The impact of monetary policy on stock market bubbles and trading behavior: Evidence from the lab

We investigate the effect of monetary policy on stock market bubbles and trading behavior in experimental asset markets. We introduce the possibility of investing in interest bearing bonds to the widely used laboratory asset market design of Smith et al. (1988). Treatment groups face a variable interest rate policy which depends on asset prices, while control groups are subjected to a constant interest rate. We observe a strong impact of our interest rate policy on liquidity in the stock market but only a small impact on bubbles. However, we find that announcing the possibility of reserve requirements significantly reduces bubbles.     

‘So,what is it? And do I like it?’ New product categorisation and the formation of consumer implicit attitude

Prior literature on knowledge transfer learning suggests that cognitive effort is required to categorise new products and to develop attitudes toward them. This study investigates whether a single exposure to category-related cues of a new product can trigger successful categorisation and lead to attitude formation. A total of 250 respondents were confronted with a fictitious new product, in condition of either high- or low-attention devoted to the new product. We found that a single exposure to category-related cues of a new product not only led to the participants’ categorisation of the new product into the targeted category independently of the attention level, but also shaped their implicit and explicit attitudes toward the new product. However, a minimum level of attention was required to observe the formation of implicit attitudes while explicit attitudes were not fully developed.     

Access to Financial Services: Measurement, Impact, and Policies

In many developing countries less than half the population hasaccess to formal financial services, and in most of Africa lessthan one in five households has access. Lack of access to financeis often the critical mechanism for generating persistent incomeinequality, as well as slower economic growth. Hence expandingaccess remains an important challenge across the world, leavingmuch for governments to do. However, not all government actionsare equally effective and some policies can even be counterproductive.This paper sets out principles for effective government policyon broadening access, drawing on the available evidence andillustrating with examples. The paper concludes with directionsfor future research. JEL Codes: D31, G20, G21, O12, O16     

On the economics of Internet peering

We discuss economic rationales behind peering decisions in the Internet. In the first part of the paper we analyze the decision about a bilateral peering agreement between two commercial Internet service providers (ISPs) who are in Cournot competition. In the second part we discuss multilateral peering between commercial ISPs and an academic research network (ARN). The latter is organized as a club of academic institutions who share the cost of their network. It is discussed whether peering threatens the existence of the ARN and under what circumstances a commercial ISP would want to use strategic pricing to win all ARN‐members as customers. This revised version was published online in June 2006 with corrections to the Cover Date.     

DYNAMIC DEFAULTABLE TERM STRUCTURE MODELING BEYOND THE INTENSITY PARADIGM

The two main approaches in credit risk are the structural approach pioneered by Merton and the reduced‐form framework proposed by Jarrow and Turnbull and by Artzner and Delbaen. The goal of this paper is to provide a unified view on both approaches. This is achieved by studying reduced‐form approaches under weak assumptions. In particular, we do not assume the global existence of a default intensity and allow default at fixed or predictable times, such as coupon payment dates, with positive probability. In this generalized framework, we study dynamic term structures prone to default risk following the forward‐rate approach proposed by Heath, Jarrow, and Morton. It turns out that previously considered models lead to arbitrage possibilities when default can happen at a predictable time. A suitable generalization of the forward‐rate approach contains an additional stochastic integral with atoms at predictable times and necessary and sufficient conditions for an appropriate no‐arbitrage condition are given. For efficient implementations, we develop a new class of affine models that do not satisfy the standard assumption of stochastic continuity. The chosen approach is intimately related to the theory of enlargement of filtrations, for which we provide an example by means of filtering theory where the Azéma supermartingale contains upward and downward jumps, both at predictable and totally inaccessible stopping times.     

Kostenrechnerische Grundlagen für das IV-Controlling Thorsten Spitta

Informations-Verarbeitungs-Controlling (IV-Controlling) wird praktisch und theoretisch stark vernachl?ssigt.     

The R and D/Marketing interface and single informant bias in NPD research: an illustration of a benchmarking case study

Analysing the performance of new product development (NPD) processes requires the reliable assessment of non-documented organizational characteristics. Based on key informant literature we discuss the difficulties of gaining reliable information from respondents and we identify potential sources for heterogeneous perceptions among different respondents. We assume that NPD research may be subject to response biases, if it is based on sole informants only. We apply an existing benchmarking approach for NPD processes in a comprehensive case study in order to illustrate sources and effects of single informant biases. We find that perceptions differ substantially among the individual respondents. In particular, we observe different functional perceptions between respondents from Marketing and Research and Development. The results are consistent with expectations from interface theory. These perceptual differences have a severe impact on the managerial conclusions drawn from benchmarking. There appears to be no single reliable source of information within an organization. Furthermore, variances among informants' assessments should be recognized and regarded as valuable information. It is our recommendation that multiple informants ought to be included in future NPD research and benchmarking studies.     

Financial Dependence and International Trade

Does financial development translate into a comparative advantage in industries that use more external finance? The author uses industry‐level data on firms’ dependence on external finance for 36 industries and 56 countries to examine this question. It is shown that countries with better‐developed financial systems have higher export shares and trade balances in industries that use more external finance. These results are robust to the use of alternative measures of external dependence and financial development and are not due to reverse causality or simultaneity bias.     

Real options valuation: the new frontier in R&D project evaluation?

The real options approach has recently received growing attention in R&D and Technology Management research. Recent empirical findings by Ellis (1997) and Busby and Pitts (1997) also report growing attention and use in practical investment decisions. However, there is a certain concern about the applicability to a wide range of R&D related problems. The theoretical base behind options valuation is derived from the capital markets and thus assumes market conditions that are closer to the theoretical construct of 'perfect competition' than most other settings. Even under these conditions, several assumptions made and difficulties left are subject to controversial discussions. Of course these problems even gain importance when the R&D environment with its discontinuities and lack of regulation or institutionalized trade is assumed. This paper describes some basic properties of the real options approach and sheds light on existing problems for the application in R&D project evaluation. On the other hand, roads to application of the method are shown using the Geske model of option evaluation. One main goal of the paper is to broaden and deepen the discussion on real option models in R&D and Technology Management, which has in some cases been limited to stressing the advantages of the method rather than reflecting on applicability and concrete way of application of the method.     

Investments in tracking and tracing systems in the food industry: A PLS analysis

Traceability and related concepts, such as trust and transparency have gained greatly in relevance in food supply chains. This study seeks to answer what exactly determines firms’ investments in traceability systems by developing and testing a theoretical framework using partial least squares methodology and empirical data from 234 companies of the German food industry.The results reveal that high external pressure to implement improves the image of tracking and tracing systems in the sense that their use enhances a firm’s status, increases the intention to use those systems and fosters their perceived usefulness in the eyes of agribusiness executives. The hypothesized negative effect of costs on perceived usefulness and the intention to invest could not be verified.