Holiday Shoppers Get in the Spirit

FROM THE DAILY NEWS

Promotions, Profits

Tony Gao, a marketing professor from the business school at Northeastern University, said that retailers must balance promotions with profits.“The negative news and anticipation for a slow holiday business season actually propel retailers to offer more and larger sales as a way to lure consumers into the store,” Gao said. “The competition among retailers in offering sales will drive down the profit margin for the retailers but actually benefit the consumers.”

To read this entire story, visit: http://www.paradigmshiftpr.com/Holidayshoppers.htm

Reebok's win-win relationship with business school

Recently, five teams of MBA students at the College of Business Administration at Northeastern University conducted extensive marketing studies for Reebok on different aspects of marketing in the digital age. This research and analysis was performed as part of a term-long project in an elective marketing class entitled “Digital Marketing,” taught by Prof. Fareena Sultan.

Students examined such cutting edge new media phenomenon as:
· Mobile Marketing
· Second Life
· Marketing Options in Video Games
· You Tube
· Online social networks (MySpace, Facebook etc.)

They examined trends, opportunities for marketing, and presented examples of best practices of using these trends for marketing purposes. Students also made specific recommendations to Reebok as to how they could take advantage of these new digital marketing trends. They wrote extensive reports and made oral presentations to senior executives from Reebok.
The fact that MBA students were conducting market research and analysis for a Global 500 company is not unique. What is? The fact that the very people conducting the in-depth analysis and research make up the very audience companies like Reebok are trying to target through expanded digital marketing efforts.

For Reebok this was an ideal collaboration situation. “We are dedicating an increasing percentage of our marketing dollars to reaching young consumers where they live: on mobile devices, video games and on the Internet. Digital marketing is a relatively new discipline, and , we are constantly striving to uncover the most effective ways to communicate with consumers via these new media that is relevant to our brand,” said Catherine Thomason, Director, Global E-Commerce & CRM in Digital marketing at Reebok. “Working with bright MBA students studying the latest techniques in digital marketing to analyze our existing efforts and recommend improvements enables us to get direct feedback from the audience most affected by these new marketing tools and techniques.”

“In addition to the research they conducted for Reebok, students in my digital marketing class also benefited from studying new business cases addressing hot topics, such as Addidas’ ‘Brand in the Hand’ mobile marketing campaign.” says Prof. Sultan. “Our aim is to provide students content on the latest trends in marketing as well as to train them in skills necessary for marketing in today’s competitive environment,” she adds.

In Prof. Sultan’s view, marketing students at Northeastern reap the unique benefits of working with, and learning directly from, corporate marketing executives via collaboration such as the one with Reebok. Additionally, Reebok is a member of the newly formed Marketing Track Advisory Board in the MBA program at the CBA.

“Our Marketing Track Advisory Board is made up of senior marketing executives from companies such as Reebok, Blue Cross Blue Shield, EMC, Intel and Coca-Cola, among others” Prof. Sultan adds. She is the chair of the Marketing Career Track in the College of Business Administration.

“Our heritage at Northeastern has been one of close collaboration with the corporations that hire our students, and the retooled MBA we launched last Fall has only sharpened that focus,” Prof. Sultan points out. “We have met with the Board, asking them specifics about the skill-sets they are looking for in MBA graduates. We review our marketing curriculum with them to fine-tune it and make sure these skills are being taught and developed in all of our marketing students.” she adds.

MBA marketing students benefit from this close collaboration between the CBA and senior corporate marketing executives in terms of ideas for new courses and emphasis in these courses on marketing skills that will be needed in the workplace.

Top of Mind: Strengthening Turnaround Tactics

FROM BUSINESS FINANCE

... hedge funds and private-equity firms that took big positions in cash-poor companies are leading the pack in the effort to ward off financial woes as they seek to boost performance at the first sign of trouble. According to the Lipper HedgeWorld & Schwartz Cooper 2007 insolvency survey, nearly one in three hedge funds has consulted a turnaround or workout professional regarding positions in its portfolio.

And in turnaround situations, timing is critical. "The key is getting the turnaround firm in early," says Harlan Platt, a professor at the College of Business Administration, Northeastern University. "When a person is sick, they need to get to the doctor's office or hospital quickly. What holds them back is either the feeling that things will get better on their own or that other firms in the same industry are facing similar problems, so they must be doing OK."

To read the entire article, please visit: http://www.paradigmshiftpr.com/topof.htm

What's next at Fidelity?

FROM THE BOSTON GLOBE

While few other companies identify successors to their leaders, Fidelity is an unusual case because of Johnson's age and the fact the family holds 49 percent of its stock, giving the Johnsons effective control of a business that manages the retirement accounts of millions of clients.

Generally speaking, any firm in such a situation can expect questions about its intentions, said Carlos Rivero, a senior partner at the Delta Organization & Leadership unit of Oliver Wyman in New York.

"Succession becomes a legitimate issue for stakeholders because of issues like the movement of talent out of the company or the age of the CEO," he said.

Ted Clark, head of Northeastern University's Center for Family Business, said the various scenarios outlined in the published report are typical of a company struggling to settle on a succession acceptable to all family members.

The best plans, Clark said, "find a way to give the current leadership generation an opportunity to remain vital within the business, while giving the next generation the power and authority they need to operate the business." As things stand, he said, Fidelity's uncertainty could pose a problem if competitors cite it to poach company executives.

If you'd like to read the rest of this story, please visit http://www.paradigmshiftpr.com/whatsnextfidelity.htm

Clean Water Act: overall goal long way from being met

For those interested in the Clean Water Act, I thought I would share an overview of a chapter of a book looking at the sustainability of this 35-year old federal law. Bob Adler is an environmental legal expert and professor at the SJ Quinney College of Law at the University of Utah. His bio follows the chapter excerpt.

The Clean Water Act (CWA) has been one of the Nation’s most successful environmental laws in cleaning up some of the most blatant discharges of pollution from factories and sewage treatment plants. Toxic chemical releases into surface waters have dropped dramatically, and water bodies that were once virtually dead are coming back to life. Nevertheless, the overall goal of the law to restore the chemical, physical, and biological integrity of the nation’s waters is a long way from being met. The following facts (and sources) give just a few examples:

· Impaired waters. States are required to identify all water bodies that are impaired for one or more reasons. According to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) most recent national compilation of this information (2004), states reported almost 40,000 impaired water bodies throughout the country. Leading sources of impairment were pathogens, mercury, sediment, other metals, nutrients, oxygen depletion, pH, temperature, habitat alteration, polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs), turbidity, pesticides, and salinity.[i]

· Contaminated fish. The most recent complete EPA listing of fish advisories (for 2004) identifies 3,221 advisories covering more than one third of the nation’s lake acreage, and about one quarter of its river miles (over 14 million lake acres and about 840,000 river miles).[ii] Bioaccumulative contaminants include mercury, PCBs, chlordane, dioxins, and DDT. EPA detected mercury, PCBs, dioxins and related compounds, DDT, chlordane, and dieldrin in lake fish taken from 486 sites out of 500 lakes sampled from 2000 to 2003.[iii]

· Unhealthy aquatic ecosystems. In a comprehensive recent survey, EPA concluded that 42% of the nation’s stream length is in poor biological condition, 25% in fair condition, and only 28% in good biological condition (5% not assessed).[iv] The most significant causes of impairment were nutrients, riparian disturbance, streambed sediments, and loss or alteration of in-stream fish habitat and riparian vegetation.

Although some pollution from industrial and municipal sources remains, the leading unresolved cause of water pollution, and one that is poorly addressed by the Clean Water Act as written, is so-called “nonpoint source pollution,” or polluted runoff from farms and other intensive land uses such as urbanization, logging, and mining. Loss and degradation of aquatic and riparian (streamside) habitat also contributes significantly to the deteriorating health of aquatic ecosystems.

As the Associate Dean for Academic Affairs and James I. Farr Chair in Law at the S.J. Quinney College of Law, Robert Adler’s goal is “to stimulate more interdisciplinary work in this increasingly global world … [and] to prepare students for that world — an environment that changes almost continuously, and which demands skills that go far beyond what has been traditionally taught in law schools.” As a scholar, Adler urges a broader, more holistic approach to the restoration and protection of aquatic and other ecosystems than is used in traditional environmental laws alone, which focus on discrete kinds of environmental harm. After completing a B.A. from Johns Hopkins University (1977) and a J.D. from Georgetown University Law Center (1980 cum laude), Adler practiced environmental law for 15 years. He has published dozens of articles and reports in law, policy and science journals including Vanderbilt Law Review, Harvard Environmental Law Review, Utah Law Review, and George Washington Law Review, and a book on the history and impact of the Clean Water Act. He will publish two books in 2007 — Environmental Law: A Conceptual and Pragmatic Approach (with David Driesen, Aspen Publishers) and Restoring Colorado River Ecosystems: A Troubled Sense of Immensity (Island Press). He regularly teaches courses in civil procedure and environmental law, and is currently co-designing an interdisciplinary course called “Environmental Law and Engineering,” in which law students and environmental engineering graduate students will work together on real-world environmental problems in Utah. Adler loves to spend time in Utah’s outdoors, and in 2005 completed the Wasatch Front 100-mile trail race through Utah’s beautiful Wasatch Mountains.
[i] U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, 2004 National Assessment Database, available at http://www.epa.gov/waters/305b/index_2004.html (visited June 6, 2007).
[ii] Id.
[iii] U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Office of Water, Fact Sheet: 2005 Update, The National Study of Chemical Residues in Lake Fish Tissue, EPA-823-F-05-012 (2005).
[iv] U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Wadeable Streams Assessment, A Collaborative Survey of the Nation’s Streams, EPA 841-B-06-002, at ES-5 (2006).

