Major Business School Research Articles

“How to Do Things with Words”: The Discursive Dimension of Experiential Learning in Entrepreneurial Mentoring Dyads

The purpose of this article is to assess the mentoring impact in an experiential learning entrepreneurship program. We did three‐year participant observation in the major business school incubator of the Paris area with the aim to identify the interpersonal communicational strategies that mentors, which are confirmed entrepreneurs, use in order to influence nascent entrepreneurs' attitudes and behaviors in dyadic interaction. These communicational strategies are categorized as persuasion, engagement, criticism, and provocation. An additional two‐year field research allowed us to assess the impact of these communicational strategies at the individual (commitment, compliance, resistance) and the enterprise levels (business launching and fund‐raising).

Introductory Reading for Being a Leader and the Effective Exercise of Leadership: An Ontological/Phenomenological Model

This paper is the fifth of five pre-course readings for our leadership course.The intention of this one semester leadership course is to leave participants actually being leaders and exercising leadership effectively as their natural self-expression. By “natural self-expression” we mean a way of being and acting in any leadership situation that is a spontaneous and intuitive effective response to what one is dealing with. The course is based on a new science of leadership. In addition to being designed to actually create leaders, this new science of leadership enables faculty in higher education to access, study, research, and teach being a leader and the effective exercise of leadership as these are actually lived and experienced.History of the Course:This course was first developed by the authors at the University of Rochester Simon School of Business, New York, USA, from 2004 to 2008, working each year with 70 to 115 undergraduates, graduate students, administrators, alumni, business executives and consultants, and faculty from various academic institutions. The course was taught in the curriculum at the United States Air Force Academy since 2008; at Erasmus Academie Rotterdam, Netherlands, in June 2009 (a version of which was also taught at the Erasmus University Law School from 2009 and 2010); at Texas AM in India under the auspices of the IC Centre for Governance and MW Corporation in November 2010; at the Dartmouth College Medical School, USA, in June 2012; at the University of British Columbia's entrepreneurship@UBC, Canada in June 2013; at Nanyang Technological University, Singapore, in July 2014; at the Zayed University Convention Center in Dubai, United Arab Emirates, in January 2015; and at Clemson University School of Business in Clemson, South Carolina, USA, in June 2016. Courses offered for the benefit of the Erhard-Jensen Ontological / Phenomenological Initiative include: Whistler, B.C. Canada in October 2012; Bermuda in November 2014; and Cancun, Mexico in October 2013 and December 2015. The promise of the course is to leave participants actually being leaders and exercising leadership effectively as their natural self-expression and our intention is for the course to contribute to the development of the science of leadership. The course is founded on an ontological / phenomenological model of human nature.Our desire is to make the course available to faculty in higher education to teach it, to communicate it and to extend it. This material is not fully complete nor is it polished to our standards. We are releasing the material so that we can benefit from the comments, criticisms and suggestions of others in higher education who share our desire to accelerate the development of a true science of leadership. We want to see this material (or material derived from it) taught in every major business school and university.While the course is still a work in progress, we, the authors and instructors, are making all the materials available through SSRN (Social Science Research Network) to those faculty members who wish to teach versions of the course in a university or college setting.

Disorganization, disidentification and ideological fragmentation: Verbal and pictorial evidence from a British business school

Rather than focusing on organizing dimensions of society, one may conceptualize disorganization processes, where ideological values incongruence leads to disidentification and ideological fragmentation. Integrating discourse analysis and critical social psychology, I focus on professional organizations facing ideological, managerialist change to develop a typology of multiple‐identity organizations (MIOs) incorporating various degrees of disorganization, rather than the traditional ideographic–holographic dualism. I then apply a creative, visual method to explore how wider ideological tensions between managerial (utilitarian) and professional (normative) values shape lived experiences in a major British business school. Longitudinal verbal and pictorial discursive analysis shows a cacophony of images competing to construct and deconstruct organizational identity over a decade and a half. The organization tends towards disorganization, but somehow retains a sufficient sense of (multiple) identity to survive, suggesting it is myopic to ignore processes and structures that mark and contribute to the ideological fragmentation of MIOs.

Grading Standards, Student Ability and Errors in College Admission

Grades are important for admission of students in most higher education programs. Analyzing admission and student performance data at a major Norwegian business school, we find that the grading practice of teachers at regional colleges sending students to the school is affected by the average performance of the students being graded. Teachers at colleges recruiting good students from upper secondary school tend to be strict in their grading practice, while teachers at colleges recruiting less good students tend to follow a lenient practice. This has implications for the interpretation of grades and hence for optimal admission procedures. We develop a methodology to assess the consequences of differential grading standards. Approximately 10% of the students in our data are admitted at the expense of more competent students. We demonstrate costs for the school admitting the wrong students and in particular for the rejected students.

