ASSOCIATIONS AND INTERRELATIONSHIPS OF SOCIOECONOMIC STATUS, BEHAVIORAL FACTORS AND BIOLOGICAL FACTORS WITH BIRTH WEIGHT

Although the influences of socioeconomic, behavioral and biological factors on birth weight have been extensively studied, most studies have been limited to clinical populations. This study examines such relationships in a national probability sample, the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey of 1971-1974. The study sample consisted of 2161 white children and 812 black children, aged 1 to 5 years. Analyses were performed on a subsample consisting of 753 white and 138 black children whose mothers were also selected into the survey. Detailed analyses examined interrelationships among socio-economic, behavioral and biological factors by means of multiple regression and partial correlation procedures in the white population. These analyses were not carried out among blacks because of an observed clustering bias introduced in the black subsample that hampered generalization to the US population.^ The results among the whites indicated that the biological factors of maternal height, maternal weight, maternal size (weight/height('2)), maternal age and sex of child were independently related to birth weight and were also interrelated with socioeconomic factors such as family income, education of the mother and education of the head of the household. The joint effect was significantly associated with birth weight.^ Mothers' dietary practices represented the behavioral factors. Selected nutrients from the mothers' 24-hour dietary recall were used to develop indices of dietary quality. Dietary quality was significantly interrelated with socioeconomic status, biological factors and birth weight.^ The findings of this study suggest that smaller, younger mothers of lower socioeconomic status and female children were significantly associated with lower birth weight. The findings also suggest that dietary quality is a mediating factor among socioeconomic status and biological factors in that mothers with more financial and educational resources have better dietary practices. Such mothers may also practice other health behaviors that would prevent having a low birthweight baby. This dissertation contributes primarily to the further conceptualization and empirical testing of the interrelationships among socioeconomic, behavioral and biological factors with respect to birth weight. ^

RECIPROCIDADE ENTRE INDIVÍDUO E ORGANIZAÇÃO E SEUS IMPACTOS SOBRE A SATISFAÇÃO E O COMPROMETIMENTO

Reciprocidade indivíduo-organização e afetividade são dois fenômenos presentes na vida organizacional e que se tornaram tópicos de pesquisa no campo de estudos do comportamento organizacional. Esse estudo teve como objetivo reforçar as evidências empíricas acerca das relações entre cognições de troca indivíduo-organização e afetividade no contexto de trabalho. Para tanto, foram submetidas à teste empírico cinco hipóteses inspiradas em um estudo inédito desenvolvido por Siqueira (2002b). Contou-se com a utilização de um questionário composto por cinco escalas validadas, referentes as variáveis do estudo, que avaliaram percepção de suporte organizacional (PSO), percepção de reciprocidade organizacional (PRO), comprometimento organizacional normativo (CON), satisfação no trabalho (STR) e comprometimento organizacional afetivo (COA). Participaram 275 profissionais, sendo 183 pertencentes ao setor administrativo e 92 ao setor administrativo-acadêmico de uma Instituição de Ensino Superior, situada na região do Grande ABCD Paulista e com inserção no estado de São Paulo. OS participantes do estudo tinham idade média de 32 anos, sendo a maioria (58,2%) do sexo feminino, com escolaridade em nível superior (39,6%) e tempo médio de trabalho na organização de quatro anos. Os dados coletados foram organizados em um banco de dados eletrônico para tratamento estatístico, quando se utilizou o aplicativo SPSS (Statistical Package for the Social Scienses). Foram realizadas análises descritivas das variáveis e análises de correlação e de regressão múltipla para os testes das cinco hipóteses. Todas as hipóteses foram confirmadas. Conclui-se então, que o presente estudo reforça as proposições de Siqueira (2002b) acerca da pertinência de se considerar os três conceitos analisados (PSO, PRO E CON) como integrantes do esquema mental de reciprocidade. Ainda, os resultados do estudo reafirmam as evidências acerca da capacidade preditiva do EMR sobre satisfação no trabalho e comprometimento organizacional afetivo. Por fim, a análise dos dados aponta percepção de suporte organizacional como sendo o componente cognitivo do EMR com maior poder de influência sobre satisfação no trabalho e comprometimento organizacional afetivo. Portanto, cognições acerca das relações de troca social com organizações antecedem satisfação e comprometimento afetivo que, por sua vez, são importantes fatores a favor da organização, contribuindo para sua efetividade.

