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We propose a process model that examines the antecedents and consequences of bargaining concession rates with managerially relevant constructs grounded in social psychology to predict negotiation outcomes in a sales setting involving multiple issues. The situational factors of relative power, constituent's monitoring, time pressure; and dispositional factors of bargainer's personality toughness and risk-taking propensity are integrated to test the associated set of hypotheses. Our novel approach employs a fractional factorial design experiment to test the predictions of our NIMBuS solution. The results of our sophisticated bargaining experiment support our model and hypotheses and add to the literature for empirical generalizability. We find in our integrated test that concession rates tend to be lower when bargainers are in a higher relative power position, are under lower time pressure, have higher personality-toughness, or have a higher risk-taking propensity. The underpinning of economic models asserting the importance of discount rates for concession-making does not hold. Our results indicate that the cost-prohibitive mechanism of organizational monitoring of salespeople may not be needed. Importantly, under asymmetric bargaining power situations, our model predicts actual outcomes better than the Nash solution. The critical importance of integrating social-psychological factors to understand the bargaining process and improve predicted outcomes is underscored. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This introduction to this special issue discusses artificial intelligence (AI), commonly defined as "a system's ability to interpret external data correctly, to learn from such data, and to use those learnings to achieve specific goals and tasks through flexible adaptation." It summarizes seven articles published in this special issue that present a wide variety of perspectives on AI, authored by several of the world's leading experts and specialists in AI. It concludes by offering a comprehensive outlook on the future of AI, drawing on micro-, meso-, and macro-perspectives. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Accelerators have been becoming increasingly popular among young entrepreneurs interested in developing products, attracting investors, or establishing relations with industry represented by large companies. The focus of the studies is to conduct literature review due to the small number of scientific articles are available on this topic. The article aims to show the current state of knowledge about startup accelerators and the support they provide. It outlines what added value accelerators offer in their programs for young innovative companies. To achieve the stated aim, the authors combine a systematic literature review with a bibliometric analysis. The results of this research will be helpful in better matching the developed project with existing accelerator programs on the market. It can contribute to a better understanding of the principles governing the programs, program expectations of the accelerator and its partners with respect to the proposed solutions (corporations, business angels, and venture capital funds). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to explore the configurations of shared service center (SSC) characteristics, their performance implications and the dynamics of SSC configurations during their implementation. Design/methodology/approach: This study uses the capability-based view and configurational approach to suggest a model that explains performance outcomes of shared service configurations. Survey data are analyzed with a cluster analysis to examine shared service configurations in distinct stages of implementation. Moreover, a lifecycle framework of shared service configurations is conceptualized. Findings: This study considers shared service configurations as operational capabilities to run corporate support activities. The purpose is to examine the configurations of those capabilities, their performance implications and their dynamics during the shared service implementation. Practical implications: The findings help senior executives to effectively implement and transform shared services when deciding to renew corporates' support activities. Originality/value: This study is one of the first that conceptually and empirically explores shared service configurations, performance and configurational dynamics. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to explore user-centered design possibilities at the intersection of gamification and persuasive technology to foster energy saving behavior. Design/methodology/approach: We performed a large-scale empirical study of 480 participants and analyzed how different HEXAD gamification user types perceive selected persuasive strategies embedded in an energy saving prototype. Furthermore, we investigated the role of existing energy saving behaviors (pro-environmental behavior scale–e.g. regularly turning the lights off) and their effect on the perceived persuasiveness of the proposed persuasive strategies, which may has an impact on the overall design process. Furthermore, we applied partial least squares path modeling and conducted a one-way and repeated measure ANOVA. Findings: Results show that user types play an important role in the design of persuasive systems for energy saving. For instance, people with a high tendency toward the Socializer user type were motivated by almost all of the employed persuasive strategies, whereas Philanthropists and Players only to a limited number of strategies. Furthermore, our study reveals that existing behaviors like the individual level of energy conservation influences the perceived persuasiveness of certain strategies and therefore should be considered in the design of such applications. Research limitations/implications: Using storyboards to obtain feedback about the perceived persuasiveness of employed strategies has limitations compared to the actual use of a functional prototype. However, to offset that limitation the mock-ups used in the storyboard reflected the actual designs for a real-world prototype. Originality: This is the first study that explores how HEXAD gamification user types can be used to inform the design of persuasive applications for energy saving (RQ1). Furthermore, and in particular, this study draws on the challenges when using user types within gamified persuasive systems by highlighting the impact and the importance of considering existing energy saving behaviors (RQ2), which has not been addressed so far. