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This chapter focuses on public research as one possible external source of knowledge available for private companies seeking scientific support in relation to product development projects, and analyses inter-organizational relations between public research institutions and innovative firms including enabling conditions for effective knowledge creation in such public-private interactions. Two case studies of product development projects based on sensor technology are used to illuminate how innovation is carried out in such interactions. The chapter concludes with extracting crucial features for successful public-private collaboration on knowledge creation and innovation.

This paper provides a deeper examination of the fundamentals of commonly‐used techniques – such as coefficient alpha and factor analysis – in order to more strongly link the techniques used by marketing and social researchers to their underlying psychometric and statistical rationale.

A wide‐ranging review and synthesis of psychometric and other measurement literature both within and outside the marketing field is used to illuminate and reconsider a number of misconceptions which seem to have evolved in marketing research.

The research finds that marketing scholars have generally concentrated on reporting what are essentially arbitrary figures such as coefficient alpha, without fully understanding what these figures imply. It is argued that, if the link between theory and technique is not clearly understood, use of psychometric measure development tools actually runs the risk of detracting from the validity of the measures rather than enhancing it.

The focus on one stage of a particular form of measure development could be seen as rather specialised. The paper also runs the risk of increasing the amount of dogma surrounding measurement, which runs contrary to the spirit of this paper.

This paper shows that researchers may need to spend more time interpreting measurement results. Rather than simply referring to precedence, one needs to understand the link between measurement theory and actual technique.

This paper presents psychometric measurement and item analysis theory in easily understandable format, and offers an important set of conceptual tools for researchers in many fields.

Sales of the American paint industry were $8.3 billion in 1981, a 9.2% increase over 1980. Units, however, grew only 2% between 1980 and 1981, down from the 2.3% per year rate experienced since 1976. Market conditions and product mix changes indicate that there will be essentially no growth in the industry over the next five years, according to the new sixth edition of the Kline Guide to the Paint Industry, just published by Charles H. Kline & Co., 330 Passaic Avenue, Fairfield, N.J. 07006, USA. Unit sales are estimated to grow only 0.1% a year reaching 1,045 million gallons in 1986.

The Resource‐Based View of the Firm (RBV) has become an important stream of literature in strategic management. RDV's main prescription is that strategic assets are crucial determinants of sustainable competitive advantage and thus firm performance. Unfortunately, little empirical research has been occasioned to substantiate that prescription. Part of the difficulty in empirically testing RBV's main prescription lies in identifying resources capable of being strategic assets. This article combines RBV logic, the definition of strategic assets, Hall's studies, and the logic embodied in several streams of management literature to explain why strategic assets are intangible in nature, to show that not all intangible resources are strategic assets, and to demonstrate that company reputation, product reputation, employee knowhow, and organizational culture possess the characteristics of strategic assets. That is the foundation for the proposed hypotheses and proposed conceptual model presented in this paper for testing RBV's main prescription. We also discuss the practical, theoretical and empirical implications of this paper and make suggestions regarding empirical testing.

Sales of industrial oils and fluids in the United States reached US $2.8 billion in 1986. However, due to falling crude oil prices in that year, and thus lower prices for several product catagories, the industrial lube market is actually down slightly in value from US $2.9 billion in 1985, according to a report recently released by Kline & Co, international petroleum industry consultants.

The perception that the repetitive nature and attributes of mass housing projects (MHPs) induce significant influence on communication among projects teams have persistently been acknowledged without an empirical accentuation. This seemingly untested knowledge tends to limit the predictive accuracy of success and effectiveness of adopted communication style, strategies and models in mass housing particularly due to the incidence of the repetitive attributes. The purpose of this study is to delineate the influence of the repetitive attributes of mass housing projects on communication performance among the project team.

Through the use of questionnaire survey and structural equation modelling analysis, a hypothesized model tested evaluated the effects of the repetitive attributes of mass housing on information flow and information composition communication performance.

In the case of influence on information flow, it was seen to be substantial whereas that of the information composition was moderate.

The findings offer empirical credence to the existing perception and indeed affirm that the repetitive features of MHPs significantly contribute to communication performance related to information flow and information composition among the project team. The implication of these findings is that, practitioners and stakeholders on mass housing are urged to explore bespoke communication methods, medium, strategies and management approaches that fit the MHP attributes and environment to engender managerial and communication efficiencies in the delivery.

A contemporary review of the psychometric properties of the Buss‐Perry Aggression Questionnaire was undertaken to assess its suitability for an alcohol dependent population. Three criteria were used to try to achieve this: factor analysis; internal consistency reliability; and test‐retest reliability. Factor analysis revealed that its structure is remarkably consistent in a number of populations. Internal consistency reliability and test‐retest reliability results scores proved to be mainly above the recommended threshold. A conclusion was reached regarding these results that the Buss‐Perry Aggression Questionnaire is an effective screening tool for aggression in an alcohol dependent population.

In a 500 page report, Kline S.A. has recently analysed the market for 17 of the most commercially important synthetic latex polymers across 15 industry areas. Western Europe in 1987 consumed an estimated 1.28 m dry tonnes of synthetic latex polymers and emulsions, valued at an estimated DEM 4.5 billion. Growth at 3.5% per year was above industry average.

The purpose of the paper is to suggest effective choices for key decisions when pursuing a programmatic research strategy in management, spirituality and religion (MSR). An example is provided of how the suggestions can be used.

Suggestions for research were gleaned from current sources in research methodology. The example provided was a study of 398 employees who were surveyed on spirituality, job satisfaction and intent to leave their job. Structural equation modeling (SEM) was used to test three research hypotheses.

Using item analysis, exploratory factor analysis and SEM can be a way to pursue research using variables related to spirituality and religion.

A programmatic research strategy employing SEM can effectively model how spirituality/religious variables directly and indirectly affect outcomes significant to the organization.