Grading Standards, Student Ability and Errors in College Admission

Grades are important for admission of students in most higher education programmes. Analysing admission and student performance data at a major Norwegian business school, we find that the grading practice of teachers at regional colleges sending students to the school is affected by the average performance of the students being graded. Teachers at colleges recruiting good students from upper secondary school tend to be strict in their grading practice, while teachers at colleges recruiting less good students tend to follow a lenient practice. This has implications for the interpretation of grades and hence for optimal admission procedures. We develop a methodology to assess the consequences of differential grading standards. Approximately ten percent of the students in our data are admitted at the expense of more competent students. We demonstrate costs for the school admitting wrong students and in particular for the rejected students.

Use of e‐services by faculty members of business schools in a state of India: a study

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to assess and evaluate quantitative and qualitative use of electronic resources in the academic ambience of business schools in Orissa (India) with a view to examining the level of electronic information services (EIS) offered to the faculty members of the state with an opinion pool of the faculty members of the respective business schools. Moreover, the study aims to highlight some of the problems and constraints faced by the target users with some constructive suggestions and recommendations for the improvement of the status of electronic information services in the business schools of the state in days to come.Design/methodology/approachThe paper investigates the use of e‐resources by the faculty members of business schools of the state through a survey based on responses of the target users from structured questionnaires. The SPSS package is used for data analysis.FindingsFaculty members pay high preference to the use of e‐articles while the least preference goes towards the use of electronic theses and dissertations (ETDs). Further it is found that a selected few online databases like Emerald Management Xtra (EMX), EBSCO, and PROQUEST are fairly in use while the use of other online databases is not up to expectations. In tandem, the majority of faculty members are in favor of commercial e‐services.Practical implicationsThe paper restricts the study exclusively to e‐resources as the type of material and faculty members of major business schools of Orissa (India) as the respondents in its scope of discussion.Originality/valueThe study focuses on the use of e‐resources by faculty members in business schools of Orissa with some constructive outcomes for effective generalization.

Cultural Pragmatists? Student Perspectives on Learning Culture at a Business School

Based on research carried out at a major Scandinavian business school, I explore students' perceptions of the way that culture is taught in an international business degree. Students' uncertainty about how to tackle cultural analysis in their study tasks is discussed in the light of their confusion over the concept of culture itself, the theoretical models they are taught, and the lack of conceptual integration on the IB programs. The findings indicate that even a strong emphasis on culture taught within the framework of a highly integrated, interdisciplinary international business program, with a student population that ought in theory to be particularly receptive to cultural matters, is not enough in itself to guarantee that students engage with culture seriously during their studies. I recommend strengthening conceptual integration in IB programs by providing students with readings that explicitly address business activities from a cultural perspective to avoid a situation where they opt for cultural “short-cuts” in their assignments in the form of overly general, values-based descriptive approaches to culture.

Use of electronic resources in business school libraries of an Indian state

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to look at the prolific growth of electronic resources during the last decade. The standards and strategies are sought to access and organize the abundance of e‐resources and to ensure free flow of information to the user's community. This survey attempts to measure the quantum of e‐resources accessed in the academic ambience of Business School libraries in Orissa (India). Moreover, the study attempts to examine to what extent Electronic Information Services (EIS) are offered to users of Business School libraries in the State with an opinion pool of the librarians of the respective Business Schools. Furthermore, the study aims to highlight problems and constraints faced by the information professionals in accessing e‐resources and delivering electronic information services with some constructive suggestions and remedial measures for the ensuing bottle‐neck.Design/methodology/approachThe paper highlights the availability of e‐resources and critically examines the quantum of their use in Business School libraries of Orissa and the crucial role played by the information professionals in providing electronic information services to users through the findings based on responses from structured questionnaires. The SPSS package is used for analysis of data.FindingsThe paper arrives at the conclusion that the internet‐based e‐resources are being well used compared with CD‐ROM databases. Premier web search options like Google and Yahoo! are the most frequently used search engines, while the other searching options are less used. Availability of some key online databases are exclusively confined to only a selected few B‐School libraries of the State.Practical implicationsThe paper restricts the study exclusively to e‐resources as the type of material and the librarians of 25 major Business School libraries of Orissa (India) as the respondents in its scope of discussion.Originality/valueThe paper sheds some light on the use of e‐resources in Business School libraries of Orissa (India) with some constructive suggestions for the development of the platform of electronic resources and services.

DOES BUSINESS SCHOOL RESEARCH ADD ECONOMIC VALUE FOR STUDENTS?

