An Exploratory Study of the Otaku Adolescent Consumer

High accessibility to Internet technology and popularization of focus media has given rise to various emerging subcultures among the younger generation who constantly seek novelty. The otaku is such an adolescent subculture of avid collectors who have a special lifestyle and who are obsessed with anime products. This study explores this specific adolescent segment's traits and purchasing behavior patterns. A focus‐group interview was conducted with some adolescent otaku to allow them to express their opinions and purchasing behaviors. Then, a questionnaire was developed based on the interview's findings, and data from a survey of 105 respondents were collected. Exploratory factor analysis was applied to extract the otaku's trait factors, while confirmatory factor analysis and structural equation modeling were used for the verification of the scale and structural model, respectively. The results show that the adolescent otaku present an obsessive preference for visual perception. The main factor influencing the otaku's purchasing intentions in terms of animation, comics, and games (ACG) is their strong interest in and participation willingness toward ACG. Strategic marketing directions applied to this adolescent group should emphasize information visualization to entice their buying behavior.     

An expectancy theory model for hotel employee motivation

The purpose of this study is to apply expectancy theory to employee motivation in the hotel setting and confirm the validity of expectancy theory. The proposed expectancy theory model for motivation was tested using data from 289 hotel employees. The results show that a modified expectancy theory with five components (expectancy, extrinsic instrumentality, intrinsic instrumentality, extrinsic valence, and intrinsic valence) best explains the process of motivating hotel employees. This study also indicates that intrinsic motivation factors are more influential than extrinsic factors for hotel employees, suggesting that hotel managers need to focus more on intrinsic factors to better motivate employees.     

The Effect of Government Ideology on an Exchange Rate Regime: Some International Evidence

This paper comprehensively investigates the effect of government ideology on the type of exchange rate regime that a country implements via multinomial logit and multinomial probit models for 147 countries in the period 1974–2009. Our results clearly indicate that a left‐wing government increases the likelihood that a country implements a flexible regime in the classifications of exchange rate regimes. Nevertheless, evidence is weaker when using the de jure IMF course classification, which is set up by Ilzetzki et al. ( 2008 ). In a deeper investigation, we find that left‐wing governments are more likely to choose a flexible regime relative to a fixed one in our sample of OECD, non‐OECD and non‐Eurozone countries, as the impacts from government ideology on the determinant of the choice of exchange rate regime in Eurozone countries disappear. More importantly, we present many explanations for exchange rate regime choices when macroeconomic conditions, political constraints and institutions impact the choice of exchange rate regime.     

The spillover effects of the sub-prime mortgage crisis and optimum asset allocation in the BRICV stock markets

In the aftermath of the sub-prime mortgage crisis, we set out to investigate the spillover effects of returns and volatility in the US stock market on the stock markets of Brazil, Russia, India, China and Vietnam (BRICVs). The results of our application of the ARJI (autoregressive conditional jump intensity) model reveal that the greatest contagious effects of returns and volatility from the US market before the crisis were felt by Russia; however, following the crisis, the most intense spillover effects are found to be on Vietnam. While India, the most efficient of these markets, demonstrates the lowest total long-run risk, an inverse situation is discernible for both China and Brazil. Our results therefore suggest that in the design of their asset allocation strategies, investors with risk aversion should consider investing greater proportions of their funds in India, while being conservative in both Brazil and China to avoid inefficient and risky investment.     

Export market correlation and strategic trade policy

In the traditional models of strategic trade policy pioneered by Brander and Spencer, exports of the domestic firm, engaged in a Cournot-Nash competition with the foreign firm in a neutral market, must be subsidized to maximize national welfare. We demonstrate that when the firms play the Cournot-Nash game in two stochastic and positively correlated markets, it may be optimal to tax exports to the more volatile market while subsidizing it in the other. The policy combination reduces the amplitude of aggregate profit and raises the utility of the risk-averse firm in a manner similar to the theory of portfolio choice. JEL Classification: F12, D18
Marchés d'exportation co-reliés et politique commerciale stratégique. Dans les modèles traditionnels de politique commerciale stratégique proposés par Brander et Spencer, les exportations de la firme nationale, qui est engagée dans une concurrence à la Cournot-Nash avec une firme étrangère dans un marché neutre, doit être subventionnée si l'on veut maximiser le niveau national de bien-être. On montre que, quand les entreprises jouent un jeu à la Cournot-Nash dans deux marchés d'exportation stochastiques et positivement co-reliés, il peut être optimal de taxer les exportations vers le marché le plus volatile et de subventionner les exportations vers l'autre marché. Cette combinaison de politiques réduit l'amplitude de variation des profits agrégés et augmente l'utilité de l'entreprise qui a une aversion au risque d'une manière qui ressemble à ce qui se passe dans la théorie des choix de portefeuilles.     

Asymmetrical reaction to US stock-return news: evidence from major stock markets based on a double-threshold model

This paper examines the hypothesis that both stock returns and volatility are asymmetrical functions of past information from the US market. By employing a double-threshold GARCH model to investigate six major index-return series, we find strong evidence supporting the asymmetrical hypothesis of stock returns. Specifically, negative news from the US market will cause a larger decline in a national stock return than an equal magnitude of good news. This holds true for the volatility series. The variance appears to be more volatile when bad news impacts the market than when good news does.     

Appraising Performance across Borders: An Empirical Examination of the Purposes and Practices of Performance Appraisal in a Multi‐Country Context

This study empirically investigated culture's consequences on the major purposes and practices of performance appraisal using a sample (n = 1749) drawn from the banking industry in seven countries across Europe, Asia, and North America. We found that the effects and predictive capability of assertiveness, uncertainty avoidance, in‐group collectivism, and power distance should not be overstated nor are they straightforward. Organizations must be cognizant of the potential influence that a range of other organizational, institutional, and economic factors may wield on appraisal. These findings hold significant implications for the theoretical underpinnings of appraisal, a management tool largely rooted in US equity, expectancy, and procedural justice values and traditions. They also offer important lessons for practice. Not only is the transferability of appraisal and its operationalization affected by interactions with divergent cultures and contextual settings, but new hybrid appraisal architectures are emerging that necessitate further research.     

Further Evidence on the Performance of Funds of Funds: The Case of Real Estate Mutual Funds

Funds of funds (FOFs) are created when investment companies invest in other investment companies. Although the additional layer of fees incurred by FOFs has a negative effect on returns, there is empirical evidence that real estate FOFs generate superior performance net of fees and risk adjustments. The evidence is inconsistent with a growing consensus that most actively managed mutual funds do not, on average, generate excess returns after adjusting for fees and risk. This study explains this apparent contradiction and finds that most real estate FOFs do not outperform their benchmarks under alternative risk adjustment specifications.     

Do aggressive funds reallocate their portfolios aggressively?

This study examines pairs of asset allocation mutual funds that are controlled for all informational attributes, except for the level of risk aversion. Standard mean‐variance models of portfolio choice suggest that the percentage rebalancing of common stocks in aggressive funds would be the same as that in conservative funds. However, this study finds the rebalancing of common stocks in aggressive funds to be disproportionally less intense.