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This experimental study examines individuals' legitimacy judgments. We develop a model that demonstrates the role of attributed motives and corporate credibility for the evaluation of organizational legitimacy and test this model with an experimental vignette study. Our results show that when a corporate activity creates benefits for the firm—in addition to social benefits—individuals attribute more extrinsic motives. Extrinsic motives are ascribed when a corporation is perceived as being driven by external rewards as opposed to an altruistic commitment to a social cause. Extrinsic motives negatively affect corporate credibility and organizational legitimacy judgments. This article contributes to a better understanding of the complex process of organizational legitimacy judgment by shedding light on the individual's perspective and expounding the relationship between attributed motives, corporate credibility, and organizational legitimacy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Researchers have debated the relative importance of technology push and demand pull policies in the adoption of environmental technologies. Here, we examine how internationally distributed technology push and demand pull policies interact to support the diffusion of a renewable energy technology. We analyze 40 years (1974–2013) of solar photovoltaic policies in three countries: USA, Germany, and China. We identify four phases of international policy interactions: in Phase 1 (1974–1990), the USA launched technology push policies; in Phase 2 (1991–2003), Germany pioneered demand pull policies; in Phase 3 (2004–2008), China responded to international market incentive programs with a scaling up of manufacturing; and in Phase 4 (2008–2013), Germany reduced whereas China increased demand policies. Our contributions are threefold: First, we demonstrate the importance of “manufacturing push” alongside the standard technology push and demand pull factors; second, we show how global adoption was spurred by the complementarity of policy efforts across national boundaries, while considering the tradeoffs in climate change policy between increasing global environmental welfare and improving national economic development; third, we demonstrate three generic patterns of cross-national policy complementarity. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose The purpose of this paper is threefold: to measure and compare the degree of social media use (SMU) by football clubs, to assess football fans' engagement with content posted by football clubs (FCs) and to evaluate differences in user engagement with commercial social media advertisement targeting football fans, based on the advertisements' appeal.Design/methodology/approach This paper employs three approaches. First, it uses the corporate social media use (CSMU) model to analyse 20,954 Facebook, YouTube, Instagram and Twitter postings from 78 European FCs. Second, it develops a categorisation for social media postings and uses ANOVA and Scheffè tests to conduct a pairwise comparison. Third, it uses a fictional hedonic low-involvement product (chocolate bar) to conduct an experiment by creating a Facebook advertising campaign with three advertisements that are manipulated regarding their general appeal.Findings Study 1 demonstrates that individual FCs show big differences between their degree of SMU. There are, however, no differences between European leagues, social media platforms, or more/less successful FCs. The results of Study 2 indicate that social media users like, comment and share postings by FCs independently of the content of the posting. Study 3 reveals that both user engagement and reach of advertisements can be substantially increased by employing football-related appeals.Originality/value This paper helps understanding consumer engagement in social media. The results presented are relevant and helpful for a multitude of actors, including FCs and other sports clubs, companies targeting football fans and researchers interested in social media and sports marketing. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article contains an exploration of the needs, preferences and concerns of consumers with disabilities (CwD) considering their acquisition of specialised products and services. An exploratory survey among 215 Italian citizens was carried out, all of whom are dealing with some type of disability. Quantitative and qualitative data were used to generate insight into CwD buying preferences and the difficulties associated with finding what they want/need. The results are presented under four main research issues: the consumers’ difficulty in finding the right product/service provider, the perceived degree of advertisement for products/services, the importance of the origin of the product/service provider, and finally, CwD willingness to buy products online. A number of practical implications and suggestions to improve marketing of specialised products and services to this target group are provided, which may help businesses to improve their economic success. The findings of this research may also help the CwD to improve their quality of life. