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The study explores the relationship between the breadth of external pressures facing leaders of small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) and the entrepreneurial stance they adopt for their firm, that is, entrepreneurial orientation (EO).

Blending attention theory with EO literature, we argue that increasing breadth of external pressures will challenge leaders' attentions with implications for how they seek innovation, risk-taking and bold acts. We highlight an inflection point after which a negative relationship between the breadth of external pressure and EO will turn positive. We use data from a survey of 125 small-sized wineries in France to test this and capture a range of 15 external pressures on entrepreneurs.

The main tests and additional robustness tests provide support. It is the breadth of external pressures – as opposed to intensity of any one specific form of pressure – that plays a fundamental role in shaping leaders' adoption of EO in small enterprises over and above internal characteristics.

While the results may be context-dependent, they provide support for an attention-based view of entrepreneurial responses by leaders of SMEs under pressure.

SME leaders and entrepreneurs should be aware of how their attention is challenged by breadth of pressures from external sources, as this can influence the EO they adopt for their SME.

This nonlinear perspective on external pressures influencing the EO of small firms has not been taken in the EO literature to date, despite some recent work that considers only a small range of external pressures.

The purpose of this paper is to investigate security decision-making during risk and uncertain conditions and to propose a normative model capable of tracing the decision rationale.

The proposed risk rationalisation model is grounded in literature and studies on security analysts’ activities. The model design was inspired by established awareness models including the situation awareness and observe–orient–decide–act (OODA). Model validation was conducted using cognitive walkthroughs with security analysts.

The results indicate that the model may adequately be used to elicit the rationale or provide traceability for security decision-making. The results also illustrate how the model may be applied to facilitate design for security decision makers.

The proof of concept is based on a hypothetical risk scenario. Further studies could investigate the model’s application in actual scenarios.

The paper proposes a novel approach to tracing the rationale behind security decision-making during risk and uncertain conditions. The research also illustrates techniques for adapting decision-making models to inform system design.

The authors examine the nature of institutional rigidity and governance problems contributing to crisis and under-performance of large corporations in Japan during a period of environmental turbulence for corporate Japan.

Through explorative case studies of Mitsubishi Motors and Kanebo over a 10-year period from the mid-1990s to the mid-2000s the authors see how informal norms deeply embedded in the Japanese business system prevented the adoption of more liberal forms of governance that may have helped to overcome crisis.

Despite fundamental differences in formal organization between the two cases, there were similar underlying problems in terms of (1) mechanisms for capital investment that would underpin strategic resilience and rejuvenation and (2) management decision-making and strategic control during crisis.

The cases show how normative institutions rather than formal regulative institutions matter to strategic continuity in national business systems that are put under pressure.

The authors link informal norms of governance intrinsic to a country to the issues of strategic resilience and responses during crisis and warn against the retrenching to traditional governance approaches where there has been criticism of alternative governance approaches.

Jordan Peele’s critically acclaimed directorial debut Get Out (2017) highlights the issues regarding racism and Black identity that have seldom been the subject of horror film. More specifically, Get Out offers representations of Black masculinity that push against the stereotypical and reductive ways that Black men have often been depicted in horror cinema. The portrayal of Black men in Get Out takes shape in ways influenced by a range of relationships featured in the film. Amongst these is the dynamic between the leading character Chris (Daniel Kaluuya) and his white girlfriend Rose (Allison Williams), in addition to Chris’s interactions with Rose’s mother Missy (Catherine Keener), as well as his best friend Rod (Lil Rel Howery). As such, scrutiny of Get Out yields insight into the construction of Black masculinity in horror film, including how on-screen inter- and intra-racial relations are implicated in this. The writing that follows focuses on how Get Out offers complex and scarcely featured representations of Black masculinity, and boyhood, in horror. As part of such discussion, there is analysis of the entanglements of on-screen gender and racial politics, which contribute to the nuances of depictions of Black masculinity in Get Out.

This paper describes the implementation of a role-play exercise to illustrate the influence of followership styles and effective communication on leader-follower relationship formation and development. We provide the pedagogical theory and evidence behind using role-plays in classroom settings, followed by a literature review pertaining to leader-member relations and followership on which this role-play is based. The activity aims to fulfill multiple objectives: (a) to explain the importance of effectively managing-up the hierarchy, (b) to use effective communication skills in challenging and conflict laden situations, and (c) to expand self- awareness and explore own implicit assumptions. We further provide the session plan for using the role-play including the instructions, timing, and role handouts, and discuss potential outcomes.

The case includes theoretical references to family business, organizational culture, resource-based value and leadership.

The case combines primary and secondary data. There is ample public information about Martin Guitar including histories of the company and its instruments. These were used for background. Primary data were provided by the company in the form of customized data and interviews.. The case writer has served Martin Guitar as a consultant and also plays Martin instruments. The case writer had numerous opportunities to interview Chris and his key lieutenants.

In 2019, C.F. Martin IV (Chris) was in his fourth decade leading one of the America’s oldest family-owned companies, C.F. Martin & Co., Inc. Martin Guitar is a globally known maker of fine guitars that are prized by collectors, working musicians and amateur musicians. Chris was raised in the family business and took on the CEO’s position at the age of 30. The case describes the company’s management practices and the culture that has emerged from them. In 2019, at age 64, Chris confronted issues faced by his predecessors over multiple generations: how to prepare the company for succession, and maintain its strong performance as a family-owned company in a dynamic industry environment.

The case is designed for a management course for upper-level undergraduates.

A common way for academic libraries to support student success is through partnership with writing centers. Practices such as applying service design thinking to develop and inform integrated library and writing center services can lead to a student-focused space. This chapter outlines how service design, studio pedagogy, and peer learning informed the setup and ongoing services in The Undergrad Research and Writing Studio (URWS or, the Studio), a shared space in the Oregon State University Libraries. The URWS model is grounded in studio pedagogy, which employs a “propose-critique-iterate” approach to student writing development (Brocato, 2009). Research and writing consultants assist student writers when they have a question, mirroring libraries’ point of need service approach. Librarians and studio faculty collaborated on the training curriculum, which emphasizes how research and writing are intertwined processes. Peer consultant reflection and assessment inform the ongoing development of the overarching program, service, space, and training, ensuring alignment with the ethos of centering students and their learning.

Looks at the various applications of the CO₂ gas laser in industrial material processing. Describes how the CO₂ laser beam interacts with particular materials and highlights the laser system configuration, system characteristics and attributes. Details CO₂ laser cutting, welding and surface modification and briefly touches on some emerging aerospace application areas.