RECIPROCIDADE ENTRE INDIVÍDUO E ORGANIZAÇÃO E SEUS IMPACTOS SOBRE A SATISFAÇÃO E O COMPROMETIMENTO

Reciprocidade indivíduo-organização e afetividade são dois fenômenos presentes na vida organizacional e que se tornaram tópicos de pesquisa no campo de estudos do comportamento organizacional. Esse estudo teve como objetivo reforçar as evidências empíricas acerca das relações entre cognições de troca indivíduo-organização e afetividade no contexto de trabalho. Para tanto, foram submetidas à teste empírico cinco hipóteses inspiradas em um estudo inédito desenvolvido por Siqueira (2002b). Contou-se com a utilização de um questionário composto por cinco escalas validadas, referentes as variáveis do estudo, que avaliaram percepção de suporte organizacional (PSO), percepção de reciprocidade organizacional (PRO), comprometimento organizacional normativo (CON), satisfação no trabalho (STR) e comprometimento organizacional afetivo (COA). Participaram 275 profissionais, sendo 183 pertencentes ao setor administrativo e 92 ao setor administrativo-acadêmico de uma Instituição de Ensino Superior, situada na região do Grande ABCD Paulista e com inserção no estado de São Paulo. OS participantes do estudo tinham idade média de 32 anos, sendo a maioria (58,2%) do sexo feminino, com escolaridade em nível superior (39,6%) e tempo médio de trabalho na organização de quatro anos. Os dados coletados foram organizados em um banco de dados eletrônico para tratamento estatístico, quando se utilizou o aplicativo SPSS (Statistical Package for the Social Scienses). Foram realizadas análises descritivas das variáveis e análises de correlação e de regressão múltipla para os testes das cinco hipóteses. Todas as hipóteses foram confirmadas. Conclui-se então, que o presente estudo reforça as proposições de Siqueira (2002b) acerca da pertinência de se considerar os três conceitos analisados (PSO, PRO E CON) como integrantes do esquema mental de reciprocidade. Ainda, os resultados do estudo reafirmam as evidências acerca da capacidade preditiva do EMR sobre satisfação no trabalho e comprometimento organizacional afetivo. Por fim, a análise dos dados aponta percepção de suporte organizacional como sendo o componente cognitivo do EMR com maior poder de influência sobre satisfação no trabalho e comprometimento organizacional afetivo. Portanto, cognições acerca das relações de troca social com organizações antecedem satisfação e comprometimento afetivo que, por sua vez, são importantes fatores a favor da organização, contribuindo para sua efetividade.

The determinants of the vertical boundaries of the construction firm

In the last few years, transaction cost economics has become a popular theory within the construction research community. This approach has been singularly applied as a means to explain and predict phenomena concerning the construction firm, including its vertical boundaries. However, this is at a time when the chief proponents of transaction costs are urging researchers to take a pluralistic stance in relation to the theory of the firm. The aim of this paper is to develop a pluralistic approach to the vertical boundaries of the construction firm. In order to achieve this, an integrative framework is described, based on the development of the efficient boundaries problem and the capabilities approach to vertical integration. Specifically, this framework draws on the complementary strengths of transaction cost economics and the resource-based view. It is concluded that the potential relative merits of theoretical pluralism, in terms of the vertical boundaries of the construction firm, are sufficient grounds to motivate empirical testing of the predictions associated with the integrative framework of vertical integration presented

The influence of national culture on the level and outcome of IS decision making in the IS maintenance/redevelopment decision

Would the outcome of a Global multinational organization’s decision be the same if the same decision were to be made in different countries throughout the world? Within the same organization, we propose that national cultural differences can influence decision making in different countries and cultural clusters. While much work has been done on organizational cultural influences, this study examines the influence that national culture has on organizational decision making in respect to the evolution/redevelopment decision that organizations face when a system is believed to be entering the obsolescence phase. Building on findings from the Globe research program, we show by empirical testing of a theoretical model that national cultural dimensions are significantly associated with a) the outcome of the decision to enhance or re-develop a system, and b) the organizational level at which such decisions are made. This research is significant as a means to improve management decision making, particularly with regard to the enhancement versus re-development decision. The research suggests that a relatively uniform sub-culture exists across the global IS project level but that national cultural dimensions play a more important role in determining the organizational management level at which decisions are made.