Spy school: FBI teams up with Northeastern University to train agents

FROM THE BOSTON BUSINESS JOURNAL

Even good sleuths need lessons on management. A case in point is being illustrated at Northeastern University's College of Business Administration, which recently tailor-made a workshop for the Federal Bureau of Investigation.

The course, titled Emerging Executive, takes place at the Warren Conference Center & Inn in Ashland, where 50 unit chiefs from the FBI gathered for three days in September to engage in role playing, case studies and managerial instruction. The workshop, which takes its cues more from the world of business than the realm of crime fighting, continues Nov. 14 with 50 more FBI managers. Another 450 agents will take the course by year's end.

To read the entire story, please visit http://www.paradigmshiftpr.com/spyschool.htm

Scramble Hits Wall Street

FROM THE NEW YORK SUN

"The full impact of layoffs stemming from the subprime fallout has yet to be felt," the chief economist at Moody's Investors Service, John Lonski, said. "You will see layoffs begin to pick up toward year end and continue through the first quarter of next year."

During the last recession, financial industry employment in New York peaked in the third quarter of 1987 with 262,000 jobs. It reached its nadir three years later, with 209,000 jobs — a drop of 20%, according to Mr. Lonski. This means that in the last downturn, one out of every five jobs on Wall Street was lost. It took more than five years before the financial sector regained its pre-recession hiring levels.

"If the damage is broader than we anticipated, we could see 20% job cuts again," a professor of finance at the College of Business Administration at Northeastern University, Harlan Platt, said. "The simplest way to cut costs is to let people go."

October's national jobless rate was 4.7%, the same as September, besting Wall Street estimates. Still, this number is actually 0.3 percentage points higher than last year — the steepest yearly gain since October 2003, according to Mr. Lonski. In addition, October's three-month ratio of employment to the working-age population was down 0.4%. Since 1969, each time this number dropped by 0.5%, a recession occurred, he said.

To read this entire story, please visit: http://www.paradigmshiftpr.com/scramblehits.htm

Holiday Fashion

I thought you might be interested in the thoughts of Danika Quinones, fashion expert and associate publisher for LuxeMont, owners of JustLuxe and LuxeVegas (www.justluxe.com) & (www.luxevegas.com). Danika’s personal and professional ambition is founded in fashion and publishing. With a Bachelor of Arts in Communication, Danika has held a number of key marketing and product development positions for several fashion industry leaders, including Nordstrom, Louis Vuitton and Gucci. Danika brings on-air radio broadcast experience as well as extensive background in publishing and an exceptional eye for fashion to LuxeMont. In her role as Associate Publisher, Danika is involved in the day-to-day trend analysis and production of all fashion consumer and industry related content.

Here are some of her thoughts:

A nice way to wear a shawl or a wrap is to style it like a cape or a poncho. By draping it over your shoulders and arms you can then keep it in place by pinning a embellished pin or a vintage pin in the corner. Pins are a great and unique way to keep a wrap secured around your shoulders!

Pashminas are cashmere wraps that come in an array of bright colors. and are great to use as a wrap, a chic blanket at the airport, or a scarf. They are soft, light weight, and very comfortable. Cashmere and wool scarf's are perfect when paired with jeans, a pair of heels, and a T-shirt. You can add instant glamour to a basic outfit with a bright colored scarf.

If you are going to be wearing formal attire, Silk wraps are best, or if it is cold, stick with a cashmere blend. A blend of silk and cashmere always works best. Try to stay away from 100% wool and other heavy fabrics. Heavy fabrics bulge, and look unflattering when paired with evening or cocktail dresses. If your dress has a pattern to it, stick with a solid color wrap. If the dress is a solid basic color you could get away with a multi-colored wrap. Keep in mind your wrap/shawl should compliment your dress. Choose a color that will match nicely, and don't pair a dark colored shawl with a light colored dress... If you're in doubt wear a black wrap with dark colored dresses, and a cream/champagne color wrap with light dresses. Don't wear a white shawl- you will look like a bride.

If you are wearing a dress the best size to get would be considered a "wrap" or a "stole". A wrap is usually about 28" x 80" for a rectangular version, or 55" x 55" for a square.

My favorite wrap that can be paired with jeans or a cocktail dress is the Monogram Shawl by Louis Vuitton : http://www.eluxury.com/estore/browse/product_detail.jsp?id=10149490

Industrial Evolution

FROM ENTREPRENEUR MAGAZINE

Don't limit your customer base; explore all the industries that could possibly use your product or service. That's exactly what Neil Wadhawan did when he co-founded Heartwood Studios with Raj Raheja. Wadhawan, 25, was a student at Northeastern University when he met Raheja, 32, through a family connection. Together they developed a company to produce 3-D renderings and animations for architects and designers. "We knew [3-D animation] was a necessary tool. Being able to visualize something before it's built is powerful," says Wadhawan.

After starting the business in 2002, Wadhawan and Raheja realized that their 3-D animations could be vital to more than just architects and started looking for other industries in which they could put their services to use. They began serving clients in the defense and aerospace industries, and they've even branched out into the sports world with stadium animations for the Dallas Cowboys and New Jersey Nets.

Marketing to each specialized industry takes serious preparation--Wadhawan says they develop a different marketing approach and talking points for each one. But he points out that sharing projects from one industry with clients from another can help make the sale. "Often, somebody in the sports world, for example, will love to see something from the defense world," says Wadhawan. "It helps them understand that this digital technology can be used [to do anything]."

To read more, please visit: http://www.paradigmshiftpr.com/industrialevolution.htm

What a Weak Dollar Means for U.S. Shoppers

FROM SMART MONEY

If there's good news, it's that the dollar's recent decline represents a relatively small slide in a six-year plunge, which has seen its value decline by about 30% against the Fed's trade-weighted index of major world currencies. "The dollar has been weakening against the major currencies for several years, so the bulk of price changes have already taken place," says Tony Gao, assistant professor of marketing at Northeastern University. "The question is really how much further."

If you'd like to read the entire article, please visit: http://www.paradigmshiftpr.com/whataweak.htm

New protection from top 20 internet security attack targets

As you may know, October was Cyber Security Awareness Month. Although over 70% of network attacks are Web-based, most businesses either think they have adequate firewall security, or fear that the steps they would need to take to make their networks truly impenetrable are far too costly.

In the coming weeks, Port80 Software ( www.port80software.com ), a leading developer of enhancements for Microsoft IIS Web servers, will be releasing ServerDefender VP (Vulnerability Protection), a new Web application firewall which protects the application layer (ASPX, PHP, CFM, JSP, etc.) and databases from Web-based attacks, protecting a company’s network.

"Companies pay way too much for services to get comprehensive network security, or for a security solution that does not get the full HTTP/HTTPS picture that only a Web server can see, and thus are not as effective," says Chris Neppes of Port80 Software.

ServerDefender addresses attacks such as SQL Injection, cross-site scripting (XSS) and request forgery (CSRF), directory traversal, zero-day, brute force, denial of service, privilege escalation and other serious Web applications network assaults. In fact, ServerDefender protects networks from the top 20 Internet Security Attack targets listed by SANS: http://www.sans.org/top20/

Some of unique benefit of ServerDefender VP are:

· There is no reliance on signatures; instead, it applies best practices to sanitize inputs to a site and to capture error responses from the application layer.

· This new product offers both audit survivability and adherence to the PCI government data requirements.

· Finally, this product is an entry-level server security product (~$350 per server), enabling companies to avoid having to pay thousands of dollars to security consultants by incorporating security best practices automatically.

Study: Audit Committees Rubber-Stamp Management

FROM CFO

While audit committees have become much smarter and more active since passage of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002, they are still feeling out their new authority. Even though they wield more influence than ever over the hiring and firing of auditors, for example, management continues to hold greater sway. And despite their new responsibility for resolving management-auditor disputes, many audit committees are still reluctant to do so.
Those are some of the findings of a new study by accounting professors at Boston College and Northeastern University, "Auditor Experiences of Corporate Governance in the Post Sarbanes-Oxley Era." The study follows up on a similar report by the same authors, which was based on a 2000 auditor survey.

To see this entire story, visit http://www.paradigmshiftpr.com/rubberstamp.htm

Redefining the MBA

FOR THE BOSTON GLOBE

The arrival of Larson, Schmittlein, and Magid hastens a leadership turnover at Greater Boston business schools after a long period of stability. Jay O. Light took the reins at Harvard Business School last year. Andrew Boynton became dean of Boston College's Carroll School of Management in 2005, and Thomas Moore dean of Northeastern University's College of Business Administration in 2004.

Business-oriented Babson College in Wellesley, which emphasizes entrepreneurship, is expected to name a new president some time next year. Bentley, meanwhile, is interviewing candidates to be the new dean of business under Larson.

The changes at the top have been accompanied by a reassessment and, in some cases, a tweaking of what marketers call the business schools' "brands" at a time when all are vying for students, faculty members, recruiters, and relevancy. Northeastern, for example, has sought to differentiate itself with an emphasis on practical studies like supply chain management. BC has been building its business program around ethical values, while Harvard has been pushing to extend its leadership brand into emerging fields like healthcare.

To see this entire article, visit: http://www.paradigmshiftpr.com/redefiningMBA.htm

Unique financial model for migrating from enterprise to SaaS

Many enterprise software companies, particularly publicly-traded ones, have struggled/continued to struggle with combating the advantages of SaaS. Making this transformation would mean a dramatic revenue shift, from a lump-sum up front payment and perpetual licensing fees, to a distributed cost model. One company has found a unique way to help Lawson address this dilemma.

