Leadership research in Asia: Taking the road less traveled?

Asia is a geographical region with a cultural emphasis on power distance, paternalism, collectivism, and social relations. Leadership in this area plays an important role in organizational processes and outcomes; however, whether this role is similar to that outlined in the mainstream leadership research and non-Asian settings is yet to be confirmed. In this Special Issue on ??Leadership in Asia,?? we selected six papers and identified four emerging themes. First, several mainstream leadership theories are applicable in Asia. On the other hand, we also identified processes and effects that are unique in Asia. Second, leadership in Asia affects organizational outcomes. Third, a strong emphasis on families and social ties among Asian corporations highlights intriguing leadership dynamics in this part of the world. Finally, new context-specific leadership constructs are identified and discussed. In light of these findings, we discuss the future directions of leadership research in Asia.     

Redefining stakeholder relationships in mega events: New Zealand Chinese and the Rugby World Cup

Through a proposed stakeholder framework with different participation modes, this study of the Chinese migrant community in Auckland explored the relationships around their participation in Rugby World Cup, namely, their awareness of the event and its link to event participation, economic links, identity, and national pride. Adopting a pre- and post-event approach, data from self-administered and online questionnaires were collected and examined using a multivariate analysis. A multidirectional participation effect was found for multicultural value, linkages, sense of identity and pride, business engagement, and recommending the country. Finally, stakeholder relationships were redefined by regrouping stakeholders in a mega sporting event.     

Macro explanatory factors of Turkish tourism companies’ stock returns

This study examines whether the stock prices of Turkish tourism companies respond to growth in eight macro-economic variables namely, consumer price index, imports, exchange rate, consumer confidence index, oil price, money supply, foreign tourist arrivals, and monthly stock market return. By applying the Granger causality procedure, we find that growth in the consumer confidence index and imports could Granger cause tourism companies’ stock returns among eight macro factors in Turkey during the 2005 to 2013 period. After considering the structural break that occurred in 2007, the pre-break results indicate that the consumer confidence index, exchange rate, and foreign tourist arrivals could Granger cause tourism stock returns. However, the results in the post-structural break period reveal that only growths in oil prices and imports are significant.     

Investor sentiment and feedback trading: Evidence from the exchange-traded fund markets

This paper extends the standard feedback trading model of Sentana and Wadhwani (1992) by allowing the demand for shares by feedback traders to depend on sentiment. Our empirical analysis of three largest Exchange-Traded Fund (ETF) contracts in the U.S. suggests that there is a significant positive feedback trading in these markets and the intensity of which is generally linked to investor sentiment. Specifically, the level of feedback trading tends to increase when investors are optimistic. In addition, we find that the influence of sentiment on feedback trading varies across market regimes. These results are consistent with the view that feedback trading activity is largely caused by the presence of sentiment-driven noise trading. Overall, the findings are important in understanding the role of sentiment in investment behaviour and market dynamics and are of direct relevance to the regulators and investors in ETF markets.     

PREDICTING CURRENCY CRISES WITH A NESTED LOGIT MODEL

Abstract.  This paper is the first to apply a nested logit model to measure the probabilities of speculative attacks and the probabilities of successful defences by the central banks. This model allows us to predict the probability not only of speculative attacks but also of successful defences, given attacks. It also provides a framework for analysing the degree to which different factors affect the likelihood of attacks and defences. We find strong evidence that external illiquidity and financial fragility are reliable predictors of currency crises. The results shed light on the validity of the three generations of currency crisis models.     

LOST IN STATE SPACE: ARE PREFERENCES STABLE?*

We use field experiments to examine the temporal stability of risk preferences. Over a 17‐month period, we elicited risk preferences from subjects chosen to be representative of the adult Danish population. During this period we revisited many of these subjects and repeated a risk aversion elicitation task. We find some variation in risk attitudes over time, but we do not detect a general tendency for risk attitudes to increase or decrease over a 17‐month span. The results also suggest that risk preferences are state contingent with respect to personal finances.     

Interaction effects in software piracy

The paper presents an exploratory attempt to analyse self-reported leniency toward software piracy systematically, using an approach based on empirical factors, rather than ethical factors. The empirical factors studied were: (i) social acceptance of software piracy; (ii) the cost of original software; (iii) urgency of the subject's need for software; (iv) availability of original software; (v) knowledge of computer software copyright law; (vi) gender; (vii) monthly household income; and (viii) education level. It provides new insights to software companies and government officials who are developing programmes to promote the concept of anti-piracy among software consumers. This is also the first exploratory research to study the interaction effects among factors influencing the reported leniency towards software piracy, at the individual level.     

The Determination of Rent in Shopping Centers: Some Evidence from Hong Kong

The purpose of this article is to assess the generality of previous empirical findings on the determinants of retail rent in shopping centers and validate their substantive robustness using data from Hong Kong. Consistent with previous findings, the rental rate of a retail unit is positively related to its customer-generating power and the size of the shopping center but negatively related to its own size. In contrast to previous findings, it is positively associated with chain stores and the age of the shopping center but not significantly related to several provisions in the lease.