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This paper examines the organizational consequences of aberrant decision making processes in terms of the continuum of knowledge management alluded to by T.S. Eliot (1969); namely information acquisition and use, knowledge and, in turn, insight and wisdom. The thesis of the paper is that a raft of recent corporate failures can be explained away in terms of managerial decision‐making processes that have destroyed the integrity of the organizational learning experience for these organizations, through the corrupt and dysfunctional behavior of their respective managerial elite. It is further argued that when viewed from an anthropological perspective this dysfunctional behavior is akin to cannibalism of the body corporate.

The purpose of this paper is to examine the factors that enhance export decision-makers’ generation of export information, using a non-linear approach and a multi-country context, and so provide export decision-makers with empirically based guidelines on how to maximize their information acquisition efforts.

A broad perspective on export information generation is adopted, including marketing research, export assistance, and market intelligence. The model of antecedents to information generation is tested in three studies (USA, Austria, New Zealand, respectively) using structural equation modeling techniques. Multigroup and hierarchical analysis is performed to assess cross-national invariance of relevant measures, and quadratic effects.

The findings show that the predictors of export information generation vary across the three countries studied, and that many of the relationships are non-linear.

This study contributes to the export marketing literature by developing the understanding of how exporters can develop greater knowledge of information sources on which to build export decisions, and the conditions necessary for enhanced export information acquisition activity. The findings highlight that future research should consider non-linear relationships and the examination of the outcomes of export information generation in a cross-national setting.

The study findings advocate that practitioners (exporters and advisers) tailor their export information generation efforts to the different country needs.

This research responds to a call for more theoretically based studies on antecedents to export information generation, concurrent with the use of more robust statistical methods.

The purpose of this paper is to explore the exploitation of export information in small‐ and medium‐sized enterprises (SMEs) in the contrasting institutional contexts of France and Romania.

The qualitative approach is based on 18 semi‐directed interviews with managers in Romanian and French exporting SMEs. With an absorptive capacity (AC) perspective, this study investigates export information processing in SMEs as a beginning‐to‐end process, including antecedents, inputs, and outputs.

The efficiency of export information acquisition and assimilation in SMEs reflects the richness of their international experiences, as well as the richness of export information sources accessed in foreign settings. The transformation and exploitation of export information in SMEs takes various forms: sense‐making, decision making, and development of new export market‐related know‐how and capabilities. The AC framework appears consistent with exporting SME managers' perceptions. The managers' testimonies are generally homogeneous across both countries.

This research offers valuable insights into how SMEs can acquire relevant information and then assimilate, transform, and exploit that information. It neither establishes causality across the different dimensions of AC nor links information processing and exploitation to performance.

This research uses a dynamic AC framework to clarify export information processes. Contrary to the vast majority of existing studies that focus on a single element or phase of export information management, this study reviews the entire process, from the antecedents of information acquisition to the transformation and exploitation of export information.

This paper addresses the increasingly important economy of China and its associated higher vocational education and training (HVE) system. More specifically, the paper aims to present the findings of a critical review of recent developments in the HVE system in Liaoning province.

As part of this review, specific problems faced by Liaoning provincial and central government agencies in meeting the labour market needs of an economy in transition are explicated, as are current constraints in the implementation of the ongoing reform of the HVE system vis‐à‐vis economic reform. Predominantly secondary data sources were used to conduct the review and one of the authors was directly involved in their compilation. The review period was 1997‐2003, which represented the time span between the enactment of the central government's vocational education law and the most current point in time for which statistics on HVE were then available.

Preliminary findings provide evidence to support the view that the Liaoning HVE system has made a small but significant positive contribution to the growth and development of the provincial economy over the period. Equally, however, the findings identified a number of constraints to the effective operation of the HVE system which could serve to limit continued economic growth. These constraints exist in the form of a low degree of market orientation; an insufficiency of resources both intellectual and physical, stemming from a chronic lack of financial investment; a relatively low level of overall cost effectiveness and a poor image in terms of the perceptions of the population at large as to the value of HVE as a tertiary education pathway. It is the authors' view that the constraints identified within the Liaoning HVE system exist as a general set of constraints within the overall Chinese HVE system.