Velocity Technology Solutions (www.velocityus.com) is a premier provider of Lawson consulting and hosting services. Leveraging decades of consulting know-how related to Lawson systems, and coupled with a hosting partnership with Verizon, Velocity is able to design, build, implement and run Lawson solutions using a top-tier infrastructure, including multiple hardened facilities and a global footprint. By offering a “one-stop-shop” for designing, implementing and running solutions based on Lawson, Velocity can offer something very unique: financing which distributes or flattens the cost of software implementation.

“We offer financing through our partnership with Verizon. If a company comes to us to build, implement and run a Lawson-based solution, Verizon helps us pay the upfront cost to Lawson, which they love (as a publicly traded company), and we can flatten the operational cost for our customer over a manageable period of time,” says Greg Benton, senior director of alliances and marketing at Velocity. “In essence we offer a hybrid-SaaS model, by offering the power of a tier-one hosted solution similar to investment in an enterprise license, with the risk reduction and flattened cost structure of an SaaS model. It’s a win-win for everyone involved.”

For more about their premier relationship with Lawson, visit: http://www.velocityus.com/subpage.cfm?tbl=2&sct=0

Job candidates want employers to show them the love

FROM BOSTON BUSINESS JOURNAL

Indeed, oftentimes showing the love means bearing the company's heart -- its corporate culture. In the war for talent, Northeastern University's Lynn Sarikas is witnessing employers be proactive in helping candidates understand that culture before they take the job.

"Successful employers are showing employees that they have a vested interest in seeing the employee succeed," said Sarikas, director of the MBA career center at the Boston-based university.

"They are providing much more detailed plans up front about what training will be provided and when to ensure that the employee is prepared for success."

FROM FORTUNE MAGAZINE

Next, have an event strategy, advises Lynne Sarikas, director of the MBA Career Center at Northeastern University.

"Don't start at the first table by the door and work your way around the room. You may spend too much time waiting in line and miss the recruiters you most need to see," says Sarikas. "Instead, prioritize which companies you care about most and concentrate on meeting those at the top of your list."

When you arrive, "quickly scope out the room to see if one of your top-priority companies has no line or a very short one and, if so, go there first," Sarikas suggests. "But do be willing to wait a little for those most important to you if you have to."

For anyone planning to attend a job fair, including your classmates who may have the luxury of spending a whole day there, Salikas offers these additional tips:

To read this entire article, please visit: http://www.paradigmshiftpr.com/10ways1.htm

Web Retailers Who Try to Improve the Performance of Their Sites

One way that online retailers are improving the functionality of their Web sites is to syndicate content from retail manufacturers, instead of embedding it into their own sites. Below I try to put this in context:

According to the executive director of Shop.org, Scott Silverman, “The idea that the growth of new online shoppers is slowing down is beginning to sink in and retailers are beginning to make adjustments. Primarily they are shifting their investment from customer acquisition to customer retention.”

In a joint study Shop.org conducted with Forrester Research, they found that

“… One of the most neglected yet critical elements of a customer web experience is the information and robust detail on product detail pages. Retailers rely on the accuracy of data in content management systems, which is often uploaded in bulk by merchandising teams or sometimes even by vendor partners. This leads to incomplete, inconsistent, and at times inaccurate information on key data points such as sizing charts, and has historically held sales back or created unnecessarily high return rates. To this end, retailers will focus on better managing this information by pulling data directly from manufacturers where possible, and incorporating more robust information such as images onto product detail pages. Retailers will also help customers save time by incorporating rich internet features like Flash to expose more information earlier in the shopping process without having to force cumbersome page refreshes.”

In this environment, providing rich educational content proved to be a critical differentiator for retailers, whose Web sites drive customers to their offline locations. For retailers, creating rich product marketing across hundreds of thousands of SKUs for each of their vendors is both costly and prohibitive. Manufacturers, on the other hand, have already invested large sums of money on developing product marketing content for their Web site. The challenge these manufacturers face: how to get this Web-based product marketing content into the hands of consumers researching products online. WebCollage is helping prominent retail manufacturers such as Casio, Kodak, Olympus, Palm, Sony and many others syndicate their rich online marketing content onto the Web sites of prominent retailers, including Best Buy, Circuit City, EB Games, Office Depot, Ritz Camera, Macy's, Nordstrom's, Sears and many others. Using WebCollage, manufacturers syndicate their rich Web product marketing content (interactive demos, buying guides, educational content, etc.) directly onto a retailer's existing Web site.
Customers are more likely to stay and browse a retail site when comprehensive product information is readily available. That's why many online retailers are focusing on providing rich online educational content such as interactive videos, online demos and other informational tools, not focused on product specific information, but may be educational in a related area of customer interest (such as tips for taking better photos). Retailers want customers to visit their sites frequently and avoid going to their competitors for valuable information. The goal of showcase content, therefore, is to create a complete shopping and research experience.

The ultimate objective of WebCollage's solutions are to cause prospective buyers to associate valuable information with specific brands when researching retail web sites. As customers of WebCollage, manufacturers leverage the branded showcase design for its integration into online retail sites; they can thus be certain that their messaging is consistent across all outlets. WebCollage allows retailers to embed and customize manufacturer-developed content directly into the retailer's Website with only a single line of HTML code. This saves retailers significant time and money because they do not have to develop or maintain the content on their own. Utilizing expert Information Architecture advice, WebCollage now allows for greater per-retailer customization, including hyperlinks, spacing, and ad tiles.

Sound Governance Boosts Mutual Fund Performance

FROM MONEY MANAGEMENT EXECUTIVE

Preliminary research by Northeastern University researchers David P. Boyd and Mustafa Yilmaz in late 2006 also indicated stewardship grades are a statistically significant component in effecting stock fund returns. The Boyd and Yilmaz study looked at the correlation between stewardship grades and the performance of 1,124 mutual funds. The researchers examined 860 stock funds and 264 bond fund returns over three years ending in 2005, using a regression model. The results of their statistically significant analysis showed that a one-point increase in the stewardship rating of 1,164 stock and bond funds would result in an 80-basis-point increase in the annual average return of a fund.

The study also found that stewardship is a slightly greater contribution factor in the returns of growth and value stock funds compared with blended funds. Stewardship is not a significant variable in explaining the return on bond funds because equity funds exhibit greater variability in returns than bond funds.

To read this entire article, please visit: http://www.paradigmshiftpr.com/soundgovernance.htm

Smooth transitions

FROM BOSTON BUSINESS JOURNAL

In all these cases, though, owners need to consider a host of complicated legal and accounting issues, such as tax and estate laws and noncompete agreements. Moreover, he said, because many family businesses are small and the owners tend to be close to their employees, owners often put in place protections for their employees. They sometimes even opt to sell the companies directly to the employees through an employee stock ownership plan.

"One thing I tell family businesses all the time is that there are only three things down the end of the road: They're going to sell the business, they're going to have a succession plan or they're going to shut down," said Ted Clark, the executive director of the Northeastern University Center for Family Business.

Clark said owners should evaluate their options from a business perspective that isn't overly clouded by familial issues.

"What we try to help family businesses do is to not think about themselves as a family business but as a business family, so you put the business first, because that helps the family," he said.
He also said he tells families to get professional advisors and counselors experienced in family business dynamics to help keep professional decisions from being unduly influenced by family politics.

If you'd like to read this story in its entirety, please visit: http://www.paradigmshiftpr.com/smoothtransitions.htm

Five Immediate Opportunities for E-Commerce Improvements

Earlier this year, Internet.com provided a synopsis of a report issued by Sucharita Mulpuru, e-commerce analyst from Forrester Research ( Ice Your Competition with a Cool Return Policy ). In her report, entitled “Five Immediate Opportunities for E-Commerce Improvements,” one of the biggest areas e-tailers must improve in to increase customer satisfaction is multichannel delivery.

“All companies that sell products online should develop checklists for these pages, ensuring that copywriters and vendors/manufacturers fill out all key attributes,” Internet.com reports. “Content directly from manufacturer Web sites, enabled by companies like WebCollage , provide another useful source of product information," she says in the report. "Additionally, customer feedback, either aggregated as ratings or explicitly shared as reviews, is valuable for disclosing the strengths as well as the shortcomings of products — information that retailers or manufacturers rarely provide.”

Up until recently, it was cost-prohibitive for online retails sites to customize rich media content for thousands of products offered by their retail manufacturing partners. For retailers, creating rich product marketing across hundreds of thousands of SKUs for each of their vendors is both costly and prohibitive. Manufacturers, on the other hand, have already invested large sums of money on developing product marketing content for their Web site. The challenge these manufacturers face: how to get this Web-based product marketing content into the hands of consumers researching products online. Through patent-pending technology, WebCollage is helping prominent retail manufacturers syndicate their rich online marketing content onto the Web sites of prominent retailers, including Best Buy, Circuit City, EB Games, Office Depot, Ritz Camera, Macy's, Nordstrom's, Sears and many others. Using WebCollage, manufacturers syndicate their rich Web product marketing content (interactive demos, buying guides, educational content, etc.) directly onto a retailer's existing Web site – seamlessly and easily, with almost no programming.

“Another challenge outlined in the study involves the Web's inherent disadvantage in conveying product attributes, such as density and durability, and the fact that online shoppers simply cannot physically inspect items prior to purchase.” Internet.com denotes. “Improvements such as the use of zoom and color swatching are becoming more standard, used by 48 percent and 37 percent of e-tailers, respectively, but Mulpuru emphasizes that detailed product pages must be a priority.”

Customers are more likely to stay and browse a retail site when comprehensive product information is readily available. That's why many online retailers are focusing on providing rich online educational content such as interactive videos, online demos and other informational tools, not focused on product specific information, but may be educational in a related area of customer interest (such as tips for taking better photos). Retailers want customers to visit their sites frequently and avoid going to their competitors for valuable information. The goal of showcase content, therefore, is to create a complete shopping and research experience.