RECIPROCIDADE ENTRE INDIVÍDUO E ORGANIZAÇÃO E SEUS IMPACTOS SOBRE A SATISFAÇÃO E O COMPROMETIMENTO

Reciprocidade indivíduo-organização e afetividade são dois fenômenos presentes na vida organizacional e que se tornaram tópicos de pesquisa no campo de estudos do comportamento organizacional. Esse estudo teve como objetivo reforçar as evidências empíricas acerca das relações entre cognições de troca indivíduo-organização e afetividade no contexto de trabalho. Para tanto, foram submetidas à teste empírico cinco hipóteses inspiradas em um estudo inédito desenvolvido por Siqueira (2002b). Contou-se com a utilização de um questionário composto por cinco escalas validadas, referentes as variáveis do estudo, que avaliaram percepção de suporte organizacional (PSO), percepção de reciprocidade organizacional (PRO), comprometimento organizacional normativo (CON), satisfação no trabalho (STR) e comprometimento organizacional afetivo (COA). Participaram 275 profissionais, sendo 183 pertencentes ao setor administrativo e 92 ao setor administrativo-acadêmico de uma Instituição de Ensino Superior, situada na região do Grande ABCD Paulista e com inserção no estado de São Paulo. OS participantes do estudo tinham idade média de 32 anos, sendo a maioria (58,2%) do sexo feminino, com escolaridade em nível superior (39,6%) e tempo médio de trabalho na organização de quatro anos. Os dados coletados foram organizados em um banco de dados eletrônico para tratamento estatístico, quando se utilizou o aplicativo SPSS (Statistical Package for the Social Scienses). Foram realizadas análises descritivas das variáveis e análises de correlação e de regressão múltipla para os testes das cinco hipóteses. Todas as hipóteses foram confirmadas. Conclui-se então, que o presente estudo reforça as proposições de Siqueira (2002b) acerca da pertinência de se considerar os três conceitos analisados (PSO, PRO E CON) como integrantes do esquema mental de reciprocidade. Ainda, os resultados do estudo reafirmam as evidências acerca da capacidade preditiva do EMR sobre satisfação no trabalho e comprometimento organizacional afetivo. Por fim, a análise dos dados aponta percepção de suporte organizacional como sendo o componente cognitivo do EMR com maior poder de influência sobre satisfação no trabalho e comprometimento organizacional afetivo. Portanto, cognições acerca das relações de troca social com organizações antecedem satisfação e comprometimento afetivo que, por sua vez, são importantes fatores a favor da organização, contribuindo para sua efetividade.

On the adoption decision and the intensity of use of complementary innovations: The intra firm diffusion of management practices across UK establishments

This paper contributes to the literature on the intra-firm diffusion of innovations by investigating the factors that affect the firm’s decision to adopt and use sets of complementary innovations. We define complementary innovations those innovations whose joint use generates super additive gains, i.e. the gain from the joint adoption is higher than the sum of the gains derived from the adoption of each innovation in isolation. From a theoretical perspective, we present a simple decision model, whereby the firm decides ‘whether’ and ‘how much’ to invest in each of the innovations under investigation based upon the expected profit gain from each possible combination of adoption and use. The model shows how the extent of complementarity among the innovations can affect the firm’s profit gains and therefore the likelihood that the firm will adopt these innovations jointly, rather than individually. From an empirical perspective, we focus on four sets of management practices, namely operating (OMP), monitoring (MMP), targets (TMP) and incentives (IMP) management practices. We show that these sets of practices, although to a different extent, are complementary to each other. Then, we construct a synthetic indicator of the depth of their use. The resulting intra-firm index is built to reflect not only the number of practices adopted but also the depth of their individual use and the extent of their complementarity. The empirical testing of the decision model is carried out using the evidence from the adoption behaviour of a sample of 1,238 UK establishments present in the 2004 Workplace Employment Relations Survey (WERS). Our empirical results show that the intra-firm profitability based model is a good model in that it can explain more of the variability of joint adoption than models based upon the variability of adoption and use of individual practices. We also investigate whether a number of firm specific and market characteristics by affecting the size of the gains (which the joint adoption of innovations can generate) may drive the intensity of use of the four innovations. We find that establishment size, whether foreign owned, whether exposed to an international market and the degree of homogeneity of the final product are important determinants of the intensity of the joint adoption of the four innovations. Most importantly, our results point out that the factors that the economics of innovation literature has been showing to affect the intensity of use of a technological innovation do also affect the intensity of use of sets of innovative management practices. However, they can explain only a small part of the diversity of their joint adoption use by the firms in the sample.

