A partnering business model for technology transfer: The case of the Muenster University of Applied Sciences

Theory and practice of technology transfer and entrepreneurial behaviour of academics are novel. We draw upon the literature of business models, transaction costs, professional and organisational culture and of agency theory to formulate a framework for a technology transfer business model. We present the range of options used by universities and we examine the spin out option, as context and contrast to the MUAS approach. The case of the MUAS is presented. It illustrates the conceptual framework developed and has thus far been successful in its specific environment. Replication might require adaptation, but this particular approach can offer useful lessons. Tentative hypotheses for research on business model adaptation are derived from the study.Antonio G. Dottore, Thomas Baaken, David Corkindal

Factors that adolescent males take into account in decisions about an unplanned pregnancy

Little is known about what factors adolescent males consider important when making decisions concerning the resolution of an unplanned pregnancy with a teenage partner. Young men\u27s influence on pregnancy outcome decisions can play an important part in the subsequent psychological adjustment of the female. The present report draws on data from a larger study with teenage males [Condon, J. T., Corkindale, C. J., Russell, A., & Quinlivan, J. A., \u27Processes and factors underlying adolescent males\u27 attitudes and decision-making in relation to an unplanned pregnancy\u27, Journal of Youth and Adolescence, Vol. 35, 2008, p. 447–458], and extends the findings of that study. Using a 25-item scale embedded in an electronic role-play, data were obtained from 330 male Australian school students on their priorities and concerns in relation to possible outcomes of a partner\u27s pregnancy. Common factors taken into account by almost the entire adolescent sample related to the negative effects of becoming a teenage father. The differences between participants were identified using cluster analysis, which produced three groupings. The majority group was characterised as ‘well-balanced’ (80.6%), and the two minority groups as ‘unwilling/unready’ (10.9%) and ‘family-centred’ (8.5%). Group membership was strongly predictive of the males\u27 final decision regarding the hypothetical pregnancy outcome. Understanding adolescent attitudes and beliefs when faced with this decision may assist practitioners in their guidance of the young couple and help prevent negative psychological sequelae

Are some planning transactions intrinsically sovereign?

The laws, policies, customary practices and other institutions that govern a country's land development and the pattern of its spatial economy are constantly evolving. They change at the margin and by catastrophe; involving major land reform, minor statutes, economic crises, and gradual shifts in the way things are done. This article analyses the institutions of planning using qualitative models of incomplete contracting. It portrays them as fluid social constructs that adapt according to the relative costs of organizing the transactions that constitute a planning service. The focus is on the way organizational and institutional structures influence and are determined by post-contractual hazards. Post-contractual hazards are risks to the desired outcome of a transaction (for example the risk that a commissioned plan proves to be unworkable or irrelevant). Attention is specifically drawn to probity hazard (following economist Oliver Williamson, 1999). A set of core planning functions (transactions) are examined with the purpose of discovering if there are a priori arguments for retaining certain parts of a planning system within the public bureaucracy. © 2009 Association of Collegiate Schools of Planning.link_to_subscribed_fulltex

The Effect of Online Word-of-Mouth on Risk Assessment for an Experience Service as Price Acceptability Changes

The influence of online word-of-mouth (WOM) on risk assessments for an experience good, in the presence of different price acceptability levels, was examined through 12 online experiments using potential travelers presented with realistic information settings. Online WOM was found more influential than advertised price as a cue to risk perceptions. The perceived risk level was raised when positive and negative online WOM were present compared with when WOM was either absent or positive only. The negative effect of inconsistent online WOM on consumers' risk perceptions was found in all price conditions