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In the buyer-supplier relationship of a high-technology enterprise, the concepts of trust and risk are closely intertwined. Entering into a buyer-supplier relationship inherently involves a degree of risk, since there is always an opportunity for one of the parties to act opportunistically. Purchasing and supply managers play an important role in reducing the firm's risk profile, and must make decisions about whether or not to enter into, or remain in, a relationship with a supplier based on a subjective assessment of trust and risk.

In this paper, the authors seek to explore how trust in the buyer-supplier relationship can be quantitatively modeled in the presence of risk. The authors develop a model of trust between a buyer and supplier as a risk-based decision, in which a buyer decides to place trust in a supplier, who may either act cooperatively or opportunistically. The authors use a case study of intellectual property (IP) piracy in the electronics industry to illustrate the conceptual discussion and model development.

The authors produce a generalizable model that can be used to aid in decision-making and risk analysis for potential supply-chain partnerships, and is both a theoretical and practical innovation. However, the model can benefit a variety of high-technology enterprises.

While the topic of trust is widely discussed, few studies have attempted to derive a quantitative model to support trust-based decision making. This paper advanced the field of supply chain management by developing a model which relates risk and trust in the buyer-supplier relationship.

Trust entails the assumption of risk by the trustor to the extent that the trustee may act in a manner unaligned with the trustor's interests. Before a strategic alliance is formed, each firm formulates a subjective assessment regarding whether the other firm will behave in a trustworthy manner and not act opportunistically. To inform this partner analysis and selection process, the authors leverage the concept of value of information to quantify the benefit of information gathering activities on the trustworthiness of a potential trustee.

In this paper, the authors develop a decision model that explicitly operationalizes trust as the subjective probability that a trustee will act in a trustworthy manner. The authors integrate the concept of value of information related to information gathering activities, which would inform a trustor about a trustee's trustworthiness.

Trust inherently involves some degree of risk, and the authors find that there is practical value in carrying out information gathering activities to facilitate the partner analysis process. The authors present a list of trustworthiness indicators, along with a scoring sheet, to facilitate learning more about a potential strategic alliance partner.

The need for a quantitative model that can support risk-based strategic alliance decision-making for partner analysis represents a research gap in the literature. The modeling of strategic alliance partner analysis decisions from a value of information (VOI) perspective adds a contribution to the trust literature.

Scholarship on reputation in and of organizations has been going on for decades, and it always has separated along level of analysis issues, whereby the separate literatures on individual, group/team/unit, and organization reputation fail to acknowledge each other. This sends the implicit message that reputation is a fundamentally different phenomenon at the three different levels of analysis. We tested the validity of this implicit assumption by conducting a multilevel review of the reputation literature, and drawing conclusions about the “level-specific” or “level-generic” nature of the reputation construct. The review results permitted the conclusion that reputation phenomena are essentially the same at all levels of analysis. Based on this, we frame a future agenda for theory and research on reputation.

Past research has generally purported that market orientation (MO) leads to superior firm performance, despite emerging evidence suggesting that the highest levels of MO are not always rewarded. Drawing on resource-based view and MO literature, the authors posit that too much MO may be as detrimental as too little for firms seeking to achieve better performance, and that moderate MO capabilities may be the most beneficial. Furthermore, the authors propose and test for organizational confidence as a first potential moderator of the MO-performance inverted U-shaped link.

The authors use Computer-Assisted-Text-Analysis (CATA) methodology assess constructs from annual reports matched with a 5-year longitudinal dataset of 2,245 firm-year observations drawn from the S&P 500.

The results not only support the presence of an inverted U-shaped link between MO and firm performance, but also identify organizational confidence as an important moderator of this newly uncovered curvilinear relationship.

When it comes to the effect of MO on firm performance, there can be indeed be “too much of a good thing,” and managers should be aware of the trade-offs that come attached with overcommitting to a MO strategy.

The authors contribute to extant research on the MO–performance link by moving beyond simple linear relationships and identifying an inverted U-shaped relationship between MO and firm performance. This newly found curvilinear relationship may explain and reconcile prior contradicting findings on the benefits of MO. Organizational confidence is also found to trigger a shape-flip of the MO–performance link, thereby suggesting a new boundary condition.

Examines aspects of local enterprise in Wales during the Industrial Revolution and seeks to place the historical experience of such within the wider debates surrounding the relationship between enterprise and economic development. Study of this period has traditionally focused attention on the discontinuity precipitated by the impact of industrialism and particularly on the development of large‐scale factory production. Within Welsh history this focus has largely obscured an examination of local developments to the process of economic development, with the result that there has been no possibility for discussion of, or participation in, gradualist accounts of such development. This study seeks to demonstrate that part of the economic development experienced during the period was generated as a result of indigenous enterprise, and therefore raises the possibility of continuity within certain areas of Welsh economic development ‐‐ prior to the influx of English enterprise and capital at the end of the eighteenth century.

Research shows that most faculty do not receive training before being promoted into administrative and leadership roles. This lack of training and awareness of what their new role entails can lead to feelings of anxiety and reduced confidence, which can also negatively affect their wellbeing. The chapter details findings from a case study in one Canadian university setting regarding the factors and practices that contribute to success and flourishing of academic leaders in the higher education (HE) contexts. Data analysis demonstrated that having positive perceptions of the academic leadership role and experiencing mentorship and positive role modeling were crucial factors to the effectiveness of leadership development and a sense of academic leaders’ flourishing in their work. Upon describing the pertinent literature on academic leadership development, the authors detail the case study methodology, discuss the findings, and offer implications for further research.

The purpose of this paper is to investigate how the family business literature has evolved, and to examine the factors influencing family-owned and managed businesses. The paper discusses important patterns in the present literature and new directions for future study.

The research identifies key research topics and methodical approaches to understand family businesses. Insights into the reasoning behind the historic changes and the current direction and trends of the family business literature are also identified.

The findings of this research argues that the main cause of the challenges in running a family business stem from the management of the interrelationship between family concerns and business concerns. Strong leadership and building a culture that accepts continuous change are key success factors.

Due to the specific nature of the family business dynamics and decision-making conflict, which can hardly be captured by quantitative studies alone, a promotion of qualitative studies is advisable.

This study suggests that understanding the culture surrounding decision making in family business has great value. Characteristics such as aggressiveness, fearlessness and competition are key areas for investigation.

Overlooking the potential of non-family members for family business leadership can produce sub-optimal choices of successors. Further, the aspiration to change society’s and government’s view of family businesses warrants attention.

This review of previous research offers researchers a broader and comprehensive view of the family business, which is inclusive of the challenges, decision making and solutions within the family business structure. Researchers, educators and practitioners will benefit from this paper.