An assessment of factors affecting performance and growth of new technology based firms in the UK

New Technology Based Firms (NTBF) are considered to be important for the economic development of a country in regards to both employment growth and innovative activity. The latter is believed to contribute significantly to the increase in productivity and therefore the competitiveness of UK’s economy. This study contributes to the above literature by investigating two of the factors believed to limit the growth of such firms in the UK. The first concerns the existence of a ‘knowledge gap’ while the second the existence of a ‘financial gap’. These themes are developed along three main research lines. Firstly, based upon the human capital theory initially proposed by Backer (1964) new evidence is provided on the human capital characteristics (experience and education) of the current UK NTBF entrepreneurs. Secondly, the causal relationship between general and specific human capital (as well as their interactions) upon the company performance and growth is investigated via its traditional direct effect as well as via its indirect effect upon the access to external finance. Finally, more light is shed on the financial structure and the type of financial constraints that high-tech firms face at start-up. In particular, whether a financial gap exists is explored by distinguishing between the demand and the supply of external finance as well as by type of external source of financing. The empirical testing of the various research hypotheses has been obtained by carrying out an original survey of new technology based firms defined as independent companies, established in the past 25 years in R&D intensive sectors. The resulting dataset contains information for 412 companies on a number of general company characteristics and the characteristics of their entrepreneurs in 2004. Policy and practical implications for future and current entrepreneurs and also providers of external finance are provided.

Improper use of formative endogenous variables

Researchers often develop and test conceptual models containing formative variables. In many cases, these formative variables are specified as being endogenous. This article provides a clarification of formative variable theory, distinguishing between the formative latent variable and the formative composite variable. When an endogenous latent variable relies on formative indicators for measurement, empirical studies can say nothing about the relationship between exogenous variables and the endogenous formative latent variable: conclusions can only be drawn regarding the exogenous variables' relationships with a composite variable. The authors also show the dangers associated with developing theory about antecedents to endogenous formative variables at the (aggregate) formative latent variable level. Modeling relationships with endogenous formative variables at the (disaggregate) indicator level informs richer theory development, and encourages more precise empirical testing. When antecedents' relationships with endogenous formative variables are modeled at the formative latent variable level rather than the formative indicator level, theory construction can verge on the superficial, and empirical findings can be ambiguous in substantive meaning.

Corporate identity at the stakeholder group level:a conceptual model of front-line employee corporate identity

There is a paucity of literature regarding the construction and operation of corporate identity at the stakeholder group level. This article examines corporate identity from the perspective of an individual stakeholder group, namely, front-line employees. A stakeholder group that is central to the development of an organization’s corporate identity as it spans an organization’s boundaries, frequently interacts with both internal and external stakeholders, and influences a firm’s financial performance by building customer loyalty and satisfaction. The article reviews the corporate identity, branding, services and social identity literatures to address how corporate identity manifests within the front-line employee stakeholder group, identifying what components comprise front-line employee corporate identity and assessing what contribution front-line employees make to constructing a strong and enduring corporate identity for an organization. In reviewing the literature the article develops propositions that, in conjunction with a conceptual model, constitute the generation of theory that is recommended for empirical testing.

Managing conflict in user-oriented development environments: Effects on information systems success