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Climate-economic modeling often relies on macroeconomic integrated assessment models (IAMs) that in general try to capture how the combined system reacts to different policies. Irrespective of the specific modeling approach, IAMs suffer from two notable problems. First, although policies and emissions are dependent on individual or institutional behavior, the models are not able to account for the heterogeneity and adaptive behavior of relevant actors. Second, the models unanimously consider mitigation actions as costs instead of investments: an arguable definition, given that all other expenditures are classified as investments. Both are challenging if the long-term development of climate change and the economy shall be analyzed. This paper therefore proposes a dynamic agent-based model, based on the battle of perspectives approach (Janssen [1]; Janssen and de Vries [2]; Geisendorf [3, 4]) that details the consequences of various behavioral assumptions. Furthermore, expenditures for climate protection, e.g., the transition of the energy system to renewables, are regarded as investments in future technologies with promising growth rates and the potential to incite further growth in adjoining sectors (Jaeger et al. [5]). The paper analyzes how a different understanding of climate protection expenditures changes the system's dynamic and, thus, the basis for climate policy decisions. The paper also demonstrates how erroneous perceptions impact on economic and climate development, underlining the importance to acknowledge heterogeneous beliefs and behavior for the success of climate policy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose Considering working in the digital age, questions on the consequences for the individual workers are, so far, often neglected. The purpose of this paper is to deal with the question of whether the digital competences of the workforce is a research topic. The authors argue for the thesis that it is indeed a research topic.Design/methodology/approach In addition to a literature analysis of the top IS, HR, and learning publications, non-scientific sources, as well as the opinions of the authors, are included. The authors’ thesis is challenged through a debate of corresponding pros and cons.Findings The definition of digital competences lacks scientific depth. Focussing on the workforce is valid, as a “lifelong” perspective is not mandatory for research. Digital competence research is a multidisciplinary task to which the IS field can make a valuable contribution.Research limitations/implications Although relevant references are included, some aspects are mainly driven by the opinions of the authors. The theoretical implications encompass a call for a scientific definition of digital competences. Furthermore, scholars should focus on the competences of the workforce, including occupations, roles, or industries. The authors conclude by providing a first proposal of a research agenda.Practical implications The practical implications include the alignment of multiple stakeholders for the design of “digital” curricula and the integration by HR departments of the construct of digital competences, e.g. for compensation matters and job requirements.Originality/value This paper is one of very few contributions in the area of the digital competences of the workforce, and it presents a starting point for future research activities. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Transparency, participation, and collaboration are the core pillars of open government. For the systematic integration of citizens and other stakeholders into the policy and public value creation process, their opinions, wishes, and complaints first need to be received. In the future, including user-generated content from social media will become a main channel for the enrichment of this information base for public administrative bodies and commercial firms. However, the sheer speed of growth of this constantly updated data pool makes manual work infeasible. The automated gathering, combination, analysis, and visualization of user-generated content from various sources and multiple languages is therefore imperative. In this study, we present a design science research approach to develop a general framework (' MarketMiner') to handle large amounts of foreign-language user-generated content. As a first empirical application, we implement the framework in the automotive industry by analyzing Chinese automotive forums for the benefit of English-speaking users. At the same time, the ideas, methods, and insights are transferred to the public sector context, especially in light of the current challenges of a high number of political refugees from Arabic countries entering into the European Union. The results are promising in that MarketMiner can dramatically improve the utilization of multi-language, multi-source social media content. The modular set-up of the artifact allows an easy transfer to additional areas of application. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