Understanding the nature of any labour market is a challenging and complex process and the authors are conscious that their preliminary review is deficient in a number of key areas. Firstly, further work is required to better understand the range and relative importance of the strategic drivers of economic and HVE reform in Liaoning province and China generally. Secondly, little has been said regarding the impact of the on‐going state owned enterprises reforms on the performance of the Liaoning HVE system, notwithstanding the fact that the underlying cost effectiveness imperative is greatly affected by these reforms.

Internationally, the Chinese economy is seen as a major driver of growth in the global economy. In light of this it is the authors' view that the findings of this preliminary review provide a better understanding of the issues relating to its continued development, specifically as they relate to reform of the labour market and associated HVE system.

Measures are comparable if and only if measurement equivalence has been demonstrated. Although comparability and equivalence of measures are sometimes used interchangeably, we advocate a subtle but important difference in meaning. Comparability implies that measures from one group can be compared with measures from another group. It is a property of the measures, which is given or not. In particular, comparability presumes valid measures within each group compared. Measurement equivalence, by contrast, refers to the way measures are derived and estimated. It is intrinsically tied to the underlying theory of measurement. Thus, measurement equivalence cannot be dealt with in isolation. Its assessment has to be incorporated into the theoretical framework of measurement. Measurement equivalence is closely connected to construct validity for it refers to the way manifest indicators are related to the latent variable, within a particular culture and across different cultures. From this it follows that equivalence cannot, or should not, be treated as a separate issue but as a constitutive element of validity. A discussion of measurement equivalence without addressing validity would be incomplete.

The purpose of this paper is to propose a new model of corporate governance that is holistic – incorporating internal and macro perspectives across legal, regulatory, sociological, ethical, human resource management, behavioural and corporate strategic frameworks. Researchers have signalled the need for “new theoretical perspectives and new models of governance” due to a dearth of research that is context‐driven, empirical, and encapsulating the full spectrum of reasons and actions contributing to corporate crises.

The approach consists of theory building by reviewing the literature and examining the gaps and limitations.

The proposed model is a distinctive contribution to theory and practice in three ways. First, it integrates the firm‐specific, micro factors with the country‐specific, macro factors to illustrate the holistic nature of corporate governance. Second, shareholders and stakeholders are shown to be only one component of the model. Third, it veers away from singular approaches, to dealing with corporate governance using a multi‐disciplinary perspective. The paper argues that such a holistic and integrated view is a necessity for understanding governance systems.

The challenge is to operationalize the model and test it empirically.

The model is instructive and of use for practitioners in attempting to understand, explain and develop governance models that are appropriate to their national and industry settings.

This paper argues that narrow‐based models are limited in their approach and in a sound and integrative review of the up‐to‐date literature contributes to theory‐building on corporate governance.

The purpose of this paper is to help exporting companies to increase the performance of their exporting activities through collecting sound export information and using it effectively. Specifically, the research objective is to determine the effects of the export information sources, information types, export research methods and the way the export information is used within the company on the measures of export company performance, namely export sales, export growth and export profitability.

The study focuses on the above objectives and aims at enlightening them by testing some hypotheses. A structured questionnaire was sent to 350 Turkish exporting companies through the mail, and 102 responses were received.

The research determined that companies collect export information from different sources and use it for various purposes in their decision making. The research also clearly indicated that the differences in export information sources and information types employed, and information usage in decision making, have different effects on their export performance, mainly measured in terms of sales, market share and profitability.

