The Route to Take‐up: Evidence from the UK Pension Credit Reform

Viable routes to increase the take‐up of cash transfer programs include raising the financial incentive to claim and reducing claiming barriers. Older people's response to both is evaluated exploiting the introduction of Pension Credit in the UK. The reform involved improved application assistance, simplified claiming procedure, extended recertification interval, less intrusive reporting requirements and outreach campaigning; also, the cash entitlement was increased for a subgroup of pensioners. The behavioral response is identified using Family Resources Survey data. Results support the effectiveness of financial incentives, while no effect is found in the case of reducing barriers policies when unaccompanied by financial incentives.     

Cash flow vs. collateral‐based credit

We study factors affecting micro, small and medium‐sized enterprises (MSMEs) receiving loans and the effect of these loans on MSMEs performance. We study two types of loans – a new type based on cash flows and a traditional‐style loan based on collateral. We use unique surveys of MSMEs from Bulgaria, Georgia, Russia and Ukraine. We find that MSMEs receiving a cash flow or collateral loan in the past are more likely to receive the same type of loan (and larger sized) in the future and that cash flow loans may be the preferred form of credit. Both types of loans are related positively to most performance indicators, enabling the MSMEs for instance to be more profitable and expand production. The cash flow loans also appear to be particularly attractive credit delivery schemes for micro and small enterprises. Finally, the effects of the smallest loans are often negative, suggesting that the minimum loan size is an important policy issue.     

The Drivers of E-tailers' Price Levels

One of the most important topics in online pricing is understanding the drivers of online price levels for different types of retailers, in order to better understand competition across retail channels. We developed a conceptual framework and conducted an empirical analysis on price levels in the books category among different e-tailers (pure play and multichannel) in Italy and obtained a dataset comprising 5,400 price quotes during 2002. We ran a correlation analysis that showed that e-tailer graphics, branding and trust, and shipping services are highly correlated to price levels. Moreover, we developed a regression analysis that showed that first impact attributes like graphics and navigability are the most important drivers of online price levels. We identify some areas of future research and offer some managerial insights.     

From network ties to network structures: Exponential Random Graph Models of interorganizational relations

Theoretical accounts of network ties between organizations emphasize the interdependence of individual intentions, opportunities, and actions embedded in local configurations of network ties. These accounts are at odds with empirical models based on assumptions of independence between network ties. As a result, the relation between models for network ties and the observed network structure of interorganizational fields is problematic. Using original fieldwork and data that we have collected on collaborative network ties within a regional community of hospital organizations we estimate newly developed specifications of Exponential Random Graph Models (ERGM) that help to narrow the gap between theories and empirical models of interorganizational networks. After controlling for the main factors known to affect partner selection decisions, full models in which local dependencies between network ties are appropriately specified outperform restricted models in which such dependencies are left unspecified and only controlled for statistically. We use computational methods to show that networks based on empirical estimates produced by models accounting for local network dependencies reproduce with accuracy salient features of the global network structure that was actually observed. We show that models based on assumptions of independence between network ties do not. The results of the study suggest that mechanisms behind the formation of network ties between organizations are local, but their specification and identification depends on an accurate characterization of network structure. We discuss the implications of this view for current research on interorganizational networks, communities, and fields.     

The psychological costs of pay‐for‐performance: Implications for the strategic compensation of employees

Most research linking compensation to strategy relies on agency theory economics and focuses on executive pay. We instead focus on the strategic compensation of nonexecutive employees, arguing that while agency theory provides a useful framework for analyzing compensation, it fails to consider several psychological factors that increase costs from performance‐based pay. We examine how psychological costs from social comparison and overconfidence reduce the efficacy of individual performance‐based compensation, building a theoretical framework predicting more prominent use of team‐based, seniority‐based, and flatter compensation. We argue that compensation is strategic not only in motivating and attracting the worker being compensated but also in its impact on peer workers and the firm's complementary activities. The paper discusses empirical implications and possible theoretical extensions of the proposed integrated theory. Copyright © 2012 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Fostering corporate sustainability in tourism management through social values within collective value co-creation processes

