Günseli Berik and Cihan Bilginsoy
This paper aims to evaluate the variations in the entry and exit of women apprentices in the USA, overall and by race/ethnicity, over the 1995‐2003 period. Also aims to examine…
Abstract
Purpose
This paper aims to evaluate the variations in the entry and exit of women apprentices in the USA, overall and by race/ethnicity, over the 1995‐2003 period. Also aims to examine how women's representation among new apprentices and their attrition and retention rates vary with individual, training program, and occupational characteristics.
Design/methodology/approach
An individual‐level dataset from the US Department of Labor is used to estimate econometrically women's representation in apprenticeship programs and women's odds of completing programs.
Findings
Women's representation among new trainees is very low and deteriorating. The results confirm previous findings based on data for the early 1990s that program sponsorship has significant impact on women's representation and retention. Women have better chances of joining the high‐skill construction workforce if they enroll in union‐contractor joint programs. Joint programs feature higher shares of women in the incoming classes and higher odds of graduation in comparison with the unilateral contractor programs. While White women have higher completion rates than Latinas and Black women, the union impact on shares of enrollees is the largest for Black women and the lowest for White women.
Research limitations/implications
The dataset is not nationally representative. It covers 31 states or about 65 percent of all apprentices.
Practical implications
Union sponsorship is necessary but not sufficient to enhance women's integration in the trades. Increasing participation of women in apprenticeship and the trades requires major changes in policies, priorities, and behavior of contactors, unions, and the government to actively recruit women and improve working conditions at the construction site.
Originality/value
This is the first systematic analysis of performance of women apprentices that utilizes the most recent data from the USA.
Details
Keywords
Anna Watson and David A. Kirby
This paper is part of on‐going research examining the growth of small and medium‐sized enterprises through franchising. It reports the findings of an exploratory investigation…
Abstract
This paper is part of on‐going research examining the growth of small and medium‐sized enterprises through franchising. It reports the findings of an exploratory investigation that examines why franchising is selected less frequently as a growth strategy in some industrial sectors than it is in others. The applicability of the main theories used to explain the decision to franchise are tested through a study which focuses on the UK construction industry, a sector containing relatively few franchised operations. It reveals that the high human capital requirement of this industry (as proxied by average wages) may make it unsuitable for franchising. Interviews with franchisors operating in the construction industry indicate that, although few operational difficulties are encountered, the franchisors had experienced severe difficulties in recruiting suitable franchisees, possibly reflecting the high human capital requirement of the sector. It is concluded that further research is needed to compare these findings with those from industry sectors in which the level of franchise representation is high, to determine whether some industries are, in fact, more suited to franchising than others.
Details
Keywords
In The Times (10th July 1992) the following by line appeared on p1 ‘Body Shop wins unholy row with businesswoman’; announcing that Sir Peter Pain, sitting as a High Court judge…
Abstract
In The Times (10th July 1992) the following by line appeared on p1 ‘Body Shop wins unholy row with businesswoman’; announcing that Sir Peter Pain, sitting as a High Court judge, had granted an injunction restraining a Mrs Pauline Rawle, who was described as ‘an evangelical Christian woman’ from using the ‘Body Shop’ name in respect of six franchised shops in Bromley, Maidstone, Canterbury, Romford and Croydon (2 branches). It was alleged that the ‘close relationship’ essential to the franchise contract between Mrs Rawle and the Body Shop ‘had clearly broken down’. Mrs Rawle allegedly told staff to have nothing to do with Body Shop representatives and alleged a conspiracy against her and comparing herself with God and the Body Shop organisation to Satan! Mass dismissals of staff followed and the franchises were temporarily closed and re‐opened with inferior standards. This case is one of the few reported decisions on franchise operation in the UK.
Julia Kasch, Margien Bootsma, Veronique Schutjens, Frans van Dam, Arjan Kirkels, Frans Prins and Karin Rebel
In this opinion article, the authors share their experiences with and perspectives on course design requirements and barriers when applying challenge-based learning (CBL) in an…
Abstract
In this opinion article, the authors share their experiences with and perspectives on course design requirements and barriers when applying challenge-based learning (CBL) in an online sustainability education setting. CBL is an established learning approach for (higher) sustainability education. It enables teachers to engage students with open, real-life grand challenges through inter-/transdisciplinary student team collaboration. However, empirical research is scarce and mainly based on face-to-face CBL case studies. Thus far, the opportunities to apply CBL in online educational settings are also underinvestigated.
Using the TPACK framework, the authors address technological, pedagogical and content knowledge related to CBL and online sustainability education. The integration of the different components is discussed, providing teachers and course designers insight into design requirements and barriers.
This paper supports the promising future of online CBL for sustainability education, especially in the context of inter-/national inter-university collaboration, yet emphasizes the need for deliberate use of online collaboration and teaching tools.