Video is becoming a critical component of online retail as well, as more and more people go to the Web sites of major retailers to research products before they buy them. According to the 9th Annual Mystery Shopping study by E-Tailing Group, rich media lead a broad range of customer-focused improvements on retail web sites, reported by Internet Retailer. During Q4, the study found that 41 percent of the retail web sites surveyed now offer online audio files, while 38 percent offer streaming video. WebCollage also has data proving that add-to-carts increase between 6 and 15 percent when shoppers are given the option to view rich marketing content about products they are looking for.

Key Energy Seeks Closure On Acctg Woes

FROM DOW JONES NEWS SERVICE

Publicly traded service companies have seen their shares skyrocket as a result of high commodity prices and drilling activity that has hit a 20-year high in North America. Key's stock has nearly doubled since March 2004, but Alario acknowledges the company missed opportunities while it was restructuring its front office and tracking down phantom rigs. North American activity has stabilized and may be on the decline, meaning a scandal-free Key must now court investors in a post-boom environment.

"Would you want your daughter to marry a reformed convicted murderer? I think the answer to that would be no," said Harlan Platt, a professor of finance at Northeastern University. "But this is more like the situation of Dr. Frankenstein putting a new brain into an old body. You'd be more likely to let your daughter date the new (man)."

If you'd like to read this article in its entirety, please visit: http://www.paradigmshiftpr.com/DJinreturn.htm

Travel Accessories for the iPod and iPhone

FROM PC WORLD

An Apple iPod or iPhone is an essential travel accessory in its own right. Not only can you listen to music and watch videos, but you can also store your business contacts on either device or use your iPod to back up files.
But as feature-packed as Apple's devices are, you'll probably still want to accessorize them. Here's a look at some cool add-ons for the airplane, car, hotel room--or anywhere you travel.

To read more, please visit: http://www.paradigmshiftpr.com/travelaccessories.htm

Despite AS5, Liability Fears Still Loom Large

As public companies and audit firms prepare for a new approach to auditing internal controls over financial reporting, a certain trepidation hangs over the process. Regulators have called for a more relaxed audit, but how will the plaintiff lawyers react?
The Securities and Exchange Commission and the Public Company Accounting Oversight Board codified their call for a more reasoned approach to internal control reporting and auditing earlier this year, publishing guidance for management on how to do a risk-based assessment of internal controls and steering auditors through Auditing Standard No. 5 to focus on high-risk areas.

To read more, please go to: http://www.paradigmshiftpr.com/despiteas5.htm

Poison Pill

In a September 11th story in The Baltimore Sun entitled “Putnam doubles stake in clothier,” by Andrea Walker, the reporter explores the reaction from Jos. A. Bank Clothiers, a men’s clothing chain, after Putnam Investments doubled its stock ownership to 10%. Executives at the clothing company established a stockholder rights plan, which some have called a “poison pill.” “It's a myth that companies only adopt them when they think someone is going to take them over,” says Donald Margotta, Associate Professor of Business Finance and Insurance at Northeastern University.

To read the full story, go here:
http://www.paradigmshiftpr.com/putnamdouble.htm

Paying More To Be The First

Fareena Sultan, associate professor of marketing at Northeastern University, gives her thoughts on Apple’s recent price cut on their iPhones in an September 5th story in The Associated Press entitled, Many iPhone Owners Relish Being First,” by May Wong. She believes that timing and presentation can make a big difference in the success of the release of a new product. “The hullabaloo arose over Apple's price-slashing only because it came a few months sooner than expected, said Professor Sultan. “If they said the product is not cool or not worth the money, then other people — who are even more risk averse — will wait or not want to buy it."

To read the full story, go here:
http://www.paradigmshiftpr.com/manyiphone.htm

Planning For The Worst

Harlan Platt, professor of finance and insurance at Northeastern University, believes that being pessimistic is a good trait to have when running your own business because it helps prepare for natural disasters. In a September 5th article in Smallbiz.com entitled, “Planning for the Worst Saves Time, Trouble,” by Diana Ransom, Professor Platt believes that whatever affects the company, can affect the community. “Often, a small business is so linked to the community it serves that it's particularly vulnerable to changes in local economic conditions,” says Harlan Platt. “For example, when customers get into trouble [small businesses] get into trouble," he says.

To read the full article, go here:
http://www.paradigmshiftpr.com/planningfor.htm

Argentina Experiences

Elite Traveler features an article on experiences and places within Argentina. Echelon, a company that provides elite travel experiences, has an art-themed Argentinian experience.

To read more about it, go here:
http://www.paradigmshiftpr.com/images/elitetraveler20070910_0136_fg.png

CPA Shortage?

Boston Business Journal features a story on the difficulty public accounting firms are having in finding new talent. To handle this situation, firms are having to seek alternate methods in finding new CPA's such as going through recruiting firms. Doug Farrington, a managing director in the Boston office of UHY Advisors says, "We have no choice but to deal with recruiters because candidates often are going straight to them instead of straight to the firms." There are several factors that are causing this shortage. Students that were once considering going into accounting when they are in school are opting for a finance degree instead. There is also a surge in demand for accountants to handle the programs to comply with Sarbanes-Oxley within public companies.

To read the full story, go here:
http://www.paradigmshiftpr.com/areafirms.htm

Investment Strategies

In an August 30th story in Conde Nast Portfolio entitled, “Hedge Funds: Good Activists?” the author Yves Smith explains strategies behind hedge funds and uses references from a report written by Assistant Professor Nicole Boyson and Associate Professor of Finance and Insurance Robert Mooradian at Northeastern University. “The first paper by [Boyson and Mooradian], finds that hedge fund agitation leads to improvement in cash flows and operating performance,” the author denotes.

To read the full article, go here:
http://www.paradigmshiftpr.com/hedgefundsgood.htm

The Future of Sarbanes-Oxley

Sarbanes-Oxley has been in existance for five years now and the August 27th story in Forbes explains where its been and where it's going. The guidelines have not only taken effect in the U.S. but in foreign countries too. Sanjay Anand, chairman of the Sarbanes-Oxley Institute, an independent consulting group, has spent 80% to 90% of his time consulting in a foreign country in 2006.

To read the full article, go here:
http://www.paradigmshiftpr.com/documents/AsSeenIn-Forbes.pdf

Retail Corruption in India?

Professor Ravi Ramamurti, Director of the Center for Emerging Markets at Northeastern University, is featured in the August 26th story in The Times of India entitled, “Retail graft has gone wholesale” by Pallavi Srivastava. The reporter writes that the retail industry is thriving in India but in fact, there is an ongoing corruption problem between companies wanting to gain a competitive advantage and bureaucrats and politicians. Ravi explains that India is ahead of many developing countries but still has a ways to go. “India has a long way to go before our institutions are truly professional and independent, or the average public official's salary is high enough to make corruption unappealing," says Professor Ramamurti. "Keeping in mind that most corrupt officials earn many times their salary through corruption, it will take a huge pay increase (or moral awakening) to wean them off corruption." Ravi further adds that with economic growth within India, the corruption has moved from small 'retail corruption' to larger 'wholesale corruption.’ On the flipside, in certain industries, there is lack of a monopoly that has led to the decrease of corruption and the consumer is king.

To read the full article, go here:
http://www.paradigmshiftpr.com/retailgraft.htm

Different Types of Millionaires

In an August 26th article in Palm Beach Daily News, Harlan Platt, professor of finance at Northeastern University explains two different types of millionaires, one without debt and one without.

To read the full article, go here:
http://www.paradigmshiftpr.com/managingyour.htm

Greeting Cards

Cerebral Itch's greeting cards are featured in this nwsource article. Instead of cards with sincerity, their cards come with a different kind of humor.

To read the full article, go here:
http://www.paradigmshiftpr.com/cerebralitchgreeting.htm

Wii Sales Surpassing XBox 360 Sales

In an August 23rd article in sci-techtoday.com, sales for the Wii have surpassed the XBox 360 sales in a little less than an year. The Wii is the fastest selling game console. According to Ted Pollack, president of San Francisco-based EE Fund Management, there are several factors that led to it's success. "The revolutionary controller was obviously an important part of the buzz surrounding the Wii -- being the first worldwide-recognized gaming input device to utilize accelerometers," he said. "Beyond the buzz, the controller has delivered being an effective and fun input device."

To read the full story, go here:
http://www.paradigmshiftpr.com/wiisales.htm

The Price of Growth

In an August 21st article in Advertising Age entitled “The High Price of Rapid Growth,” by Erik Sherman, the reporter explores the issues that can be associated with rapid growth within a company, as well as the costs and consequences of expanding too rapidly. If growth is too rapid, the company will not have the man power and as a result, the customer experience can suffer which can hurt the brand image of the company. Andrew Rohm, assistant professor of marketing at Northeastern University College of Business Administration, believes that focusing on the customer is essential. "The mistake some companies make is to pay lip service to the brand or the experience," said Professor Rohm. “It's also easy to lose track of the experience that consumers expect -- and even to assume it to be one thing when it is actually another.”

If you would like to read the full article, go here:
http://www.paradigmshiftpr.com/highprice.htm

Quotes of the Week

Professor of Finance Harlan Platt is quoted in Reuters in a listing entitled “Quotes of the Week,” commenting on the instability of the credit market on Wall Street. “It would not be surprising, should the market continue to correct, that come December people will be surprised by the paucity of their bonuses next year,” said Professor Platt. “And a goodly number may find themselves looking for work elsewhere.”