Collective value co-creation is not fully explored in management research. The phenomenon of social value co-creation has not been investigated in detail either, particularly regarding sustainable tourism management. In our work, we investigate the role of social values within the collective value co-creation process, as a key factor for building sustainable tourism management practices able to generate sustainable benefits to all stakeholders. The study setting is Sardex, a complementary currency community based in Sardinia (Italy). By adopting a qualitative methodology, and through face-to-face interviews, the entrepreneurs’ relationships were analysed using dialogue, trust, and reciprocity as core factors of value co-creation within the hospitality and tourism firms grouped in Sardex. Particularly, we explored whether, and to what extent, reciprocity was the salient factor in the process of value co-creation. Findings show that social values, and especially reciprocity, are the backbone of value co-creation: they foster corporate social orientation, which brings together corporate social responsibility and sustainability, and represent our contribution to enrichen theoretical and practical perspectives in this multidimensional field.     

Crowdfunding tax incentives in Europe: a comparative analysis

ABSTRACT

Some European countries offer tax incentive schemes to investors and companies in crowdfunding. On one hand, they could be seen as a tool to reduce the system’s dependence on banks and increase the availability of credit for start-ups and Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs). On the other hand, there is the counterweight of disadvantages that investors may face by investing in crowdfunding (i.e. complex and incomplete laws, and weak protection). This paper is primarily intended as a primer on the use of tax incentives for crowdfunding in Europe. In this study, we first examine the implementation of tax incentive schemes in the United Kingdom, France, Italy, Spain, and Belgium. Then, we analyse and compare the characteristics of such schemes along three dimensions: the incentives structure; the business characteristics; and the type of investor. We find that tax incentive schemes for crowdfunding vary widely in their form and other features of their design. Moreover, the most used forms of tax incentives are those that provide for an up-front tax credit on the amount invested in early-stage ventures. These incentives have an immediate effect on the annual income tax of the investor. A central implication is that the more tax incentive schemes are properly designed and tailored for crowdfunders, the more investors, start-ups and other firms with low liquidity could use crowdfunding as a source of funding.     

External knowledge sourcing for R&D activities: antecedents and implications of governance mode choice

This paper investigates how internal and external factors affect the choice between alliances and joint ventures (A&;JVs) and mergers and acquisitions (M&;As) for the external sourcing of research and development (R&;D) activities, and whether or not such a choice is really contingent, that is, is it the best choice in terms of its impact on firms' innovative performance under those circumstances? We build a set of hypotheses based on both the transaction-cost theory and the resource-based view, and test them through a secondary data source analysis. We found that companies adopt either R&;D M&;A or A&;JV depending on internal (e.g. resources and capabilities, innovation experience) and external (e.g. degree of industry specialisation) factors. Surprisingly, this contingent choice turns to be effective on innovative performance only for the internal factors, rather than the external. This paper contributes to inter-firm relationships literature by presenting the real advantages of using integrated and contingency theoretical models to understand contingent decisions.     

A phenomenological study of corporate social responsibility in the Niger delta,Nigeria

Over the past half‐century, organization‐centric approaches to corporate social responsibility (CSR) dominated management practice. Though scholars and practitioners have embraced integrative CSR models, there are insufficient data about rural community constructs of corporate social behavior. Drawing largely from primary research conducted in the Niger Delta region, this article explores the meanings communities ascribe to corporate social responsibility. Through open‐ended interviews, this article examines the subtle underlying meanings of the narratives provided by the indigenes to identify clues potentially useful for developing effective CSR programs in the Niger Delta. The findings show that the Niger Delta people frame their views about CSR through the experience of poverty, loss of the traditional economy, erosion of traditional values, and degradation of the environment. Thus, CSR is associated with the restoration of control over land, alleviation of poverty, and community development.