Today, many organizations are turning to new approaches to building and maintaining information systems (I/S) to cope with a highly competitive business environment. Current anecdotal evidence indicates that the approaches being used improve the effectiveness of software development by encouraging active user participation throughout the development process. Unfortunately, very little is known about how the use of such approaches enhances the ability of team members to develop I/S that are responsive to changing business conditions.^ Drawing from predominant theories of organizational conflict, this study develops and tests a model of conflict among members of a development team. The model proposes that development approaches provide the relevant context conditioning the management and resolution of conflict in software development which, in turn, are crucial for the success of the development process.^ Empirical testing of the model was conducted using data collected through a combination of interviews with I/S executives and surveys of team members and business users at nine organizations. Results of path analysis provide support for the model's main prediction that integrative conflict management and distributive conflict management can contribute to I/S success by influencing differently the manifestation and resolution of conflict in software development. Further, analyses of variance indicate that object-oriented development, when compared to rapid and structured development, appears to produce the lowest levels of conflict management, conflict resolution, and I/S success.^ The proposed model and findings suggest academic implications for understanding the effects of different conflict management behaviors on software development outcomes, and practical implications for better managing the software development process, especially in user-oriented development environments. ^

A model of school managerial control : the systematic analysis of managerial behaviors, processes, and indicators

The theoretical construct of control has been defined as necessary (Etzioni, 1965), ubiquitous (Vickers, 1967), and on-going (E. Langer, 1983). Empirical measures, however, have not adequately given meaning to this potent construct, especially within complex organizations such as schools. Four stages of theory-development and empirical testing of school building managerial control using principals and teachers working within the nation's fourth largest district are presented in this dissertation as follows: (1) a review and synthesis of social science theories of control across the literatures of organizational theory, political science, sociology, psychology, and philosophy; (2) a systematic analysis of school managerial activities performed at the building level within the context of curricular and instructional tasks; (3) the development of a survey questionnaire to measure school building managerial control; and (4) initial tests of construct validity including inter-item reliability statistics, principal components analyses, and multivariate tests of significance. The social science synthesis provided support of four managerial control processes: standards, information, assessment, and incentives. The systematic analysis of school managerial activities led to further categorization between structural frequency of behaviors and discretionary qualities of behaviors across each of the control processes and the curricular and instructional tasks. Teacher survey responses (N=486) reported a significant difference between these two dimensions of control, structural frequency and discretionary qualities, for standards, information, and assessments, but not for incentives. The descriptive model of school managerial control suggests that (1) teachers perceive structural and discretionary managerial behaviors under information and incentives more clearly than activities representing standards or assessments, (2) standards are primarily structural while assessments are primarily qualitative, (3) teacher satisfaction is most closely related to the equitable distribution of incentives, (4) each of the structural managerial behaviors has a qualitative effect on teachers, and that (5) certain qualities of managerial behaviors are perceived by teachers as distinctly discretionary, apart from school structure. The variables of teacher tenure and school effectiveness reported significant effects on school managerial control processes, while instructional levels (elementary, junior, and senior) and individual school differences were not found to be significant for the construct of school managerial control.

Influence of Forecasting, Planning and Controlling on the performance of Small and Medium Enterprises

Production Planning and Control (PPC) systems have grown and changed because of the developments in planning tools and models as well as the use of computers and information systems in this area. Though so much is available in research journals, practice of PPC is lagging behind and does not use much from published research. The practices of PPC in SMEs lag behind because of many reasons, which need to be explored. This research work deals with the effect of identified variables such as forecasting, planning and control methods adopted, demographics of the key person, standardization practices followed, effect of training, learning and IT usage on firm performance. A model and framework has been developed based on literature. Empirical testing of the model has been done after collecting data using a questionnaire schedule administered among the selected respondents from Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) in India. Final data included 382 responses. Hypotheses linking SME performance with the use of forecasting, planning and controlling were formed and tested. Exploratory factor analysis was used for data reduction and for identifying the factor structure. High and low performing firms were classified using a Logistic Regression model. A confirmatory factor analysis was used to study the structural relationship between firm performance and dependent variables.

Sucesso e insucesso no licenciamento: uma perspectiva integrada.

Doutoramento em Gestão.

Total factor productivity growth and convergence in the petroleum industry : empirical analysis testing for convexity

While economic theory acknowledges that some features of technology (e.g., indivisibilities, economies of scale and specialization) can fundamentally violate the traditional convexity assumption, almost all empirical studies accept the convexity property on faith. In this contribution, we apply two alternative flexible production technologies to measure total factor productivity growth and test the significance of the convexity axiom using a nonparametric test of closeness between unknown distributions. Based on unique field level data on the petroleum industry, the empirical results reveal significant differences, indicating that this production technology is most likely non-convex. Furthermore, we also show the impact of convexity on answers to traditional convergence questions in the productivity growth literature.