To read the full story, go here:
http://www.paradigmshiftpr.com/dealzonesweek.htm

Job Fair ‘Do’s’

In an August 20th story in The Detroit Free Press entitled, “FIVE THINGS: About going to job fairs,” by Margarita Bauza, she features suggestions made by Lynn Sarikas, director of the MBA Career Center at Northeastern University. Lynn offers pointers to job seekers ranging from how the person should dress when attending to prioritizing the companies they visit that enables them to make the most of their time.

To read the full story, go here:
http://www.paradigmshiftpr.com/fivethings.htm

A Hole in the Donut Market

With Krispy Kreme's restructuring with closures in the past year, they recently made an announcement that would discontinue the sale of their products in grocery stores and convenience stores. The popularity of their extremely sweet donuts quickly grew to intense popularity but was short lived.
From an economic standpoint, the problem for Krispy Kreme is that it tried to do too much too fast, said Harlan Platt, professor of finance at Northeastern University. "If you have all this competition, the unique aspect of the product is diluted," said Platt. "Krispy Kreme sought to saturate the market with a unique novel product that wore out."

To read the full story, go here:
http://www.paradigmshiftpr.com/krispykreme.htm

Valuation Standards

In an August 14th story in Compliance Week entitled, “More Sparring Over Fair Standards for Valuation,” by Tammy Whitehouse, the reporter covers the issue of increased importance of Sarbanes Oxley rules and valuation guidelines. Northeastern University's professor of Accounting David Sherman expresses his thoughts on the accounting practice of valuation. “If you think about what people hoped for from Sarbanes-Oxley, fair value accounting has provided more room to manage earnings than we’ve ever had before,” said Professor Sherman. “There is less opportunity to game the values if you determine fair value with empirical data and market transaction data. As people move toward more empirical data and [have] less reliance on models, we’re going to see fewer disputes about what the fair value is. True market data has a wonderful way of resolving disputes.”

Madden NFL 08

With the ongoing success and popularity of the Madden NFL game line, Madden NFL 08 was recently released on store shelves. This new version has graphics will make the player feel as if it's the real thing. Electronic Arts is hoping to break previous sales records with this new edition.
"I think it's going to continue to sell well, because the new 9-year-old gamers that are just now becoming interested in football games are going to have to buy Madden," said Ted Pollak, senior analyst with San Francisco-based Electronic Entertainment Fund. "EA can do pretty much whatever they want with the game, because they basically have a monopoly."

To read the full story, go here:
http://www.paradigmshiftpr.com/maddennfl.htm

Spalding's Use of Content Syndication

In an August 13th story in DM News, the reporter discusses Spalding's new approach to help increase sales with content syndication on their website with the help of WebCollage. This new approach is helping Spalding by placing video and content directly from their website on the retailers website. When consumers are researching products from a retailers website, more and more of these retailers are able to link the manufactures direct content on the retailers website, giving the consumer the information at their fingertips.

To read the full story, go here:
http://www.paradigmshiftpr.com/documents/DMNews8_13_076.pdf

Wall Street Uncertainty

In an August 13th story in Reuters entitled “Wall Street bonuses, jobs lose certainty,” by Tim McLaughlin, the reporter discusses the threat of job growth on Wall Street in the credit market and mortgage industries. The combination of unstable markets and declining mortgage industry have led to uncertainty with jobs and even bonuses. "It would not be surprising, should the market continue to correct, that come December people will be surprised by the paucity of their bonuses next year," said Harlan Platt, Donald J. Harding Professor of Finance at Northeastern University's College of Business Administration. "And a goodly number may find themselves looking for work elsewhere."

To read the full story, go here:
http://www.paradigmshiftpr.com/wallstreetbonuses.htm

Sarbanes-Oxley Woes

In an August 12th story in The Daily Herald, the reporter explores the recent happenings and difficulties that smaller companies that have to comply with the Sarbanes-Oxley rules are having. After five years, the bigger fortune 500 companies are in complience but the smaller corporations are having a hard time reaching complience even after getting a two year extension.
Sanjay Anand, chairman of the Sarbanes-Oxley Institute, believes that restatements are going double next year.

To read the full article, go here:
http://www.paradigmshiftpr.com/corporatecheckups.htm

A Taste For Wine

Nemacolin Woodlands Resort's wine director, Brian Henderson writes a reveiw in the August 10th addition of USA Today on a 2007 Monters Limited Selection Sauvignon Blanc.

To read the full review, go here:
http://www.paradigmshiftpr.com/documents/08_2007USATODAYwine.pdf

Job Fair Success

Lynn Sarikas, Director of Northeastern University's MBA Career Center, provides some tips on some of the ways to be the most successful when attending a job fair.

Preparation, preparation, preparation - critical to making a job fair a success
Prepare to sell yourself - have an "elevator" pitch ready to introduce yourself positively to employers and to quickly give them the headlines of who you are, what you are looking for and what makes you unique.

Prepare to present the best first impression - wear your best business attire, professional, conservative business suit is appropriate, good personal hygiene, no heavy fragrances, avoid flashy attire.

Prepare by educating yourself on the companies - review the list of participating companies, research each company, know what they do, who their customers are, what types of positions they are hiring for and any recent issues that have been in the press, differentiate yourself from others by being knowledgeable about the company.

Prepare by having an event strategy, don't start at the first table by the door and work your way around the room, you may spend more time waiting in line and miss the companies you most need to see, prioritize the companies you need to see and focus on meeting with those on the top of your list, quickly scope the room to see if a top priority company has no line or a very short one, but be willing to wait for those most important to you.

Have an ample supply of your resume - make sure it is perfect - no typos, etc. handout your business card as wellFollow-up is critical - Help them remember you by sending a polite, professional thank you note within 24 hours of the event, thank them for their time, let them what interested you from your conversation, they met many students that day so help them remember you, my personal preference is sending a handwritten note so you don't get lost in their long list of emails.

Your goal is to have the employers remember you but you want to be remembered for positive reasons - not the inappropriate attire, the heavy fragrance, the resume with typos or the mumbled introduction. You also don't want to be a clone. Every MBA could use the same set of cliched phrases to describe themselves - you want to let them know what is unique about you.

Remember who the customer is - you are selling yourself to the employer, don't focus exclusively on you - focus on what you can do for them, how do your skills and experience help them address a business need, relate a prior experience and accomplishment to what you could do for them, know what is important to them and show them how you can help.

At Northeastern University's MBA program, first year MBA students are required to participate in Career Management Class. We work with them to prepare them for their job search with workshops on resumes, cover letters, interviewing skills, job search strategy, networking skills and more. We also utilize HR professionals from our business partners to conduct mock interviews with our students to provide actionable feedback prior to our career fair so the students can refine and enhance their interview skills.

Value-Base Management

Some research was conducted by Professor of Finance and Insurance, Emery Trahan from Northeastern University College of Business Administration on value-based management. Below is an abstract and an introduction from the research piece.

We examine the performance of 84 firms that adopt value-based management (VBM)
systems during the period 1984-1997. The typical firm significantly improves matched-firmadjusted residual income after adopting VBM. This improvement persists for the five postadoption years studied. After controlling for possible sample bias, we find that large firms show less improvement than small firms. We find a negative relation between tying compensation to VBM and post-adoption performance. We also find that firms reduce capital expenditures following VBM adoption, but that the reductions in spending do not differ based on the firms’ growth opportunities. Overall, the evidence suggests that VBM improves economic performance and the efficient use of capital.

Effective corporate governance and financial control includes the use of monitoring and incentive mechanisms to align divergent interests between shareholders and managers and encourage the creation of shareholder value. Value-based management
systems (VBM) provide an integrated management strategy and financial control system intended to increase shareholder value by mitigating agency conflicts. In concept, VBM reduces agency conflicts and helps create shareholder value since it reveals value increasing decisions to employees, allows for easier monitoring of managers’ decisions, and provides a method to tie compensation to outcomes that create shareholder value.

Asset Allocation And Presidential Elections

With the topic of presidential elections being an active topic in the news, some research was conducted by Professor of Finance and Insurance, Emery Trahan from Northeastern University College of Business Administration on tactical asset allocation and presidential elections. This paper was originally published in the Financial Services Review in 2006. Below is an abstract and an introduction from the research piece.

Over the past 75 years, common stocks performed better under Democrats, while U.S. government bonds and Treasury (T) bills performed better under Republicans. Using a mean-variance framework, we find that Democrats provide better risk-reward opportunities for portfolios weighted toward stocks, while Republicans provide better tradeoffs for portfolios weighted toward government bonds and T-bills. More recently, Republicans provide better portfolio opportunities than Democrats for a bond-stock allocation range typical of diversified investors. Moreover, when segmenting the value stock (style) premium by political party, we find that Republicans provide better risk-reward tradeoffs than Democrats for portfolios of value stocks, bonds, and bills.

The issue of tactical asset allocation (TAA) around calendar events, such as U.S. presidential elections, is a controversial one for investors.1 At the heart of the matter is whether or not the capital market is efficient in the sense that security prices fully reflect the information content of known events. If so, then calendar events, such as presidential elections, are irrelevant to current investment decision making because security prices already reflect the information content of any perceived patterns or cyclicality. Conversely, if investors evaluate the investment consequences of calendar events in a somewhat inefficient market, or if the outcomes of presidential elections impact the returns on various asset classes, then a series of questions emerge that are relevant to tactical investing.
Applied to U.S. presidential elections, a prominent four-year calendar event, these active investing questions are as follows: Are asset prices impacted by a four-year presidential election cycle? If so, what are the effects on different asset classes (stocks, bonds, bills, etc.) according to the political party elected into office? More important, as presidential elections come and go, should investors depart from their long-term or strategic asset allocation to pursue a TAA posture?

