Small Business Administration

Advances in Consumer Research (Abbreviated as Adv. Consum. Res.) is a distinguished journal based in the United States and published by Sheridan Books. The journal is highly regarded in the academic community, particularly within the fields of Business, Management, and Accounting, with a specific focus on Marketing.

James W. Carland, Frank Hoy, William R. Boulton, Jo Ann C. Carland, Differentiating Entrepreneurs from Small Business Owners: A Conceptualization, The Academy of Management Review, Vol. 9, No. 2 (Apr., 1984), pp. 354-359

Hybrid organizations that combine multiple organizational forms deviate from socially legitimate templates for organizing, and thus experience unique organizing challenges. In this paper, we introduce and develop the concept of hybrid organizing, which we define as the activities, structures, processes and meanings by which organizations make sense of and combine multiple organizational forms. We propose that social enterprises that combine the organizational forms of both business and charity at their cores are an ideal type of hybrid organization, making social enterprise an attractive setting to study hybrid organizing. Based on a literature review of organizational research on social enterprise and on our own research in this domain, we develop five dimensions of hybrid organizing and related opportunities for future research. We conclude by discussing how insights from the study of hybrid organizing in social enterprises may contribute to organization theory.

Hybrid organizations that combine multiple organizational forms deviate from socially legitimate templates for organizing, and thus experience unique organizing challenges. In this paper, we introduce and develop the concept of hybrid organizing, which we define as the activities, structures, processes and meanings by which organizations make sense of and combine multiple organizational forms. We propose that social enterprises that combine the organizational forms of both business and charity at their cores are an ideal type of hybrid organization, making social enterprise an attractive setting to study hybrid organizing. Based on a literature review of organizational research on social enterprise and on our own research in this domain, we develop five dimensions of hybrid organizing and related opportunities for future research. We conclude by discussing how insights from the study of hybrid organizing in social enterprises may contribute to organization theory.

Research on individual-level technology adoption is one of the most mature streams of information systems (IS) research. In this paper, we compare the progress in the area of technology adoption with two widely-researched streams in psychology and organizational behavior: theory of planned behavior and job satisfaction. In addition to gauging the progress in technology adoption research, this allows us to identify some fruitful areas for future research. Based on our comparison, we conclude that there has been excellent progress in technology adoption research. However, as a next step, we call for research focused on interventions, contingencies, and alternative theoretical perspectives (to the largely social psychology-based technology adoption research. Also, we believe it would be important to use the comparisons discussed here as a basis to develop a framework-driven set of future research directions to guide further work in this area.

Professor Glen L. Urbancodirects the Center foreBusiness@MIT, SloanSchool of Management.Fareena Sultan is associateprofessor of marketing,College of BusinessAdministration. NortheasternUniversity, Boston. ProfessorWilliam J. aualls directs theIndustrial DistributionManagement Program at theUniversity of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign. Contact theauthors at: glurban@mit.edu,fsultan@cba.neu.edu andwqualls@uiuc.edu.When consumers visit a retail Web site,how do they know that the informationdescribing the products or services theywant to buy is accurate and unbiased?When they order and pay for a productonline, how do they know that theirfinancial records will be protected, thatthe product will be delivered on time, orthat they can return something that isdamaged or fails to meet their expecta-tions? The answer is they often don't know.Consumers must make these and manyother online research and purchasingdecisions almost solely on the basis oftrust. Yet most Web sites provide con-sumers with scanty information on whichto base their trust. Some Web retailers arestart-ups with little or no track record offulfillment. Some may be on shaky finan-cial footing and unable to meet their ser-vice and delivery guarantees. Some secretlycollect data about each customer's Webactivity and then sell this information tothird-party marketing firms. Even well-regarded companies like AOL have suf-fered embarrassing security breaches,while auction sites such as eBay havebeen scrutinized for their failure to effec-tively police self-serving customerreviews posted by the sellers and theirfriends. It's no exaggeration to say that asconsumers become more sophisticatedabout the Internet, Web-site trust is going

Using observations of 1,132 small- and medium-sized enterprises in eight European countries, a comparison is made of family and nonfamily businesses. The variables compared concern values and attitudes, objectives, and strategic behavior. The data reveal that family businesses are inwardly directed or closed family-related systems. Among their managers are fewer pioneers than “all-rounders” and organizers; as a consequence, their strategic behavior is rather conservative. Therefore, family businesses should be viewed as stable rather than progressive or dynamic factors of the economy.

