Complementarities of human capital and information technology: small businesses,emerging economy context and the strategic role of firm resources

How information technology (IT) may complement other key firm resources such as human capital is a question that has drawn increasing attention from scholars and practitioners. Answers to this question are crucial for small businesses in today’s environment. These businesses face a growing demand for IT usage at the same time that they typically can count only on limited resources. This has become a common situation that is particularly critical for small businesses operating in developing countries with emerging economies. We develop propositions and test them with a dataset of service small businesses in an emerging economy. We find that the use of IT services is positively related to firm productivity and that this relationship is positively moderated by entrepreneurs’ management education. Our findings indicate that firm productivity is associated with a combination of human and technology resources.     

Does innovativeness of knowledge-intensive business services differ from other industries?

This article seeks to determine whether the innovative capabilities of knowledge-intensive business services (KIBS) do actually differ from other industries through comparing the innovation capacities and financial performance of KIBS with firms operating in other sectors (non-KIBS). Based upon a 1000-firm sample, the results of our estimated econometric model demonstrate that non-KIBS firms are in possession of significantly greater innovation capacities than KIBS firms. These differences were observed across factors such as organisational process innovation, the launch of already existing products in new markets, branding and new product designs. Nevertheless, as regards the actual importance attributed to product/service innovation, KIBS firms place a greater comparative importance on innovation in comparison with their non-KIBS peers. In addition, the empirical evidences display a significantly different range of effects of innovation capacities on financial performance and concludes that non-KIBS firms turn in better comparative performances than specialist KIBS firms.     

Services specialization (a possible index) and its connection with competitiveness: the case of Romania

In the authors' opinion, specialization stands for both an expression of competitiveness, and a continuity and attention paid to some activities, thus reflecting the positive evolution of a national economy. By increasing the specialization of service functions, qualitative changes occur in the evolution of an economy. In this study, the authors emphasize the importance of specialization implications by reference to services development in Romania, since the Romanian economy requires an increase in services activities. Finally, a formula is proposed to determine the specialization degree, which is exemplified by calculating a specialization index in tourism.     

Measuring Consumer Sensitivity to Corporate Social Performance Across Cultures

ABSTRACT

In the context of a severe economic crisis, the objective of this research is to examine to what extent the economic crisis and austerity's measures have generated new marketing strategies in food companies. We develop a comparative analysis though multivariate analysis of variance, consisting of 10 food product categories across eight European countries, distinguishing between countries that needed financial support—the so-called rescued countries—and the countries with better economic development. Our findings show an increasingly trend toward increasing product prices and price per quantity in the rescued countries, along with an increase in the package content. Our findings suggest that food companies have been raising prices through the recession, as consumers continue to pare their spending and demand.     

Do Store Image and Price Perception Matter to Store Brand Equity?

Store brands account for 41% of the Spanish market share in 2011, and a further increase is expected in the next year due to the economic crisis, which makes up an increasingly competitive market. Previous literature suggests that price and store image are antecedents with a relevant influence on store brand equity. Our study aims to analyze if the store image and price perception matter to store brand equity. A quantitative study was carried out obtaining a total of 362 valid responses. Results show that both variables have a positive influence on store brand equity, store image being the more relevant factor. The study is of great interest for retailers who wish to increase the value proposition.     

The quality of volatility traded on the over‐the‐counter currency market: A multiple horizons study

Previous studies of the quality of market‐forecasted volatility have used the volatility that is implied by exchange‐traded option prices. The use of implied volatility in estimating the market view of future volatility has suffered from variable measurement errors, such as the non‐synchronization of option and underlying asset prices, the expiration‐day effect, and the volatility smile effect. This study circumvents these problems by using the quoted implied volatility from the over‐the‐counter (OTC) currency option market, in which traders quote prices in terms of volatility. Furthermore, the OTC currency options have daily quotes for standard maturities, which allows the study to look at the market's ability to forecast future volatility for different horizons. The study finds that quoted implied volatility subsumes the information content of historically based forecasts at shorter horizons, and the former is as good as the latter at longer horizons. These results are consistent with the argument that measurement errors have a substantial effect on the implied volatility estimator and the quality of the inferences that are based on it. © 2003 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Jrl Fut Mark 23:261–285, 2003     

The competitive nature of the Arab Middle Eastern banking markets

The competitive nature of the Arab Middle Eastern (AME) banking markets during the 1990s is the focus subject of this study. Using banks data from nine AME countries, and utilizing the so-called Rosse-Panzar test to quantitatively appraise the dominant competitive conditions in these markets between 1993–97, this study concluded that banking markets have been operating in the region under conditions of monopolistic competition. An important finding revealed by this study is that in the AME region, where two distinct economic spectrums dominate the markets, banking sector in the oil-producing countries (Gulf States) appears to be less competitive than its counterpart in non-oil countries. The authors would like to convey special thanks to the Vicerrectorado de Investigacin of UNED University, which provided financial support to publish this article, as a result of a presentation at the IAES Conference held in Athens in 2001.     

Retrospective analysis of patients with advanced or metastatic gastric cancer in Colombia

Abstract

Aims: To assess patient and disease characteristics, treatment patterns, and associated costs in patients with advanced or metastatic gastric cancer (A/MGC) in Colombia, in both the public and private hospitals.

Materials and methods: A total of 145 patients who had received first-line chemotherapy treatment (platinum analog and/or a fluoropyrimidine) and were followed for at least 3 months after the last administration of a first-line cytotoxic agent were eligible for inclusion. Case-report forms were elaborated based on the patients’ medical records from three Colombian hospitals. Estimates of treatment costs were calculated using unit costs from the participating hospitals.

Results: Of the 145 patients, more than half (64.83%) were male, 79.56% were diagnosed with metastatic stage IV disease (mean age = 58.14?years). Prior to MGC diagnosis, 31.71% of the patients being operated on received a total gastrectomy; 66.9% of the patients received a doublet therapy, of which 5-fluorouracil (5-FU) in combination with cisplatin was the standard treatment (14%), followed by combination with leucovorin (12%). Only around 10% of the patients responded to first-line treatment. Out of 41.38% of the patients who received a second-line treatment, 71.67% were still administered a platinum analog and/or fluoropyrimidine. During the follow-up period, 52% of the patients progressed and 20% achieved stable disease. Best supportive care mostly consisted of outpatient visits after last line-therapy (72.41%), palliative radiotherapy (18.6%), and surgery (37.2%).

Limitations and conclusions: Gastric cancer is one of the main causes of cancer-related death in Colombia, as most of the patients are diagnosed at an advanced stage, when prognosis is poor. Treatment patterns are highly heterogeneous. Second-line treatments were mostly initiated with paclitaxel, capecitabine, irinotecan, or cisplatin.     

Domestic or Imported Beer Brands? Analysis and Assessment of Brand Equity in the Spanish Market

The Spanish brewing industry is a main economic sector and a major activity in the agrifood area; however, there are few studies regarding the analysis of brand equity in this product. This study aims to analyze brand equity for both a domestic beer brand—Estrella Galicia—and an imported beer brand—Carlsberg. For this purpose a quantitative study is carried out among consumers in order to assess the sources or dimensions of brand equity and its consequences, comparing the 2 brands present in the Spanish market. Results obtained suggest a better evaluation of the domestic brand and reveal that brand loyalty and perceived quality are the dimensions with a higher relevance in beer brand equity.