Migrants’ Remittances and Financial Development: Macro‐ and Micro‐Level Evidence of a Perverse Relationship

Financial development is commonly identified as an important condition for fostering investment and economic growth. It is also believed that migrants’ remittances stimulate financial development in the receiving economy, contributing indirectly to economic growth. We explore the relationship between remittances and financial development using macro‐ and micro‐level data. From cross‐country panel data, we find evidence of a negative relationship between remittances and financial deepening in developing countries. Using household survey data from a study of migrants’ remittances in two CIS countries, Azerbaijan and Kyrgyzstan, we also investigate the relationship between remittances, financial intermediation and ‘financial literacy’ among remittance‐receiving households. While we find some evidence of a positive, albeit weak, relationship for Kyrgyzstan, in Azerbaijan, the relatively more financially developed economy, we uncover a strong perverse relationship. Remittances appear to deter bank intermediation and use of formal banking services. Possible reasons are explored and areas for further investigation identified.     

Disclosing Celebrity Endorsement in a Television Program to Mitigate Persuasion: How Disclosure Type and Celebrity Credibility Interact

This experiment (N = 165) examined the effects of two aspects of in-program celebrity endorsement on brand attitudes and product claim acceptance: credibility of the celebrity and the effects of disclosure types. Although there is an increasing call for endorsement disclosures, the effects of these disclosures remained unstudied. This study, conducted in The Netherlands, showed that disclosure of the persuasive intent of in-program celebrity endorsements only resulted in reduced acceptance of product claims among viewers who did not perceive the celebrity in the endorsement as credible. This study has important implications for legislators.     

Maximum an Mundhygiene

Mund- und Zahnpflege – darauf kommt es an - Vor allem schwer pflegebedürftige Patienten sind bei der Mundhygiene auf professionelle Unterstützung angewiesen. Bezüglich der notwendigen und sinnvollen Ma?nahmen gibt es jedoch viele Unsicherheiten.     

Sustainability practices: trends in New Zealand businesses

This paper reports on the sustainability practices of New Zealand businesses based on two national surveys and a series of focus groups and interviews. There was an average increase of 10% in the number of companies adopting environmental practices from 2003 to 2006. There was less of an increase for social practices, although still more commonly adopted by companies than environmental practices. Values and beliefs of management were the overwhelming driver for the adoption of sustainability practices with reputation and brand also significant drivers. Costs, management time, and knowledge/skills were the three most commonly reported barriers to adoption of sustainability initiatives. The implications of the study are that for New Zealand business, there is a strong link with the business case for sustainability. For policymakers interested in achieving sustainability goals, the results suggest that a ‘soft’ approach to business practices may be in order in New Zealand. Copyright © 2009 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd and ERP Environment.     

A Bayesian Approach to Improve Estimate at Completion in Earned Value Management

Forecasting represents a core project management process. Estimates at completion in terms of cost and schedule provide essential data and advice to the project team in order to lead and control the project and implement suitable corrective measures. In order to improve the forecasting process, a Bayesian model has been developed within the earned value management framework aiming to calculate a confidence interval for the estimates of both cost and schedule at the completion of the project. The model is based on the integration of data records and qualitative knowledge provided by experts. The model has been tested in an oil and gas project.     

‘Do versus Buy’ Decisions in the Demand for Knowledge Intensive Business Services

The search for the maximum use of scale and agglomeration economies and the need to operate firms in the most flexible way have provided a strong impulse for companies to increase their use of external intermediate services. Because of their strategic role, the use of business services that are intensive both in labour qualification and in technological requirements is key for these policies. The purpose of this paper is to analyse the patterns followed by companies in the two relevant decisions on this issue: firstly, whether to use knowledge intensive business services or not and, secondly, whether (and to what extent) to buy these services from another firm or to provide them inside the organisation. In both cases, we intend to identify the factors that affect the ‘do versus buy’ decision with respect to total KIBS as well as particular categories. A specific feature in our study is that it focuses on the behaviour of firms working in a region without a well-developed supply of KIBS. Applying discrete response models to the data obtained in a survey elaborated by the authors, the most relevant variables for the use of KIBS are satisfaction with previous outsourcing experiences and location of the firm in a large urban centre, but they do not affect their external provision. The size of the firm, its export orientation and its technological complexity have opposite effects on use and outsourcing.     

Macroeconomic implications of financial policy

This paper studies the effects of financial policy in a model with heterogeneous agents, incomplete markets and portfolio restrictions. For an economy calibrated to replicate key aspects of the U.S. wealth distribution, we find that the quantitative effects of financial policy are relatively small. The reason is that the households determining aggregate behavior are relatively well insured and can therefore offset the actions of the firm by modifying their portfolio allocations. However, financial policy has important effects on asset prices. Whereas a higher level of debt in the capital structure of the firm introduces more risk into the economy by increasing the volatility of the equity return, it enhances the liquidity of households by increasing the supply of bonds. In an economy with a substantial amount of heterogeneity, this last effect dominates and leverage leads to a decrease in the equity premium. This is in contrast to the findings in representative agent models, in which leverage unambiguously increases the premium through a higher equity return volatility.     

Knowledge codification and technological innovation success: Empirical evidence from Spanish biotech companies

This paper analyzes the influence of knowledge codification on technological innovation in a sample of Spanish firms from the biotechnology sector. It tests how codification affects firms' development of incremental and radical innovations and their attempts to keep their investments exclusive by building barriers to imitation and to substitution. The work also considers the incorporation of legal protection measures. The results show, on the one hand, that knowledge codification is only beneficial for developing incremental innovations and, on the other, that firms must incorporate systems of legal protection into their codification practices if they want to keep their innovations exclusive.     

Making Sense of Ecopreneurs' Decisions to Sell Up

This article examines the phenomenon of values‐based firms being sold to larger mainstream firms. Its focus is on the sensemaking rationale offered by a New Zealand ecopreneur who sold an organic beverage company after 20 years at the helm. The company case study is presented through two enterprise development narratives based on alternative sensemaking modes. Key values‐related challenges arising in ecopreneurial business are identified, including (1) adhering to the founder's values, (2) growing the business sustainably, (3) deciding whether and when to expand ownership to cope with undercapitalization, (4) deciding who to bring in as new owners to ensure values alignment, (5) determining how and when the founder might leave and (6) ensuring the attractiveness of the sustainability values so that they might be retained. Other factors implicated in the sale of values‐based firms are also postulated. It is argued that, although ecopreneurs might be accused of selling out their principles by selling up, there is some evidence that eco‐brands are being maintained and that growth prospects could be improved after acquisition. Serial ecopreneurship may even extend social benefits. Copyright © 2011 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd and ERP Environment.