Correction to: Auxiliaries to Abusive Supervisors: The Spillover Effects of Peer Mistreatment on Employee Performance

Journal of Business Ethics - A correction to this paper has been published: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10551-021-04793-5     

INDIFFERENCE PRICING FOR CONTINGENT CLAIMS: LARGE DEVIATIONS EFFECTS

We study utility indifference prices and optimal purchasing quantities for a nontraded contingent claim in an incomplete semimartingale market with vanishing hedging errors. We make connections with the theory of large deviations. We concentrate on sequences of semicomplete markets where in the nth market, the claim admits the decomposition . Here, is replicable by trading in the underlying assets , but is independent of . Under broad conditions, we may assume that vanishes in accordance with a large deviations principle (LDP) as n grows. In this setting, for an exponential investor, we identify the limit of the average indifference price , for units of , as . We show that if , the limiting price typically differs from the price obtained by assuming bounded positions , and the difference is explicitly identifiable using large deviations theory. Furthermore, we show that optimal purchase quantities occur at the large deviations scaling, and hence large positions arise endogenously in this setting.     

Correction to: Flexible Ubers and Fixed Taxis: the Effect of Fuel Prices on Car Services

Journal of Industry, Competition and Trade - A Correction to this paper has been published: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10842-021-00359-3     

The Theoretical Domains of Retailing Research: A Retrospective

In a previous review article [Brown, James R. and Dant, Rajiv P. (2008a), “Scientific Method and Retailing Research: A Retrospective,” Journal of Retailing, 84 (April), 1-13], we had discussed the substantive domains, the methodological approaches, and the inferential tools that researchers used to test their conceptual frameworks in 164 articles published in the Journal of Retailing during 2002-2007. In this article, we continue this introspective process, by reviewing the theories used in 173 articles published in the Journal of Retailing in the 2004-2009 (to Issue 2) time period, and classifying those theories according to their application to various substantive issues. A total of 119 different theories were used across these 173 articles, which we sub-grouped into twelve broad-based theoretical categories: (1) marketing theories, (2) microeconomic theory, (3) consumer choice theory, (4) social exchange theory, (5) information processing theory, (6) satisfaction theory, (7) reference price theory, (8) competitive theory, (9) attribution theory, (10) other psychological theories for individuals, (11) other social psychological/sociological theories, and (12) other theories. We also examine the methodological approaches and tools used to test those theories. A number of research gaps are identified for future retailing scholarship.     

Triple acculturation: The role of African Americans in the consumer acculturation of Kenyan immigrants

The role of a subcultural group in the consumer acculturation of Kenyan immigrants is examined. Our findings demonstrate that particular immigrant consumer behaviors are influenced by triple acculturation forces: dominant; subcultural and original culture. We find that immigrants do not arrive in the United States aware of their need to acculturate to a subcultural group. Critical incidents alert the immigrants of the need to acculturate to the African American subculture in order to fulfill some basic consumer goals such as accessing hair care, nightclub entertainment and church services. Progressively, immigrants begin to incorporate triple acculturation forces in their consumer decision making. The immigrants learn to be innovative as well as to engage in satisficing as they navigate the new consumption environment. This research contributes to acculturation studies by extending the models of Berry (Berry JW. Acculturation as varieties of adaptation. In: Padilla AM, editor. Acculturation: theory, model and some new findings, Boulder, CO: Westview Press; 1980. pp. 9-25) as well as Penaloza (Penaloza L. Altravesando Fronteras/Border Crossings: a critical ethnographic exploration of the consumer acculturation of Mexican immigrants. J Consum Res 1994;2:32-54[June]) by incorporating the role of a subcultural group in this process.     

Correction to: Corporate Essence and Identity in Criminal Law

Journal of Business Ethics - A correction to this paper has been published: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10551-021-04827-y     

The Influence of a Family Business Climate and CEO–CFO Relationship Quality on Misreporting Conduct

This study answers Vazquez’s (J Bus Ethics 150(3):691–709, 2016) call for more research focused on the intersection between family firms and business ethics. We investigate two contextual factors potentially affecting the ethical reporting of chief financial officers (CFOs): a firm’s social ties to the controlling family and the CFOs’ perceived relationship quality with the CEO. We test our hypotheses by examining the financial reporting behavior of Chinese CFOs who work at (1) family or nonfamily businesses and in (2) private or public firms. Results of this study advance our understanding of social and contextual factors that may compromise CFOs' reporting behavior in family firms (Suh et al., J Bus Ethics, 2018, https://doi.org/10.1007/s10551-018-3982-3).  This research also suggests that failure to distinguish between public and private companies may bias the results of studies that examine family firms.

