812 research outputs found
The impact of corporate philanthropy on reputation for corporate social performance
This study seeks to examine the mechanisms by which a corporation’s use of philanthropy affects its reputation for corporate social performance (CSP), which the authors conceive of as consisting of two dimensions: CSP awareness and CSP perception. Using signal detection theory (SDT), the authors model signal amplitude (the amount contributed), dispersion (number of areas supported), and consistency (presence of a corporate foundation) on CSP awareness and perception. Overall, this study finds that characteristics of firms' portfolio of philanthropic activities are a greater predictor of CSP awareness than of CSP perception. Awareness increases with signal amplitude, dispersion, and consistency. CSP perception is driven by awareness and corporate reputation. The authors’ contention that corporate philanthropy is a complex variable is upheld, as we find that CSP signal characteristics influence CSP awareness and perception independently and asymmetrically. The authors conclude by proposing avenues for future research
Laminate polyethylene window development for large aperture millimeter receivers
New experiments that target the B-mode polarization signals in the Cosmic
Microwave Background require more sensitivity, more detectors, and thus
larger-aperture millimeter-wavelength telescopes, than previous experiments.
These larger apertures require ever larger vacuum windows to house cryogenic
optics. Scaling up conventional vacuum windows, such as those made of High
Density Polyethylene (HDPE), require a corresponding increase in the thickness
of the window material to handle the extra force from the atmospheric pressure.
Thicker windows cause more transmission loss at ambient temperatures,
increasing optical loading and decreasing sensitivity. We have developed the
use of woven High Modulus Polyethylene (HMPE), a material 100 times stronger
than HDPE, to manufacture stronger, thinner windows using a pressurized hot
lamination process. We discuss the development of a specialty autoclave for
generating thin laminate vacuum windows and the optical and mechanical
characterization of full scale science grade windows, with the goal of
developing a new window suitable for BICEP Array cryostats and for future CMB
applications
Human Resources and the Resource Based View of the Firm
The resource-based view (RBV) of the firm has influenced the field of strategic human resource management (SHRM) in a number of ways. This paper explores the impact of the RBV on the theoretical and empirical development of SHRM. It explores how the fields of strategy and SHRM are beginning to converge around a number of issues, and proposes a number of implications of this convergence
Universal Rights and Wrongs
This paper argues for the important role of customers as a source of competitive advantage and firm growth, an issue which has been largely neglected in the resource-based view of the firm. It conceptualizes Penrose’s (1959) notion of an ‘inside track’ and illustrates how in-depth knowledge about established customers combines with joint problem-solving activities and the rapid assimilation of new and previously unexploited skills and resources. It is suggested that the inside track represents a distinct and perhaps underestimated way of generating rents and securing long-term growth. This also implies that the sources of sustainable competitive advantage in important respects can be sought in idiosyncratic interfirm relationships rather than within the firm itself
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