Effects on the “self-organization- satisfaction” relationship of changes in the economic context

Noting increasingly independent traveling by tourists, as well as changes on the tourist activity worldwide due to the 2008 economic crisis, this study analyzes the relationships between an economic crisis, tourist’s self-organization in trip planning, and tourist’s trip satisfaction. Data from a panel (2006–2011) on how residents in Spain complete their accommodation and transport bookings are used, including data on their trip satisfaction. The study identifies a negative relationship between the 2008 economic crisis and trip satisfaction, a positive relationship between self-organization and satisfaction, as well as positive moderating effects of the crisis on the relationship between self-organization and satisfaction.     

A Stochastic Model with Penalized Coefficients for Spatial Price Comparisons: An Application to Regional Price Indexes in Italy

This paper focuses on a new strand of research that uses stochastic approach for making spatial price comparisons. We propose a novel method to account for the presence of spatial dependencies in consumer prices and consequently in price indexes by imposing penalization conditions on the estimation of traditional CPD models leading to the spatially-penalized country-product-dummy (SP-CPD) model. The paper proposes an appropriate estimation strategy, which enables us to simultaneously estimate all the parameters in the model, including the smoothing parameter of the penalization term instead of determining it externally. In order to estimate spatial price indexes for areas lacking in price data, we suggest applying the kriging methodology to the price indexes obtained from the SP-CPD model. This new approach is applied to official Italian CPI data for constructing regional spatial price indexes for 2014. The results show that price levels are higher in the Northern-Central regions than in the South.     

The influence of the regional context on firms’ innovation patterns: evidence from Ecuador*

ABSTRACT

Using data from the Ecuadorean Innovation Survey of 2015, this paper identifies the innovation patterns that can be found in Ecuador. In addition, we analyse the influence of the regional innovation systems in determining these patterns. The results show that there are six differentiated patterns of innovation, although they all are related to the adoption and imitation of technologies. Finally, we observe that different regional characteristics condition the way in which firms organise innovation.     

The role of venture capitalist to enhance the growth of Spanish and Italian university spin-offs

The establishment of spin-offs to commercialise university knowledge/technology is a potential mechanism to promote economic and innovative development. Nevertheless, University Spin-Offs (USOs) are usually resource-constrained, especially in obtaining funding, limiting their growth. Venture Capital (VC) investors play an important role in the financing and the improvement of their managerial skills, which are critical for firm growth. This paper aims to explore both the effect of VC partners on the USOs’ growth and the cross-national differences in the role played by them. To study both issues, we empirically analysed 516 Spanish and 904 Italian USOs created by 50 Spanish and 57 Italian universities, respectively, and observed them between 2005 and 2013. The results showed different effects in the Spanish and Italian cases. While in Spain the presence of VC partners positively affects the USOs’ growth, in Italy there is not a significant effect. This evidence calls for systematic policies by public administrations and universities to foster USO growth.     

Seasonal mortality for fractional ages in short term life insurance

Abstract

Fernández-Durán, and Gregorio-Domínguez, Seasonal Mortality for Fractional Ages in Life Insurance. Scandinavian Actuarial Journal. A uniform distribution of deaths between integral ages is a widely used assumption for estimating future-lifetimes; however, this assumption does not necessarily reflect the true distribution of deaths throughout the year. We propose the use of a seasonal mortality assumption for estimating the distribution of future-lifetimes between integral ages: this assumption accounts for the number of deaths that occurs in given months of the year, including the excess mortality that is observed in winter months. The impact of this seasonal mortality assumption on short-term life insurance premium calculations is then examined by applying the proposed assumption to Mexican mortality data.     

A new approach to the identification of regional clusters: hierarchical clustering on principal components

This study focuses on the identification of regional business clusters as a primary step in the design and implementation of cluster-based development strategies. A methodology that has not been used previously to identify clusters is applied to data on inter-industry linkages from the input–output table of a region in northern Spain. The first advantage of this approach, hierarchical clustering on principal components (HCPC), over the use of factorial analysis alone, is that it involves the application of objective clustering techniques to the principal components analysis results, which leads to a better cluster solution. A second advantage is derived from using a mixed algorithm for the clustering process – a combination of the Ward’s classification method with the K-means algorithm – which improves the robustness of the final results.     

Ugo Broggi: a precursor in mathematical economics

The concern for the existence of solution to the Walras - Cassel model is usually dated at the beginning of the 1930s, and one decade later the proof of existence of utility function. Ugo Broggi, however, posed both issues in 1923 and 1919, respectively, and even hinted at modern ways of solving them. He was an outstanding mathematician, a former disciple of David Hilbert and collaborator with the Giornale degli Economisti. Broggi's achievements are also linked to a critical reading of Osorio's treatise on Paretian economics.     

The client as co-manufacturer and environmental entrepreneur: a research agenda

The purpose of this article is to detect issues of greatest interest and to establish a proposal that can be used as a basis to study the client's environmental entrepreneurship in service sector companies. The study is based on the existing literature on service innovation and the bibliography dedicated to environmental management specific to these innovations. This study poses a few questions that, together with many others, must be addressed in the future. These studies will inevitably contribute to improve the environmental performance of service companies.     

Management and employee involvement in achieving an environmental action-based competitive advantage: an empirical study

The objective of this work is to conduct an empirical study that shows whether certain management and human resource factors influence the achievement of an environmental action-based competitive advantage in a company. To this end, we have taken a sample of 110 factories. Management's deep involvement and its strategic integration, as well as employee motivation and participation, have a positive impact on the achievement of an environmental action-based competitive advantage in a company.