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The purpose of this paper is to test the efficacy of disclosing unit pricing and increasing the type size of complex terms and conditions in advertising. This is in line with recommendations made by global telecommunications regulators, including in Australia, to protect consumers in selecting mobile plans.

The authors employed a 2 (unit price disclosed: no, yes)×3 (type size: nine-, 12- and 15-point terms and conditions) full factorial, between-subjects experimental design using a scenario and fictional advertisements for 24-month mobile phone plans. This was complemented by 24 in-depth interviews with consumers who had recently purchased “real” plans and their assessment of these.

Extra information in the form of unit pricing has a positive influence on consumers’ value perceptions, but not on perceived confusion or risk. Presenting complex terms and conditions in larger type increases consumers’ perceived confusion and risk, but not perceived value, as consumers have difficulty understanding the complicated information presented.

This study focused on a single country market for one product type of mobile phones, using a limited range of mobile plans.

Public policymakers and providers are advised to pre-test planned changes to advertising’s informational content prior to implementation to identify the efficacy of proposed changes to protect consumers. Consumers may also need to be educated to accurately interpret complex plans.

The study contributes to the domain of informational content in advertising as a form of consumer protection. The effect of unit pricing and larger type for terms and conditions on consumer perceptions has not been examined previously in complex product settings.

Since the early 1970s work‐based interventions to deal with the emotional problems of workers arising from the workplace have emerged from the practitioner community. “Employee Assistance Programmes” (EAPs) have developed principally in the US and other English‐speaking cultures. A descriptive analysis of the emergence of EAPs in the US and the attempt by Australians to transfer this technology to Australia, the structure of that effort and apparent reasons for its eventual stagnation is presented. It points to the relative importance of government agencies, programme development specialists and treatment delivery agencies in programme adoption and implementation. It is evident that employers are working to demonstrate interest in employee health in terms of its impact on productivity and performance and its effects on the costs of health care. These developments are not limited to the USA. As a multinational phenomenon, employer involvement has an open‐ended potential for subtle forms of social control.

This study aims to advance the understanding, in a cross‐cultural context, of the roles that ethical vs. self‐interest considerations play in project continuation decisions. Fifty‐eight executive MBA students from the People’s Republic of China (PRC) completed a project continuation decision using an instrument previously employed by Harrell and Harrison (1994) on U.S. subjects, and Harrison, Chow, Wu and Harrell (1999) on Chinese nationals from Taiwan. Results indicated that while the PRC subjects generally had a lower tendency than these other groups to continue an unprofitable project, they still tended towards continuance. Further analysis revealed that the PRC subjects’ decisions were motivated by an emphasis on their self‐interest as well as ethical considerations. The role of self interests in the PRC subjects’ decisions seems consistent with recent claims that China’s new market ethic is shifting people towards emphasizing their own economic welfare over that of the collective entity. Also of substantive interest was that as compared to their U.S. counterparts, the PRC subjects’ ethical reasoning had a different structure. The relative impacts of their ethical reasoning dimensions also differed from those from their U.S. counterparts.

This paper aims to explore how accounting is entwined in the cultural practice of popular music. Particular attention is paid to how the accountant is constricted by artists in art and the role(s) the accountant plays in the artistic narrative. In effect this explores the notion that there is a tension between the notion of the bourgeois world of “the accountant” and the world of “art for art's sake”.

This paper draws on the cultural theory of Pierre Bourdieu to understand how the character of the accountant is constructed and used by the artist. Particular attention is paid in this respect to the biography and lyrics of the Beatles.

Accounting and accountants play both the hero and the villain. By rejecting the “accountant villain”, the artist identifies with and reinforces artistic purity and credibility. However, in order to achieve the economic benefits and maintain the balance between the “art” and the “money”, the economic prudence of the bourgeois accountant is required (although it might be resented).

The analysis focuses on a relatively small range of musicians and is dominated by the biography of the Beatles. A further range of musicians and artists would extend this work. Further research could also be constructed to more fully consider the consumption, rather than just the production, of art and cultural products and performances.

This paper is a novel consideration of how accounting stereotypes are constructed and used in the field of artistic creation

The purpose of this paper is to examine entrepreneurial leadership and to determine the entrepreneurial leadership skills which are important for success in a developing economy environment. Specifically, the focus of this research was on entrepreneurial leadership within the retail pharmacy sector in Nigeria.

This study was guided by an interpretivist-constructionist perspective. By adopting a qualitative approach, the lived experiences of the retail pharmacy entrepreneurs could be understood. In total, 51 semi-structured interviews were the mode of data collection, and data were triangulated via three sources: entrepreneurs, employees, and literature.

From the study results, a vivid picture of entrepreneurial leadership was formed, which in turn provides the basis for an empirical skill-based model of this phenomenon in a developing economy. This study identifies four distinct entrepreneurial leadership skill categories. These include technical/business skills, interpersonal skills, conceptual skills, and entrepreneurial skills. The findings of this study also show the factors and conditions necessary for entrepreneurial leadership in a developing economy.

