/entrepreneurs and administrators at five research universities, we conclude that the most critical organizational factors are likely to be reward systems for faculty, TTO staffing and compensation practices, and actions taken by administrators to extirpate informational and cultural barriers between universities and firms.

A comparative study of the relationship between mental ability of bilingual children and reading ability in English and French.

Thesis (M.A.)--Boston Universit

Las dinámicas de los sistemas nacionales de innovación

Tesis inédita de la Universidad Complutense de Madrid, Facultad de Ciencias Económicas y Empresariales, leída el 20-01-2014.Fac. de Ciencias Económicas y EmpresarialesTRUEunpu

Knowledge flows in clusters and innovation networks : the case of canadian biotechnology and nanotechnology

Literature review -- Clusters -- Localized knowledge spillovers -- Innovation networks -- Research questions, objectives and methodology -- Research objectives -- Methodology -- The localisation versus urbanisation controversy -- Basic results -- Indicators for Marshall and Jacobs externalities -- Performance measures -- Other circumstances and conditions of analysis -- Conclusions -- Innovation in Canadian biotechnology clusters -- Canadian biotechnology clusters -- Patent ownership in Canadian biotechnology clusters -- Biotechnology field specialization in clusters -- Collaboration in Canadian biotechnology based on patent co-assignment -- Geographical aspects of collaboration -- International collaborations -- Inter-cluster collaborations -- Distance-based analysis of all out-of-cluster collaborations -- Comparison of biotechnology and nanotechnology innovation networks -- Canadian biotechnology and nanotechnology clusters -- Collaboration patterns in Canadian biotechnology and nanotechnology -- Local collaboration in the cluster-based subnetworks -- Gatekeepers of Canadian biotechnology clusters -- Geographical and cognitive proximity -- Collaboration in geographical space -- Collaboration in technological space -- In a search of the gatekeepers -- Star scientists in Canadian biotechnology network -- Identification of the star scientists in Canadian biotechnology -- The positions of the star and QQ-star scientists in the network -- Conclusions and recommendations