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Many forecasting methodologies used in the new product development process are superficial techniques that either fail to incorporate the voice of the consumer or only touch on superficial consumer attitudes while completely ignoring the affectively laden hedonic aspects of consumption. This chapter demonstrates how a relatively new qualitative methodology, the Zaltman Metaphor Elicitation Technique (ZMET), can provide managers with insight into the critical psychosocial and emotional landscape which frames how consumers react to a new offering. These insights can be leveraged at any stage of the new product development process to forecast and fine-tune deep consumer resonance with a product offering.

The purpose of this paper is to propose and illustrate blind qualitative hypothesis testing, which is a qualitative research technique that further generalizes the well‐known notion of “blindness” in research to include a qualitative researcher. The technique introduces a method to test a priori hypotheses using qualitative, emergent observation and analysis without the biasing influence of prior knowledge of the hypotheses being tested.

In essence, the proposed technique is as follows. After forming a set of a priori predictive hypotheses, a theoretical researcher (who may or may not be a qualitative researcher) engages the cooperation of a qualitative researcher to perform an empirical study. The qualitative empirical researcher is given adequate guidance to perform a study but is kept blind to the hypotheses. After the qualitative empirical researcher makes observations and forms his or her conclusions, the qualitative empirical researcher and the theoretical researcher jointly determine the extent to which the conclusions support or disconfirm the hypotheses. The qualitative empirical researcher then identifies emergent themes and inductive conclusions that contribute beyond the a priori hypotheses. A study testing consumer response to advertising is described as an illustration of the proposed technique.

The proposed technique diminishes the influence of the ontological assumptions of researchers on hypothesis tests. By reducing a priori expectations, the proposed technique frees practical and academic market researchers to more fully immerse in the context of interest and better recognize subtle phenomena and imbricated, complex intrapersonal and/or social interactions. Furthermore, the proposed technique provides a new way for qualitative methods to go beyond the “supportive” and “exploratory” role to which they have often been limited.

An ability to test hypotheses gives qualitative researchers another way to contribute to the literatures currently dominated by constricted and pallid questionnaire‐based methods within the positivist tradition. Such literatures will benefit from the methodological pluralism encouraged by the technique introduced here because some benefits of qualitative research (including an ability to identify unanticipated, emergent findings) offer much needed compensation for inherent flaws in questionnaire‐based methods.

Recent U.S. Treasury yields have been constrained to some extent by the zero lower bound (ZLB) on nominal interest rates. Therefore, we compare the performance of a standard affine Gaussian dynamic term structure model (DTSM), which ignores the ZLB, to a shadow-rate DTSM, which respects the ZLB. Near the ZLB, we find notable declines in the forecast accuracy of the standard model, while the shadow-rate model forecasts well. However, 10-year yield term premiums are broadly similar across the two models. Finally, in applying the shadow-rate model, we find no gain from estimating a slightly positive lower bound on U.S. yields.

The purpose of this paper is to better understand the conditions associated with serving on boards by investigating the factors that distinguish older volunteers who serve on nonprofit boards from those who only volunteer programmatically.

Surveys of 354 residents of Southeastern North Carolina over age 50. Measures include education, wealth, retirement status, public service motivation (PSM), patterns of residential mobility, secular and religious organization meeting attendance, and volunteer activity in the past year. Data were analyzed using a Heckman probit selection model.

Respondents who have higher levels of education, are retired, or have lived in the community for longer periods are more likely to report board volunteering, but are not any more likely to volunteer programmatically. Those with higher levels of PSM are more likely to report general volunteering, but are not any more likely to volunteer on boards. Two measures reveal divergent findings based on type of volunteering: moving frequently in one’s lifetime and attending weekly religious services are associated with a greater likelihood of programmatic volunteering but a reduced likelihood of serving as a board member.

Limitations include self-reported, cross-sectional data, and a geographically restricted American sample that is older, more educated, and more likely to own a second home than average.

In order to better address board member recruitment, nonprofits should consider extending opportunities through strategies targeting retired community newcomers.

This study contributes an analysis of PSM among nonprofit board members, and identifies factors that distinguish programmatic and board volunteers, in order to better understand the conditions associated with board service.

This study investigates important factors that should be used by lenders in risk‐rating their farm customers. These factors predict actual farm performance and debt repayment ability. Linear and logistic regression models are used to identify the debt‐to‐asset ratio as a major predictor of repayment ability. In addition, the rate of asset turnover and family living expenses are strong predictors of farm performance. The results are tested over several time periods to verify the robustness of the predictors.

Technology is often defined as a valuable firm resource particularly relative to marketing functions in the organization (Barua, Kriebel, & Mukhopadhyay, 1995; Bharadwaj, 2000; Christensen, Johnson, & Rigby, 2002). When resources are customized to match a marketing strategy, they become firm specific, and thus central to firm performance. Marketing employees also may be defined as an essential resource, in the context of key marketing activities that need to be accomplished (Barney, 1986, 2001; Coff, 2002; Dess & Picken, 1999). Because both employees and technology play key roles, we ground this study in the resource-based view (RBV) of the firm (Barney, 1991, 2001; Peteraf, 1993; Wernerfelt, 1984).

The analysis of periodicals can provide important insights into the changing nature and dynamics of academic disciplines and fields of study. The Journal of Educational Administration (JEA) has for the past 25 years grown up alongside the field which it seeks both to represent and develop, and it is thus of considerable interest to look at the contents of the JEA in light of this role. A study was made of all the articles published in the JEA during the period 1963‐87 with a view to establishing authorship patterns; the types of papers which have been published; the common themes and the range of topics addressed; the nature of empirical research; and changes in both substantive and methodological orientations over the past 25 years. The analysis and discussion looked at the JEA as offering a window into the “world” of educational administration, but noted that a journal can only ever mirror that which is held up to it and ultimately to its readership.

The purpose of this article is to illustrate and address idea gaps to bring improvement and add value to organizations.

A framework for ideas is developed to enhance and extend conventional management theory and practice.

It recognises the essential interaction and progression of ideas so that managers can more comprehensively encourage, promote, integrate, and advance ideas in their organisations.

A breakthrough passage is suggested and constructed.