Purpose The purpose of this paper is to provide an overview of conceptions and misconceptions relating to Weberian thought after 100 years of synthesis. Design/methodology/approach Extensions of the theories espoused are discussed and a brief review of several relevant empirical research projects is highlighted. Weberian theory is taken as the basis for the discussion of the paper. Its fundamental assertions are discussed and current discussions elucidated. Modern (post–1980) research directions and findings are summarized for helping the scholar understand the current state of Weberian research and the potential for future paths. Findings There are numerous areas for future theoretical and empirical exploration discussed. Such areas as the effects of the Protestant work ethic on social networks across multi–cultural (of which religion and religiousity play a role) boundaries and the dynamics of cultural change within, and between cultural dimensions will provide ever–changing opportunities for at least another century. Inter and intra–national diversity and its dynamics will also provide munificence in this field of study. Originality/value This paper provides scholars a brief review of the status of Weberian research and should evoke new thought related to this theoretical base as well. With the renewal of interest in entrepreneurship and its effects on communities, this area should be a fertile field for researchers, practitioners, and the public in general.

This research investigated the relationship of managers' fear of AIDS and expectancies about employees with AIDS (EWAs; e.g., managers' beliefs about EWAs' ability to perform the job) to the likelihood of firing EWAs. In addition, the relationship of fear of AIDS to expectancies about EWAs also was assessed. Path analysis was used to test the proposed relationships using a sample of 194 managers. Fear of AIDS and expectancies about disruptions in the workplace and reductions in revenue were related significantly to likelihood of firing EWAs. Fear of AIDS also was related significantly to expectancies about disruptions in the workplace, reduced revenue, and increased insurance costs. Suggestions for future research, implications, and study limitations are discussed.

A model depicting the relationships among cooperative strategy, knowledge intensity and export performance is developed and tested using a sample of small and medium sized enterprises (SMEs) from Finland and Norway. The empirical results suggest that knowledge intensity mediates the relationship between cooperative strategy and export performance. Firm size did not show a direct impact on performance, but its indirect effect on export performance through cooperative strategy and knowledge intensity was significant. Overall, the results suggest that SMEs employing cooperative strategies to enrich their knowledge base about export markets can consequently improve their performance.

A conceptual framework for building the strategic vision, developing the necessary infrastructure and mitigating risks when establishing the incubator is discussed. The lessons learned through the establishment of the University managed technology based incubator at ETSU are presented. In the United States, the mix of incubators is divided among mixed use business, technology firms, manufacturing firms, service business, and the remainder community or niche markets. The early technology based business incubators established in the United States were founded at engineering research institutions such as the Georgia Institute of Technology and Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute.

Cross-functional student teams act as a teaching tool for enhanced learning. Cross-functional teams are a challenge to manage whether in the classroom, military or industry. The new areas of research in optimizing team dynamics are evaluated by future research at east Tennessee State University. The concepts, practical information and experience shared in the manuscript are expected to get benefit for courses utilizing cross-functional teams.

The applications of technology-based business incubators as living laboratories for students studying entrepreneurial leadership, are discussed. High-technology business incubators present an excellent experiential learning opportunity for engineering and technology students faced with the challenge of translating theory to practice. Students trained in highly technical fields are often utilized by technology-based business incubators as laboratory workers or scientists involved in directing the research. The business incubators enhance success probability of faculty and student led technology start-ups, but they also provide students with opportunity to consult with dynamic businesses to gain considerable practical knowledge.

The purpose of this paper is to illustrate how institutional analysis can be applied to the study of an evolving institution-the Foreign Sales Corporation (FSC). The FSC was created by the US government to provide a tax incentive to domestic exporters. It has a checkered history because the European Union views it as an export subsidy. After establishing that the FSC is definitely an institution, Scott's institutional synthesis is utilized as a conceptual prism to demonstrate how his framework can be utilized to examine complex phenomena. The study also tests a crucial proposition for institutional theory and explores a research question critical to the continuing development of the theory. That question deals with the persistence of the FSC as an institution.

The environmental compliance manager in a manufacturing environment has a daunting task. Compliance with environmental regulations often requires manufacturing companies to make changes in the production process. These modifications might halt the process temporarily or permanently impede its speed and efficiency. The effectiveness of the firm's environmental compliance manager in ensuring compliance may depend upon the degree of confidence in the manager held by production employees. This paper will address the results of a survey of manufacturing firms located throughout the United States to examine issues affected by the level of experience of environmental compliance managers.

The role of financial and non-financial measures in the evaluation of manufacturing organizations performance, in terms of extent of use, importance and availability of information is studied for a sample of Portuguese financial analysts. The results are derived using cluster analysis and regression analysis and interpreted in light of the relevant literature.

Wind power is the largest renewable energy source, which produces a negligible amount of greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, has gained enormous attention in the electricity generation sector over the past decade in the United States. In this study, a Data Envelopment Analysis (DEA) is implemented to quantitatively evaluate the relative efficiencies of the 39 states' wind power production for the electricity generation. Eight output-oriented CCR (Charnes, Cooper, and Rhodes) models are developed with different combinations of pre-determined four input and five output variables to investigate the effect of electricity prices on the productive efficiency and to test the robustness of the DEA models. The DEA results indicate that two-thirds of the states operate wind power efficiently. Although the high retail price of electricity has a significant contribution to the productive efficiency of the six states, it does not affect the relative efficiency scores of the nineteen states. The location and the size of operation are not advantage/disadvantage to operating wind power at the most productive scale.