The Performance of IT Professionals: the Difference that Makes a Difference

\tIt is well documented that information technology (IT) organizations fail to maximize returns on the significant investments made in them. Yet, there is a paucity of empirical evidence about how different behaviors of IT professionals contribute to or detract from IT’s productivity. We report on a qualitative study on the competencies of professionals who oversee or execute IT projects in the operations of three multinational firms. Our findings reveal different competencies between average and superior individual contributors (ICs), who execute the projects and between average and superior managers, who lead the projects. Our results suggest that higher levels of role breadth self efficacy distinguish those with superior IT role effectiveness, not technical ability, the basis on which most IT professionals are hired and promoted. Our findings may help firms to select and promote people best suited to manage and contribute to IT organizations

Hinterhuber 2004) and pricing practitioners (Forbis and Mehta

ABSTRACT The current literature is largely silent on how executives interpret the concept of value-based pricing. Although only a minority of companies adopts value-based pricing approaches, little is known about antecedents of alternative pricing approaches. We suggest this may be because of the fact that few professionals possess an understanding of value-based pricing, which is both academically rigorous as well as practically relevant. Our interviews with 44 executives in 15 US industrial firms show that those practicing value-based pricing interpret customer value in ways fully consistent with the current academic literature. Those practicing cost-or competition-based pricing, however, show a poor understanding of value-based pricing, which may explain why their companies practice cost-or competition-based approaches. Journal of Revenue and Pricing Management (2012) 11, 12-34. doi:10.1057/rpm.2011 Keywords: pricing; industrial firms; value-based pricing; managerial cognition ON THE LOW ADOTOPTION OF VALUE-BASED PRICING Of the three main approaches to pricing in industrial markets -cost-based, competitionbased and value-based -the last is considered superior by most marketing scholar

DO FIES ADOPT PRO-ENVIRONMENTAL STRATEGIES IN DEVELOPING COUNTRIES? By

This study explores how US manufacturing firms with operations in India construe their roles and responsibilities relative to host country environmental concerns and how they develop environment-related strategies. In particular, we hope to advance understanding of the relative influence of internal versus external factors that influence decision processes and ultimate corporate behaviors. How do managers of FIEs understand the factors that influence the adoption of pro-environmental strategies in developing countries? To what extent are FIE environmental strategies motivated by internal factors versus external factors? How and to what extent do FIE management initiatives involving firm-specific resources and organizational capabilities affect the adoption of eco-friendly strategies versus the influence of critical stakeholders? A conceptual model was inspired by the literature and several preliminary interviews with managers of foreign investment firms to guide the research