Our initial focus is on whether asset returns vary by the political party in office. If asset prices are related to presidential elections, then investors will want to consider information pertaining to election outcomes in making asset allocation decisions. Tactical investing around a four-year election calendar would hold the possibility of earning superior returns (alpha). Anecdotalevidence suggests that many investors follow expected election outcomes closely.

iPhone and “Brand in the Hand” marketing

Prof. Fareena Sultan, Associate Professor and Robert Morrison Fellow at the College of Business Administration at Northeastern University in Boston gives her reasons why the iPhone is popular and how it fits into the cell phone market.
“At present, the iPhone is running on the ‘cool’ factor. This ‘cool factor’ results primarily from its innovative user interface.” says Professor Sultan.
Despite the ‘cool’ factor, several technical issues and constraints have been identified such as the short battery life, the use of older Edge technology rather than 3G, a closed platform resulting in a lack of applications for the phone, slow e-mail connection issues, and the exclusive arrangement with AT&T among others.
“Given these technical issues, the iPhone is clearly not positioned at present as a personal productivity device such as the Blackberry,’ says Prof. Sultan.
“However, the iPhone is an ideal platform for what we call ‘Brand in the Hand’ marketing in our research studies. These campaigns allow companies to engage in opt-in branding and marketing initiatives using mobile devices. The iPhone’s innovative user interface lends itself ideally for such activities,” she adds.
Apple plans to sell about 1 million units by September 07 and 10 million by end of 2008. Innovator and early adopters are investing about $2000 for owning an iPhone (price of the phone and a 2 year contract with AT&T). “This consumer segment is ideal for engaging in ‘Brand in the Hand’ marketing activities as they are innovative and have the resources to respond to innovative products and services that are not only ‘cool’ but also make their life easier and productive,” says Prof. Sultan. “At present, neither Apple nor AT&T is utilizing the iPhone for such initiatives which they can experiment with despite the technical issues. Then, once these issues are resolved, the iPhone will have the potential to take a lead in such ‘Brand in the Hand’ marketing and branding activities,” adds Prof. Sultan.

iPhone Accessories?

Now that the iPhone has been released, would there be an opportunity for companies to develop accessories to be used with it? Fareena Sultan, a marketing professor at the College of Business Administration at Northeastern University addresses some of these questions below.

Is there an opportunity for Entrepreneurs to develop iPhone accessories?

Yes.
Accessories for the iPhone present a definite opportunity for entrepreneurs.
At present, the iPhone is running on the “cool” factor. Consumers are paying $600 for this new cool “toy” (95% of the units sold are the 8 GB version costing $600). Since the iPhone is targeted as a cool toy, the market is wide open for “cool” accessories.
Additionally, iPhone users are expressive and communicative. They are investing about $2000 for owning an iPhone (price of the phone and a 2 year contract with AT&T). These premium consumers would also be looking to accessorize their cool premium phone with cool premium accessories.
Soon after the launch of the iPhone, companies introduced accessories such as headphones, headsets, skins or cases, chargers, adapters and docks. Although the market is still wide open to innovative entrepreneurs, this market is also a challenging one. Since the iPhone is targeted as a premium product, it is doubtful that users will choose fake or cheap accessories for their expensive “toy.”

When's the best time to jump in? Will it last?

The best time to jump in is now. Early entrants will gain traction in the accessories market. Apple plans to sell about 1 million units by September 07 and 10 million by end of 2008. So, the market for accessories is expected to be growing and profitable. If the iPod is any example of the accessory market’s potential for a device from Apple, the future for the accessory market for the iPhone looks promising.

What Hedge Funds Have Been Hiding

With the recent Hedge Fund problems, Harlan Platt, a business school professor at Northeastern University's College of Business Administration and turnaround expert, wonders if the subprime crisis will shine light on assets the hedge funds may have been hiding:
"Another problem that the recent financial crisis has revealed is that when hedge funds own non-listed assets that they get to set the price themselves," Prof. Platt suggests. "This is kind of like letting student write an exam and then grade it themselves with the teacher never seeing their paper. Not surprisingly, every student has earned an A. There is an element of this in the hedge fund market. Funds invested in illiquid assets pray that those assets don't trade in this tumultuous period because then they would need to reveal their portfolio. You have to wonder how badly some of these highly leveraged funds have done."

Buyout Industry Woes

In an August 8th article in Human Resource Executive entitled “Union: Workers Fading under Bright Lights of Times Square,” by Michael Felton-O'Brien, he writes about risks and consequences in private equity investing. Many times, private equity firms will purchase a company and there are consequences such as employee layoffs. Harlan Platt, professor of finance at Northeastern University's College of Business Administration, believes this especially when that company is purchased above market price. Because companies often pay "a premium of 15 to 60 percent above the equity market's previous price," they end up increasing the company's debt ratio from about 30 percent to about 80 percent, he says. "Obviously, [income inequality] is a concern, but it's only the tip of the iceberg," states Professor Platt. "The bulk of the concern is that a catastrophic failure, such as a company's inability to service its debt, will force those companies will have to file for bankruptcy and jobs get lost."

To read the full article, go here:
http://www.paradigmshiftpr.com/unionworkers.htm

Something Pretty Neat

In an August 8th story in Giz Wiz Biz, the reporter reviews the Inflight Power Charger which uses the audio from a plane's headphone jack which is pretty much on every seat now-a-days to charge your iPod, cell phone or PDA.

To read the full story, go here:
http://www.paradigmshiftpr.com/prettyneat.htm

Can It Be Turned Around?

In an August 6th Associated Press article entitled, “American Home Hires Stars for Rescue,” by Jeremy Herron, he discusses how Stephan Cooper with additional funding is going to work on turning American Home Mortgage Investment Corp. around. Mr. Cooper, who was named chief restructuring officer, is known for turning companies around and Harlan Platt, Professor of Finance at Northeastern University's College of Business Administration, believes he can do it. "Stephen is one of the best there is in the business, and he is also one of the most expensive," says Professor Platt.

To read the full article, go here:
http://www.paradigmshiftpr.com/americanhome.htm

Retailers Giving Their Websites A Facelift

More and more retailers are realizing the importance of e-commerce that can help the success of not only their online sales but offline sales also. In the July 16th article in Twice, the reporter discusses how Abt Electronics recognized the need for a more streamlined shopping experience on their website. WebCollage helped them acheive this by enabling them to directly place syndicated marketing content from manufacturers directly on Abt Electronic's website

To read the full story, go here:
http://www.paradigmshiftpr.com/retailersrevamp.htm

XBox 360 Woes

A reporter discusses the issues that XBox 360 owners are having to go through in this July 6th Seattle Times article. Microsoft has opted to extend the warranties on current XBox owners after "unacceptable" errors keep coming up. Ted Pollak, a senior game-industry analyst with Jon Peddie Research talks about the hassles of sending the XBox back to Microsoft for repairs. "A game machine is like a television to a lot of people, and to have to mail it in and wait two weeks to get it back ... that kind of sucks," he said.

To read the full story, go here:
http://www.paradigmshiftpr.com/unacceptablexbox.htm

New Power for your iPod

Inflight Power has released a product that charges electronic devices such as cell phones, mp3 players using noise coming out of the audio jack in the airplane seat. Forbes Traveler presents this in their June 29th story on gadgets that can be used on airline flights.

To read the full story, go here:
http://www.paradigmshiftpr.com/10gadgets.htm

Enhanced Online Product Content

In a June 20 announcement in TMCnet based off of a press release, WebCollage, provider of Web content integration solutions for manufacturers and their channel partners, and Abt Electronics, have teamed together. WebCollage is helping Abt Electronics deliver their online product content to consumers.

To read the full story, go here:
http://www.paradigmshiftpr.com/abtelectronicswebcollage.htm

Virtual Money Market

In a June 13th article in Red Herring Magazine, the virtual money market in the gaming industry, ie the buying of weapons, characters, etc, is growing. Ted Pollick, president of EE Fund Management, an investment firm specializing in the video game industry, stated that this will grow to $3.5 billion by 2011.

To read the full story, go here:
http://www.paradigmshiftpr.com/sparteropens.htm

Women Receiving Less Capital Than Men

There has been some recent concern over the reasons why women entrepreneurs typically do not receive as much capital funding as their male counterparts. Kate Eddleston, Ph.D. and Assistant Professor of Entrepreneurship and Innovation at Northeastern University’s College of Business Administration presents what she believes are some of the reasons.

"Women have a higher probability of borrowing from family and friends; however, they have made strides in gaining similar access to line-of-credit loans from commercial banks as men (see JSBM study by Haynes & Haynes for details). Research by Coleman (JSBM) also showed that women are less likely to use external financing as a source of capital. However, women have also been found to pay higher interest rates and to be more likely to put up collateral than men for capital," Dr. Eddleston points out.

"Women are more likely to establish maximum business size thresholds beyond which they would not like to expand (and the thresholds are smaller than those of male entrepreneurs). Thus, women appear less interested in growth (and thus, have less of a need for external funding). (see JBV study by Cliff 1998 for details)," Prof. Eddleston adds. "Growth for women has also been found to be a very deliberate choice - they tend to understand the costs and benefits of growth.

"Women are underrepresented in their proportion of high-growth firms. They tend to be in service businesses (which are not capital intensive), and also, many start home-based businesses (which again, do not require much financing), " Dr. Eddleston concludes. "Also, women are often seeking very different things from entrepreneurship than their male colleagues. Many women start businesses to better balance work and family, or they manage their businesses so as to maximize socioemotional characteristics (as opposed to seeking status, growth and wealth like many men) (see my recent JBV).
But at the same time, one has to wonder if the higher price women pay for capital (which suggests some form of discrimination) limits the growth of women's businesses."

