Business Ethics in Spain

This article is an introduction to the selection of papers on "Business Ethics in Spain" included in this monographic issue of the Journal of Business Ethics. Specifically, this article is a survey of the development of the social, political, cultural and economic background of business in Spain since 1940, in order to show how the ethical values, attitudes and problems of the Spanish managers changed in these years. First, the global evolution of this background is explained, and then several relevant problems are discussed, namely those of the attitudes of business towards the State and the law (with an aside on the attitudes of society towards profit and wealth), corruption, and the grey economy, taxes, and irregular labour. The article concludes with a survey of the scientific developments of business ethics in Spain.     

Nested model comparison with structural equation approaches

Potential problems with the conventional nested model comparison procedure in the structural equation models context are discussed. It is argued that fixing parameter values might lead to creation of different unobservables in the nested model. A number of alternative ways of conducting model comparisons are reviewed and applied in a marketing example.     

On the finite sample behavior of testing whether new is better than used of a specified age

Hollander, Park and Proschan (1986) proposed a test of new is better than used of a specified age. It is based on large sample normality of the test statistic. There is, however, no study in the literature on its actual size for small and moderate sample sizes. To shed some lights on this, the results of a Monte Carlo simulation study as well as two real data examples are reported and these indicate that the test can have a quite liberal size, especially for small to moderate sample sizes. In order to improve on this weakness, a modified test is proposed and studied. It is noticed that this modified test seems to over-correct the original test to an extent that it becomes unduly conservative sometimes. Hence we propose another modification that combines the original test and the modified test turns out to have its size quite close to the nominal level and is therefore preferable to both the original and modified tests.     

中小流量计量仪选用及漏失计量研究

针对目前天然气中小型用户（特别是民用气）流量范围波动较大且含有一定粉尘或杂质的特点，从各种计量仪表中筛选出对现场气流环境和外界条件适应能力强的智能旋进流量计（TDS）仪表。并对该仪表低谷时漏失计量问题做了对比试验研究，克服TDS计量仪漏失计量的性能，并建议推广使用。     

An analysis of the role of accounting standards for enhancing corporate governance and social responsibility

Accounting standards have been suggested as a means of requiring reporting by corporations that would enhance managers' concern for their shareholders and/or society. The analysis presented in this paper, however, leads to the conclusion that this role for accounting standards is not likely to be beneficial. The conclusion is based on the fact that the required measurements for useful standards cannot generally be made. This inherent limitation is absolute with respect to social responsibility concerns. With respect to corporate governance, accounting standards might be useful, primarily for reporting potentially fraudulent dealings and similar misuses of shareholder's assets by corporate managers. But even then, the cost of an accounting standard, ex ante, is likely to exceed its benefits to shareholders.     

The Effects of Prior Impressions of a Firm's Ethics on the Success of a Cause-Related Marketing Campaign: Do the Good Look Better While the Bad Look Worse?

ABSTRACT

The exploratory study that is the subject of this paper examines the importance of ten church service and program variables in the decision by members of different age cohorts to join a church. Variables that were investigated included aspects of the worship service; adult, children and senior education programs; and recreational activities. Two additional variables, denominational loyalty and the desire to be part of a spiritual community, were also investigated. Chi-square tests were used to evaluate the significance of each program as well as elements of the worship service. In addition, sources of information that members used prior to the first visit were examined. The most important resource was word-of-mouth. There were 460 respondents who were members of Southern Baptist and Unitarian Universalist churches located throughout the South and Southwest.     

中国已婚育龄人群避孕措施选择的偏好与影响因素分析

避孕节育是中国计划生育的核心内容之一，也是我国中长期人口发展战略中稳定低生育水平的重要措施之一。选取1988年全国生育节育抽样调查数据，利用多分类Logit模型（MNL）对不同特征育龄妇女避孕措施进行分析。不同生育周期和不同社会特征、子女性别、计划生育政策强度对已婚育龄人群避孕措施的选取有明显的影响。不同孩次的已婚育龄人群在避孕措施选择中都存在一定的避孕偏好，尤其是子女性别不同时呈现避孕措施选择的明显差异，即最小子女为女孩的育龄人群比最小子女为男孩的育龄人群更为倾向于选择避孕套等自控型短效避孕措施，提示避孕措施的选择存在制度内规避行为，并受到一定的性别偏好因素的影响。     

Retirement Age Considerations for Central Europe

The paper analyzes the arguments for and possible consequences of an increase in the statutory retirement age in central Europe, including the Czech Republic, Hungary, Poland and Slovakia. The analysis reflects the current and projected demographic and economic developments, and discerns the long-term trends from the specific aspects of transition. As for the long-term trends, the paper offers a simple framework for calculation of the intergenerational transfers through pensions under different reform scenarios. The calculations confirm that, in the aging central European societies, down-sizing of the existing pay-as-you-go schemes, including an increase in the statutory retirement age, is necessary to sustain solvency and intergenerational fairness in the public provision for retirement. The paper argues, however, that proposals to increase the retirement age in central European countries need to enhance their assessment of the possible counter-productive effects, which may arise due to the low working ability, poor health status and high occupational and environmental risks faced by the population.     

Personal characteristics of salespeople and the attractiveness of alternative rewards

How do personal characteristics of salespeople affect their desire for the various rewards available to them? Do younger salespeople desire different types and levels of rewards than older salespeople? Are there differences due to job tenure, marital status, family size, and so forth? In this article, the authors attempt to answer these questions. Based on an extensive investigation of the industrial sales forces from two large companies, the authors examine the relationship between personal characteristics and the sales force's valence for various rewards. Although some of the findings are consistent with current sales management practices, some are not, suggesting that present day thinking with respect to the design and administration of rewards may need more careful scrutiny.     

Problems in Demand Estimation For a New Technology

It is difficult to estimate demand for a new product or service when a prelaunch test market is not practical. This is often the case for products that incorporate advanced technology. In this article, Robert Thomas reviews 29 different research methodologies used to measure demand for a new telecommunications service. He found several problems in how the research was designed and executed and offers a number of suggestions for improving the accuracy of demand estimates.