This new handbook presents, synthesizes, and integrates the existing knowledge of methods, theories, and data in attitudes. The editors' goal is to promote an understanding of the broader principles underlying attitudes across several disciplines. Divided into three parts: one on definitions and methods; another on the relations of attitudes with beliefs, behavior, and affect; and a final one that integrates these relations into the broader areas of cognitive processes, communication and persuasion, social influence, and applications, the handbook also features an innovative chapter on implicit versus explicit attitudes. With contributions from the top specialists, this handbook features unique collaborations between researchers, some who never before worked together. Every writer was encouraged to work from as unbiased a perspective as possible. A must have for researchers in the areas of social, political, health, clinical, counseling, and consumer psychology, marketing, and communication, the handbook will also serve as an excellent reference for advanced courses on attitudes in a variety of departments

Optical coherence tomography (OCT) is used for non-invasive diagnosis of diabetic macular edema assessing the retinal layers. In this paper, we propose a new fully convolutional deep architecture, termed ReLayNet, for end-to-end segmentation of retinal layers and fluid masses in eye OCT scans. ReLayNet uses a contracting path of convolutional blocks (encoders) to learn a hierarchy of contextual features, followed by an expansive path of convolutional blocks (decoders) for semantic segmentation. ReLayNet is trained to optimize a joint loss function comprising of weighted logistic regression and Dice overlap loss. The framework is validated on a publicly available benchmark dataset with comparisons against five state-of-the-art segmentation methods including two deep learning based approaches to substantiate its effectiveness.

Drawing on the theoretical foundation of obsessive-compulsive spectrum disorder, this article develops an expanded conceptualization and new measure of consumers' proclivity to buy compulsively. Compulsive buying is defined as a consumer's tendency to be preoccupied with buying that is revealed through repetitive buying and a lack of impulse control over buying. This measure includes dimensions of both obsessive-compulsive and impulse-control disorders. By measuring income-dependent items or consequences of compulsive buying separately from the compulsive-buying scale, we develop a measure that has a strong theoretical foundation, well-documented psychometric properties, and an ability to be applied to general consumer populations. (c) 2008 by JOURNAL OF CONSUMER RESEARCH, Inc..

Preface About the Editors 1. Domains of Persuasion: An Introduction - Timothy C. Brock and Melanie C. Green 2. Attitude Measurement: Techniques for Measuring the Unobservable - Leandre R. Fabrigar, Jon A. Krosnick, and Bonnie L. MacDougall 3. Acting as We Feel: When and How Attitudes Guide Behavior - Russell H. Fazio and David R. Roskos-Ewoldsen 4. Actions and Attitudes: The Theory of Cognitive Dissonance - Joel Cooper, Robert Mirabile, and Steven J. Scher 5. To Think or Not to Think: Exploring Two Routes to Persuasion - Richard E. Petty, John T. Cacioppo, Alan J. Strathman, and Joseph R. Priester 6. Persuasiveness of Narratives - Melanie C. Green and Timothy C. Brock 7. Principles of Interpersonal Influence - Robert B. Cialdini and Brad J. Sagarin 8. Influence and Persuasion in Small Groups - Charlan Jeanne Nemeth and Jack A. Goncalo 9. Do Messages From Your Body, Your Friends, Your Doctor, or the Media Shape Your Health Behaviors? - Howard Leventhal, Linda Cameron, Elaine A. Leventhal, and Gozde Ozakinci 10. Mass Media and Political Persuasion - Shanto Iyengar and Jennifer McGrady 11. Changing Prejudice: The Effects of Persuasion on Implicit and Explicit Forms of Race Bias - David M. Amodio and Patricia G. Devine 12. The Psychology of Advertising - Frank R. Kardes Glossary - Katherine Walker-Smith and Melanie C. Green Name Index Subject Index

This article examines how time constraints influence consumers' product evaluations over different levels of price information. To understand the effects of time constraints (time pressure), a conceptual framework incorporating both the motivational and the resource effects of time constraints on consumers' information processing is developed. Using price as the attribute information to be evaluated, specific hypotheses about the effects of time constraints on the relationship between price and consumers' perceptions of quality and monetary sacrifice are proposed. The results of a replicated experiment show that perceptions of quality and monetary sacrifice exhibit different response patterns depending on the time constraints, price levels, and subjects' motivations to process information. Additional analyses provide insights into how these two perceptions are integrated to form perceptions of value. Copyright 2003 by the University of Chicago.

The goal of this interdisciplinary study is to analyze the entrepreneurial personality in the context of resources, environment, and the startup process based on a configurational approach. The study focuses on the startup process. A questionnaire was developed to measure the configuration areas of personality, personal resources, environment, and organizing activities. A representative sample of 1,169 nascent entrepreneurs and new business owner–managers was examined. Three startup configurations were found which reveal different patterns of personality characteristics. These patterns are interpreted in the context of aspects of the environment, the resources, and the startup process.