If you think about the last television commercial for an Italian pasta brand you have seen, are you sure it is really Italian? In many cases, especially in the food sector, neither the company nor the product originate from the advertised country, meaning that the company is pursuing a foreign branding strategy and is trying to benefit from positive stereotypes customers have about the specific foreign country. By collecting both quantitative and qualitative data through a point-of-sale intercept survey, this article assesses the impact of alleged origins on customers’ willingness to buy (WTB) and willingness to pay (WTP) if the actual origin is disclosed. The sample consisted of 200 German customers who were asked to answer questions related to one of two hedonic products they had just bought. It is empirically shown that foreign branding has a positive impact on the brand’s performance. However, as soon as customers find out that they were misled with regard to the origin of the product, both their WTB and their WTP decrease. This study contributes to the knowledge on the role of products’ origins on customers’ WTB and WTP. In contrast to the vast majority of the studies in this field, the communicated origin of the product is based on a foreign branding strategy and not on the product’s actual origin. Consequently, it was possible to manipulate within-subject variables by disclosing the actual origin of the product. The results of our study suggest that foreign branding may be a successful strategy for companies to increase their customers’ WTB and WTP. At the same time, our results raise concerns about the suitability of foreign branding as a long-term marketing strategy, unless a company can successfully maintain its foreign image. Future research opportunities include the choice of consumers with a different cultural background, of other hedonic products or of utilitarian products. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

This paper aims to identify the mechanisms through which intentional misstatements adversely affect firms by analyzing rating analysts' reaction to misstatements. In order to identify the mechanisms through which the misstatement affects firms' credit ratings, we analyze the content of rating reports. Rating analysts are concerned about seven different mechanisms. They are most concerned about misstatement-related violations of debt covenants that increase a firm's liquidity risk. We find that, subsequent to an intentional misstatement becoming publicly known, credit ratings of misreporting firms are adversely affected for up to seven years. The adverse impact of an intentional misstatement on a firm's credit rating is most pronounced in cases in which rating analysts mention concerns about misstatement-related violations of covenants. Our results suggest that these covenant violations are the most severe mechanism through which misstatements adversely affect firms' creditworthiness. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We investigate consumer certainty as an important dimension of attitude strength and explore its influence on willingness to pay (WTP) ranges. WTP ranges are defined by two thresholds (floor/minimum and ceiling/maximum reservation price); their difference indicates the degree of (un)certainty. Across five studies (online, laboratory, and field experiments plus a field survey) with more than 25,000 participants, we find that increased consumer certainty generates an asymmetric shift in the WTP thresholds, such that the floor price increases more strongly than the ceiling price, which also implies a reduction in the WTP range. Consequently, this research specifies predictions offered by choice models that use Bayesian learning. The asymmetric effects appear, irrespective of the source of uncertainty, so our study advances understanding of whether consumers differ in their behavior as a consequence of preference or product performance uncertainty. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to investigate the development of software pricing, following the advent of cloud-based business intelligence & analytics (BI & A) Software. A value-based conceptual software model is developed to ignite and structure further research. Design/methodology/approach – A two-step research approach is applied. In step one, the available literature is screened and evaluated, and this is followed by ten semi-structured expert interviews. With that input, a conceptual software pricing model is designed. In step two, this model is validated and refined through discussions with representatives of the five leading business intelligence suites. Findings – The paper sheds light on the value perception of customers and suggests a clear focus on the interaction between customers and vendors, and less on technical issues. The developed customer-centric, value-based pricing framework helps to improve pricing techniques and strategies. Research limitations/implications – The research is focused on the pricing strategy of software houses and excludes differentiations of technical specifications and functionalities. Practical implications – The research can support practitioners in the field of BI & A in rethinking their pricing methods. Placing the customer at center stage can lead to lower customer churn rates, higher customer satisfaction and more pricing flexibility. Originality/value – This empirical study reveals the importance of a customer-centric pricing approach in the specific case of BI & A. It can also be applied to other fast-developing sectors of the software industry. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The international expansion and employment growth of many German family firms has made family enterprise a component of the German political economy that can no longer be ignored. A theory of 'social capital enterprises' is developed to explain the competitive advantages of many family firms over 'capital market enterprises', i.e., publicly traded, 'financialized' large companies. The theory takes account of multiple contingencies: (1) not all sectors are propitious for family firms; (2) not all family firms base their competitive advantage on social capital; (3) not all owning families are able to maintain effective family control when the firm grows large, albeit the number that do is surprising. For this reason, we focus on the industrial Mittelstand of Germany as having an especially high concentration of family firms that meet all three of these contingencies. Family firm ownership appears to be especially advantageous in capital goods segments where accumulated social capital forms an important competitive asset. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper investigates capital market reactions to announcements of corporate strategic transactions in the clean technology, or cleantech, industry. Using the event study method in a multi-country setting, we exploit a dataset of 328 hand-collected announcements of mergers and acquisitions, joint ventures, and asset disposals that took place between 2001 and 2011. We provide strong evidence of significant wealth gains from cleantech deals. On average, cleantech companies earn significantly higher abnormal returns than non-cleantech companies, confirming the beneficial idiosyncrasies of the cleantech industry. These high premia are likely driven by government interventions that are believed to be a necessary pre-condition for development of clean technology. Alternatively, the premia are commanded by the acquisition of cutting-edge environmental innovations and the positive credibility spillover inherent in cleantech deals. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Literature reports different effects of mood on measures of consumer behavior. Either mood congruence or mood regulation theories serve to explain these effects, though the latter theory is perhaps more sophisticated. This research goes a step further: in a sequence of four studies, the authors consider different products (with and without mood-lifting capabilities) and consumers' beliefs in the transience of their mood to illuminate the interplay between the two theoretical approaches. Culture (individualism vs. collectivism) emerges as an important driver of mood transience. Mood transience drives the likelihood of mood regulation through the consumption of products with mood-lifting capabilities. Willingness to pay serves as the dependent variable, in contrast with mood research that has focused almost entirely on nonmonetary forms of consumer behavior. Greater willingness to pay variance in bad moods, compared with good moods, offers evidence of the opposing effects of mood congruence and regulation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to gain a deeper understanding of how companies integrate their innovation and operations processes. Referring to the dynamic capability approach, the authors derive an "integration capability" construct from a set of qualitative data. The authors expand this concept stressing the specific role of management control as a crucial part of an integration capability to align the different processes. Design/methodology/approach – Case studies in eight German industrial and service companies were conducted and qualitative material was analysed guided by a grounded theory approach. Findings – The paper aims at exploring a specific dynamic capability in order to integrate innovation and operations processes. Based on a qualitative study of eight cases, three distinctive categories are derived describing the construct of an integration capability: organization, communication, and management control. Furthermore, influencing factors which lead to different levels of intensity of integration are described. Research limitations/implications – Comparing the findings with existing research on integration capabilities fosters and expands knowledge on the construct "integration capability". Effective coordination and communication based on efficient and structured processes seem to be crucial elements of integration capabilities. The paper expands the literature on the role of technology in integration capability which plays a major role in organizing effective coordination and communication. Practical implications – Management control culture contributes to the present design of control systems of every company studied. Starting point for the design of control systems in research departments is the standard of management control in operations management. Therefore, it is assumed that higher control intensities in operational units will lead to higher control intensities in R&D departments. Originality/value – In turbulent market environments, companies need to set up organizational processes which effectively coordinate and deploy internal and external resources. These dynamic capabilities are crucial to gain a sustainable competitive advantage. Until now, research on integration capabilities has lacked an analysis of the role of management control; with the empirical findings, this paper shows how management control improves integration capability. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

For the last 20 years, the field of industrial symbiosis (IS) has raised interest among academics and industries. IS consists of dissimilar entities sharing and valorising underutilised resources such as materials, energy, information, services, or technologies in the view of increasing the industrial system's circularity. Despite the benefits brought by IS, though, barriers hindering the full dissemination of IS remain. This paper presents a methodology developed in the framework of the H2020 European project EPOS that aims at removing some of the obstacles to the implementation of IS. The method follows a multidisciplinary approach that intents to trigger the interest of industry decision-makers and initiate efforts to optimise the use of energy and material resources through symbiosis. It is applied to an industrial cluster located in the Humber region of UK. The case study shows how the approach helped to identify several IS opportunities, how one particular high-potential symbiosis was further assessed, and how it led to the creation of a business case. It was estimated that the identified symbiosis could bring substantial economic (+2000 k€ pa), environmental (−4000 t of CO2 eq. pa) and social (+7 years of healthy life) gains to the region. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]