Our analysis of a six-year panel data sample of 155 major ranked business schools indicates that research intensity generally enhances long-term earnings prospects for students. However, significant curvilinearity characterizes this relationship, such that excessively high levels of research intensity may actually reduce the value added for students.

Psychometric Properties of the Brand Personality Scale: Evidence from a Business School

The Brand Personality Scale has received considerable attention and has been frequently used and cited in the branding literature. This paper describes an investigation of the psychometric characteristics of the Brand Personality Scale in a business school context where umbrella branding is used. A sample (N=262) of students attending the MBA program of a major business school in eastern USA completed the scale. Results indicate problems with the scale's dimensionality, poor reliability, convergent and nomological validity of the Ruggedness dimension, and lack of support for discriminant validity. Managerial and research implications and limitations are noted.

FINANCIAL ECONOMETRICS, by Christian Gourieroux and Joann Jasiak, Princeton University Press, 2001

Over the past decade financial econometrics has evolved from a small subfield of econometrics to a rapidly growing area of research that maintains its own journals and dominates the applied time series sessions in many major conferences. Financial econometrics is a conglomerate of statistical models and techniques to summarize regular features of financial data sets and to evaluate theoretical models and hypotheses that have been set forth by financial economists. Besides being a focal point of intellectual curiosity, financial econometrics also provides a rich tool kit that is used by practitioners around the world to forecast volatilities of asset return, optimize portfolio allocations, price derivatives, and manage market risk. Courses in financial econometrics are being offered at all major universities and business schools at the master's and doctoral levels. Given the importance and popularity of the field, it is not surprising that it has become the subject of textbooks and monographs, one of them being the new book Financial Econometrics by Christian Gourieroux and Joann Jasiak.This review has benefited from discussions with Frank Diebold and participants of the Penn Econometrics Lunch.

Venture Capital and Private Equity: A Course Overview (2001 Update)

Over the past fifteen years, there has been a tremendous boom in the private equity industry. The pool of U.S. private equity funds (partnerships specializing in capital, leveraged buyouts, mezzanine investments, build-ups, and distressed debt) has grown from $5 billion in 1980 to nearly $300 billion at the beginning of 2001. This growth was particularly pronounced in the final years of the 20th century. This document describes a course exploring this industry, Venture Capital and Private Equity. This course was introduced by the author at Harvard Business School in the 1993-1994 academic year. In recent years, this course has been one of the five largest elective courses at the Harvard Business School. The cases in this course have also been used in a variety of other settings, including an annual executive education course on private equity and in entrepreneurship and private equity courses at a variety of other major business schools. Three primary pedagogical objectives motivate the design and structure of the course. First, and most fundamentally, the course seeks to deepen students' understanding of corporate finance. This course differs from some academic programs in entrepreneurship, which emphasize the uniqueness of private equity finance and the limited applicability of academic theory. By way of contrast, this course emphasizes the relevance of the intellectual frameworks used to analyze corporate finance problems (incomplete contracting theory, agency problems, etc.) for the private equity industry. Wherever possible, the links to other finance courses are emphasized. Thus, one goal is to review and apply the key concepts and tools of corporate finance in an environment that the students perceive as very interesting. Second, the course seeks to build familiarity with the key institutional features of the private equity industry. Whether discussing fund structures, potential investments, or returns, participants in the private equity industry often describe phenomena in language that is somewhat different from other financial investors. Understanding the key frameworks employed by private equity investors, and relating them to traditional finance practice, is thus an important goal. Among the critical issues that students gain appreciation is the process of career management in the private equity industry. Finally, a crucial objective is to build an appreciation of the valuation process in the private equity setting. Valuation issues are often the subject of contentious disputes. Industry practice, reflecting private equity's early state of evolution relative to many other financial sectors, can often appear to the outside observer as sloppy and not standardized. Skill in analyzing value is likely to be an increasingly important competitive skill in the private equity industry. This course consequently introduces a wide array of valuation methodologies. These include approaches commonly seen in practice (e.g., the use of comparables and the venture capital method) as well as those less frequently employed but likely to be useful nonetheless (the use of Monte Carlo simulations and option pricing techniques). The course emphasizes not only the mechanisms employed, but also how to clearly communicate the strengths and limitations of each approach.

Venture Capital and Private Equity: A Course Overview

Venture Capital and Private Equity: A Course Overview

Predictors of performance at business school and beyond

Reports on a study of MBA students (N = 362) at a major international business school which looked at the predictors of performance in management education. Considers not only GMAT but also age, gender, language proficiency, marital status and work experience as predictors of performance. Questions the use of individual grades in assessing performance since much work in both business schools and the business community is done in groups. Therefore, an analysis of the performance of students in groups was also carried out. Results support the relationship between GMAT and age, and individual performance, and more importantly show a predictive ability for language proficiency and marital status. Significantly, no predictors of group performance were found. Overall, the performance of groups was better than the performance of individuals. Discusses the implications of these results.

