Contents of Volume 38 (2004)

Volume Contents

Contents of Volume 38 (2004)     

Therapieentscheidung am Ende eines Lebens

Konfliktpotenzial zwischen Pflegenden und ?rzten - Ein Credo der Palliativmedizin ist die interdisziplin?re Zusammenarbeit. Um diese zu gew?hrleisten, müssen Pflegende und ?rzte sich den Konflikten stellen, zu denen es bei schwierigen Therapieentscheidungen h?ufig zwischen den Berufsgruppen kommt. Doch welche Faktoren wirken auf diesen Konflikt ein und wie kann er letztlich überwunden werden?     

Managing Multiple Institutional Logics and the Use of Accounting: Insights from a German Higher Education Institution

This paper examines the use of accounting in managing the co-existence of different institutional logics in a German higher education institution (HEI), and its impact on the HEI. The study is of particular interest as the HEI analyzed pursued its own corporatization through a re-organization from a state into a foundation university. We show that this corporatization through the adoption of new public management related ideas leads to institutional complexity arising from the co-existence of extant state and emergent business logics. Our study suggests that HEIs may deploy particular accounting practices shaped by business logic only superficially, so as to satisfy stakeholders such as governmental authorities in order to enhance their legitimacy following a self-imposed reform, while the operation of the HEI remains rooted in state logic. Specifically, the findings suggest that in the case of actual changes to the budgetary process arising through the corporatization and an emergent logic, failure to replace abandoned accounting practices shaped by a previously dominant logic with equivalent practices adhering to either extant or emerging logic(s), may put the organization at risk. Overall, our study contributes to a better understanding of the dangers of an organizational response to institutional complexity, referred to as reactive decoupling, in the management of institutional complexity and points to its negative impact on organizations' hybridization capability.     

Explaining European Emission Allowance Price Dynamics: Evidence from Phase II

We empirically investigate potential determinants of the allowance price dynamics in the European Union Emission Trading Scheme during Phase II. In contrast to previous studies, we place particular emphasis on the fuel price selection. We show that results are extremely sensitive to choosing different price series of potential determinants, such as coal and gas prices. In general, only the influence of economic activity in Europe and hydropower provision in Norway is robustly explaining allowance price dynamics. The influence of fuel switching on allowance prices and, therefore, equalization of marginal abatement costs – in particular in the long run – is still rather small.     

Why is Chinese provincial output diverging?

In a recent paper Pedroni and Yao (2006) present strong evidence suggesting that Chinese provincial per-capita output is diverging, a result that goes against the Chinese government’s goal of a balanced wealth-creation across provinces. This paper provides an in-depth analysis of the reasoning behind this finding. Our main result is that the divergence does exist, even when new data and more advanced methods of analysis are used. We also find that it has both an idiosyncratic and a common component. Hence, the increased per-capita output inequalities observed at the provincial level is due to both province-specific disparities and to disparities between groups of provinces.     

Boundaries for the Retail Geographical Market and Factors Influencing Shoppers' Mobility

A growing number of mergers and their potentially negative impacts on consumer welfare in the retailing sector have prompted discussion on how to define the boundaries of the relevant market. This article explores the boundaries of the geographic market of daily consumer goods through an examination of factors that influence shoppers' mobility in Croatia. The study takes into consideration the purpose of the trip and differentiates between major and fill‐in shopping trips, and demonstrates that different factors impact the shopper mobility for each of the two shopping trips. It provides support for the practice of defining market boundaries empirically on the basis of region and store format specificities, taking into account prevalent shopping occasion, economic situation of the residents, size of the residential area, and geographical placement of the stores among other things. The study shows that the boundaries of the retail market may be more narrow than expected.     

Europe — A pioneer in greenhouse gas emissions trading

The decision on the EU directive for emissions trading in June 2003 makes Europe a pioneer in the large-scale application of market instruments to climate policy. This development would have been unthinkable five years ago. The negotiations provide a textbook example of public choice theory in practice. We describe the crucial points of the recent and upcoming legislation process at the levels of the EU and the Member States, the latter with a focus on Germany. The timetable for the enforcement of the emissions trading directive at the national level seems very tight—especially when considering the likely manoeuvres by several stakeholder groups.     

Continuing the Discussion on Coping as a Conceptualization for Constraint Negotiation and Accommodation: Responses to Little,Samdahl, and Walker

Abstract

The relationship between perceived crowding and the desire to further limit established carrying capacities is examined from a study of users of the Sylvania Recreation Area. The relationship is found to be weak, especially among those users with low education. Possible explanations in terms of expressed crowding as a status group convention are discussed. It is concluded that user limitation decisions cannot be directly derived from studies of perceived crowding.     

Educating and Training Accountants in Syria in a Transition Context: Perceptions of Accounting Academics and Professional Accountants

This study focuses on accounting education in the Syrian transition context and in the international context of globalization. It offers insights into accounting education and into the interrelationship in this respect between the accountancy profession and academia in this context. We elaborate an historical and contextual analysis of the Syrian context in relation to accounting education. We report on a series of interviews (conducted in 2002 and 2005) of professional accountants and accounting academics in Syria that elaborates the views of these key parties on a number of interrelated matters: the current limitations of tertiary accounting education in Syria; the role of the accountancy profession in providing education and training; and the developing interrelationship between the profession and academia. In concluding, we summarize some key insights and elaborate on the relevance of the study and the future research it suggests.