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This discussion of buying motor carrier services in a deregulated environment identifies the key factors influencing supplier choice.

The majority of the companies surveyed are outsourcing some transportation functions. The most frequently outsourced transportation functions are freight bill auditing, freight payment and transportation reports, which are basically clerical/repetitive in nature. Also, frequently outsourced are international shipping and fleet maintenance, functions that require considerable technical expertise and assets. Transportation functions of a strategic nature are usually not outsourced. The primary reasons for outsourcing are labour cost savings, specialisation, asset reduction, and expanding workload. Generally, the firms that outsourced transportation are satisfied with the service. Loss of management control is the most important reason for not outsourcing, although loss of control was not identified as a major problem area for firms who do outsource. The providers of transportation outsourcing services are relatively small corporations.

Just‐In‐Time (JIT) manufacturing remains an important issue and research efforts are beginning to examine its impact on other business functions. This paper proposes a theoretical model that relates the extent of JIT implementation to changes in inbound logistics practices and outcomes. Exploratory factor analysis was applied to responses from a large‐scale survey. Six underlying constructs were identified and retained, and eleven hypotheses concerning the causal relationships between these constructs were tested using LISREL. Analysis indicates that JIT: (1) improves supplier operations, (2) enhances transportation operations with respect to inbound carriers, (3) reduces the level and improves the management of inventories, (4) does not cause overall inbound logistics costs to increase, and (5) increases the quality and performance of inbound logistics.

The volume of cargo shipped just‐in‐time (JIT) in the USA has been increasing over the last decade. At the same time, purchasing has been undergoing transformations. Examines empirically the effects of both these trends on the purchasing function, and consequently on inbound logistics, and reports on them in four sections: criteria for supplier selection, changes in purchasing practices, purchasing′s interaction levels with other functional areas and with vendors, and strategic partnerships regarding suppliers. Also examines the impacts on purchasing and inbound logistics in terms of performance. The findings indicate that purchasing is experiencing modifications and that JIT acts as a positive influence. The changes taking place are improving competitive position without an increase in logistics expense.

The topic of transportation incorporates a vast amount of divergent information. The subject matter varies greatly, and includes titles ranging from Camels of the Outback to The Great American Motion Sickness; or Why You Can't Get There from Here. To establish boundaries for this resource guide, the present authors referred to Public Law 87–449, 14 May 1962, which authorized the president to proclaim an annual National Transportation Week. Using this as a basis, they defined transportation As the movement of people or goods from one place to another, and included a little tourism to break up the concrete and steel. While some historical materials are included, this resource guide emphasizes modes of transportation currently used in the United States.

This chapter seeks to investigate the ways individualistic versus collectivistic values moderate neural responses to social exclusion among African American and White respondents. The author hypothesized that the vmPFC – a key brain region for emotion regulation – would correspond to collectivistic value moderation and the dlPFC – the cognitive control center of the brain – would be associated with individualistic value moderation.

This study used a virtual ball tossing game (Cyberball), where 17 African American and 11 White participants were excluded or included with ball tosses, while inside an fMRI scanner. Before the start of each round the participants were primed with individualism, collectivism or a comparison condition.

Results showed that (1) African Americans showed stronger neural responses to exclusion and (2) offered support for the hypothesis that the dlPFC showed greater activation in African Americans (compared to Whites) when they were primed with individualism values during exclusion. There was no support for the collectivism hypothesis.

Research limitations included a relatively small sample size (N = 28), a comparison of only two racial groups and that the partners in the game were virtual (pre-programmed by the experimenter).

This research offers an empirical framework for sociologists seeking to apply social theories into neurological studies.

Identifying effective coping strategies for historically oppressed racial groups.

The chapter is original for demonstrating the moderating effects of values on neural responses to exclusion for the first time and by offering a novel neurosociological framework.

The study examines organization citizenship behavior (OCB) as a mediating variable between instrumental work values (IWVs) and organizational performance; and group differences between family manager and nonfamily manager for integrated models in family hotels. Data were collected from 189 hotels (n = 921) ranging from budget to three-star family hotels in Ghana using questionnaire administered conveniently. Data were analyzed using structural equation modeling. Work value positively influences OCB and organizational performance of family hotels. OCB mediates the relationship between work values and organizational performance. The study also found significant support for group differences between family and nonfamily firms for IWVs and mediating effect of OCB on the relationship between IWVs and performance.

This paper proposes to explore the circumstances of the word management's entry into English usage, to deepen understanding of this neglected chapter in management history, and to urge further historical research into seminal management terms and concepts. It also aims to offer a brief explanation of John Florio's role in the introduction of management into English and of that of the Italian Renaissance's influence in England.

The paper's guiding theoretical premise is historian Daniel Rodgers' observation that concepts in government and business often pass from one country to another through “cross fertilization,” effected by the movements and offices of highly connected, cosmopolitan individuals. The sources for this exploration include Florio's World of Words, histories of Florio's circumstances and of the Italian Renaissance, and Evans' edition of La pratica della mercatura (ca 1340) by Francesco Balducci Pegolotti of the fourteenth century Florentine banking firm of Bardi.

The exploration's findings reinforce Rodgers's account of the spread of government and business concepts and rediscovers a vital link between business practice and humanistic studies.

Modern business education, e.g. in its frequent omission of a foreign language requirement in business college curricula, tends to obscure this linkage, now critical in our global economy. The implication is that this linkage should be revived.

Deeper knowledge of the Italian Renaissance roots of management and of the business practices it denoted brings new light to the interplay between humanistic studies associated with the Italian Renaissance and Renaissance business practices in an international context. Accordingly, the authors believe that this exploration turns a page, albeit the first page, of a neglected chapter in the history of management thought and practice.

This chapter seeks to provide an overview of the role that culture plays in the effective governance and sustainability of an entrepreneurial ecosystem (EE). In particular, the authors draw upon their own experience at “Marina de Empresas” (MdE), an EE located in Valencia (Spain). MdE is an emerging and exciting EE that provides a unique context. Within the same complex, an entrepreneurial university, an incubator and accelerator (Lanzadera), and an entrepreneurial financing company (Angels) are all co-located. Thus, in one locality, the complete cycle of entrepreneurship is covered. Through an embedded case study methodology and using semi-structured interviews carried out with multiple key stakeholder’s insights are generated into the distinctive culture that the ecosystem holds. In so doing, the impact of entrepreneurial values, entrepreneurial spaces, and entrepreneurial practices, are considered in relation to how they can influence ecosystem functioning. The aim is to provide comprehension toward the transcending value that culture emits across an entrepreneurial community. The findings are relevant to entrepreneurs, incubators, accelerators, and the policy makers.