Graduate Teaching Assistants: Are Business Schools Focusing on Increasing Teaching Excellence?

Recently major universities and business schools have been criticized for their lack of attention to teaching undergraduates. A significant part of this teaching is being carried out by graduate teaching assistants (GTAs). Several calls have been made for changes in the pedagogical and policy instruction provided to GTAs. The authors performed a content analysis on the information used in this instruction at major American business schools. Results indicate that the majority of these schools are trying to improve the quality and effectiveness of their teachers. This improvement is being sought through seminars and classes focusing on pedagogical and policy information useful to GTAs. The authors conclude with a suggested instructional program for GTAs.

Beyond the Tangible in Management Education and Development

We call for the fostering of a genuine plurality of outlooks and approaches among providers of management education and development. We note that, despite a considerable amount of criticism, one particular system of thought about appropriate subject-matter has predominated in the major business schools, and as a consequence there has been a tendency for the range of acceptable teaching approaches to be restricted. Although we acknowledge that there is plurality of provision in some locations, we note that in others there is a reining back towards more conventional forms of provision. We look to psychological theory for clues regarding why there is resistance to pluralism in many institutions providing management education, and to second-stage feminism for a vision of institutional politics that can challenge as appropriate, but also negotiate and work with the managerial and professional development of management educators.

Can Business Ethics be Taught?

In recent years, the extensive media coverage of ethicai breaches in business has revived a long-running controversy over whether or not can be taught. Various suggestions for improving the ethical behavior of business have been hotly debated as reported incidents of insider trading, the buying and selling of political favors, commodities exchange improprieties, and other unethical activities have increased dramatically. In addition, coverage of widely employed, but ethically questionable practices such as greenmail, golden parachutes, and shark repellents has added to the debate. Inevitably and understandably, much of the discussion centers on legal mechanisms aimed at reducing the incidence of the behavior in question. Recently, however, scholars and business leaders have begun to emphasize that ethical standards should be raised through self control rather than through legal control. Interest in the teaching of business has expanded commensurately. The addition of a required module into the MBA program of the Harvard Business School (Wilkes, 1989) is symbolic of this trend toward ethics training. Although Harvard is not the first, nor the only business school to require ethics, its prestige and tradition lend weight to the importance of the topic. Other well regarded business schools, including those at MIT and Georgia Tech, have also adopted in their core programs (Nagorski, 1989). Numerous other business schools are said to be considering similar actions. The apparent rebirth of enthusiasm for courses among major business schools does not prove that can be taught, however. On the other hand, pronouncements denying that can be taught, made by observers of the corporate scene, do not prove that cannot be taught. For example, the comment by Malcolm Forbes that,

The advent of upstream direct marketing and the question of customer loyalty: A view from europe

The development of the Minitel system, which utilizes a small computer terminal supplied free of charge to French telephone users, is today putting France close to the dream of a two-way communication society. Professor Tixier of the Ecole Supérieure des Sciences Economiques et Commerciales (ESSEC), a major business school in Paris, analyzed the consequences for direct marketing in two recent conferences in Europe and developed the concept of upstream direct marketing which potentially emerges from such a system. This means that consumers will easily use professional databases to look for suppliers, just as direct marketers have traditionally used them to search for customers. At the same time, the emergence of a postindustrial society with mature consumers raises the question of consumer acceptance of some of the most efficient direct marketing techniques, and of the meaning of customer loyalty in the future. This article is adapted from an address given by Professor Tixier in June 1986 in Deauville, at the Direct Marketing Association International Strategic Forum on Direct Marketing.

The influence of High Technology on Management Development in the USA: some examples

This article comments on the management development philosophies and processes encountered during discussions with executives in four multinational high technology corporations and with faculty in five major USA Business Schools. The influence of computer‐based high technologies on management structures and systems within the corporations and on the activities of business schools in researching teaching influences is also reported.

Smallest Space Analysis of Students' Attitudes on Marketing Education

Suggests that there are six major dimensions that influence students' attitudes on postgraduate marketing education selections and these are: practical considerations; curriculum requirements; convenience factors; experience with the institutions; academic factors; and admission considerations. Emphasises that with new, progressive business teaching postgraduate marketing programmes sprouting up, the face of European and UK marketing and business schools is changing rapidly. Investigates the attitudes of the major business schools in the UK towards the variables that influence the selection of marketing studies, focusing on finding relationships between dependent variables. Sums up that the expansion of the marketing concept to higher education industry, requires the adaptation and implementation of these findings, in order to improve.