Below is Professor Eddleston’s bio:
Professor Eddleston received her PhD in Management from the University of Connecticut and her graduate degree from Cornell University and Groupe Essec (IMHI). Her research has appeared in journals such as the Academy of Management Journal, Academy of Management Executive, Academy of Management Perspectives, Human Resource Management Review, Journal of Occupational and Organizational Psychology, Entrepreneurship Theory and Practice, Journal of Business Venturing, and Journal of Applied Psychology. Professor Eddleston has recently been selected as a Family Owned Business Institute Research Scholar by the Family Owned Business Institute of the Seidman College of Business at Grand Valley State University.

China will fail to have 50 Fortune 500 companies by 2010

The Chinese government has set a goal to create 50 Fortune 500 companies by 2010. Lenovo is one such firm, in the PC business. Others include Huawei in telecom equipment, Haier in white goods, TCL in electronics, Shanghai Automotive Industries Corporation in cars, and so on. CEOs of large Chinese companies, most with close ties to the government, have been given marching orders to make this happen. “But don’t bet on it,” says Ravi Ramamurti, professor and faculty coordinator of international business at the College of Business Administration at Northeastern University.

“The problem is that these companies have too easy access to capital and are therefore prone to squander it. They cannot usually move fast enough because they must get the nod from the Chinese government on key decisions,” Prof. Ramamurti states. “They lack the management depth to operating globally. Even when the companies are listed on the stock exchange, they respond to government signals more than capital-market signals. Finally, their ties to the Communist government raise red flags every time they try to acquire Western companies.”

“The real hope for building world-class Chinese companies may lie in the new crop of private Chinese firms that have been popping up everywhere. These firms are nimbler, have lower costs than the giant state-dependent companies, and are much more frugal in using capital,” Prof. Ramamurti also points out. “Examples include companies like Cherry and Geely in the automotive business, which have grown growing faster both at home and abroad than their giant state-owned counterparts. I would put my money any day on these firms over the state-controlled behemoths.”

Below is a short bio for Prof. Ramamurti. Please let me know if you’d like to speak to him about this topic.

Ravi Ramamurti, Professor, International Business; Faculty Coordinator, Executive MBA program. Professor Ramamurti does research and consulting on corporate strategy and business-government relations in emerging economies. He holds a BSc degree in physics from the University of Delhi, an MBA from the Indian Institute of Management, and a DBA from Harvard University. From 1998 to 2000 he was Visiting Professor at MIT's Sloan School of Management in the Strategy and International Management group, and from 1986 to 1988, he was a visiting professor at Harvard Business School in the Business, Government, and Competition Area. He also lectures regularly at the International Institute for Management Development (IMD) in Lausanne, Switzerland. Prior to joining the College of Business Administration in 1981, he served as a consultant to the Planning Commission of the government of India, and as executive assistant to the CEO of a large engineering company. Professor Ramamurti's most recent book, Privatizing Monopolies, was published by Johns Hopkins University Press. His earlier volume, Privatization and Control of State-Owned Enterprises, co-edited with Raymond Vernon of Harvard University, was published by the World Bank. His articles have been published in a number of journals, including Academy of Management Review, California Management Review, Harvard Business History Review, International Executive, International Trade Journal, Journal of General Management, Journal of Interamerican Studies, Journal of International Business Studies, Journal of World Business, Long Range Planning, Management Science, and World Development . Professor Ramamurti has served as a consultant to several public and private firms and to the governments of Argentina, Bangladesh, Bolivia, Ecuador, Egypt, India, Indonesia, Malaysia, Mexico, Nicaragua, Saudi Arabia, and South Korea. He has also advised international agencies, among them the World Bank, United Nations, US Information Agency, and US Agency for International Development.

Based off of a WebCollage press release, the reporter from webpronews.com discusses some research habits of online consumers from a survey that WebCollage conducted.

To read the full story, go here:
http://www.paradigmshiftpr.com/onlineproduct.htm

Summer Video Games

In a May 26th story in Associated Press, the reporter discusses some of the popular video games that will be coming out this summer. Ted Pollack, an analyst with Jon Peddie Research states that traditionally, video game sales slow down during the summer because it is an indoor activity.

To read the story, go here:
http://www.paradigmshiftpr.com/summerof.htm

New Trends in Video Games

In a May 11th story in Christian Science Monitor entitled, “Note to video gamers: get moving,” by Gloria Goodale, the reporter explores some new trends in video games. After years of popularity, first person shooting games are losing steam and making way for the increasing popular e-rated games such as virtual bowling and virtual tennis in part due to Nintendo's Wii. Kids want a bigger experience with the games instead of just sitting on the couch. Marketing professor at Northeastern University's College of Business Administration, Gloria Barczak believes that this “YouTube” generation wants to be more involved with their games. "If you look at these people who are making their own videos, these are folks who want to be involved in creating an experience for themselves," says Professor Barczak. "They are not passive consumers anymore."

To read the full story, go here:
http://www.paradigmshiftpr.com/noteto.htm

MBA's New Attitude

In a May 10th edition of The Economist, the reporter explores the changes that MBA schools have undergone after receiving criticisms from the business community. Northeastern University's College of Business Administration is mentioned as being one of these schools by working with 20 to 30 businesses and tailoring their MBA programs to those business' needs.

To read the full story, go here:
http://www.paradigmshiftpr.com/newgraduation.htm

Family Business’ Requiring an MBA

In a story entitled, “Look Who’s Minding the Store,” by Katherine Mangan, appearing in the May 4th issue of The Chronicle of Higher Education, she discusses the increasing number of people pursuing their MBA’s to help with family businesses. More and more schools are establishing courses focused on family business. Northeastern University’s Center for Family Business is mentioned as one of the Association to Advance Collegiate Schools of Business’ nearly 50 colleges and universities in the United States, Canada, and Britain offering family-business programs.

To read the full story, go here:
http://www.paradigmshiftpr.com/lookwhos.htm

Experiences of a Lifetime

In the May edition of Nicklaus Golf Magazine entitled, "Time, Imagination, and Money," the reporter presents some of the luxury experiences that Echelon provides, from flying in a MIG fighter to having lunch in the pyramids.

To read the full story, go here:
http://www.paradigmshiftpr.com/documents/ESCHELON.pdf

Wii's Success

A reporter explores the success behind Nintendo's Wii in an April 30th article in Newsfactor entitled, "A Perfect Storm for the Nintendo Wii." Ted Pollak, president of EE Fund Management, an investment-management firm specializing in the videogame industry, identifies a few of the reasons of it's success including the fact that it does not require HD technology and the buzz among consumers.

To read the full story, go here:
http://www.paradigmshiftpr.com/aperfect.htm

Marketing Gone Overboard?

In an April 30th story in InformationWeek.com entitled, “Sony Apologizes For Decapitated Goat In 'God of War' Launch,” by Antone Gonsalves, the reporter discusses the negative publicity that Sony has received after throwing a launch party for one of their new games that involved a decapitated goat. Marketing Professor Gloria Barczak believes that they got carried away. "You sometimes wonder how companies can be so stupid," Barczak said. "But companies are run by people, and people sometimes make dumb mistakes."

To read the full story, go here:
http://www.paradigmshiftpr.com/sonyapologizes.htm

Online Shoppers Research Getting Help

In an April 23rd article in Advertising Age entitled, "Helping Consumers With Their Online Shopping Research," the reporter explains the roll that WebCollage plays in helping consumers be better prepared in their product purchases through content integration.

To read the full story, go here:
http://www.paradigmshiftpr.com/helpingconsumers.htm

Important Interpersonal Skills

In an April 17th article in Fortune entitled, "The trouble with MBAs," the reporter discusses how MBA schools are dealing with students lacking interpersonal skills. The schools are listening to companies requests for students with more interpersonal skills. Ken Barnett, a vice president at State Street Corp. (Charts) who works with both B-school interns and freshly minted MBAs says, "MBA students we employ don't need to come in being finance gurus. What's much more important is that they know how to analyze issues and communicate recommendations."

To read the full story, go here:
http://www.paradigmshiftpr.com/thetrouble.htm

Survey: Less than 20% of execs think MBA prepares for real-life management challenges

In a recently released survey of international business executives conducted by Egon Zehnder International, only 20% of the executives surveyed said that an MBA prepares people to deal with the real-life challenges that a manager must face. Less than 20% of the international executives surveyed also agreed with the statement that “during an MBA, you are trained to deal with the real challenges faced by a manager.”

Corporate concerns about the power of an MBA are not new. As you may know, various studies highlight the growing dissatisfaction among corporations worldwide with the skills business schools are teaching to MBA students. For example, according to surveys conducted a few years ago by The Association of Graduate Recruiters (in the UK), employers continue to seek – and continue to find scarce – the personal skills that will make MBA graduates valuable employees. These surveys go on to point out that what employers seek most from new graduates are enthusiasm, self-motivation, interpersonal skills, team-working, and good oral communication – and that these skills are more important than specialist knowledge.

Earlier this year, Northeastern University’s College of Business Administration formally announced an overhaul of its full-time MBA program. The news here is that the school is focusing on working and partnering with the businesses that hire their MBAs in ways that most business schools do not. Moreover, a central tenant of this transformed MBA is a heightened focus on developing these personal skills through a unique combination of skills assessment and implementation of a personal development portfolio.

“Personal assessment is all the rage at business schools right now,” says Brendan Bannister, professor and head of the human resources group at the College of Business Administration at Northeastern University. Prof. Bannister was also in charge of the skills design team that spent two years planning the changes at Northeastern. “While things like our online personal development portfolio or learning teams are not unique in and of themselves, no other MBA program offers the combination of components aimed at both identifying and improving these critical personal skills.”

