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A survey of managers in Israel, Slovenia, and the USA finds a marked similarity with respect to the characteristics and abilities managers need to contribute to organizational success. Factors such as decision making ability, communication skills, commitment to organizational goals, ability to choose the right persons in key persons and ability to delegate are considered to be very important although there are differences with respect to the degree of their importance. Several managerial characteristics are also found to be significantly correlated with the firm’s financial success and employee morale. The findings are framed in the context of convergence‐divergence hypothesis as it applies to the internationalization of management practices.

Using indices of bribe for 19 countries, this study examines the determinants of bribe paying in international business. There is a strong positive correlation between countries where bribe taking is highly prevalent and those countries that are most likely to offer bribes. The propensity to give bribes is determined by economic factors such as per capita income and degree of economic freedom in the country, cultural factors such as power distance and masculinity; and legal regulatory factors such as accounting and tax treatment of bribes. It appears that, to eliminate international bribery, the supply side needs to be addressed in addition to the demand for bribes.

This paper seeks to examine the extent to which national cultural characteristics impact the propensity of firms based in the country to engage in bribery to gain advantages when conducting business overseas.

A set of statistical analyses – bivariate correlations and regression – was performed on data for five cultural variables and one economic variable for 30 countries to ascertain the relationship between these variables on a country's Bribe Payers Index, a measure of bribe giving.

The results indicate that firms from countries low on power distance or long‐term orientation, or high on individualism, are less likely to engage in bribe giving. However, when the level of economic development in the home country as measured by per capita income is included, the impact of cultural factors is muted considerably. Firms from high‐income countries are less likely to give bribes.

Richer countries are likely to have certain practices that create a business ethos where bribing is the exception, not the rule, in conducting business. The study is based on a one‐time sample of just 30 countries for which bribe‐giving data are available. The data culture is limited to the countries studied by Hofstede.

Bribery is less a cultural phenomenon; instead, it is bred in poverty and illustrative of business behavior occurring in a highly regulated and inward‐looking economy. As a country prospers and the domestic operating environment becomes more hygienic, it will have a salutary effect on the international behavior of the firms based in that country.

The study mediates the debate between cultural and economic determinism and provides empirical evidence that bribe‐giving is largely an expression of economic imperatives and not cultural predisposition.

A survey of employee benefits provided to host country non‐managerial employees in China by American firms indicates that these tend to change over time, vary by the size of the firm, and differ between wholly owned and joint ventures. Statistical analysis suggests that the use of certain extrinsic and intrinsic benefits tends to be positively perceived by Chinese employees, and in turn, these favorably impact specific dimensions of organizational performance. The findings show that American firms provide benefits that recognize established practices in China and the current needs of Chinese workers. Implications for employee benefits managers in foreign firms are discussed.

This paper aims to examine whether the vigorous enforcement of anti‐bribery laws has had an impact on the propensity of firms to engage in bribe‐giving in international business.

A set of statistical analyses was performed on data – Bribe Payers Index, a measure of bribe‐giving – from four years spanning a nine‐year period to ascertain trends in bribe‐giving.

The results indicate that the perceived level of bribe‐giving by firms from the major exporting countries has been declining. This decline has occurred at a time when the enforcement of national anti‐bribery laws has been stepped up greatly and international treaties against bribe‐giving have been adopted and increasingly enforced.

A robust legal approach to curb bribe‐giving appears to have a general deterrent effect on the propensity of firms based in the countries studied to engage in bribe‐giving. Data availability is limited to about 20 countries.

International cooperation among law enforcement agencies anchored in national laws and international treaties provide an effective basis to successfully prosecute bribe‐giving in international business.

This study strongly suggests that enforcement of national laws against bribe‐giving, coupled with cooperation among national governments, can play a significant role in reducing the perceived level of bribe‐giving in international business.

Volume 25 celebrates the 25th year of publication for the American Journal of Business (AJB). Launched by eight MAC schools of business in March 1986, the Journal has featured more than 700 authors who have contributed more than 330 research articles at the intersection of theory and practice. From accounting to marketing, management to finance, the Journal prominently covers the breadth of the business disciplines as a general business outlet intended for both practitioners and academics. As the Journal reaches out beyond the MAC in sponsorship, authorship, and readership, we assess the Journal’s first quarter century of impact.

Organizational researchers have long recognized the important role that top managers play within entrepreneurial firms (Ireland, Hitt and Sirmon 2003). Utilizing Covin and Slevin’s (1989) conceptual framework, the current study explores three key entrepreneurial characteristics of top managers and the impact these characteristics have on firm performance. Specifically, we argue that top managers with a high tolerance of risk, those who favor innovative activities and those who display a high degree of proactiveness will positively impact firm performance. In addition, this study examines the influence of top managers’ prestige, structural and expert power on the relationship between entrepreneurial orientation and firm performance. We conclude the study with a discussion of theoretical and practical implications of our findings and suggestions for future research in this area of study.

A recent national survey of the US workforce suggests that adult attention related disorders are producing a wide range of negative outcomes in the workplace. The symptoms typically associated with the disorder (difficulties with activation, concentration, effort, emotional interference and accessing memory) suggest that team work may represent a problematic situation for adults with the disorder. Subjects were one hundred and fifty‐five student teams (subjects=628) from universities in both Canada and the United States. The study begins by confirming a hypothesis arising out of previous qualitative research that team members with adult attention deficit have relatively greater difficulty with necessary but uninteresting tasks. The hypothesis that team members with the disorder will be extraordinarily reliant on their teammates was also supported. The need to secure situations of particular fit, and to do so without undermining the support of fellow teammates, suggests that cooperative conflict management styles are especially important for clinical AAD vs. non‐clinical team members. The specific hypotheses, that cooperative styles (problem solving and compromising) are especially important for producing positive team experiences/expectations and efficacy for working in teams, were supported. Future research needs to sample more workplace teams.