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This paper contributes to the theory of the relationship between human resource management (HRM) and innovation at small- to medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) by conducting a conceptual analysis of the question why Germany boasts by far the highest number of “Hidden Champion” SMEs. This is done by case studies from the army and public financial management of aid disbursal in developing countries. Implications for HRM at SMEs are discussed.

Conceptual analysis using case studies.

Contributing towards filling the gap concerning theoretical underpinnings of the link between HRM and innovation, we suggest that interdisciplinary work from relevant organisational case studies indicates that the concept of institutional design to provide motivational incentives may be relevant, especially concerning high performance systems with bundles of HRM practices. Specifically, the fundamental principle of subsidiarity is found to be important.

The research is broadly applicable to organisations of all kinds, as the diverse case studies indicate. We point towards tentative implications for the firms that account for the majority of the work force, namely SMEs, and among them the most successful ones, the so-called “Hidden Champions”.

HR managers can improve motivation, performance and innovation by decentralising decision-making as far as possible, while ensuring the overall organisational goals are well understood and shared, and resources are dedicated to train and educate staff. Additionally, the conception of rank-order competitions complements the institutional design.

Greater productivity and material performance as well as greater job satisfaction via larger autonomy and decision-making power on the local level can be achieved by the application of subsidiarity as key HRM configuration. This can be employed at SMEs, as discussed, but also other organisations. Further, the principle of subsidiarity and the greater emphasis on staff training and education may help reduce inequality.

Our paper contributes towards filling the gap in the literature on the link between HRM and innovation, by identifying the role of subsidiarity. We introduce an interdisciplinary perspective, with contributions from economics and psychology, among others. We also contribute to the history of HRM.

Develops an original 12‐step management of technology protocol and applies it to 51 applications which range from Du Pont’s failure in Nylon to the Single Online Trade Exchange for Auto Parts procurement by GM, Ford, Daimler‐Chrysler and Renault‐Nissan. Provides many case studies with regards to the adoption of technology and describes seven chief technology officer characteristics. Discusses common errors when companies invest in technology and considers the probabilities of success. Provides 175 questions and answers to reinforce the concepts introduced. States that this substantial journal is aimed primarily at the present and potential chief technology officer to assist their survival and success in national and international markets.

Nobody concerned with political economy can neglect the history of economic doctrines. Structural changes in the economy and society influence economic thinking and, conversely, innovative thought structures and attitudes have almost always forced economic institutions and modes of behaviour to adjust. We learn from the history of economic doctrines how a particular theory emerged and whether, and in which environment, it could take root. We can see how a school evolves out of a common methodological perception and similar techniques of analysis, and how it has to establish itself. The interaction between unresolved problems on the one hand, and the search for better solutions or explanations on the other, leads to a change in paradigma and to the formation of new lines of reasoning. As long as the real world is subject to progress and change scientific search for explanation must out of necessity continue.

The ageing process is often discussed as though it is unique to humans. However, it can be observed throughout the plant and animal kingdoms. In every species in which it occurs, the ageing process has common traits. It is a progressive, intrinsic, cumulative and deleterious process that eventually gives rise to physiological frailty, morbidity and death. Historically, biogerontology had a slow start but the last 10 years have seen exceptional progress in understanding both why and how ageing changes occur. As a result of this new knowledge, interventions that could produce longer, healthier human lives are close to becoming clinical realities. Unfortunately, the speed and scale of these advances is not well understood outside the relatively small community of biological gerontologists. This article reviews some of these advances for a non‐specialist audience, speculates on their potential impact and identifies current barriers to future progress.

Are the capital markets of leading industrialized nations rational and efficient? This powerful hypothesis was badly dented by the work of De Bondt and Thaler (1985) on stock market overreaction and by subsequent research on momentum and reversals in prices and earnings.

Human psychology, at times predictably irrational, drives the markets. This paper investigates this issue.

The author reviews the origins of the idea of overreaction, how behavioral insights modify standard asset pricing theory and how they contribute to our understanding of the world of finance.

The paper reveals the origins of the idea of overreaction, how behavioral insights modify standard asset pricing theory and how they contribute to our understanding of the world of finance.