For those who think classes in leadership and communication sound like fluff, administrators warn that soft skills are actually hard work. "They involve our own emotions and other people in a way that technical skills do not," says Bruce Clark, the faculty coordinator for the M.B.A. program at Northeastern, recently revamped with the help of more than 20 employers to incorporate eight soft skills.

Last year, Northeastern University College of Business Administration (CBA) conducted over two-dozen in-depth interviews with Global 500 companies. “We had to push them to go beyond the platitudes, and to tell us what they really wanted, and where business schools were failing them,” said Thomas Moore, dean of CBA. “Very few universities take the time to identify corporate partners and work with them to understand exactly what skills-sets they want in the MBAs they hire. Based on corporate feedback, students will supplement a rigorous MBA curriculum with management intensives and skills modules to develop abilities in communications, interpersonal effectiveness, project management, and ethics.”

An example of one of the executives Dean Moore met with was Ken Barnet, a Vice President at State Street who has worked with MBA students as interns as well as with newly-graduated MBA students. Dean Moore met one-on-one with Mr. Barnet, soliciting his input on what worked — and didn’t work — in standard MBA programs. Specifically, Barnet was asked to identify those skill sets that employers find most valuable and determine how the MBA program could more effectively fulfill employer needs. In January of 2006, Barnet also participated in a focus group with the College of Business Administration’s faculty in an effort to answer those questions.
“When Dean Moore came to my office to meet with me one-on-one, it made me feel like Northeastern was treating me as a valued customer – and I really liked that,” Mr. Barnet said. “He truly wanted to know what skills sets Northeastern MBA grads could develop to help them better add value when they came to State Street.”

Mr. Barnet also noted that he sits on the finance career advisory board, which meets to provide a sounding board to the finance faculty as they work to revise the curriculum.

“After meeting with the faculty, it was clear to me as they presented their new curriculum that they had listened to what we said during the focus group,” Mr. Barnet noted. “For example, Northeastern is offering focused skills classes on business analysis and project management – not just focused on textbook learning and theory, but on practical skills development.”

After talking with their corporate partners, the most frequently cited skills of effective managers (and leaders) were as follows:

· Verbal communication
· Managing time and stress
· Managing individual decisions
· Dealing with complexity and ambiguity
· Project Management
· Business Analysis
· Recognizing, defining and solving problems
· Motivating and influencing others
· Delegating
· Setting goals and articulating a vision
· Self-awareness
· Team building
· Managing conflict
· Leading positive change
To identify, assess and strengthen these skills sets of their students, CBA has created a skills program that goes across all the students’ course work, consisting of four key components:

1. Skills intensives
2. Learning teams, led by corporate coaches
3. Personal development portfolios
4. Corporate residencies

Role of gender identity in business owner satisfaction

According to Kim Eddleston, a Ph.D. and Assistant Professor, Riesman Research Professor and Tarica-Edwards Fellowship, Entrepreneurship and Innovation Group at the College of Business Administration at Northeastern University, female entrepreneurs are often criticized and classified as being “less successful” then their male counterparts for not growing their businesses as fast or aggressively. Yet her research recently published in The Journal of Business Venturing found that despite earning less and owning businesses that grow more slowly than male entrepreneurs, female entrepreneurs are just as happy as men. Why? Because they measure success differently. Below are some excerpts from her published research, entitled “The role of gender identity in explaining sex differences between business owners’ career satisfier preferences:”

“Although women-owned businesses tend to be smaller, slower growing, and less profitable than those owned by men, research suggests that women business owners are as satisfied with their entrepreneurial careers as men. Women business owners may be satisfied with their entrepreneurial careers, despite achieving relatively less business success in objective terms, because they value different sources of career satisfaction than men. While men are often depicted as prizing status-based career satisfiers derived from financial success and business growth women are depicted as placing greater emphasis on socioemotional career satisfiers derived from interpersonal relations with employees and customers and the pursuit of social goals, Prof. Eddleston writes.

“Male business owners prefer satisfiers associated with status attainment to a greater extent and satisfiers associated with employee relationships and making a contribution to society to a lesser extent than female business owners. The masculinity dimension of gender identity completely mediates the relationship between business owner sex and preferences for status-based satisfiers. In addition, the femininity dimension of gender identity completely mediates the relationship between sex and preferences for employee relationship satisfiers, partially mediates the relationship between sex and preferences for contribution to society satisfiers, and significantly predicts preferences for customer relationship satisfiers. These findings suggest why some women emphasize status-based satisfiers and why some men emphasize socioemotional satisfiers: Gender identity is a better predictor of business owners' career satisfier preferences than their biological sex,” Prof. Eddleston continues.

Below is Dr. Eddleston’s bio.

Kimberly Eddleston, Assistant Professor, Riesman Research Professor and Tarica-Edwards Fellowship, Entrepreneurship and Innovation Group. Professor Eddleston received her PhD in Management from the University of Connecticut and her graduate degree from Cornell University and Groupe Essec (IMHI). Her research has appeared in journals such as the Academy of Management Journal, Academy of Management Executive, Academy of Management Perspectives, Human Resource Management Review, Journal of Occupational and Organizational Psychology, Entrepreneurship Theory and Practice, Journal of Business Venturing, and Journal of Applied Psychology. Professor Eddleston has recently been selected as a Family Owned Business Institute Research Scholar by the Family Owned Business Institute of the Seidman College of Business at Grand Valley State University.

Mother's Day Consumer Electronics Buying

A pitch letter was written on May 11th on Tony Gao's thoughts on consumer electronics buying for Mother's Day. Tony Gao, a marketing professor at Northeastern University's College of Business Administration is a retail expert.

Two Recent Trends in US Gift Buying
In my view, when it comes to gift giving in the US in recent years, for mothers and all others, we have witnessed two emerging phenomena that I call the miniaturization and intangiblization of gifts.

By miniaturization, I mean smaller size, higher technology content, and more complex functionality, as the term is often used in the technology sector. Mother’s day gifts have traditionally tended to be small, considering jewelry, greeting cards, books, and flowers. But today’s popular gifts for Mom, such as GPS devices for the car, MP3/iPod players, and digital album frames, are much more technologically advanced and serve more complex functions.

By intangiblization, I mean our inability to view the final form of the gift at the time of gift presentation. What’s inside a beautifully wrapped gift box may very well be a small (again miniaturized) gift card of a certain cash amount, no matter how colorful, exotic, and contextually suitable it is. The advent of gift cards has enabled consumers to purchase and present as gifts intangible consumption experiences (for example, a fine dinning experience or spa treatment) rather than tangible goods. Another benefit of gift cards is personal control - it allows the gift recipient to purchase something s/he really needs and wants at a convenient setting. Over time, however, with the intangiblization of gifts may come the fading of an important ritual of American gift giving – the showing of “wow” expressions with the opening of the gift box. What would you say when you see a $100 gift card from Best Buy?

Unchanging Motivations of Gift Buying
Yet, the miniaturization and intangiblization of gifts do not in any way connote the marginalization of gift-giving in the American society. Rather, what is bought is simply changing with the time. The fundamental and often irreplaceable role of gifts as a way to convey love, gratitude, care, and loyalty remains the same.

Generally, consumers are buying holiday gifts today for the same reasons they did 20 years ago, to look for good value, or a good combination of benefits (what we get) and costs (what we give out). Gifts bought to commemorate a holiday may provide several types of benefits to both the gift buyer and recipient:

Situational (in the case of Mother’s Day, it’s for the special day once a year in honor of the mother for all her love, dedication, and sacrifice),
Social (to show care, love, and gratitude to Mom),
Psychological (to give Mom a feeling of recognition and worth),
Functional (to serve an important functional role in Mom daily life such as a cell phone or a GPS in the car),
Epistemic (to allow Mom to experience some new technology such as a digital camera or an iPod),
Hedonic (to give Mom an exotic experience of a mountain get-away or a spa treatment), and
Aesthetic (for Mom’s use of the gift as a fashion statement).

Gift buyers are pursuing these same benefits from year to year but what items offer the best combination of benefits does change by the year. While often costing more to purchase, the technologically enhanced Mother’s Day’s gifts usually offer more total benefits than does, say, a bundle of flowers, a book, or a collectible figurine. In other words, gifts such as consumer electronics may offer several of the above gifts all at once.

Therefore, from a value perspective, the gift buyer is spending more to assemble a larger package of total benefits for Mom. Not only do the more benefits well justify the higher cost, the higher price itself conveys a feeling of added appreciation for Mom’s care and contributions.

One more reason that explains the rising trend to send personal electronics products to mothers is in the demographic of the dominant buyer of Mother’s Day gifts. The children who buy most Mother’s Day gifts, 18-20 year-olds, are tech savvy themselves.

We will expect to see similar happenings to Father’s Day gift shopping."
Below is Professor Gao's bio:

Professor Gao received a Ph.D. in marketing from Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University, an M.E. in business management from Harbin Institute of Technology (Harbin, China), and a B.E. in industrial and management engineering from Hebei University of Technology (Tianjin, China). Previously, he held faculty positions at Washburn University, Hofstra University, College of William and Mary, and Hebei University of Technology (China). He also worked with the China branch of Mitsubishi Corporation (a general trading company in Japan) in the areas of international trade and joint venture developments. Professor Gao conducts research primarily on the development, governance, and consequences of buyer-seller relationships, customer value and risk perceptions, international business strategies, and business ethics. He has published in Journal of Business Research, Journal of Business Ethics, Research in Marketing, International Review of Retail, Distribution and Consumer Research, Journal of Relationship Marketing, Journal of International Business and Economy, Latin American Business Review, and Multinational Business Review. For his dissertation work on industrial buyer-seller relationships, he was a former winner of the National Association of Purchasing Management (now Institute for Supply Management) Doctoral Dissertation Competition.