In Henry James and Queer Modernity, first published in 2003, Eric Haralson examines far-reaching changes in gender politics and the emergence of modern male homosexuality as depicted in the writings ...of Henry James and three authors who were greatly influenced by him: Willa Cather, Gertrude Stein and Ernest Hemingway. Haralson places emphasis on American masculinity as portrayed in fiction between 1875 and 1935, but the book also treats events in England, such as the Oscar Wilde trials, that had a major effect on American literature. He traces James's engagement with sexual politics from his first novels of the 1870s to his 'major phase' at the turn of the century. The second section of this study measures James's extraordinary impact on Cather's representation of 'queer' characters, Stein's theories of writing and authorship as a mode of resistance to modern sexual regulation, and Hemingway's very self-constitution as a manly American author.
Sigmund Freud, Alfred Kinsey, E.O. Wilson, and others have suggested that social pressure suppresses natural tendencies for humans to express bisexuality, the apparent norm for one of our two closest ...genetic relatives, the bonobo. An analysis of data obtained from a new online sample of 1,150,938 people in 215 countries and territories (63.9% from the United States, United Kingdom, and Canada) who completed the English version of a validated questionnaire of sexual orientation lends support to this idea. A histogram of scores from 0 (exclusive opposite-sex inclinations) to 18 (exclusive same-sex inclinations) forms a near-normal distribution. Although this distribution was likely caused to some extent by sampling bias, it may also reflect the unusual honesty people show when taking online tests anonymously, as an increasing body of evidence demonstrates. We present a formal mathematical expression of a social pressure theory of sexual orientation, along with empirical evidence and computational explorations that support the theory. We also present an analysis of the new data set. Among other findings: sexual orientation labels corresponded to broad, skewed, overlapping distributions of scores. Self-labeled gays/lesbians and, to a greater extent, self-labeled straights, reported that the larger the mismatch between their sexual orientation label and their actual sexual inclinations, the more distress they felt regarding their sexual orientation, a finding that is predictable from cognitive dissonance theory. Educating the public about the true nature of sexual orientation might quell the often rancorous public debates on this topic, as well as give comfort to a large number of mislabeled people.
The concept of market orientation comprises four components: customer and competitor orientations, each with a proactive and responsive dimension. Studies have considered both responsive and ...proactive customer orientation. Competitor orientation, however, has been investigated more narrowly. Research has focused specifically on its responsive dimension, a firm's posture of quickly responding to its competitors' actions and their offerings; but has largely disregarded proactive competitor orientation, a firm's posture towards altering the market's competitive behavior in its favor. This study investigates the role of responsive and proactive competitor orientation on influencing innovation and firm performance, as well as the mediating effects of technology and learning orientation. Utilizing a unique dataset that combines primary and time-lagged secondary data from 306 firms, we find that both responsive and proactive competitor orientation are observable drivers of performance in the market, but in notably different ways. Proactive competitor orientation drives innovation performance, directly and through technology orientation. Responsive competitor orientation, instead, enhances firm performance through learning orientation. By providing insights about the proactive side of competitor orientation, this study supplements and completes the so called “market orientation matrix”. This framework provides guidance for leaders to develop and manage a practical application of, and future research on market orientation.
•Proactive competitor orientation is an understudied dimension of market orientation.•Proactive competitor orientation plays a critical role in innovation performance.•Technology orientation mediates proactive competitor orientation and performance.
It is widely accepted that a strong learning orientation (LO) leverages organizations’ ability to achieve competitive advantage. It is also widely accepted that LO is correlated and works in ...conjunction with strategic orientations to accomplish this end. Yet, the nomological clarity of the relationships between LO and the key strategic orientations remains equivocal. In this paper, we take a step back to better understand the state of LO research, including its relationship with strategic orientations. As a part of this synthesis, we offer several criticisms of the LO literature that hinders its conceptual development as an initiator of capability enhancement, innovation, and performance. A key assertion is that LO is not a strategic orientation per se because it influences the quality of informational inputs into strategic planning, not their focus. That is, LO does not direct firms towards a particular strategic approach as do strategic orientations. Instead, as a dynamic capability it motivates firms to monitor and improve the quality of information used to operationalize all strategic orientations. As such, it improves the efficacy of whichever strategic orientation(s) firms choose to adopt.
Prior research articulated the importance of developing a big data analytics capability but did not show how to cultivate this development. Drawing on the literature on this topic, this study ...develops the concept of Big Data capability, which enhances our understanding of Big Data practice beyond that captured in previous literature on the concept of big data analytics capability. This study further highlights the strategic implications of the concept by testing its relationship to three strategic orientations and one aspect of organizational culture. Findings show that customer, entrepreneurial, and technology orientations, and developmental culture are important contributors to the development of Big Data capability.