     

The power of international marketing functions: antecedents and consequences

Purpose: This paper addresses intra-organizational power of international marketing (IM) functions. While IM functions play an important role in firms that operate in continuously changing international environments, their power has been under-explored. Importantly, IM managers need to understand their function’s power and its implications for business performance.

Methodology/approach: Drawing on resource-dependency and interaction theories, we contend that IM functions’ power is affected by the power of non-marketing functions and coordination and conflicts with them. Additionally, IM functions’ power should affect international performance. However, contingency factors may change this effect. The empirical study uses data from senior managers of B-to-B international firms. The model is tested using multiple regression analysis and extensive post-hoc tests.

Findings: While IM functions are powerful, their power is enhanced by coordination with other functions and is reduced by the power held by non-marketing functions. Surprisingly, conflicts with other functions increase IM functions’ power. Finally, IM functions’ power enhances international performance but its effect is weakened by intra-IM conflicts and differs across hi- and low-tech firms.

Research implications: This study provides insights about drivers and outcomes of IM functions’ power based on their relationships with non-marketing functions. Performance consequences of IM power are dependent on contingencies. The study extends knowledge on the under-researched phenomena of marketing power in a B-to-B international context.

Practical implications: IM managers should manage sources of relative functional power and unique intra-firm interactions to sustain or promote their power and thus benefit their firms’ international performance. Practitioners recognize mechanisms to control IMs’ power.

Originality/value/contribution: The study is the first to focus on the interactions of IM functions with non-marketing functions in B-to-B firms and thus complements prior research on IM, general marketing, and non-marketing functions.     

The global hip-hop Diaspora: Understanding the culture

From New York to Paris, Tokyo and Sydney, hip-hop culture is a Diaspora transcending ethnic, linguistic, and geographic boundaries. As Osumare [Osumare H. Beat streets in the global hood: connective marginalities of the hip-hop globe. Journal of American and Comparative Cultures 2001;2(Spring/Summer):171-181.] indicates, “Global hip-hop youth culture has become a phenomenon in the truest sense of the word and has affected nearly every country on the map (171).” We extend our knowledge of the worldwide diffusion of hip-hop culture (Stanley TL. Cool consumption goods fit for hip-hop. Advert Age 2004;75:12 [July 12]) and employ qualitative research methods to address our research questions. Our findings identify commonalities among members of the hip-hop Diaspora and suggest that the core essence of hip-hop is shared by marginalized groups. Our data also illustrate that hip-hop is malleable and is adapted to speak to members of multiple national cultures, and localized socioeconomic and political conditions: hip-hop youth culture is glocalized.     

OPTIMAL SELLING RULES FOR MONETARY INVARIANT CRITERIA: TRACKING THE MAXIMUM OF A PORTFOLIO WITH NEGATIVE DRIFT

Considering a positive portfolio diffusion X with negative drift, we investigate optimal stopping problems of the form where f is a nonincreasing function, τ is the next random time where the portfolio X crosses zero and θ is any stopping time smaller than τ. Hereby, our motivation is the obtention of an optimal selling strategy minimizing the relative distance between the liquidation value of the portfolio and its highest possible value before it reaches zero. This paper unifies optimal selling rules observed for the quadratic absolute distance criteria in this stationary framework with bang–bang type ones observed for monetary invariant criteria but in finite horizon. More precisely, we provide a verification result for the general stopping problem of interest and derive the exact solution for two classical criteria f of the literature. For the power utility criterion with , instantaneous selling is always optimal, which is consistent with previous observations for the Black‐Scholes model in finite observation. On the contrary, for a relative quadratic error criterion, , selling is optimal as soon as the process X crosses a specified function φ of its running maximum . These results reinforce the idea that optimal stopping problems of similar type lead easily to selling rules of very different nature. Nevertheless, our numerical experiments suggest that the practical optimal selling rule for the relative quadratic error criterion is in fact very close to immediate selling.     

Dyadic Operationalization in Business Relationships: The Empirical Example of Marketing-Purchasing Collaboration

Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to explore whether dyadic operationalization within business relationships is feasible and sensible in a rigorous way. It aims to introduce quantitative operationalizations of business relationship characteristics from both monadic and dyadic datasets, and to introduce aggregation techniques for utilizing the richness of dyadic data. It compares and contrasts the effectiveness of different techniques in terms of explaining business relationship phenomena, using an empirical exemplification.

