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The purpose of this paper is to apply a reflective theory of development for entrepreneurial ecosystems in the Muscle Shoals region of northern Alabama. The theory provides guidance for practitioners and policymakers interested in developing entrepreneurial ecosystems.

The theory offers five propositions, which are illustrated and applied in the case study. The propositions include the need for civic leaders recognizing local talent; support networks for entrepreneurs; a quality, connected place; activities designed to increase interactivity for entrepreneurs within the ecosystem; five distinct phases producing replicable, scalable and sustainable projects; and universities providing platforms upon which the ecosystems can develop.

Application of the proposed theory is transforming the entrepreneurial ecosystem in the Muscle Shoals region. In just four years, the project has produced over 30 initiatives and events, precipitously increased student participation in entrepreneurial ventures and raised over $1m.

The theory and its application developed from a collaboration between the Agile Strategy Lab at Purdue University and the Institute for Innovation and Economic Development at the University of North Alabama. This collaboration is replicable, scalable and sustainable, and is a model for university-led entrepreneurial ecosystem development and transformation.

Government agencies have endeavored, with limited success, to improve the methodological consistency of regulatory benefit–cost analysis (BCA). This paper recommends that an independent cohort of economists, policy analysts and legal scholars take on that task. Independently established “best practices” would have four positive effects: (1) they would render BCAs more regular in form and format and, thus, more readily assessable and replicable by social scientists; (2) improved consistency might marginally reduce political opposition to BCA as a policy tool; (3) politically-motivated, inter-agency methodological disputes might be avoided; and (4) an independent set of “best practices” would provide a sound, independent basis for judicial review of agency BCAs.

Strategic investment theory establishes a framework for discussing the benefits of acquisitions. However, these theories do not provide automatic answers to investment questions.

An International Exhibition of Hygiene, Arts, Handicrafts, and Manufactures will be held in the Crystal Palace, Madrid, from September to November next, under the patronage of the Spanish Government. The participation of British exhibitors is particularly desired by the promoters, who state that the attendant expenses will be small. His Excellency the Spanish Minister of Commerce will be the Honorary President; the President of the Committee will be his Excellency the Duke of Tamames and Galisteo, Grandee of Spain, Senator, and ex‐Governor of Madrid. The American war on the one hand, and political changes on the other, have had the effect of seriously damaging the credit of Spain, and many exporters, in view of then existing difficulties, refused to trade until affairs became mere settled. To‐day, however, the Spanish Government are making every effort to restore the economical prosperity of their country. Markets have gained strength, commerce has quadrupled, imports have trebled, and exchange is greatly improved. Well‐advised manufacturers sell in quantity and at good prices, the demand being greater than the supply. Again, the immense natural richness of the Iberian Peninsula, which has not yet received the attention of enterprising and powerful capitalists in any proportion to its value, makes Spain one of those countries where industrial progress is the more certain. The decision to hold this exhibition is evidently a wise one, and considerable advantages may accrue to British manufacturers and merchants taking part therein. There appear to be ample guarantees to show that the undertaking may be supported with every confidence. We understand that all detailed particulars with reference to this important exhibition can be obtained from the Spanish representative in London, Mr. A. DONDERIS, Spanish Arts Exhibition, Compton House, 99A, Charing Cross Road, London, W.C.

Traditional Austrian cycle theory starts from general equilibrium and explains how an expansion of bank credit unmatched by an expansion of saving can create a cycle of boom-and-bust, and with the bust followed by restoration of normality. In contrast, this paper offers a non-equilibrium reformulation of those earlier Austrian insights, which expands and refocuses the analytical agenda of macro theory. Our key analytical feature is the conceptualization of a macro economy as constituted through an open-ended ecology of plans. Within this framework, macro variables are not primitives but are derivative from micro-level interaction. In turn, the computation of optimizing actions is beset with undecidability. The theory of entrepreneurial choice that is suitable for this analytical framework is based on rule-following or algorithmic choice and not on computational maximization. What results is a macro ecology, the internal operation of which entails natural volatility. What are called policy actions, moreover, operate inside and not outside the ecology, and can create induce volatility within the ecology.

American industry is in the midst of a new merger boom. Recent studies, however, show that such mergers do not necessarily enhance profits, boost productivity, aid efficiency, or result in social good. Given these findings, you ought to seriously question whether a proposed merger is a sound strategic decision before acting on it.

Global warming and drastic environment fluctuations have given rise to worldwide emergency, demanding to discover the most unexplored area in the field of social responsibility that is, consumer social responsibility (CnSR). This study aims to define the novel term “CnSR” and its antecedents to accomplish long-term sustainability. An in-depth analysis is executed to discover key antecedents, and proposed tool validation is implemented with the help of the big size of consumer population.

Primary data are collated using consumer responses, and reliability statistics were analyzed implementing Cronbach's alpha, and factor analysis is performed for required validation.

Probing existing research, CnSR was mostly correlated with consumers’ ethical and moral behavior. The present work proposes a unique tool which has successfully revealed a broader approach resulting in four vital antecedents: environmental orientation (EO), ethical and moral disposition (EMD), spiritual orientation (SO) and orientation toward shared consumption (OSC). Cronbach's alpha is adopted to determine internal consistency of the survey and has showed precision of 0.953 which affirms accuracy of the proposed tool.

Splitting of EO using factor analysis into environmental oriented preference (EOP) and recyclable oriented preference (ROP) has indicated further required inputs for better understanding.

Sustainable issues were limited to corporates in the form of corporate social responsibility (CSR) activities. Present work demands consumer awareness about their consumption consequences and fix their responsibility to achieve long-term sustainability.

The present study is the first to identify the antecedents of CnSR and effectively demonstrates a tool for the same.

The purpose of this study is to segment the market of first‐time visitors based on the activities travelers engage in while at a destination using demographics, socio‐economic variables, and trip‐related characteristics.

The research analyzes 1,104 exit surveys completed by first‐time visitors to the Canadian province of Prince Edward Island. Clustering analysis identifies three segments that are refined and tested by multivariate and bivariate analyses.

The results indicate that there are three distinct segments of first‐time visitors based on travel activities: culture‐oriented (26 percent of the market), active (37 percent), and casual (37 percent). The key differences among the three segments are demographic, socio‐economic, trip‐related characteristics, and spending patterns. These results confirm the sustainability and profitability of the market segments.

Segmenting markets for products or services, in any industry, is vital to gain a better understanding of the customer, and to better allocate scarce tourism resources to product development, marketing, service, and delivery. Therefore, all tourism industry stakeholders must be aware of the market segments that are currently visiting the destination.

Tourist segments based on activities are not absolutes, but a continuum. The majority of first‐time visitors to a destination engage in a variety of travel activities across the segments, running from more to less involved. Successful tourism destinations are those that meet the various activity needs of their segments in both their marketing and on the ground.