Causality orientations theory, a key sub-theory of self-determination theory, identifies three distinct causality orientations: autonomy, control, and impersonal orientation. The theory proposes ...generalized effects of the orientations on motivation and behavior. We meta-analyzed studies (k = 83) testing relations between causality orientations, forms of motivation from self-determination theory, and behavior. Pooled data were used to test a process model in which autonomous and controlled forms of motivation mediated relations between causality orientations and behavior. Results revealed that autonomy and control orientations were positively correlated with autonomous and controlled forms of motivation, respectively. Impersonal orientation was correlated negatively with autonomy orientation and autonomous forms of motivation, and positively with control orientation and controlled forms of motivation. Process model tests revealed total effects of autonomy orientation on behavior, comprising direct and indirect effects through autonomous motivation, and a positive direct effect of control orientation on behavior and a negative indirect effect through controlled motivation, resulting in a zero total effect. Analysis of age, gender, behavior type, study design, and study quality revealed few moderator effects on model relations. Findings support effects of autonomy orientation on motivation and behavior, and the processes involved, and identify constructs that could be targeted, or circumvented, in behavioral interventions.
While strategic orientation can represent an important antecedent to new product development (NPD) performance, research suggests that adopting a strategic orientation alone is not sufficient and a ...better understanding of contingencies is necessary. Based on the dynamic capability view of the firm, this study examines the effect of a firm's ability to connect with external network partners (networking capability) and the ability of NPD project managers to network with stakeholders within the firm (networking ability). The empirical results indicate that market orientation and entrepreneurial orientation are positively associated with NPD performance when a firm has sufficient networking capability to manage network dynamics and when the managers of NPD projects possess networking ability to successfully mobilize the support and advocacy of stakeholders within the firm. The results also show that NPD performance is highest when market (entrepreneurial) orientation, networking capability, and networking ability are all high, thus supporting the proposed three-way interaction.
•Networking capability contributes to the exchange and combination of network resources for product innovation. Market oriented or entrepreneurial oriented firms that enhance their levels of networking capability are more likely to orchestrate network resources than firms that have not adequately developed such a capability.•The implementation of market orientation or entrepreneurial orientation requires managers in charge of new product development to have sufficient networking ability in order to successfully execute the policies associated with market orientation or entrepreneurial orientation.•New product development performance is highest when market (entrepreneurial) orientation, networking capability, and networking ability are all high.
Since the Stonewall Riots in 1969, the politics of sexual identity in America have drastically transformed. Its almost old news that recent generations of Americans have grown up in a culture more ...accepting of out lesbians and gay men, seen the proliferation of LGBTQ media representation, and witnessed the attainment of a range of legal rights for same-sex couples. But the changes wrought by a so-called post-closeted culture have not just affected the queer communityheterosexuals are also in the midst of a sea change in how their sexuality plays out in everyday life. InStraights, James Joseph Dean argues that heterosexuals can neither assume the invisibility of gays and lesbians, nor count on the assumption that their own heterosexuality will go unchallenged. The presumption that we are all heterosexual, or that there is such a thing as compulsory heterosexuality, he claims, has vanished.Based on 60 in-depth interviews with a diverse group of straight men and women,Straightsexplores how straight Americans make sense of their sexual and gendered selves in this new landscape, particularly with an understanding of how race does and does not play a role in these conceptions. Dean provides a historical understanding of heterosexuality and how it was first established, then moves on to examine the changing nature of masculinity and femininity and, most importantly, the emergence of a new kind of heterosexualitynotably, for men, the metrosexual, and for women, the emergence of a more fluid sexuality. The book also documents the way heterosexuals interact and form relationships with their LGBTQ family members, friends, acquaintances, and coworkers. Although homophobia persists among straight individuals, Dean shows that being gay-friendly or against homophobic expressions is also increasingly common among straight Americans. A fascinating study,Straightsprovides an in-depth look at the changing nature of sexual expression in America.
Debate surrounding the performance outcomes of a firm’s strategic commitment to digitalization and environmental sustainability (namely, digital orientation and environmental orientation, ...respectively) is gathering pace. Despite progress, there remains no conclusive evidence on whether, and how digital orientation and environmental orientations enhance innovation outcomes, especially for small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs). Therefore, this paper examines the direct and complementary effects of digital and environmental orientations on the likelihood that SMEs introduce product and/or process innovations (i.e., product and process innovation performance). The study tests its hypotheses on a sample of 369 North American SMEs. Results demonstrate that digital and environmental orientation have a positive direct effect on product and process innovation performance. Instead, the complementary effect of pursuing a dual strategy towards digitization and environmental sustainability has a negative impact on process innovation performance and is not significant for product innovation performance. These results add new insights to theory linking strategic orientation to innovation performance, with specific regard to smaller firms.
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