Einsatzmöglichkeiten der Matching Methode zur Berücksichtigung von Selbstselektion

Zusammenfassung Häufig ist es von Interesse, den Effekt der Teilnahme an einer Massnahme auf eine Ergebnisvariable zu untersuchen. Um jedoch eine Kausalität adäquat evaluieren zu können, müssen Selbstselektionseffekte berücksichtigt werden. Hierfür wird die Matching Methode vorgeschlagen. Bei der Matching Methode besteht das Ziel darin, durch die Bildung von Paaren von Teilnehmern und Nicht-Teilnehmern den Effekt der Teilnahme an einer Massnahme auf eine Ergebnisvariable zu bewerten. Dieser Beitrag stellt unterschiedliche Varianten der Matching Methode vor und vergleicht diese. Der Beitrag zeigt damit, wie bei betriebswirtschaftlichen Problemen Selbstselektionseffekte angemessen berücksichtigt werden können. JEL classifications C40, C21, M31     

An appraisal of the Vulamehlo Handcraft Project

The sale of Zulu handcrafts from the Spioenkop Nature Reserve curio shop was a project initiated by the KwaZulu-Natal Nature Conservation Service to improve the social and economic status of the women of a neighbouring community and thereby address the Neighbour Relations Policy of the organisation. This initiative was deemed viable by the women who all needed an additional income. Through collaboration, the project was implemented successfully in a way that gave the women access to resources within the reserve in order to make craft items which were then sold on their behalf. Responses to structured interviews with the women suggest that the project has addressed the social needs of the community by providing several non-tangible benefits. Although the economic benefits from craft item sales were minimal in terms of the average income per person, they were significant to the most committed project members and were deemed significant by all the women who now had disposable cash. The economic viability of the project could be improved by sourcing additional outlets for sales of craft items, and the women would be able to meet an increase in the demand for these items. The predicted increase in the flow of tourism in the uThukela region, together with improved marketing strategies, will provide opportunities for future local markets.     

Due Process Failure in Sector-neutral Accounting Standard-setting

This study of due process in New Zealand draws upon information concerning events from 1993 to 1996 that resulted in the revision of a newly approved financial reporting standard and the withdrawal of requirements for the disclosure of director remuneration. Traditional consultation processes preceding approval of the standard failed to provide the FRSB with an adequate signal of the opposition to come, indicating a failure of due process. Analysis of this case study suggests adoption of a single and sector-neutral Board in New Zealand was undertaken with a poor appreciation of how to manage effective due process in a 'sector-neutral' world.     

Exploring the Attitudes of Bottled Wine Distributors Toward Wine Producers in the Portuguese Wine Sector

The wine sector has unique features that have not been deeply studied. This study aims to explore the attitudes of bottled wine distributors toward wine producers in the Portuguese wine sector. Eleven interviews (about 60 min each) were carried out with all major wine distributor managers. The transcribed interviews were analyzed using qualitative software. Content analysis shows that distributors develop six main attitudes toward producers: (a) Long-term Relationship, (b) Cooperation, (c) Interdependence, (d) Product Quality, (e) Trust, and (f) Brand Image. Findings may help managers of the wine sector and promote favorable relationships with the distributing customers.     

The interrelationships between brand and channel choice

We propose a framework for the joint study of the consumer’s decision of where to buy and what to buy. The framework is rooted in utility theory where the utility is for a particular channel/brand combination. The framework contains firm actions, the consumer search process, the choice process, and consumer learning. We develop research questions within each of these areas. We then discuss methodological issues pertaining to the use of experimentation and econometrics. Our framework suggests that brand and channel choices are closely intertwined, and therefore studying them jointly will reveal a deeper understanding of consumer decision making in the modern marketing environment.     

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.     

Work-to-family enrichment and gender inequalities in eight European countries

Abstract

All social roles have positive and rewarding as well as negative/problematic aspects. Research on the work–family interface has predominantly focused on conflicting roles. In contrast, this paper extends research on work–family enrichment (WFE), a positive aspect of work and gender differences in WFE in a cross-national context. Drawing upon social role theory and the culture sensitive theory on work–family enrichment, we examined gender differences in experiences of developmental WFE in a sample of service sector employees in eight European countries. In line with traditional gender roles, women reported more WFE than men. The relationship was moderated by both an objective and subjective measure of gender egalitarianism but in the opposite direction as hypothesized. The gender gap in WFE was larger in more gender-egalitarian countries, where women may be better able to transfer resources from the work domain to benefit their family role than in low egalitarian societies. National differences in labour market factors, family models and the public discourse on work–life balance mainly explain the unanticipated findings.     

Competitive outcomes and the inner core of NTU market games

We consider the inner core as a solution concept for cooperative games with non-transferable utility (NTU) and its relationship to payoffs of competitive equilibria of markets that are induced by NTU games. An NTU game is an NTU market game if there exists a market such that the set of utility allocations a coalition can achieve in the market coincides with the set of utility allocations the coalition can achieve in the game. In this paper, we introduce a new construction of a market based on a closed subset of the inner core which satisfies a strict positive separability. We show that the constructed market represents the NTU game and, further, has the given closed set as the set of payoff vectors of competitive equilibria. It turns out that this market is not uniquely determined, and thus, we obtain a class of markets. Our results generalize those relating to competitive outcomes of NTU market games in the literature.     

Technology education for children in primary schools in Finland and Germany: different school systems, similar problems and how to overcome them

Even if the results of international student assessment studies such as PISA or TIMSS show that girls have been catching up in mathematics and natural sciences, there are still remarkable gender differences in the number of males and females studying and working in the technological fields after basic education. Technology is still a male-dominated area. This is true for the German and Finnish societies. Results of the studies conducted in the UPDATE project show that influences on interest in technological themes take place already in early childhood. Therefore, efforts should be put in developing early childhood education and elementary school education, to raise girls’ interests and motivation towards technology. This article reports the results of the UPDATE-WorkPackage3-project mainly in Finland and in Germany. It concentrates on studying elementary school pupils’ (age 6–12), particularly girls’ motivation towards the contents and methods of technology education. Various curriculum documents and national learning conditions are discussed and suggestions for the gender equitable technology education are made.