The findings of this study have implications in theory and practice. Its results provide an empirical, skill-based framework on entrepreneurial leadership in a developing economy, a subject area for which there exists a lack of background literature. In practice, the findings of this study serve as a useful reference for practitioners and policy makers of the skills and other factors required for people to succeed as entrepreneurial leaders.

The purpose of this paper is to provide an interview with Paul Nunes and Tim Breene, authors of Jumping the S‐Curve

This briefing is prepared by an independent interviewer.

Every successful business eventually peaks. Greatness does not last. It falls prey to competition and commoditization, as well as obsolescence from the introduction of new technologies and innovations. And when a business's revenue growth stalls, only 7 percent ever go on to reclaim growth that is better than the growth of the market overall. The only solution is to jump to another growth curve, again and again.

Paul Nunes and Tim Breene take a look at the nature of the business “S‐curve”. Shaped like the first half of the bell curve, this curve is the characteristic depiction of how a new line of business ramps up, grows aggressively, and then ultimately flattens out. Through their interview, Paul and Tim give practical advice on what businesses should be doing in order to prepare for their next “S‐curve”.

The accelerating pace of business is forcing more top management teams to manage both their current successful business and their future business simultaneously. In the past, managers could often wait until the current business was firmly established, or even beginning to show signs of decline, before starting on the next. No longer. In this interview, Nunes and Breene highlight some of the most important disruptors emerging today, including cloud computing and sustainability, which are affecting companies in all industries, offering advice to companies wanting to take the lead in their own reinvention.

Blues music is in the midst of its second revival in popularity in roughly thirty years. The year 1960 can be identified, with some qualification, as a reference point for the first rise in international awareness and appreciation of the blues. This first period of wide‐spread white interest in the blues continued until the early seventies, while the current revival began in the middle 1980s. During both periods a sizeable literature on the blues has appeared. This article provides a thumbnail sketch of the popularity of the blues, followed by a description of scholarly and critical literature devoted to the music. Documentary and instructional materials in audio and video formats are also discussed. Recommendations are made for library collections and a list of selected sources is included at the end of the article.

This paper aims to uncover the challenges facing entrepreneurs in a developing economy, using the retail pharmacy sector in Nigeria. Furthermore, the entrepreneurial leadership attributes that have proved to be valuable in overcoming the challenges faced in this sector will be identified.

The study is exploratory. Data collection is based on semi-structured interviews with retail pharmacy entrepreneurs and their employees. Although there has been some body of literature on entrepreneurial leadership, (Fernald et al., 2005; Gupta et al., 2004), none have addressed the nexus of leadership and entrepreneurship (Cogliser and Brigham, 2004) from the retail pharmacy sector of a developing economy.

Findings show that retail pharmacy entrepreneurs in a developing economy are faced with challenges such as inadequate capital and poor infrastructural facilities. However, despite these challenges, these entrepreneurial leaders were successful because of key attributes, namely, vision, risk-taking and opportunity recognition and exploitation.

The sample size is a limitation to the study. Future studies with a larger sampling base as well as a different sector will provide greater insight.

This study is the first qualitative study to explore the impact of entrepreneurial leadership in the retail pharmacy sector in Nigeria. It identified the training needs for entrepreneurs in this context. By the participants sharing their experiences, the study identified the prerequisites for success, hence motivating other retail pharmacy entrepreneurs.

The purpose of this paper is to refine our understanding of entrepreneurial leadership by developing a multi-dimensional measure for the construct through a comprehensive approach based on the skills and competencies of entrepreneurial leaders as well as their behaviour and roles.

Following the evidence collected across two cultural and economic contexts namely Iran and Scotland and prior theoretical conceptualisations, this study designed an entrepreneurial leadership scale. Questionnaires were the mode of data collection, and data was triangulated via participants and literature.

From the study a detailed conceptualisation of entrepreneurial leadership was formed, which in turn provides the basis for an empirical-based construct of this phenomenon and its measurement from a cross-cultural perspective. Specifically, this study identifies the items that best describe each dimension of entrepreneurial leadership. By these findings, this study provides the skills, competencies and specific behaviour of entrepreneurial leaders.

The findings of this study have implications the theory and practice. By highlighting the dimensions of entrepreneurial leadership, this study assists the development of theories on how entrepreneurial leadership influence the process of innovation and opportunity recognition. This study is one of the first to examine the validity and reliability of the measure developed for the construct across two countries having different cultural and economic contexts, namely Iran and Scotland. In practice, the findings of this study serve as a useful reference for practitioners of the skills, behaviours and competencies expected of entrepreneurial leaders.

To examine an atypical member of the brand family, “difficult” brands, defined as brands that have intermittent availability, and have inherent performance risks, that, contrary to traditional marketing teachings, may have a positive influence on consumer evaluation and brand loyalty.

Through an examination of the underlying social and psychological reasons that consumers might be attracted to difficult brands, an alternative approach to the marketing of these types of brands might be warranted.

The conceptualisation of difficult brands provides marketers with a means to identify potential antecedents to brand bonding under atypical marketing conditions.

Suggests how researchers, and marketing practitioners might go about understanding the nature of the bond that consumers form with these types of brands, and therefore, how they can take advantage of consumers' desire to develop a relationship with a difficult brand.