Steven Albert

Movie stars and the distribution of financially successful films in the motion picture industry.

Audiences choose to see films using information from previous films. A stochastic consumer choice process based on this assumption generates a particular distribution of financially successful films among film types. Movie stars can be used to mark these successful film types. Thus, their star power originates not only from “box-office appeal” but also from “marking power”. Evidence of 960 top 20 films released in the United States and Canada between 1940–1955 and 1960–1995 is consistent with this model.

Professional Temporary Agencies, Women and Professional Discretion: Implications for Organizations and Management

There are a disproportionate number of professional women working through temporary agencies. We develop a theory wherein this gender skewness in temporary-agency employment results from the differences in perceptions of control at work between men and women working through large traditional organizations. Our theory suggests that if control is perceived to be less for women than for men in large organizations, then women will tend to populate other work arrangements, like temporary agencies, in order to enhance their control. Propositions are tested via a unique data set comparing the responses of employees from both a London temporary accountancy agency and a large London accountancy firm. Our results are consistent with a lack of control driving professional women from large firms to temporary agencies, and neither rely on preference differences nor familial obligations.

Information and knowledge exchange: the cases of the World Meteorological Organization and the World Health Organization

This paper consists of two case studies: the World Meteorological Organizations information/knowledge exchange on oceanic weather and The World Health Organizations information/knowledge exchange on influenza. In both cases the issues of context, codification and commodification arise. Most importantly, these exchanges have the power to save lives. The fact that they do so is evidence as to the importance of exchanging information/knowledge. Copyright