The Influence of Board Diversity,Board Diversity Policies and Practices,and Board Inclusion Behaviors on Nonprofit Governance Practices

This study examines how and when nonprofit board performance is impacted by board diversity. Specifically, we investigate board diversity policies and practices as well as board inclusion behaviors as mediating mechanisms for the influence of age, gender, and racial/ethnic diversity of the board on effective board governance practices. The empirical analysis, using a sample of 1,456 nonprofit board chief executive officers, finds that board governance practices are directly influenced by the gender and racial diversity of the board and that board inclusion behaviors together with diversity policies and practices mediate the influence of the board’s gender and racial diversity on internal and external governance practices. Additionally, we found an interaction effect that indicates when boards have greater gender diversity, the negative impact of racial diversity on governance practices is mitigated. The findings suggest that board governance can be improved with more diverse membership, but only if the board behaves inclusively and there are policies and practices in place to allow the diverse members to have an impact.     

Green intentions under the blue flag: Exploring differences in EU consumers’ willingness to pay more for environmentally‐friendly products

Recent research on consumer social responsibility highlights the need to examine psychological drivers of environmentally‐friendly consumption choices in a global context. This article investigates consumers’ willingness to pay (WTP) more for environmentally‐friendly products across 28 European Union (EU) countries, using a sample of 21,514 consumers. A multigroup structural equation modeling analysis reveals significantly different patterns and relationships, in how (a) subjective knowledge about the product's environmental impact, (b) environmental product attitudes, and (c) the perceived importance of the products’ environmental impact influence consumers’ WTP more for environmentally‐friendly products across countries. The hypothesized model predicts WTP for 20 out of 28 countries and the findings show that a “one‐size‐fits‐all” approach is inadequate in capturing the heterogeneity of EU consumers. Hosfstede's cultural dimensions of uncertainty tolerance and individualism explain differences in WTP for environmentally‐friendly products across EU countries. Business, marketing communications, and policy making implications are discussed.     

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.     

At once liberating and exclusionary? A Lefebvrean analysis of Gilda’s Club of Toronto

This study uses a Lefebvrean analysis to explore the ways social relations are negotiated and contested in the production of a quasi-recreational space called Gilda’s Club of Greater Toronto, a venue that provides complementary care and support to people living with cancer. It does so by asking how Gilda’s Club, as a social space, resists and/or reproduces the conflicts and challenges of care for people living with cancer. Drawing on the work of Henri Lefebvre to guide the analysis, qualitative data collected from 26 club members were used to examine the production of the club as a conceived, perceived and lived space. The findings underscore the insurgent and transformative possibilities of a social space like Gilda’s Club for people living with cancer, while also exposing the club as a site of discriminatory practices wherein marginalisation was produced and enforced. The complex tension between these contrasting practices is explored.     

Independence Before Conservatism: Transparency, Politics and Central Bank Design

Abstract. The problem of monetary policy delegation is formulated as a two‐stage game between the government and the central bank. In the first stage the government chooses the institutional design of the central bank. Monetary and fiscal policy are implemented in the second stage. When fiscal policy is taken into account, there is a continuum of combinations of central bank independence and conservatism that produce optimal outcomes. This indeterminacy is resolved by appealing to practical considerations. In particular, it is argued that full central bank independence facilitates the greatest degree of policy transparency and political coherence.     

Knowledge Spillovers and High-technology Clustering: Evidence from Taiwan's Hsinchu Science-Based Industrial Park

Knowledge spillovers of high-technology industries are alleged to be important determinants of industrial clustering. Dynamic production modeling is applied to measure the sectoral and spatial spillover effects to study the implications of various types of knowledge spillovers on high-technology industry clustering in Taiwan's Hsinchu Science-based Industrial Park (HSIP). The analysis is performed using the Taiwanese government's industrial census of technological activities at the micro level with 2340 plants for the period 1986–1995. We find substantive sectoral and spatial knowledge spillover effects, which are considered to be major motivating forces for regional concentration patterns of Taiwan's high-technology industries. (JEL L10 , O30 )     

ASSESSING THE VIABILITY OF REUSABLE PACKAGING: A RELATIVE COST APPROACH

While environmentally friendly operations can provide a positive public image, firms wishing to reduce their environmental impact must initiate activities that reduce cost as well. Reusable container systems are one means of reducing environmental waste, but the economics of such systems has been somewhat uncertain to date. This research proposes a cost model to evaluate the combined impact of logistics and packaging costs on the container decision. Additionally, a simulation/regression analysis is used to analyze model results to determine the relative importance and interactions between container decision factors.     

外企也人情

制度是死的,人是活的。在制度的刚性和人的 灵活性之间,常常需要做出平衡。作为管理者,如 果不考虑实际情况,把制度当做教条,虽然捍卫了 制度,但却可能伤害了公司的利益。但什么情况下 可以灵活,灵活到什么程度,这也应该算是一种必 备的管理智慧吧。