Methodology/Approach: The paper reviews the relevant literature and summarizes various dyadic operationalization and aggregation approaches. It furthermore illustrates such operationalization and aggregation by utilizing an empirical example. A nomological model of marketing-purchasing collaboration is developed and tested based upon internal dyadic data. Using alternative model comparisons, we contrast several different ways of operationalizing dyadic data (combined, dyadic, and dyadic with asymmetry), and compare the outcomes utilizing structural equation modeling.

Findings: The study of business relationships typically makes use of a variety of data types, ranging from simple monadic to perceived dyadic, through to rigorous dyadic data. The various aggregation methods include value, asymmetry, and directional asymmetry approaches. Pertinent sub-constructs are developed based on these aggregation methods and relevant hypotheses incorporating and reflecting on the role of the sub-constructs are suggested to develop a more meaningful and rich quantitative analysis of business relationship phenomena.

Research Implications: This paper explores the different ways in which data assessing the relationship between two interacting parties can be operationalized. Dyadic operationalization within the context of business relationships is sensible and recommended. Researchers can adopt approaches to conduct dyadic data operationalization including data collection methods such as perceived dyadic and rigorous dyadic. They should benefit from rich dyadic aggregation approaches such as value, asymmetry, and directional asymmetry, noting the strengths and weaknesses of each approach discussed in this paper.

Practical Implications: Businesses are recommended to increase customer orientation and marketing-purchasing interaction to improve collaboration between marketing and purchasing departments and thus their overall performance. Businesses should also develop an alignment between the collaboration perceptions of the involved departments, and note that perceptual symmetry improves collaboration. Perception matching in a dyadic relationship plays a role in enhancing the overall firm performance. Managers should note that all involved parties’ perspectives are to be included to ensure a positive and collaborative liaison. An all-encompassing attitude and perspective (as opposed to an asymmetric, unbalanced one) ensures an effective relationship.

Originality/Value/Contribution of the paper: The contribution of the research lies in outlining different ways to accomplish more insightful analytics regarding data operationalization, and their different strengths and weaknesses in terms of explaining relationship characteristics, and therefore enriches research on business relationships by making better sense of quantitative dyadic data.     

The Morality of Risk Modeling

This article applies the concept of prudence to develop the characteristics of responsible risk-modeling practices in the insurance industry. A critical evaluation of the risk-modeling process suggests that ethical judgments are emergent rather than static, vague rather than clear, particular rather than universal, and still defensible according to the discipline’s established theory, which will support a range of judgments. Thus, positive moral guides for responsible behavior are of limited practical value. Instead, by being prudent, modelers can improve their ability to deal with the ethical and technical complexity of the risk-modeling process. While the application of prudence to resolve ethical challenges in risk modeling, an issue of practical importance to managers, is a first in the literature, the practice of applying an ethical lens to issues of pragmatic importance for managers is well established in Maak and Pless (J Bus Ethics 66:99–115, 2006a; Responsible leadership, 2006b) among others.

     

Correction: The Euro at 20: Still a Project Projected to Fail?

Intereconomics - In the Forum article “The Euro at 20: Still a Project Projected to Fail?” by Adalbert Winkler in Intereconomics, Vol. 54, No. 2, 2019, p. 90–95, DOI:...     

The process of de-iconisation of an iconic brand: a genealogical approach

Brand iconisation refers to the way a brand comes to symbolise the values, needs, and aspirations of the members of a particular cultural group. More than a decade of research has emphasised the many benefits that iconic brands bring to companies and has identified how brands become icons through a process of matching with cultural opportunities emerging in society. However, the way an iconic brand comes to be de-iconicised and how managers can shield brands from this risk is still under-researched. The aim of this paper is to contribute to knowledge regarding iconic brands by following the life of one iconic brand at national level, examining its history and its impact from the point of view of cultural performance.

Our research contributes to the field of cultural branding through a genealogical study of how a brand becomes a national icon before becoming de-iconicised as circumstances change. Our research identifies five types of brand episode that can lead to de-iconisation. Our research therefore adds new developments to iconic brand theory. It also contributes to discussing the concept of iconic brand resilience, mainly through the role of cultural intermediaries, such as filmmakers.     

Correction to: Charles Camic: Veblen,The Making of an Economist Who Unmade Economics

Business Economics - The article Charles Camic: Veblen, The Making of an Economist Who Unmade Economics, written by Charles Steindel, has been updated.     

