From the editor.

This issue, continuing our 40th anniversary celebration, consists of several new items in addition to research papers:

* Invited Commentary is an occasional column that will feature an expert's view on where business and the economy are heading. This column will serve as a source of potential topics for new research--a desirable contribution. In this issue, our guest commentator suggests how and why financial services will change, a topic of high concern these days.

* On occasion we will feature a section called Teaching Points that will serve to provide unusual and insightful examples to be incorporated into lectures, or methods to assure better learning. This item is also peer reviewed, and in this issue it focuses on forming a simulation course.

* At the end of this issue we have included an announcement of a noteworthy new program at the Tobin College of Business. THE GLOBAL MICROLOAN PROGRAM focuses on the mission of the University in a creative way, by combining global service and financial assistance through a network created to help the world's poor to help themselves. Do look at this section: it is an amazing enterprise, with scope and depth that only St. John's University can offer; a true jewel!

* The last item, found in the back pages, is a permanent installation: About the Review of Business is a note about the focus and research mission of our journal. It also includes Author Submission and Review Guidelines, detailing the items necessary for submission of articles.

Our new and expanding global editorial board is in place and ready to help out. We have recruited many highly experienced reviewers who are eager to participate and add value to our publication. We owe them a huge THANK YOU! The members of our Global Review Board are listed in the back of every issue.

What will be the trends in the Financial Services Industry? Will the model of one financial holding company survive the present crisis? Will banks change over time? Will those we call financial advisors or money managers have different functions, or be unnecessary? To get a view of the future of financial services, our Invited Commentary will provide you with much food for thought. We are grateful to Don Pitti for his essay New Regulations Will Drive Trends in the Financial Services Industry--Again.

The objective of Prof. Dempere's paper, How Independent is a 'Qualified Independent Underwriter,' is to provide statistical evidence about the effectiveness of a Qualified Independent Underwriter (QIU) in order to minimize conflicts of interest as defined by Rule 2720 Distribution of Securities of Members and Affiliates--Conflicts of Interest. After selecting a matching group of IPOs, the analysis provided by Prof. Dempere suggest that the conflicts of interest between the issuer and the underwriter are not mitigated by Rule 2720. This is an example of a well-intended regulation providing less than optimal results.

Prof. Cusack, in Willingness: A Reflection on Commitment, Organization Citizenship and Engagement from the Perspective of Albert O. Hirschman's Concept of Exit, Voice and Loyalty, reminds us in an elegant way that respecting the voices of people who fulfill the mission of their firm assures a productive and profitable outcome for the company.

Using a Cobb-Douglass framework, Prof. Vatti explores managers' behavior in A Strategic Analysis of Market Share for a Non-Seasonal Packaged Product. He finds that

* If you have a choice between pricing and advertising strategies, pricing strategies offer more value. In addition,

* The selected model can be utilized to quantify the impact of a mix of strategies regarding advertising and pricing, as well as the need to constantly update the model to refine the elasticity estimated.

The cost of the high rate of sidewalk accidents is considerable. Besser, Marpet and Medoff, in a diligent paper The Application of Logistic Regression to Pedestrian/Walkway Safety, make a significant contribution by showing that by using a logistic regression to model what contributes to accidents, the cost to business and society can be minimized.

For our Teaching Points article, Tiger Li and Barnett A. Greenberg, seeking improvements in learning, focus on the organization of specific courses within an MBA program. Their careful analysis in Examination of a Discontinuous Innovation Adoption MBA Marketing Curriculum: A Partnership Perspective shows that a simulation course, among other benefits, was seen as a better vehicle in helping students make career preparations, achieve educational goals and utilize time.

Igor M. Tomic, Ph.D.

Editor, Review of Business

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