Details
Keywords
Richard C. Hoffman, Joel F. Kincaid and John F. Preble
Consistent with traditional internationalization theory, we argue that, when a firm chooses franchising to achieve market penetration, market propinquity/similarity matters. Using…
Abstract
Consistent with traditional internationalization theory, we argue that, when a firm chooses franchising to achieve market penetration, market propinquity/similarity matters. Using a modified gravity model, we examine six country characteristics believed to enhance the flow of franchise activity among 39 nations. Our findings support the notion that market propinquity facilitates the flow of franchises between nations. Franchise expansion is greatest when the home and host nations are similar in terms of geography, culture, media availability, and political risk. The management implications of these findings are discussed in detail.
Details
Keywords
Examines franchising as a relatively recent concept of mass marketing. Looks at the ways in which it supports its claim of providing effective control for the customer…
Abstract
Examines franchising as a relatively recent concept of mass marketing. Looks at the ways in which it supports its claim of providing effective control for the customer. Investigates petrol station franchising in order to justify this claim, looking in particular at the solus system of market expansion. Concludes that franchising is an effective tool for the customer with the franchisee providing a “proven formula” for success.
Details
Keywords
William A.V. Clark, Marinus C. Deurloo and Frans M. Dieleman
Residential mobility is the process by which households attempt to harmonize their housing needs with their housing consumption. However, since houses are geographically…
Abstract
Residential mobility is the process by which households attempt to harmonize their housing needs with their housing consumption. However, since houses are geographically inseparable from their neighbourhoods, when households move they also change their locations and their neighbourhoods. This paper examines how households make relative selections when they move between improving their housing consumption and improving the quality of their neigh-bourhoods. We found that households gain in both housing quality and neighbourhood quality, and in many cases, maintain the same housing quality, but gain in neighbourhood quality.
Details
Keywords
Frans Prenkert and Lars Hallén
The purpose of this article is to explore possible contributions to the development of models to define business networks conceptually, and identify and delineate them empirically…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this article is to explore possible contributions to the development of models to define business networks conceptually, and identify and delineate them empirically by integrating concepts and ideas from “market exchange theory” originating in the works of Alderson.
Design/methodology/approach
Following a conceptual discussion defining business networks as a type of exchange system, empirical data were used to exemplify and illustrate the theoretical development ideas. From data on 22 business firms collected in 1999‐2001 in the form of transcribed interviews and other print documentation, a business network as a type of exchange system was identified comprising five business entities. This case serves as illustration to the remainder of the theoretical discussions throughout the paper.
Findings
Based on a conceptualisation of business networks as a type of exchange system and a notion of interaction encompassing exchange processes stemming from both market exchange theory and social exchange theory, it is suggested that business networks can be more consistently identified and delineated empirically using this theoretical base.
Research limitations/implications
The empirical case is merely illustrative, and more extensive empirical work is needed to further test the ideas of business networks as a type of exchange system. The implications to the study of markets‐as‐networks are that these ideas can be used as a basis for identification, delineation and analysis of business networks.
Originality/value
This paper extends Alderson's work by suggesting a fourth type of transformation: transformation in ownership, as well as by developing a typology with five resource types in the exchange system. Furthermore, it provides a conceptual tool that can be used by researchers to identify, delineate and analyse business networks and incorporates market exchange theory.
Details
Keywords
Barrie O. Pettman and Richard Dobbins
This issue is a selected bibliography covering the subject of leadership.
Abstract
This issue is a selected bibliography covering the subject of leadership.
Details
Keywords
Ozgur Ozdemir and Murat Kizildag
This paper has two main purposes. First, this paper aims to examine whether pre-initial public offering (IPO) franchising activity of issuing firms is priced in the financial…
Abstract
Purpose
This paper has two main purposes. First, this paper aims to examine whether pre-initial public offering (IPO) franchising activity of issuing firms is priced in the financial markets and results in pricing differential between franchising and non-franchising firms at the time of IPO. Second, the paper aims to find out whether firms with pre-IPO franchising achieve better post-IPO stock performance compared to non-franchising firms.
Design/methodology/approach
To test research hypotheses, empirical models were developed and tested through ordinary least square regression analysis. Several data sources were used including Thomson One Banker’s SDC database, Compustat/CRSP and IPO prospectuses.
Findings
The paper provides further insights to the underpricing phenomenon surrounding IPOs and long-run performance of IPO shares subsequent to listing. Particularly, the study reveals that franchising firms underprice their issues to a higher degree compared to non-franchising firms, and franchising positively affects the post-IPO benchmark adjusted cumulative abnormal returns (CARs) over a three-year observation period.
Research limitations/implications
Because the study tests the proposed hypotheses using data only from the restaurant industry, the research results may lack generalizability. Therefore, researchers are encouraged to test similar hypotheses using larger sample sizes from other industries.
Practical implications
The study’s findings have important implications both for IPO issuers in positioning their offering and for IPO investors in comparing IPO stocks and forming long-run portfolios.
Originality/value
This paper contributes both to the IPO and franchising literatures by providing primary insights about how investors perceive pre-IPO franchising and incorporate their perception into their pricing at an IPO.