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Revisits Parnell and Bell’s arguments that managers have different propensities for participative decision making (PPDM) and develops a modified scale to measure the construct which includes commitment and cultural components. Specifically, findings suggest that a manager’s PPDM is a function of four core factors: beliefs concerning the effectiveness ofparticipation, perceptions about the effect of participation on the manager’s power, theculture of the organization in which the manager operates, and the presence of a genuine commitment to participative decision making.

Relationships among job satisfaction, organizational commitment, organizational citizenship behavior, propensity for participative decision‐making (PPDM), and intentions to leave have been assessed in a number of studies of Western managers. However, there is a dearth of such research in non‐Western organizations. This study examines these relationships among Egyptian managers and suggests prospective directions for additional research in the field.

This exploratory study seeks to bridge a gap in the literature by exploring the life cycle‐strategy relationship to discover the preferred strategy for high and low performing firms in four of the five stages of the organizational life cycle.

In total, 600 managers randomly chosen from chamber of commerce membership lists in the southern USA were mailed an extensive scale that included items to measure life cycle stage, generic strategy, industry attractiveness and stability, size, and satisfaction with performance. The instrument included 20 life‐cycle items, four items for each of the five stages.

Partial support was found for the expected relationship between strategy and performance as firms move through the organizational life cycle. New, high‐performing organizations that were satisfied with their performance preferred first mover strategies, while renewing organizations categorized as high performers also emphasized the first mover strategic approach. Mature high performers preferred a uniqueness strategy over one based on efficiency.

The fifth proposition, concerning declining firms, could not be adequately tested. Other limitations of this study include the limited sample size, the limited size variance of participating firms, and the cross‐industry nature of the sample. Combining the research stream of organizational life cycle with generic strategies and satisfaction with performance complicated the project.

Life cycle and performance research provides managers with a snapshot of high and low performing firms and an understanding of how their situation, decision‐making style, strategy and structure fit. High performers focus on proactive, first mover strategies.

The organizational life cycle is operationalized, demonstrating characteristics for high and low performing firms in each stage except decline.

Current issues of Publishers' Weekly are reporting serious shortages of paper, binders board, cloth, and other essential book manufacturing materials. Let us assure you these shortages are very real and quite severe.

A federal district court injunction in Illinois will reverberate beyond the Land of Lincoln by reaffiriming policy and law for local phone competition in the USA. Chief District Judge Charles P. Kocoras reminded legislators, regulators and telecommunications executives that state regulators are to employ federal telecommunications law and policy, specifically total element long run incremental pricing (TELRIC) for unbundled network elements (UNE‐s), to administer markets for local telephone services. The genius of the decision resides in its fidelity to sedulous implementation of telecommunications statute and precedents, and by so doing, in sustaining public policy that enhances consumer welfare, stimulates investment and spurs innovation.

This paper examines learning‐on‐demand (LOD) ‐ the knowledge‐based learning model; forces for change; early adopters and implementation barriers. According to the authors, LOD reduces knowledge acquisition time, cuts travel costs for both students and teachers, lowers off‐the‐job related expenses, reduces classroom overheads and lowers materials expenses. Through LOD higher‐quality learning improves organizational performance and increases employees’ breadth of knowledge and ability to deploy skills in the service of strategic objectives.

This article advances a conceptual typology delineating the differences and similarities between business- and social-sector new venture creators. Our classification scheme differentiates business and social entrepreneurs, considering characteristics of social entrepreneurs in a larger entrepreneurial context.Within a conceptual 2x2 typology based on two dimensions: drive (passion vs. business) and desired return (financial ROI vs. social ROI), we identify and classify 80 examples of new venture creators into one of the quadrants of an enterprise model of entrepreneurs. Preliminary results reveal similarities between social and traditional entrepreneurs and differentiate social entrepreneurs in terms of traits, goals, tendencies, and motivational sources.