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This study investigates the relationship between environmental concern, environmental effort and their impact on company performance. Results based on survey data from sixty companies indicate that there is a positive correlation between environmental concern and effort. In addition, positive correlations between effort and operations efficiency and company image were found. No significant correlation between environmental effort and profit was found. It was observed that top management concern is a key to environmental initiatives. Manufacturing companies seem to have higher concern than those of service companies and expend more effort in reducing pollution, waste recycling etc. However, there is no significant difference in impact on performance between manufacturing and service companies relative to environmental efforts.

A model of inter‐corporate power is derived from previous work on social power. The model consists of two portions – one dealing with influences on the amount of power companies have and one dealing with influences on the use of that power. This model is used to analyze competition. Suggestions are made about ways companies may increase their own power or influence the power relationships in their environment.

Currently over seventy percent of the work force is employed in white‐collar jobs. The implication ofwhite‐collar productivity for organizational growth and competitiveness is extremely significant. It is easy to measure the productivity for blue‐collar employees, as the inputs and outputs are well defined. However the process of measuring the productivity of the white‐collar employee is complicated. A model for measuring white‐collar productivity is presented. The organization should design its own productivity measures seeking active employee involvement. The measures developed should be used to design productivity improvement strategies for long term growth and competitiveness of the organization.

Presents the result of a survey of US firms examining the effect of operations strategies on organizational performance. Seven commonly used operations strategies were considered. Eleven criteria were used to measure organizational performance. The results suggest that companies which are using various operations strategies have higher performance than those which are not using those strategies. While using more than one strategy improves organizational performance, the benefits become marginal after several successive additions. This suggests that for an organization to be competitive, it only has to employ a few appropriate and effective strategies. Also, except for just‐in‐time strategy, large firms are more likely to employ various operations strategies than their smaller counterparts.

This study investigates the relationship between environmental strategy and company performance using samples from a nationwide survey. The companies were classified into two groups; environmentally conscious and non‐environmental companies. Environmental companies reported better performance scores and also are more inclined to incorporate various performance improvement strategies and techniques into their operations.

Addresses the theme of the internationalization of business practice at a time when research indicates that US firms are providing less training to prepare managers to be internationally effective than are firms in other industrialized countries. Describes a training programme developed for middle managers of GoldStar Electronics Corporation of Korea, a division of the Lucky GoldStar Group, by Ball State University, Indiana. Details the genesis of this inter‐departmental venture from conception to programme delivery. Gives the rationale for the 12‐day programme’s components and an account of activities through which trainees acquire the desired experiences of American culture and business practices. Highlights the overall objective as developing an understanding in participants of the process of learning about other cultures and practices. Since the rationale eschews national‐cultural specificity, argues that the programme would be equally applicable to US managers with global remits.

Volume 25 celebrates the 25th year of publication for the American Journal of Business (AJB). Launched by eight MAC schools of business in March 1986, the Journal has featured more than 700 authors who have contributed more than 330 research articles at the intersection of theory and practice. From accounting to marketing, management to finance, the Journal prominently covers the breadth of the business disciplines as a general business outlet intended for both practitioners and academics. As the Journal reaches out beyond the MAC in sponsorship, authorship, and readership, we assess the Journal’s first quarter century of impact.

While efforts at understanding how the entrepreneurial spirit is awakened (e.g., unwrapping the cognitive “black box”) have been productive in the new venture context, it remains largely unexplored in a corporate setting.This study extends previous research by investigating the relationship between organizational antecedents and perceptions of entrepreneurial self-efficacy and desirability of entrepreneurial activity. In a field study of organizations consistent with a corporate entrepreneurial archetype typology, we found that (1) individual work discretion and time availability impacted entrepreneurial self-efficacy, and (2) individual interest in work innovation influenced perceived desirability of innovative behaviors.

Examines Just‐in‐Time (JIT) from its evolution as a Japanese concept through to a review of its philosophy and implementation. Cites several techniques of implementation. Includes a review of the early work of various researchers and practitioners. Concludes that JIT is a very effective manufacturing philosophy which is universal in nature encompassing all aspects of manufacturing. Suggests a few deficiencies in current literature.

The IT sector lost both workers and output following the dot‐com crash of 2000. Despite this loss of employment and earnings, information technology has become a more ubiquitous part of commerce and daily activities. This division between observed use of IT and industry growth is due both to the changing nature of IT investment towards emerging media and the changes in the structure of occupational deployment within firms. This paper describes the type and growth of emerging media with particular emphasis on growth of interactivity applications. This is followed by a description of occupational and skill shifts within traditional firms and the IT sector. We conclude that growth in emerging media occupations and skills represent a significant change in the labor force composition of both IT and traditional firms. The IT sector may be stagnant, but workers who deploy and employ IT related (primarily emerging media) applications is rising. Finally, we trace the value chain of emerging media and outline how it may affect the geography of new firm development.