SCHUR CONVEX FUNCTIONALS: FATOU PROPERTY AND REPRESENTATION

The Fatou property for every Schur convex lower semicontinuous (l.s.c.) functional on a general probability space is established. As a result, the existing quantile representations for Schur convex l.s.c. positively homogeneous convex functionals, established on for either p= 1 or p=∞ and with the requirement of the Fatou property, are generalized for , with no requirement of the Fatou property. In particular, the existing quantile representations for law invariant coherent risk measures and law invariant deviation measures on an atomless probability space are extended for a general probability space.     

The Marketing Campaign: The British General Election of 2005

Political marketing was a key factor in the 2005 campaign, but more for its ineffectiveness than for its success. The use of marketing techniques such as segmentation and targeting was prolific, however the extent to which the parties adopted the marketing concept was limited. The impact of Labour's Big Conversation and 'Team Labour' campaign approach was always going to be hindered by Tony Blair's perceived dismissal of party and voter opinion on the Iraq War and top-up fees; appointing a marketing director to work on the presentation rather than the design of policy, combined with a highly negative campaign, was never going to win the election for the Tories. The lessons of electoral history – and marketing - were proved right once again: only if parties fully embrace the marketing philosophy and comprehensively design their behaviour by reflecting and responding to public demand. Nevertheless the key to future success for UK parties is to bring back ideology: market-oriented politics should also include using party principles and leadership judgement in order to be able to produce a distinctive response to the public concerns that is both popular and credible.     

The Role of Buyer Trust in Outsourced CRM: Its Influence on Organizational Learning and Performance

Purpose: Company outsourcing of customer relationship management (CRM) functions is increasing (Kalaignanam and Varadarajan 2012). Although outsourcing CRM may provide financial benefits, the tasks of developing and utilizing the complex, cross-functional processes needed to gain enhanced customer knowledge from CRM may be more difficult when some or all CRM activities are outsourced. Trust in the information provided by the outsourced CRM supplier is vital. In this study, the authors examine the influence of buyer trust in its outsourced CRM supplier on cross-functional learning processes and firm performance within the buyer firm.

Methodology: Data were collected from a survey of marketing managers in 221 firms. LISREL 9.2 was used to assess convergent, discriminant, and nomologic validity using the two-step approach (Anderson and Gerbing 1988). Convergent and discriminant validity were evaluated in the measurement model phase, whereas the structural model provided an appraisal of nomologic validity.

Findings: The results provide evidence of buyer firm trust in the outsourced CRM supplier playing a critical role in the buyer firm’s success with information sharing, and both trust and information sharing strongly influencing information interpretation and information access in the buyer firm. All three organizational learning processes positively influence buyer firm customer satisfaction/retention and market performance.

Research implications: An important area for future research is the possibility of varying levels of trust needed for success with outsourced CRM depending on the buyer firm’s goals for its CRM system. It is possible that the simpler CRM functions could be outsourced effectively through efficiency strategies that do not require significant levels of trust, whereas the more complex CRM activities that affect organizational learning require more stringent coordination and inter-organizational development. Varadarajan’s (2009) cost versus quality classifications of outsourcing could be a useful starting point for this type of analysis. Considering the finding in this study that information sharing is critical for information interpretation and information access in the buyer firm, another area for future research is possible differences in the extent of information sharing required by firms that are outsourcing CRM versus those that conduct the CRM function in-house. One starting point could be possible differences in relevance among Maltz and Kohli’s (1996) factors affecting information dissemination.

Practical implications: For effective use of CRM data, it is important for buyer firms to develop trust in their outsourced CRM supplier. Managers can assist in this by communicating qualifications of the outsourced CRM supplier, such as any trade-specific certifications, awards, information about the supplier’s number of years in business, and examples of other companies the supplier has assisted. Managers can also help employees develop confidence in the supplier’s integrity by sharing the supplier’s code of ethics and serving as a champion for the supplier. In addition, firms engaged in outsourced CRM are encouraged to develop reward systems that motivate employees to build relationships with their counterparts in the supplier firm, and it would be useful for the buyer firm to help its employees understand the importance of the CRM outsourcing relationship to the buyer firm’s success. Finally, it is important for management to provide opportunities for interaction between the outsourcing partner and key buyer firm employees who will use the CRM data, to encourage effective processes in information sharing, information interpretation, and information access.

Contribution of the article: This article addresses the significance of outsourcing the CRM function and provides evidence that buyer trust in its CRM supplier is a critical factor in its utilization of CRM data for organizational learning and firm performance. It also demonstrates that effective sharing of information, cross-functional integration of customer data, and CRM information accessibility are critical for firm success.