Determinants of environmental innovation adoption in the printing industry: the importance of task environment

In this paper, we investigate the impact that the task environment has on the adoption of environmental innovations by firms. Specifically, we investigate the impact of two dimensions of a firm's external context – munificence and dynamism. We investigate both of these factors by drawing on the relevant literatures, developing hypotheses and testing our hypotheses with data drawn from the US printing industry. Our major findings are that firms in highly dynamic environments, as well as firms that have adopted other productive innovations, are more likely to adopt a greater number of environmental innovations. Copyright © 2006 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd and ERP Environment.     

The internationalization journey of a high‐tech cluster

We examine the internationalization processes of a sample of photonics companies, using in‐depth interviews conducted with twenty‐two CEOs. The texts of these interviews were appraised by using content analysis, combined with a grounded theory approach. In this way, the internationalization theory was critiqued and some insights developed into the international strategy process. Some salient findings emerged, such as that cluster externalities had a positive impact on the internationalization of firms within the cluster, and the degree of strategic vulnerability that cluster firms faced from developing‐country competitors. These findings are discussed in relation to their research and managerial implications. © 2005 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.     

Induced Innovation in Canadian Agriculture: 1926–87

Technology adopted by Canadian farmers has been induced by changes in factor prices. This paper demonstrates the consistency of the change in factor prices to the bias of technical change. The analysis compares two distinctly different regions of Canada, the Prairies and central Canada.
Les technologies qui ont été adoptées par les agriculteurs canadiens ont été influencées par l'évolution des prix des facteurs de production. Le présent document montre la Constance des liens entre la fluctuation de ces prix et les changements technologiques. L'analyse compare deux régions fort distinctes du pays, soit les Prairies et le centre du Canada.     

Construction of D-optimal s 1 × s 2 × s 3 factorial designs using graph theory

In this paper, the maximum determinant of the associated 0-1 matrix in D-Optimal saturated main effect plans for 3× s_2 × s_3 factorials, is derived by the use of Graph theory and Combinatorics. The present work is related to a problem suggested by Chatterjee and Narasimhan (2002). Using the theoretical results, we also give the designs for s₃≥s₂ + 1. This research was supported by the State Scholarships Foundation of Greece.     

Sustainability reporting,materiality, and accountability assessment in the airport industry

Air travel is, nowadays, recognized as being one of the most popular modes of transport. Air transport is among the most significant contributors to the world gross domestic product and is accountable for a great environmental and social impact. Driven by the well‐established sustainability discourse and the vital role businesses can play in disseminating the sustainable development concept, this paper attempted to map airport industry's most material operational aspects and assess airport operators' accountability level on disclosing corporate information regarding airports' economic, environmental, and social performance. In this context, 33 reports and 903 material issues representing 193 international airports were reviewed and assessed, and a methodology for benchmarking the accountability level of best reporting airport operators was developed, showcasing materiality assessment as a useful management tool for strengthening airport operators' business strategy and enhancing their corporate performance. The paper indicated that (a) customer focus (i.e., health, safety and satisfaction), economic viability, and business continuity and preparedness are operational aspects of high materiality and (b) the disclosure level, especially concerning specific performance indicators, is still moderate. In conclusion, this study has shown that materiality assessment gains ground as a management tool among airports' management teams and the completeness of Sustainability reports is positively correlated with the “level” of adherence as described by the Global Reporting Initiative.     

CONVERGENCE AND ECONOMIC PERFORMANCE IN GREECE: EVIDENCE AT REGIONAL AND PREFECTURE LEVEL

The purpose of this paper is to test regional convergence and to investigate interregional disparities in terms of per capita income in Greece. The novelty of our study lies in the use of a disaggregated dataset for an extended time period (1971–2003) at two regional levels (NUTS II & NUTS III). Our results indicate that there is β convergence between prefectures but not among regions, while no evidence of σ convergence is found at both regional levels. Also, the GDP geographic concentration and population density have a negative impact on growth, which outweighs the positive growth effect of population geographic concentration and GDP spatial inequality. Thus, policies aiming at the decentralization of economic activity in Greece might enhance growth and regional equality simultaneously. Finally, we do not find economic dualism across geographic areas; however, rich prefectures seem to converge faster than poor ones.     

A non-linear approach for predicting stock returns and volatility with the use of investor sentiment indices

The popular sentiment-based investor index S^BW introduced by Baker and Wurgler (2006, 2007) is shown to have no predictive ability for stock returns. However, Huang et al. (2015) developed a new investor sentiment index, S^PLS, which can predict monthly stock returns based on a linear framework. However, the linear model may lead to misspecification and lack of robustness. We provide statistical evidence that the relationship between stock returns, S^BW and S^PLS is characterized by structural instability and inherent nonlinearity. Given this, using a nonparametric causality approach, we show that neither S^BW nor S^PLS predicts stock market returns or even its volatility, as opposed to previous empirical evidence.