Susan J. Fox-Wolfgramm, Kimberly B. Boal, James G. (Jerry) Hunt, Organizational Adaptation to Institutional Change: A Comparative Study of First-Order Change in Prospector and Defender Banks, Administrative Science Quarterly, Vol. 43, No. 1 (Mar., 1998), pp. 87-126

Most supermarket categories are cluttered with items, or stockkeeping units (SKUs), that differ very little at the attribute level. Previous research has found that reductions (up to 54%) in the number of low-selling SKUs need not affect perceptions of variety and therefore sales, significantly. In this research, the authors analyze data from a natural experiment conducted by an online grocer, in which 94% of the categories experienced dramatic cuts in the number of SKUs offered, particularly low-selling SKUs. Sales were indeed affected dramatically, increasing an average of 11% across the 42 categories examined. Sales rose in more than two-thirds of these categories, nearly half of which experienced an increase of 10% or more; 75% of households increased their overall expenditures after the cut in SKUs. In turn, the authors examine how different types of SKU reductions—defined by how the cuts affect the available attributes or features of a category (e.g., the number of brands)—affected purchase behavior differently. The results indicate that consumers experienced divergent reactions to the reduction in sizes, but they uniformly welcomed the elimination of clutter brought on by the reduction in redundant items. In addition, of households that were loyal to a single brand, size, or brand–size combination that was eliminated, nearly half continued purchasing within the category. Also, contrary to previous research on SKU reductions, the authors find that category sales depend on the total number of SKUs offered. The authors extend the previous research by showing that (1) category sales depend on the availability of key product and category attributes and (2) two particularly important attributes to consumers in an assortment are brand and flavor.

In this paper, we outline several interesting observations about international entrepreneurship (IE) research through the theoretical lens of effectuation. In doing so, we show how an effectual approach can help resolve four central conflicts and knowledge gaps identified in two recent comprehensive reviews of IE. We then present an illustrative case study from India that provides an intriguing comparison with the most recent modification of the Uppsala model to integrate with effectuation theory. Finally, we offer four provocative possibilities for future research at the intersection of IE and effectuation research.

Companies are increasingly using online communities to create value for the firm and their customers. To date, evidence regarding the effectiveness of online communities as a marketing tool has been primarily anecdotal. Yet, industry practice suggests that online communities add value in several ways by: 1) building brand awareness and image, 2) providing access to the voice of loyal customers, 3) increasing supplier commitment, and 4) generating revenue from new and existing customers. Relying on social identity theory and reciprocal action theory, we develop a framework that explores the process of how a firm's online community enhances consumers' brand commitment. We empirically examine how online communities influence brand commitment and subsequent customer behaviour in a field study of over 1,500 members of an existing online community for herbal products. In our analysis, we confirm that online community commitment is a key influence on brand commitment. We also find that online community participants possess stronger brand commitment than consumers who are not members of the community. Finally, our results reveal that among online community members, brand commitment is enhanced for both active brand users and non-users of the targeted brand.

Sherry (1983) defines reformulation as the final stage of gift exchange, during which a newly presented gift can impact the relationship between giver and recipient. To date no one has examined exactly how gifts can affect relationships or what aspects of gift exchange contribute to realignment of the giver/recipient relationship. Using depth interviews and critical-incident surveys, our study explores how the recipient's perceptions of the existing relationship, the gift, the ritual context, and his or her emotional reactions converge to affect relationship realignment. We identify six relational effects of gift-receipt experiences. Further, we examine gift-receipt experiences that have a consistent impact in the short and long term, and those where the meanings and relational effects appear to change over time. Implications for future research are also discussed. Copyright 1999 by the University of Chicago.

Psychologists, sociologists, and philosophers have long recognized that people have multiple identities—based on attributes such as organizational membership, profession, gender, ethnicity, religion, nationality, and family role(s) and that these multiple identities shape people's actions in organizations. The current organizational literature on multiple identities, however, is sparse and scattered and has yet to fully capture this foundational idea. I review and organize the literature on multiple identities into five different theoretical perspectives: social psychological; microsociological; psychodynamic and developmental; critical; and intersectional. I then propose a way to take research on multiple identities forward using an intrapersonal identity network approach. Moving to an identity network approach offers two advantages: first, it enables scholars to consider more than two identities simultaneously, and second, it helps scholars examine relationships among identities in greater detail. This is important because preliminary evidence suggests that multiple identities shape important outcomes in organizations, such as individual stress and well-being, intergroup conflict, performance, and change. By providing a way to investigate patterns of relationships among multiple identities, the identity network approach can help scholars deepen their understanding of the consequences of multiple identities in organizations and spark novel research questions in the organizational literature.

This paper examines how ambient noise, an important environmental variable, can affect creativity. Results from five experiments demonstrate that a moderate (70 dB) versus low (50 dB) level of ambient noise enhances performance on creative tasks and increases the buying likelihood of innovative products. A high level of noise (85 dB), on the other hand, hurts creativity. Process measures reveal that a moderate (vs. low) level of noise increases processing difficulty, inducing a higher construal level and thus promoting abstract processing, which subsequently leads to higher creativity. A high level of noise, however, reduces the extent of information processing and thus impairs creativity. Creativity is ubiquitous in the realm of consumption. Onthe one hand, we as consumers engage in everyday creative behavior such as home decor, fashion, or planning meals with limited resources (Burroughs and Mick 2004; Burroughs, Moreau, and Mick 2008). On the other hand, many businesses thrive on consumers ’ ability and desire to be creative. For example, consumers ’ ability to understand