Analysis of organizational decline has become central to the study of economy and society. Further advances in this area may fail however, because two major literatures on the topic remain disintegrated and because both lack a sophisticated account of how social structure and interdependencies among organizations affect decline. This paper develops a perspective which tries to overcome these problems. The perspective explains decline through an understanding of how social ties and resource dependencies among firms affect market structure and the resulting behavior of firms within it. Evidence is furnished that supports the assumptions of the perspective and provides a basis for specifying propositions about the effect of network structure on organizational survival. I conclude by discussing the perspective's implications for organizational theory and economic sociology.

The purpose of this paper is to identify the mediating effect of fan-page followers’ engagement activities and moderating role of followers’ demographic profile and trust level on their purchase intention.

This study utilised the customer engagement behaviour and consumer involvement theory as a foundation to explore the impact of variables. Structural equation modelling was utilised to test the model with the data collected from 307 Facebook fan pages’ followers of five Malaysian companies.

It was shown that following fan pages will influence fan page engagement, which in turn affects purchase intention and social media connectedness. Further analysis indicated that the impact of “follow” and “engagement” on purchase intention differs between genders, ages, level of trust and income.

The study serves as a basic fundamental guideline for academics and researchers to interpret the concept of following fan pages and engagement actions and its effects on purchase intention and social media connectivity, as well as opening a vast area of unexplored researches on the subject of social media.

The research provides information for business-to-consumer companies in utilising fan page based on user categories.

This study proposes the application of an empirically tested framework to the fan-page follow actions. The authors argue that this framework can provide a useful foundation for future social commerce research. The results would help academics be aware of fan page and its user’s engagement actions, which will provide a new avenue of research.

This paper attempts to trace and describe the role played by the government sector – the state – in promoting economic growth in Western societies since the Renaissance. One important conclusion is that the antagonism between state and market, which has characterised the twentieth century, is a relatively new phenomenon. Since the Renaissance one very important task of the state has been to create well‐functioning markets by providing a legal framework, standards, credit, physical infrastructure and – if necessary – to function temporarily as an entrepreneur of last resort. Early economists were acutely aware that national markets did not occur spontaneously, and they used “modern” ideas like synergies, increasing returns, and innovation theory when arguing for the right kind of government policy. In fact, mercantilist economics saw it as a main task to extend the synergetic economic effects observed within cities to the territory of a nation‐state. The paper argues that the classical Anglo‐Saxon tradition in economics – fundamentally focused on barter and distribution, rather than on production and knowledge – systematically fails to grasp these wider issues in economic development, and it brings in and discusses the role played by the state in alternative traditions of non‐equilibrium economics.

Fashion advertising as a contemporary ideological form has the power to deliver semiotic messages, which frames individuals' perception. Promoting perfection in consumer culture has resulted in the creation of unrealistic self-image and negative effects that led to psychological illnesses and pathological behaviours. The purpose of this paper is to investigate the ideology behind the contemporary fashion advertising that embraces imperfection and is linked to consumer subjective well-being.

Nine fashion ads were selected based on the WGSN consumer report Embracing Imperfection. A sample of images was analysed applying semiotic analysis combined with the criteria of content analysis.

The results supported the notion that some contemporary fashion communication brands are challenging the conventional idea of perfection. Five themes were identified as the characteristics that bridged the visual surface of advertising with its hidden ideologies of imperfection. By supporting “anonymity”, fashion brand communication is against excessive self-focus and helps reducing anxiety due to being imperfect. By promoting “rawness”, it encourages authenticity and uniqueness. “Banality” rejects materialism and promotes the beauty of the boring day. “Ugliness” advocates for removal of the single standards and celebrate individual differences, and “spontaneity” is interchangeable for humanity, freedom, openness and acceptance of self.

This study is among the few attempts to conduct semiotic analysis of fashion advertising images aiming to identify the visual components and ideologies that could potentially be linked to subjective well-being in fashion communication.

The corporate board of directors is a body entrusted with power to make economic decisions affecting the well‐being of investors' capital, employees' security, communities' economic health, and executives’ power and perquisites. The power of the board of directors is often forgotten in this complex society. Managers, the government, and special interest groups seem to impose upon the corporation situations that are never addressed by the board of directors. Yet it is the board that has the ultimate internal authority within the corporation. Corporate charters granted by the various states specifically assign to the board of directors the responsibility of management, or the delegation of that management. The directors act as trustees for the shareholders, selecting the management structure of the firm, and delegating to that management structure those administrative matters the board itself chooses. The degree of delegation is a decision of each board, with most boards delegating away the major portion of their decision‐making authority.