Reviews

Social & Behavioral Sciences

employee engagement, and the bottom line for shareholders.” This

volume is a guide to achieving this objective. The appendix offers data,
charts, and other related material. Summing Up: HH Recommended.
All readers.—S. A. Schulman, CUNY Baruch College
cc 53-3128 HD45 CIP
Oreg, Shaul. Resistance to innovation: its sources and manifesta-
tions, by Shaul Oreg and Jacob Goldenberg. Chicago, 2015. 205p
index afp ISBN 9780226632605 cloth, $45.00
Thousands of new products debut annually in US markets. Most
are unsuccessful, wasting money and other resources. Researchers have
traditionally focused on successful products, but Oreg (organizational
behavior, Hebrew Univ. of Jerusalem; coeditor, with Alexandra Michel
and Rune Todnem By, of The Psychology of Organizational Change, 2013)
and Goldenberg (visiting professor of marketing, Columbia Business
School; author or coauthor of several books) point out that concentrating
solely on successful innovations can lead to inaccurate conclusions and
missed opportunities. Accordingly, Oreg and Goldenberg explore the
cloth, $90.00; ISBN 9780813571706 pbk, $29.95; ISBN 9780813575353
failed majority and why consumers balked at or rejected them, cautioning
ebook, $29.95
that resistance does not necessarily result in product failure. This book
Shopping is not just about acquiring everyday necessities or
comprises two parts, with four and three chapters, respectively. Part 1
luxuries. In their insightful introduction to this collection, Bay and
focuses on precursors to opposition to change, information gathered
Fabian (both, history, Rutgers Univ.) write that the essays document
from an extensive review of the literature spanning 60 years of relevant
the “tangled relations of race and retail.” They open this introduction
research. In part 2, the authors explore what resistance looks like and its
with a discussion of a 2013 case of racial profiling that illustrates the
consequences for innovators, consumers, and the market. The authors
“loss prevention practices” retailers use, practices that plague nonwhite
bring to the discussion perspectives from marketing and organizational
shoppers. Bringing to the discussion the methodologies of various
behavior, in which new products and ideas and change are frequently
disciplines—including history, urban planning, sociology, public health,
introduced and accepted or resisted. The writing is scholarly, with plenty
ethnic studies, business, and geography—the contributors explore both
of in-text citations and illustrative stories of relevant new product failures
national and local cases. Despite the methodological diversity, the
and successes. Summing Up: HH Recommended. All readers.—D.
14 essays are consistently fascinating, accessible, well researched, and
Truty, Northeastern Illinois University
evocatively written. The editors do a good job of balancing background
cc 53-3129 HF5415 2015-21346 CIP material and newly researched cases. Providing effective analyses of how
Pulizzi, Joe. Content Inc.: how entrepreneurs use content ethnicity affects people’s experiences as consumers as well as citizens,
to build massive audiences and create radically success- this cohesive collection will have a broad audience. For students who
ful businesses. McGraw-Hill, 2015. 316p bibl index afp ISBN care more about shopping than race and ethnicity, this book provides
9781259589652 cloth, $25.00; ISBN 9781259589669 ebook, con- a valuable opportunity to engage in discussions about why race and
tact publisher for price ethnicity matter on both sides of the so-called color line. Summing Up:
Pulizzi has spent his career developing his own content-marketing HHH Highly recommended. All readers.—P. W. Laird, University of
strategy. In this book, he outlines for entrepreneurs an innovative Colorado Denver
approach using the blog and online space to harness the power of content
53-3131 HD61 2015-11432 CIP
marketing. The business plan Pulizzi presents illustrates the unique
Sheffi, Yossi. The power of resilience: how the best compa-
needs and methods necessary for successful content across social media
nies manage the unexpected. MIT, 2015. 469p index afp ISBN
platforms. Pulizzi argues for developing an entrepreneur’s passion into
9780262029797 cloth, $29.95; ISBN 9780262330619 ebook, $20.95
a unique market niche. He offers advice on choosing the best social
Sheffi (engineering systems, MIT) analyzes supply-chain disruptions
media channels and on the use of digital marketing tools such as search
and ways to handle them. Three of the main disruptions discussed are
engine optimization and metrics. Pulizzi reveals some of the golden
the 2011 Japanese earthquake, the global financial system crisis of 2008,
nuggets only in the later chapters: for example, the advice for finding
and Hurricane Katrina in 2005. For example, the authors describe how
and developing influencers is applicable and important to all digital
General Motors survived the quake by identifying the affected suppliers,
businesses. In addition, building out what Pulizzi calls the “three and
charting time lines to fix parts shortages, finding extra inventory, reducing
three model”—which is presented in the sixth chapter—is valuable
recovery time, and allocating scarce supplies. Creating redundancies and
advice for entrepreneurs seeking to expand and grow a content-oriented
building flexibility in operations are key themes. In addition to General
organization. Summing Up: HH Recommended. All readers.—E. C.
Motors, Sheffi researched (and interviewed executives at) Cisco, Intel,
Dansereau, Castleton State College
Johnson Controls, Starbucks, and Walmart, and he outlines methods
cc 53-3130 HF5429 2014-43683 CIP these companies used for managing the most recent changes in the
Race and retail: consumption across the color line, ed. by Mia Bay supply chain. Discussed are the Internet of Things, cybercrime, resource
and Ann Fabian. Rutgers, 2015. 314p index afp ISBN 9780813571713 nationalism, corporate social responsibility, and climate change (the last

March 2016 CHOICE 1055

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