PIGS or Lambs? The European Sovereign Debt Crisis and the Role of Rating Agencies

This paper asks whether rating agencies played a passive role or were an active driving force during Europe??s sovereign debt crisis. We address this by estimating relationships between sovereign debt ratings and macroeconomic and structural variables. We then use these equations to decompose actual ratings into systematic and arbitrary components that are not explained by previously observed procedures of rating agencies. Finally, we check whether systematic, as well as arbitrary, parts of credit ratings affect credit spreads. We find that both do affect credit spreads, which opens the possibility that arbitrary rating downgrades trigger processes of self-fulfilling prophecies that may drive even relatively healthy countries towards default.     

Do Consumption Goals Matter? The Effects of Online Loyalty Programs in the Satisfaction‐Loyalty Relation

This study investigates the effects of online loyalty programs in the customer satisfaction‐loyalty relationship. It is proposed that loyalty programs may induce loyalty toward programs (program loyalty), which may then influence loyalty toward stores (store loyalty). According to the results of a two‐wave survey, consumption goals matter in the effects of program loyalty on online store loyalty. For consumers with hedonic goals, hedonic program loyalty (e.g., free gifts) has a significant effect on online loyalty. For consumers with utilitarian goals, however, utilitarian program loyalty (e.g., coupons) has a significant influence on online loyalty. Theoretical and managerial implications are also discussed.     

Some Reflections on U.S. Treaty Commitments

Abstract

The world oil price has risen significantly since the late 1990s and reached a record high in 2008. The recent oil price hike raises concerns regarding the possible negative effects of the rising oil price on the economy as in the 1970s. We investigate the effects of the oil price hike on the Korean economy using a Bayesian dynamic stochastic general equilibrium (DGSE) model. We explicitly model the small open economy nature of the Korean economy and its oil usage and estimate the constructed model within a unified Bayesian framework. We also examine possible changes in the effects of world oil shocks on the Korean economy using counterfactual simulations. We find the adverse effects of world oil shocks as well as their importance in Korean business cycles have diminished due to reductions in the relative usage of crude oil in the economy, while world oil shocks themselves have changed relatively little over time.     

Mature consumers’ patronage motives and the importance of attributes regarding HMR based on the food-related lifestyles of the upper middle class

The objectives of this study are to explore the food-related lifestyle segments of the mature market, to identify its socio-demographic characteristics, and to investigate the differences in their attitudes toward Home Meal Replacement (HMR). A survey was conducted of adults 55 years of age and older living in Seoul, South Korea. Out of the 600 distributed questionnaires, 361 were retained for final analysis, which is a response rate of 60%. Cluster analysis identified five consumer segments. Significant differences were found among the five segments in terms of socio-demographic characteristics and attitudes toward HMR. This study shows operators of HMR the patronage motives and attributes that each segment values when considering HMR.     

From the wired to wireless generation? Investigating teens’ Internet use through the mobile phone

Scholars have an enduring interest in investigating whether a new medium displaces or complements existing media whenever a new medium is introduced to the society. In this study, it is sought to investigate the extent to which the mobile phone would replace or reinforce teens’ traditional Internet use through computers. Surveys were conducted on 1875 youths between 12 to 17 years old in 5 digital cities in East Asia: Hong Kong, Seoul, Singapore, Taipei, and Tokyo. The findings profile a digital generation that is highly connected in the 21st century. Ninety percent of all respondents used the Internet. Almost 90% of the teens in this study used the mobile phone, and two-thirds of them ever surfed the Web via their mobile devices. Through a factor analysis, three dimensions of teens’ use of mobile Internet were identified, namely, task-based activities, information seeking and communication activities, and recreational activities. In general, the teens tend to use the mobile phone for recreation and entertainment purposes, especially playing games and listening to music. They are less likely to use the mobile phone for more sophisticated purposes, such as petitioning, voting, or shopping. Drawing upon the niche theory, the patterns between teens' mobile Internet and PC Internet use were further compared. Our analysis shows that mobile Internet primarily serves as an extension of teens’ Internet activities via PC, rather than as a replacement. Such positive relationships are quadratic and non-linear.     

Tourists’ virtual reality adoption: an exploratory study from Lake District National Park

Virtual reality (VR) transforms the way destinations market their tourism offerings. To fully understand the opportunities of a technology, initial research is required assessing user adoption. However, empirical research and particularly exploratory qualitative research on VR adoption in tourism context is limited. Therefore, this study uses an exploratory interview approach with 35 participants near Lake District National Park, UK. Using thematic analysis, this study explores factors that influence VR adoption as well as the influencing factors on tourists’ behavioural intentions. This study adds to academia by qualitatively exploring the adoption of a scarcely researched technology within the tourism context.     

Diversity in organizations: Where are we now and where are we going?

A great deal of research has focused on workforce diversity. Despite an increasing number of studies, few consistent conclusions have yet to be reached about the antecedents and outcomes of diversity. Likewise, research on different dimensions of diversity (e.g., age, race, gender, sexual orientation, disability, and culture) has mostly evolved independently. Therefore, the purpose of this review is to examine each of these dimensions of diversity to describe common themes across dimensions and to develop an integrative model of diversity.     

Do Japanese CEOs matter?

In a country where individualism is emphasized less than in Western countries, we ask whether the CEO (shacho) of a Japanese corporation positively affects firm performance. To answer this question, we construct a shacho-firm matched panel data set in the period 1990 through 2002 of all listed 1419 Japanese manufacturing firms and their 3520 shachos. Though we find a positive abnormal stock return on the date a shacho change is announced, especially when the shacho change is non-routine, we document that this effect is short-lived. There seems to be no long-run positive change in performance or policies after a shacho change, even when the shacho change is non-routine. Finally, in trying to explain firm performance or policies, we attempt to separate a firm-fixed effect from a shacho-fixed effect, and are unable to disentangle a shacho-fixed effect. We are thus left to conclude that shachos do not positively matter in the Japanese corporation in this decade of a stagnant economy.