Kevin W. Cruthirds

A comparison of humor styles in US and Mexican television commercials

Purpose – The purpose of this study was to conduct a content analysis of humor styles used in US and Mexican television advertising.Design/methodology/approach – A total of 97 television commercials broadcasted by major US and Mexican national television networks were classified under the four humor styles described by Martin et al.Findings – Humor styles used in television advertising significantly differ between the two countries. US commercials use more affiliative, aggressive, and self‐defeating humor than do Mexican advertisements, while self‐enhancing humor is the predominant humor style of Mexican commercials and is used more frequently in Mexico when compared to the USA.Practical implications – The findings reveal the frequency and types of humorous television commercials used in the USA and Mexico.Originality/value – The study suggests that cultural differences should be taken into consideration when humorous advertising is used across borders.

The use of humor in the workplace

58 Acodemy of Management Perspedives May~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ organizations. Despite this observation, managers often fail to take humor seriously or realize its numerous benefits. Humor is more than just funny concepts; it represents a multifunctional management tool that can he used to achieve many objectives. This article describes how managers can use humor to reduce stress and enhance leadership, group cohesiveness, communication, creativity, and organizational culture. Specifically, we suggest humor styles that are best suited to realize these outcomes. Additionally, the effect of humor on organizational outcomes is moderated by individual differences such as ethnicity and gender. Much like selecting the proper tool from a toolkit, managers can select the appropriate humor style suitable for the desired organizational outcome, adjust for individual differences, and achieve positive organizational outcomes.

Empirical investigation on the magnitude of job offshoring from an organizational contingency perspective

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to investigate the relationships between the magnitude of job offshoring and organizational contingencies, including total number of employees, multinationality, business diversification, and relevancy of business activities.Design/methodology/approach – Previous studies on job offshoring were restricted in descriptive and prescriptive understanding of the phenomena. Utilizing secondary data, this paper provides empirical findings on the magnitude of job offshoring from an organizational contingency perspective.Findings – The results indicate that larger and multinational firms tend to offshore a larger number of jobs, and less diversified firms tend to offshore a higher ratio of jobs. Also, firms that offshore their core business activities are more likely to move a higher ratio of jobs to offshore destinations.Research limitations/implications – This paper reveals some of the key organizational factors that account for the magnitude of job offshoring within America...

Adopting ro-ro transportation in inland China: a decision criteria survey of shippers, forwarders, and haulers

China’s western inland has experienced rapid economic development during the past two decades. One possible solution for firms in this area to meet cost reduction challenges is the increased use of roll-on/roll-off (ro-ro) practices as part of their intermodal transportation strategies. This study focuses on customer adoption of ro-ro transportation between two major hubs, Chongqing and Wuhan, on the Yangtze River. Through qualitative and quantitative methods, the study examined the determinants on ro-ro transportation choices made by shippers, forwarders, and haulers in Western China. The research discovered that customers use comprehensive consideration sets when considering transportation choices. Four major aspects of determinants were revealed: cost reduction, transportation lead-time, convenience, and safety issues. It was also discovered that priorities change among different types of customers. Implications for developing effective alternative transportation strategies in developing countries such as China are provided.