Estimating a socially optimal water price for irrigation versus an environmentally optimal water price through the use of Geographical Information Systems and Social Accounting Matrices

This article develops a method for establishing water prices and their effects in order to provide policy makers an environmentally and socially optimal range of regional prices for irrigation water. Two prices are determined. The “environmentally optimal price” of water is defined as the one that internalizes the environmental costs generated by agricultural consumption. The “social optimally price” of water is defined as the one that maximizes levies on water for agriculture without affecting the regional economy. The environmentally optimal price is calculated with an economic model built over a Geographical Information System (GIS) that allows the economic quantification and valuation of the environmental cost of water in different basins. The optimal price is calculated with a demand curve for irrigation water introduced into a Social Accounting Matrix (SAM) to observe if the regional economy can accept higher prices without affecting the regional GDP. Potential water prices are established, ranging from prices that minimize the negative impact in the regional economy to those that totally internalize the environmental cost of water.     

The effect of knowledge complexity on the performance of franchise systems in the service industries: an empirical study

The literature of knowledge transfer studies complexity as a knowledge characteristic which influences organisations’ performance since it hinders this process. However, complex knowledge is richer and more complete and its influence on performance may be positive. So, the purpose of this study is to analyse the influence of knowledge complexity on the performance of franchise systems in the service industries. With this aim, a linear regression analysis is conducted on a sample of franchisee of different franchise chains of the several service industries operating in Spain. The findings seem to indicate that complexity has a positive impact on the performance of franchise systems.     

Bank-lending channel and non-financial firms: evidence for Spain

During the 1990s, liquidity was relatively abundant in the European Union and the European central banks mostly developed a relaxed monetary policy. While the bank lending channel view of the monetary policy would have suggested an increase in loans to firms in this context, the demand for bank corporate lending, however, slowed down, suggesting that monetary policy was not effective in this area. This article analyses how the financing behaviour of Spanish firms during 1992–2003 is related to their liquidity holdings and how this relationship may affect the effectiveness of the bank lending channel. The empirical evidence provided suggests that firms holding high liquid assets may replace bank lending by other sources of financing. Hence, higher liquidity holdings allow firms to invest in attractive investment projects in the event of a tightening of monetary conditions.      

Why do patterns of environmental response differ? A stakeholders' pressure approach

The objective of this article is to analyze the strategies or patterns of adaptation of firms for responding to environmental requirements or expectations. We specifically analyze the influence of the different pressure agents or stakeholders on the degree of proactivity of these patterns. We therefore propose and validate four types of environmental response pattern, representing particular configurations of both the scope of environmental objectives and their allocation of internal resources. The analysis, which is focused on a sample of 240 industrial firms, provides empirical evidence enabling us to identify, understand, and evaluate the impact of stakeholders on the choice of environmental response pattern. Copyright © 2008 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Sector innovation capacity determinants: modelling and empirical evidence from Spain

Studies about the variables that determine the ability to innovate at sectoral level are scarce and present a series of limitations. This paper tries to bridge this gap by building a model of sector innovation capacity based upon existing approaches related to the study of sectoral innovation (lifecycles of industries, evolutionary theory and the sectoral innovation systems approach) and a model of determinants for national innovation capacity. The empirical analysis is based upon data from the Survey on Innovation of Firms for Spain and the methods used comprise the application of panel data, factor analysis and ordinary least squares regression analysis. The main findings of the paper are the confirmation of the relevance of all the variables in determining sector innovation capacity, the formulation of the sector innovation capacity determinants model, the consistency of the proposed model confirming both the validity and appropriateness of the variables identified and, therefore, the value of using the variety of approaches selected.     

International competition in the first wave of globalization: new evidence on the margins of trade

We pose a seemingly ageless question in economic history. To what extent did new entrants in the late nineteenth‐century cotton‐textile industry threaten the customary markets of the European core? Exploiting a newly constructed dataset on textile imports to Spain, we find that as trade costs fell, new rivals began to sell a greater variety of products. Along this dimension, competition can be said to have increased. In response, producers in Europe adjusted the type and number of goods exported. By 1914, specialization mapped onto endowments of skilled labour, capital, and access to raw materials. While firms in new industrializing countries exported low‐end varieties, incumbents in the core shipped high‐end goods, unit values increasing with levels of development.     

The influence of ability,benevolence, and integrity in trust between managers and subordinates: the role of ethical reasoning

Numerous researchers have examined the antecedents of trust between managers and subordinates. Recent studies conclude that their influence varies depending on whether what is being examined is a manager's trust in a subordinate or a subordinate's trust in a manager. However, the reasons given to justify this phenomenon present limitations. This article offers a new theoretical approach that relates the influence of each antecedent to Aristotelian forms of reasoning, ethical, and instrumental. The proposed approach shows that the influence of each antecedent depends on which rationality prevails in the person who trusts. The contribution of this article is to better explain the phenomenon of interpersonal trust formation and its logic, while offering at the same time several practical implications for managers interested in developing an organizational culture based on trust. The article begins with a literature review of more relevant empirical studies analyzing superior–subordinate trust formation and presents some theoretical limitations of the arguments described in these works. Then, it offers a new theorerical approach based on Aristotelian thought to explain the influence of the antecedents of trust in management–subordinate relationships. The theoretical contribution is then confirmed in an empirical study of 163 mid‐level managers in Spain.     

Comparing the Explanatory Capacity of Three Constructs in the Prediction of Engineers’ Proficiency,Adaptivity, and Proactivity

Advances in the research of work performance have been due in large part to the conceptualization of performance as a multidimensional construct. Recently, Griffin, Neal, and Parker (2007), have identified three different dimensions of work role performance: proficiency, adaptivity, and proactivity. Social effectiveness constructs (i.e., political skill) have been receiving increased attention in research and there have been recent calls for further research in the area. This study compares the explanatory capacity of political skill, professional experience and intrinsic motivation in the prediction of engineers' proficiency, adaptivity, and proactivity. The relationships were tested with structural equations analysis of 180 supervisor‐engineer dyad data. Results indicate that the three dimensions of individual work performance are significantly influenced by political skill and professional experience, but not by intrinsic motivation. The results also indicate that political skill is the strongest predictor. © 2014 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.     

European Works Council at General Motors Europe: bargaining efficiency in regime competition?

The European Works Council (EWC) at General Motors Europe is frequently cited as one of the few examples of an efficient body of employee representation at a European level within a multinational company. Despite the increasing threat of social dumping in the enlarged Europe, the EWC was able to agree with management the terms of compulsory European minimum standards for defensive employment and competitiveness pacts, thereby restricting the effects of coercive comparisons between factories located in different countries. In this article, we focus on this experience and illuminate the tensions of ‘micro‐corporatism’ caught between international solidarity and regime competition.