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Is there a “best” way to set up national systems to develop and transfer better agricultural technology? The answer is of particular significance to African countries, which are struggling to solve their food problems. Drawing on a comparison of two developing countries, this article argues that a matrix structure, in which there are multiple organisational links reaching upward and across the system, is essential to propagate new farming technology. Successful restructuring of technology systems along these lines, however, requires political mobilisation of farmers, something few African governments have been willing or able to do.

Using unpublished time‐series data for three specific age/gender groups, we first determine the percentage of female employment to total employment for nine sectors of the U.S. economy. Second, we estimate the cyclical change in hours of employment for each age/gender group within each sector. Third, we estimate the cyclical behavior of the nominal wage for each sectoral gender group. The paper’s evidence does not support, in general, a more cyclical response of female hours worked in the service‐producing sectors that are dominated by women. We find partial evidence that hours worked by men are more cyclical compared with hours worked by women in the male‐dominated goods‐producing sectors. Given the evidence of no pronounced difference in the cyclical behavior of hours and wages for men and women, the business cycle is gender‐neutral.That is, the elastic female labor supply is washed out over the business cycle across major sectors of the U.S. Economy. Observational evidence suggests supply‐side and structural factors in the economy have attenuated the business cycle, especially in the service‐producing sectors.

In this exploratory study, we investigate the influence and effects of foreign government corruption on the market value and accounting outcomes of US multinational corporations. We use hierarchical cluster analysis on Transparency International Corruption scores to identify high and low corruption in both developed and developing countries. We argue that corruption obscures the true value of assets, makes valuation difficult, and reduces the potential gains of an acquisition. We find that firms acquiring assets from governments in high corruption environments tend to be larger in size and more intangible asset‐oriented than those expanding into low corruption environments. We find that the market responds much more favorably to expansions into low corruption environments than high corruption environments for both acquisitions and joint ventures. We find little evidence that long run accounting performance is adversely affected by government‐multinational relationships in high corruption environments. However, long run market value outcomes are negative for all firms entering into relationships with foreign governments, and are especially negative for joint venture relationships in developing high corruption environments. Finally, we find that systematic risk increases substantially for firms entering high corruption environments through trust‐based modes of expansions.

Based on a review of multiple literatures, a comprehensive content domain of essential intercultural competencies for effective global leaders is presented. This domain is then used to guide the development of the Global Competencies Inventory (GCI), a 160-item self-report measure that assesses the degree to which individuals possess the intercultural competencies that are associated with global leader effectiveness. Using sample sizes ranging from several hundred to nearly 9,000 subjects, evidence from several studies is presented showing the GCI to have convergent validity, predictive validity, and freedom from demographic and ethnic subgroup biases. Implications for theory and future research are also discussed.

This issue is a selected bibliography covering the subject of leadership.

The ecological decline of ancient Near Eastern civilizations and the violent and explosive characteristics of post‐Columbian colonial ecologies might well remain comfortably remote from us in our twentieth century world were it not for the disturbing parallels that such case histories seem to evoke as we consider our contemporary global circumstance. Just as in ancient times and in the age of colonial expansion, it is in the “remote environments,” usually quite distant from the centers of power, that the crucial indicators of environmental catastrophe first become apparent within the system as a whole. These regions are frequently characterized by weak economies and highly vulnerable ecosystems in our time, just as they were in the past. Accordingly, the environmental circumstances in these regions constitute for the modern world a kind of monitoring device that can provide early warnings of ecological instabilities in the global ecosystem.

This study aims to advance a holistic and integrated view to understand the relationship between career capital and career success among knowledge workers.

The study examines the associations of three forms of career capital – human, social and psychological capital – on career success. Career success is measured through a subjective evaluation of career satisfaction and an objective evaluation of promotion. The data are drawn from 624 knowledge workers from Finland with an academic degree in business studies. The model is tested through structural equation modeling.

The results stress the importance of psychological capital as an important career resource among knowledge workers. Therefore, our findings contribute to career research by supporting the argument that context and/or occupational group matters in the relationship between career capital and career success.

The cross-sectional data partly restrict our ability to delimit an impact. Further research using a longitudinal design would be required to confirm longitudinal effects. The respondents were a relatively homogeneous group of knowledge workers, and thus, the results are not generalized to other samples. The Finnish context (e.g., a high-quality education system, welfare society, dual-earner model) may also include special aspects that may have an effect on results limiting generalization to different contexts rather than Nordic ones.

Career capital is an important element of taking charge of one's career, which is expected in current working life scenarios. Given psychological capital has an impact on employees' career success, employees' psychological capital could be supported in organizations to help them to adapt to career changes. Employers benefit from individuals who are willing to invest in their work, and therefore, the employers should be aware of the individual factors that affect employees' career success.

The meaning of career success may be context and culture related, as might its predictors. Hence, perceived career success may benefit and spill over to several stakeholders such as employers, family members and friends through its effects of positive energy and well-being. Career counselors could place more emphasis than currently on developing the psychological capital of their clients. The findings are important for other practitioners as well, such as human resource (HR) professionals who might consider dedicated programs fostering psychological capital qualities, which seem to relate to career success among knowledge workers.

A research model that considers career capital as an integrated entity is presented rather than focusing on a single form of career capital. Contextual issues were included by focusing on knowledge workers who represent careerists in a welfare society. These findings could advance career theory and provide developmental guidelines to help employers, HR and career-oriented individuals to build successful careers.