Strategic R&D investment,competitive toughness and growth

We show, within a single industry, the possibility that R&D‐investment is non‐monotonically related to competitive toughness: increasing when competition is soft and decreasing when competition is tough. This possibility results from the combination of a Schumpeterian markup squeezing effect discouraging innovation, and a concentration effect spurring innovators. It is obtained in a sectoral model where the number of innovators is random and where non‐successful investors may remain productive. The result is extended to a multisectoral stochastic endogenous growth model with overlapping generations of consumers and firms, the number of which is endogenously determined in the capital market.     

Loan price modelling for local governments using risk premium analysis

Previous studies have highlighted the question of government loan interest as one of great current importance. Government borrowing levels are high, and reducing interest payments would generate savings to meet other spending needs and/or to lower taxation, thus supporting the sustainability of public finances. However, no previous study has presented a method for a local government to calculate its own credit risk and thus be in a position to negotiate lower interest rates on its borrowing. This article defines a financial model that enables local governments to estimate the interest rate payable on a bank loan, based on their credit risk premium, in accordance with the Basel II rules and the findings of our empirical study of large local governments.     

Co-creation with clients of hotel services: the moderating role of top management support

Hotels can strengthen their competitiveness by expanding their innovation process beyond the boundaries of the firm to exploit the valuable knowledge and skills of their customers. This study examines the effects of new service (NS) co-creation with customers in the hotel industry on NS performance, as well as the moderating role of top management support. The research also explores the main barriers faced by hotels to co-create service innovations. Partial least squares structural equation modelling results indicate that Customer co-creation exerts a direct impact on NS market outcomes and NS development (NSD) speed, which in turn favours NS quality. NS quality translates into better NS customer-related outcomes as well as in improved NS market outcomes. Top management support enhances the effect of Customer co-creation on the NSD speed. The main barrier to NS co-creation in hotels is to find customers interested in devoting time to this activity or with the appropriate knowledge and experience.     

Romanians,Hungarians and their wages,in transition,in Romania

Legally binding treaties or memorandums have been used over time to regulate the issue of national borders of many European countries. As a result, relatively large groups of people have become ethnic minorities in other countries. They may conserve their ethnic identities, and therefore their children may accumulate ethnic human capital (e.g., language, culture, and religion) in addition to the general human capital of the country. Therefore, they can get access to an appropriate occupation linked by tradition or other factors to their ethnic group. This paper uses estimates from a selection model with an endogenous switch among three broad types of occupational groups to analyze the composition of the wage gap between Romanians and ethnic Hungarians in Romania before and during the transition from a planned to a market economy. The results suggest that the institutional settings of the controlled economy allowed Romanians to work in occupations that gave them the best returns, while the changes during the transition years allowed ethnic Hungarians to work in occupations that gave them the best returns.     

Sources of Real Exchange Rate Volatility in Africa: The Case of ECOWAS*

Abstract: This study examines the impact of (real) demand shocks, (aggregate) supply shocks, and monetary shocks on real exchange rates in 13 West African countries. We observe that the real demand shocks explain most of the fluctuations in real exchange rates in all these countries. Accordingly, policymakers should adopt a careful demand management strategy by controlling government expenditure and taxes.     

HANDLING NONRESPONSE IN LOGISTICS RESEARCH

Assessing and controlling for nonresponse bias is critical for the validity and reliability of survey‐based logistics research. In order to gain a better understanding of how researchers assess and report nonresponse bias in their studies, we analyzed articles published from 1998 through 2007 in three top logistics journals (International Journal of Physical Distribution and Logistics Management, Journal of Business Logistics, Transportation Journal). We describe and explore how nonresponse has been handled in these articles. Our findings show that first, survey response rates have declined over time; this influences the generalizability of survey results in case of nonresponse. Second, an average of 44% of published mail survey articles does not mention tests for detecting nonresponse bias.     

Implications of perceived competitive advantages,adaptation of marketing tactics and export commitment on export performance

The aim of this exploratory paper is to fill an important gap in the international marketing literature by examining the influence of firm behavior in foreign markets (export commitment and adaptation of marketing tactics) on perceived competitive advantages and export performance. Using a sample of 150 Spanish export firms, the study found that firms that are more committed to their foreign markets are more willing to adapt elements of the marketing program. These firms also perform better in foreign markets. Moreover, the results also point out that adapting marketing tactics does not have direct effects on export performance, although it does have on the achievement of perceived competitive advantages in foreign markets, which positively influence export performance.     

The role of retentions in how marketing managers change their strategic orientation

This study looks at how a marketing organization changed its strategic orientation in response to environmental factors, and at the influence of retentions on the change effort. Retentions are defined , here as the concepts and mental models used by marketing managers when trying to respond to environmental changes. The influence of retentions on strategic orientation and factors affecting how retentions change are studied in the context of how a bank trust department responded to the deregulation of the financial services industry between 1982 and 1984. The dominant retentions held by managers both before and after deregulation are presented, and the events that contributed to the change of the retentions are examined. The results suggest that retentions prior to deregulation focused on external sources of influence and were associated with a defender strategic orientation. Retentions after deregulation, once the organization's strategic orientation stabilized, focused on critical resources and competitors and were associated with an analyser orientation. The adoption of the new retentions lagged deregulation by several years, and the transition did not match the steps prescribed by the marketing and strategic management literature. Instead, the transition took place through an iterative sequence of behaviours and evaluations more characteristic of the organizing model (Weick 1979). Managers changed their retentions incrementally by enacting small changes, evaluating the outcomes of their behaviour, and letting the outcomes redefine their retentions.     

On the unique features of post-disaster humanitarian logistics

Logistic activity can be thought of as a socio-technical process whereby a social network of individuals orchestrates a series of technical activities using supporting systems such as transportation and communications. To understand the functioning of the entire system requires proper consideration of all its components. We identify seven key components: the objectives being pursued, the origin of the commodity flows to be transported, knowledge of demand, the decision-making structure, periodicity and volume of logistic activities, and the state of the social networks and supporting systems. Based on our analysis of the differences between commercial and humanitarian logistics, we pinpoint research gaps that need to be filled to enhance both the efficiency of humanitarian logistics and the realism of the mathematical models designed to support it.We argue that humanitarian logistics is too broad a field to fit neatly into a single definition of operational conditions. At one end of the spectrum we find humanitarian logistic efforts of the kind conducted in long-term disaster recovery and humanitarian assistance, where operational efficiency – akin to commercial logistics – is a prime consideration. At the other, post-disaster humanitarian logistic operations involved in disaster response and short-term recovery activities represent a vastly different operational environment, often in chaotic settings where urgent needs, life-or-death decisions and scarce resources are the norm. The huge contrast between these operational environments requires that they be treated separately.