Creating Consumer Value through Physical and Digital Product Bundles: One Firm's Approach

In recent years, firms have bundled digital products and physical products to create value and gain a competitive edge in the marketplace. In this commentary, we discuss one such approach to value creation. We present the case of Ganz, who developed and marketed the Webkinz brand of plush toy collectibles. These Webkinz toys create unique value through bundling a physical collectible toy with digital services accessed through the Internet. In this article, we analyze the elements of the Ganz business model that contribute to creating consumer value. We conclude with implications for managers and suggestions for future research

Stability of string defects in models of non-Abelian symmetry breaking

In this paper we describe a new type of topological defect, called a homilia string, which is stabilized via interactions with the string network. Using analytical and numerical techniques, we investigate the stability and dynamics of homilia strings, and show that they can form stable electroweak strings. In SU(2)xU(1) models of symmetry breaking the intersection of two homilia strings is identified with a sphaleron. Due to repulsive forces, the homilia strings seperate, resulting in sphaleron annihilation. It is shown that electroweak homilia string loops cannot stabilize as vortons, which circumvents the adverse cosmological problems associated with stable loops. The consequences for GUT scale homilia strings are also discussed.Comment: 15 pages, revtex, with 8 figures. Submitted to PR

Development Tests of a Cryogenic Filter Wheel Assembly for the NIRCam Instrument

The James Webb Space Telescope is an infrared-optimized space telescope scheduled for launch in 201 3. Its 6.5-m diameter primary mirror will collect light from some of the first galaxies formed after the big bang. The Near Infrared camera (NIRCam) will detect the first light from these galaxies, provide the necessary tools for studying the formation of stars, aid in discovering planets around other stars, and adjust the wave front error on the primary mirror (Fig. 1). The instrument and its complement of mechanisms and optics will operate at a cryogenic temperature of 35 K. This paper describes tests and test results of the NIRCam Filter Wheel assembly prototype

Contrasting local responses to globalization: the case of volume yacht manufacturing in Europe

This paper is concerned with contrasting the impact of globalization pressures on industrial development in particular localities, with specific reference to the relative performance of regional clusters. A multiple case study approach is adopted in order to examine the decline of volume yacht manufacturing in a long-established English cluster and to compare its responses to globalization with those of major competitors located in other parts of Europe. The case study opens with an analysis of three sector-specific drivers of globalization that have exercised a decisive impact on the sector over the last three decades. In the main analytical section, two alternative approaches to the analysis of clusters (Porter 1990, 2000, Best 2001) are applied to the empirical material. The application of Porter’s ‘diamond’ framework suggests some distinctive performance-related characteristics, while Best’s ‘cluster dynamics’ model provides a more sophisticated explanation of the differential responses and outcomes identified in the English case. The implications for policy are that cluster-level outcomes may be predicated on the internal dynamics of their respective ‘entrepreneurial fïrms’, and that regional development initiatives would benefit from conceptual and empirical studies that can better address the historical and spatial complexity of the underlying processes

Information Technology Worker Recruitment: An Empirical Examination of Entry-Level IT Job Seekers’ Labor Market

This paper investigates two actors in IT recruitment: IT job seekers and IT employers. Signaling theory and image theory inform this research. Signaling theory suggests that there are unique groups of IT job seekers and IT employers. Image theory explains the implications of groups of IT job seekers’ have images of firms. Based on a closet qualitative study, we identify three images that IT job seekers use to classify employers: IT consulting firms, IT vendors, and non-IT-oriented firms that require in-house IT workers. To evaluate these images, we conduct two studies. Study 1 evaluates job seekers. Analysis of data collected from 491 entry-level IT job seekers suggests that unique groups of IT job seekers exist that possess distinct preferences for IT employers, firm and job characteristics as well as report different levels of preparatory job search activity. Study 2 focuses on the IT employers’ perspective. We segment IT employers based on the IT job seekers\u27 images. Results from a survey of 412 firm recruiters indicate that IT employers do not prefer different types of IT job applicants or engage in significantly different recruitment activities. Taken together, our studies provide a rich understanding of how IT job seekers view employers and how employers view job seekers

