Validity and Reliability of Satisfaction as a Mediator between Quality Constructs in Manufacturer–Supplier Relationships Through Time and Across Contexts

Purpose: The main objective is to test and assess a research model through time and across contexts in which satisfaction is a mediator between quality constructs in manufacturer–supplier relationships. Satisfaction is positioned as a mediator between trust and commitment (i.e., causes) on the one hand, and cooperation, coordination and continuity expectancy (i.e., outcomes) on the other. The objective is also to provide a substantiation and contribution through time and across contexts, to business theory of supplier-manufacturer relationships

Methodology/approach: One out of eight samples selected for additional empirical substantiation for this study comprises a total of 600 small and medium-sized Spanish enterprises from various industrial sectors. A total of 259 usable questionnaires were returned, generating a response rate of 43.2%. The study is positioned (and compared) in relation to seven other samples that have been tested within the same research model in Canada, Finland, Norway (twice), South Africa, Sweden, and Taiwan. The total number of useable questionnaires is 1641, the average number of useable questionnaires per study is 205 and the average response rate is 37.4% in the studies assessed of this article.

Findings: The research model tested and assessed in the eight studies meets the requirements for satisfactory convergent, discriminant and nomological validity, as well as for construct reliability. The measurement and structural metrics support validity and reliability over time and across contexts, which is rare in marketing research.

Research implications: The theoretical framework contributes, through time and across contexts, to the business theory of supplier–manufacturer relationships. The tested research model demonstrates properties of validity and reliability across countries and company sizes. Implications and suggestions for further research are provided.

Practical implications: The empirical findings indicate key factors that contribute to satisfaction in manufacturer–supplier relationships in different countries and companies.

Originality/value: The article makes a contribution to theory relating to supplier–manufacturer relationships, providing evidence that the tested, hypothesized relationships are generally applicable. The validation or falsification of empirical findings in previous research is crucial in building valid and reliable theory over time and across contexts. Otherwise, theory becomes fragmented and undermines the credibility of marketing research.     

The debt-equity financing decisions of U.S. startup firms

We examine the debt-equity decisions of startup firms using the Kauffman Firm Survey, the largest database of U.S. startups launched in 2004. To control for sample selection bias and the correlation among financing decisions, we employ a Bivariate Probit-Tobit model. Our results show that several firm characteristics such as growth prospects, firm size, tangible assets, and selling products, as well as owner characteristics such as net worth, experience, education and ethnicity explain the debt-equity decisions in the startup year. In addition, for firms that use debt, we document traits that explain the use of a particular type of business versus personal debt. Larger firms use more business debt, whereas home-based and growth firms use more personal sources of debt. Immigrants, owners who lack work experience and those who invest more time in the business tend to rely more on personal sources of debt.     

How do services of owner-occupied housing affect income inequality and redistribution?

This paper aims at analyzing the redistributive impact that the inclusion of the imputed rental market value of owner-occupied housing would have if used for quantifying the ability to pay rather than imputation based on cadastral values. We consider the Spanish personal income tax as reference, due to the differential treatment that it provides for imputed income from owner-occupied housing, together with the exceptionally high percentages of home ownership in Spain. By means of micro-simulation we explore the consequences of alternative possibilities for dealing with implicit income from owner-occupied housing.     

REVISITING GLOBALIZATION CHALLENGES AND OPPORTUNITIES IN THE DEVELOPMENT OF COOPERATIVES

Cooperatives have gained prominent attention in recent years as strategic elements to achieve sustainable economic development and greater social cohesion in the context of neoliberal globalization. This article explores, theoretically, the current challenges and opportunities for cooperatives to develop successfully in the globalizing economy. To this end, we provide an analytical, critical review of the key bibliography concerning some fundamental aspects that shape the relationship between economic globalization and cooperatives, an issue that has been generally neglected by previous literature. Three key fields are addressed: 1) the viability of cooperatives, based on their strengths and possible weaknesses, under current globalization; 2) the role of these organizations in promoting the local development and stability of local communities; and 3) the tensions and potentialities that internationalization entails for cooperatives. Based on the analytical review and the organization of the literature, we propose an agenda for further research. This includes some hypotheses and strategies for testing them that would be essential to assess the role of cooperatives in economic globalization, and sheds light on key areas for future research that could provide a better understanding of the complexity surrounding the relationship between globalization and cooperatives.     

Environmental Policy Instruments: Technology Adoption Incentives with Imperfect Compliance

We study the incentives to adopt advanced abatement technologies in the presence of imperfect compliance. Interestingly, incentives under emission taxes and pollution abatement subsidies are the same that in the perfect compliance scenario. However, under emission standards imperfect compliance can increase firms’ incentives to invest, whereas under an emission permit mechanism investment incentives decrease only if widespread non-compliance induces a reduction in the permit price. Our results are valid for fairly general characteristics of the monitoring and enforcement strategies commonly found in both, theoretical and empirical applications.     

Consumption smoothing and vulnerability in Russia

Applying bootstrapped quantile regression to the Russian Longitudinal Monitoring Survey (RLMS) data, we examine the channels through which individuals experience and seek to cope with changes in consumption. We find that married individuals living in small households, with educated heads in urban areas are better equipped to smooth consumption. Investigating the impact of idiosyncratic shocks, we find that the labour market is an important transmission mechanism allowing households to smooth their consumption but also exposing them to risk, mainly through job loss. Outside of pension payments, the formal social safety net does not facilitate consumption smoothing, thus heightening the importance of informal coping institutions. It transpires that both support from relatives/friends and home production act as important insurance mechanisms for the most vulnerable. In contrast with previous findings, it would seem that regardless of its historical, political and social roots, the garden plots and dachas, often romanticized in Russian literature, do provide a means by which ‘urban’ Russians are able to cope with economic fluctuations. We finish by stressing the important policy lessons for Russia's developing market economy.     

US deficit sustainability revisited: a multiple structural change approach

In this article we re-examine the long-run sustainability of US budget deficits, using Bai and Perron's multiple structural change approach. While the deficit would have been weakly sustainable over the full sample (1947:1–2005:3), strong sustainability would appear only between January 1982 and February 1996.     

Social expertise: a new view to explain spatial divergences in personal consumer loan prices

The objective of this paper is to explain geographical divergences in interest rates on personal loans to households using aggregated consumer knowledge-related metrics as predictors. The researchers quantitatively test their approach in countries in the Eurozone and in the Italian and Spanish regions. Social expertise explains between 69% and 84% of variance in household loan market prices at an international and inter-regional level. The approach taken is tested using real market data established after real service encounters and not published or recommended prices.     

The Role of Four Universal Moral Competencies in Ethical Decision-Making

Current frameworks on ethical decision-making process have some limitations. This paper argues that the consideration of moral competencies, understood as moral virtues in the workplace, can enhance our understanding of why moral character contributes to ethical decision-making. After discussing the universal nature of four moral competencies (prudence, justice, fortitude and temperance), we analyse their influence on the various stages of the ethical decision-making process. We conclude by considering the managerial implications of our findings and proposing further research.