Although some of the studies in the literature have focused specifically, and in a piecemeal fashion, on the determination, acquisition and utilization of export information into export information systems, there is a lack of studies integrating all the elements into export marketing information systems and investigating the effects of companies' export marketing information systems on company performance. The paper tries to bring all the elements of the export information system in a model and tests the effects of the export information elements on export performance. It is hoped that, the findings will help managers and policy makers.

The purpose of this paper is to examine how the learning orientation of export functions affects their growth performance.

A mail survey of 354 exporters was conducted, and the data were analyzed using confirmatory factor analysis and structural equation modeling.

Results show that the link between response to export information and export growth is quadratic (U‐shaped), and that this relationship is moderated by use of export memory. Export memory itself was found to be beneficial to export growth when responsiveness to export information is low, but detrimental under high levels of export information responsiveness. In turn, response to export information is driven by export information acquisition and distribution, as well as by the management of mental export models. Export memory use is also enhanced by the latter and the integration of export information within organizational systems.

The authors examine learning orientation in the context of export functions for the first time, and in doing so, uncover specific relationships that export learning constructs have with the growth performance of export firms. In addition, most of the organizational learning literature focuses on the information‐processing behaviors of firms (e.g. acquisition, dissemination, use), overlooking the important discipline‐based constructs such as the management of mental models. The authors show how important the challenging of mental export models is for maximizing response to export information and use of export memory.

High levels of (human and financial) investment in export information processing are important for export growth. Export memory use should be encouraged, but only to confirm or triangulate new information. In addition, export staff should be formally trained in challenging the preconceptions they may have developed about their export markets.

This study is the first to consider the learning orientation of export functions, and to do so from a holistic (both information processing‐ and discipline‐based) perspective.

The overall objective of the study was to track, over a two‐year period, the reported incidences of corporate governance transgressions at five strategic South African state‐owned enterprises (SOEs).

Transgressions for each SOE were documented against the Organisation for Economic Co‐operation and Development's framework of best practice in governance for SOEs by reviewing annual reports and newspaper article citations over a two‐year period.

While political intervention in the operational running of each SOE is apparent, government appears not to have fulfilled its oversight role of ensuring the sound governance of SOEs according to best practices. While the SOEs appear to comply with external governance demands, compliance to internal, self‐regulated governance appears to be lacking.

The use of annual reports and media reports to document governance practices are open to subjectivity. The broader extrapolation of findings based on five SOEs must be undertaken with caution.

The present study alerts government to potential areas of corporate governance practices at South African SOEs that warrant attention. As South Africa has recently joined the BRICS bloc of developing countries, the findings from the present study could afford a starting point for future comparative study among this group of countries, which appears to evidence similar challenges with regard to governance within their SOEs.

The present study begins to elevate the debate on corporate governance at South African SOEs from public rhetoric to a deeper understanding of the nature of the major problems that warrant attention. Although limited in scope, the study contributes to the scarce academic literature on public sector corporate governance in Africa in general, and in the South African SOE sector in particular.

Anchored mainly on the institutional theory and resource-based view, this study endeavors to investigate the interplay between home country institutional environment (economic, regulatory and socio-cultural environment), export market orientation and export performance. Besides, this study also aims to examine the moderating role of firm resources (knowledge-based and managerial resources) in the associations between home country institutions and export market orientation.

Drawing on data from a sample of 221 exporting firms in Turkey, the conceptual model is empirically examined by structural equation modeling.

The findings reveal that regulatory environment is conducive to the improvement of export market orientation, which is instrumental in cultivating export performance. Importantly, empirical evidence also proves that higher levels of knowledge-based and managerial resources strengthen the linkage between home country institutions and export market orientation.

Integrating institutional theory with the resource-based view, this research considerably contributes to the current understanding of the export market orientation phenomenon by filling the knowledge gap on the differential impacts of home country’s economic, regulatory and socio-cultural environment on export market orientation. Moreover, this study provides worthwhile insights into the moderating effect of knowledge-based and managerial resources on home country institutions and export market orientation and the interrelationship between export market orientation and export performance in an emerging economy.