Eldon Little

Replication in strategic management: scientific testing for validity, generalizability, and usefulness

A number of studies have shown that little replication and extension research is published in the business disciplines. This has deleterious consequences for the development of a cumulative body of knowledge in these same areas. It has been speculated, but never formally tested, that replication research is more likely to be published in lower tiers of the journal hierarchy. The present paper indicates very low levels of replication in management and strategic management journals, regardless of their prestige. Moreover, even those replications that are published tend not to be critical—odd in applied social sciences that are largely preparadigmatic and where extensibility, generalizability and utility of scientific constructs tend to be low. The goal of science is empirical generalization, or knowledge development. Systematically conducted replications with extensions facilitate this goal. It is clear, however, that many editors, reviewers, and researchers hold attitudes toward replication research that betray a lack of understanding about its role. Long-run strategies to dispel these misconceptions must involve changes in graduate training aimed at making the conduct of such vital work second nature. It is further suggested that journals in all tiers create a section specifically for the publication of replication research, and that top-tier journals take the lead in this regard.

Cash prizes and mail survey response rates: A threshold analysis

In a study involving the mailing of some 3,150 questionnaires, the ability of six kinds of incentives to augment survey responses was tested against a no-incentive control condition. Two of the incentives were small prepaid monetary amounts (25¢ and

Are Responses Measured with Graphic Rating Scales Subject to Perceptual Distortion

1.00), while the remaining four consisted of the opportunity for respondents to win cash prizes valued at either

Evaluating tangible asset investments: the value of cross functional teams

50,

Third Party Endorsement Via Evaluative Certification As a Method For Increasing Mail Survey Response Rates: A Field Experiment

100,

The Effectiveness of Survey Response Rate Incentives in a Public Non-Profit Environment

150, or

PROMISED CONTRIBUTIONS TO CHARITY AND MAIL SURVEY RESPONSES REPLICATION WITH EXTENSION

200. The use of such cash prizes enabled an approximate test of the just-noticeable-difference principle in terms of both its absolute and differential threshold hypotheses. The 25¢ and

Trees of Puerto Rico and the Virgin Islands, Volume 2

1.00 incentives yielded response rates that were significantly larger than that of the control group. No confirmation of the differential threshold hypothesis was evidenced, at least over the range of cash prizes employed in the present study. In contrast, the absolute threshold hypothesis received support. Suggestions for further research in this area were also identified.

U.S. Consumer Animosity Towards Vietnam: A Comparison Of Generations

No consensus appears to exist as to how long physically a graphic rating scale should be. The present study found no statistical evidence of perceptual distortion in information collected with continuous rating scales of lengths 75 mm, 100 mm, and 125 mm, so such scales seem robust to variations in line length.

Share and Share Alike? A Review of Empirical Evidence Concerning Information Sharing Among Researchers

Criticizes the attitude of separatism used in evaluating management performance. Asserts that looking at narrow functional areas does not provide a holistic picture of an organization, for example, production may reduce its costs by using inferior quality materials but marketing and sales may not be able to sell the product so their performance declines. Suggests that some organizations suffer from conflict between functional areas because they are evaluated on the outcomes from activities they control, affecting overall organizational performance. Indicates that asset investment decisions should be based on the interdependent relationship between accounting, finance and marketing departments, and that this can best be achieved if a cross‐functional team makes the asset investment decisions. Points out the inherent difficulties in evaluating intangible assets. Focuses on advertising and research and development (R&D) and how investments could be evaluated using functional and cross‐functional teams, based on financial data (on 126 firms) accessed from the Compustat PC Plus database. Takes a look at economic value‐added, which questions the differences between the accounting and economic models of a firm. Uses regression analysis to examine the impact of advertising, R&D and other explanatory variables on market value, accounting profitability and sales. Finds support for using cross‐functional teams in evaluating intangible asset investments. Recommends areas for further research.