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In this study, we analyze the power of the individual return-to-volatility security performance heuristic (ri/stdi) to simplify the identification of securities to buy and, consequently, to form the optimal no short sales mean–variance portfolios. The heuristic ri/stdi is powerful enough to identify the long and shorts sets. This is due to the positive definiteness of the variance–covariance matrix – the key is to use the heuristic sequentially. At the investor level, the heuristic helps investors to decide what securities to consider first. At the portfolio level, the heuristic may help us find out whether it is a good idea to invest in equity to begin with. Our research may also help to integrate individual security analysis into portfolio optimization through improved security rankings.

At the end of a project (if we know it is the end or if we are forced to end it), the ethnographer is faced with the choice to leave (or leave off researching) – a decision that may entail grief and relief – or to continue. In this chapter, the author argues that all ethnographies are lost ethnographies because there are inevitably missed moments, things we turn away from and endings of various kinds. The author suggests that ‘getting lost’ (Lather) and being lost (and at a loss) may be a necessity of ethnographic fieldwork. Drawing examples from the author’s own and others’ work, the author reflects on the edges and the end of ethnographic projects and considers what it might mean to let go, to end research projects, as well as what might be possible by returning.

In this chapter we develop a new approach, based on the identification of strategy classes, to study how firms face multiple demands. The procedure that we propose (called Relational Class Analysis) stems from an analysis of the similarity of associative patterns across multiple observable outcomes, which reflect the underlying set of choices firms make to similarly address demands. Empirically, the study of 18 financial and extra-financial performance outcomes for 3,655 firms shows the existence of three main strategic classes. Drawing on our analysis, we redefine strategy as the set of committed decisions undertaken to resolve trade-offs between multiple concurrent objectives and discuss the implications of our approach for eight core questions for strategy and organizational theory.

This chapter aims to share practical experiences in creative tourism management, in order to propose some basic guidelines for DMOs and DMCs interested in designing activities that cater to this new demand. Specifically, our intention is to analyze and highlight the basic criteria that most weighs to fit such a singular demand.

As practitioners, most of the examples, observations, and analyses are based on our daily management of the Creative Tourism Network® (CTN) and the solutions found by our members in the development of their creative tourism programs all over the world. These observations rely also on surveys and literature references.

(i) The emergence of the experiential tourism in general, and the creative one in particular, is only the visible part of the paradigm shift that is affecting the tourist industry, leading to the appearance of new opportunities and challenges. (ii) Amidst such a new and versatile context, it’s important to analyze the factors that contribute to the experience achievement, in order to adapt them and guarantee the best practices. (iii) This enables to list down some guidelines and practical advises for managers to cater this new demand.

This chapter is written simultaneously with the paradigm shift and thus limits the distance we can have on its evolution as well as on the study’s completeness. It thus just pretends to provide a provisional balance of the current situation, contrasted with literature reviews.

The emergence of creative tourism implies a completely new form of management for both cultural and tourist fields that leads to the creation of specific skills and general guidelines to be adapted for different contexts.

The study, based on examples proposed by the CTN, offers a transversal overview of creative tourism, a sector that has not been deeply analyzed yet given its increasing growth. It is thus a novel approach, close to the practitioners’ daily challenges.

Stations have two main functions. The primary function of a station is to connect different modes quickly and easily with each other, this is when passengers are moving from one place to another. The secondary function is to make sure that passengers can spend their (waiting) time at a station in a pleasant way when they are staying at the station. Interchanges have to be designed to make moving as efficient as possible and staying as pleasant as possible. This means that users want a station where they can move safe, fast and easily and spend their time in a comfortable and pleasant way. The station experience can be enhanced with optimal (intuitive) wayfinding and environmental stimuli (e.g. music, light, colours, infotainment and advertisements) that can turn a transport interchange into an efficient node and a positive unique place. In this chapter, we explain how the quality of stations can be improved.

A new grouping of the eight schools of thought on business management is introduced. Their advancement is initially assessed with the help of a frame of reference, which is based on the principles inherent in Beer’s viable system model. It is proposed that a high degree of systemic advancement is one of the necessary attributes of any business-management concept that will be proven to be highly applicable to managing a firm’s dynamic business in practice. The first assessment reveals that the systemic advancement of the representative concepts varies a lot as follows. Porter’s chained frameworks (representing 1st Porterian school), Barney’s VRIO framework (2nd resource-based school), Sanchez and Heene’s concepts (3rd competence-based school), von Krogh et al.’s concept (4th knowledge-based school), and Hedlund’s heterarchy (5th organization-based school) are fairly systemic, respectively. Martin’s cascade (6th process-based school) is less systemic. Instead, Hamel’s revolutionary concept (7th dynamism-based school) and Brown and Eisenhardt’s competing on edge strategy (8th evolutionary school) are highly systemic. Thus, some promising ways to advance, in particular, the competence-based school of thought on business management are suggested.

Evidence suggests that, in the presence of imperfect market institutions, individuals devote resources to the establishment of reliable connections to attenuate the frictions that reduce trading and insurance opportunities. In this chapter, the author surveys the relevant literature on strategic formation of networks and use it to study this particular economic situation. A simple model is built to show that the investment in strong ties often, though not always, produces stable configurations that manage to improve upon the imperfections of market institutions.