The Impact of Embeddedness on IT Worker Behavior

Embeddedness theory provides significant insight into understanding the dynamics that constrain and drive the behaviors of IT professionals. Embeddedness provides a frame for understanding the behavior of IT professionals in a variety of different settings, including their job, their place in the IT function, their place in their employing organization, and their relationship with their profession. Furthermore, embeddedness can explain how factors germane to the IT profession, such as learning demands, IT skills development and training can influence individual level outcomes, such as organizational citizenship behaviors, performance, absenteeism and turnover. We intend to gather data from a sample of IT professionals and will conduct data analysis via structural equation modeling

A Great Escape: The Effect of Negative Public Affiliation on Belongingness to Virtual Communities

In this study, we study negative public affiliation, which we define as discomfort with being publicly linked to a potentially socially stigmatized group or interest. We investigate how users who feel negative public affiliation form feelings of belonging to a virtual community. We also consider the impact that brand congruity (how much a user identifies with an interest or brand) has on feelings of belonging. To investigate negative public affiliation, we drew a sample from members of Twilight-themed virtual communities and evaluated the interrelationship between negative public affiliation, brand congruity, and belongingness (how well users feel they fit in virtual communities). Our results indicate that high negative public affiliation and high brand congruity with Twilight positively impacted feelings of belonging: users who felt Twilight reflected their identity but felt uncomfortable publicly discussing their interest felt a stronger sense of belonging in relation to their virtual communities. Our study offers practical implications for firms seeking to design and maintain virtual communities that support the broadest possible group of users. Of equal importance, our study provides a new direction for information systems research on virtual communities and suggests a need to study users who participate in socially uncomfortable, stigmatized, or unacceptable communities

Workgroup Embeddedness and Professionalism among IT Professionals: Impacts on Work-Life Conflict and Organizational Citizenship

Over the course of their careers, IT professionals become embedded in their workplace. In the organizational behavior literature, research has found that job embeddedness provides direct, positive benefits for employers, including lower turnover intentions, lower levels of withdrawal behaviors, lower actual turnover, and more. In this paper, we present a more nuanced view, namely that embeddedness among IT professionals may influence the development of professionalized mindsets, which, in turn, has a mix of positive and negative consequences. To understand these relationships, we introduce a concept called workgroup embeddedness (WGE). WGE captures how IT professionals become embedded in their organizational workgroup or unit. We report a multiphase study that (1) developed a measure of WGE, (2) established the validity of WGE, and (3) evaluated the implications of WGE among 150 IT professionals using data collected at two points in time. We found that WGE drives an increase in professionalism, which, in turn, increases work-life conflict. Also, we found that both WGE and professionalism positively influence organizational citizenship behaviors. These findings indicate that WGE may play a role in socializing and driving more professionalized mindsets among IT professionals, such as professional identification, which leads to positive outcomes like citizenship behaviors but may come at the expense of negative consequences in professionals’ nonwork lives. Post hoc findings highlight that belief in public service and identification with the IT profession influence work-life conflict and organizational citizenship. We conclude with implications for research and practice

Air quality and error quantity: pollution and performance in a high-skilled, quality-focused occupation

We provide the first evidence that short-term exposure to air pollution affects the work performance of a group of highly-skilled, quality-focused employees. We repeatedly observe the decision-making of individual professional baseball umpires, quasi-randomly assigned to varying air quality across time and space. Unique characteristics of this setting combined with high-frequency data disentangle effects of multiple pollutants and identify previously under-explored acute effects. We find a 1 ppm increase in 3-hour CO causes an 11.5% increase in the propensity of umpires to make incorrect calls and a 10 mg/m3 increase in 12-hour PM2.5 causes a 2.6% increase. We control carefully for a variety of potential confounders and results are supported by robustness and falsification checks