Schmoozers,not snoozers: Busting the Kevin and Angela stereotypes in public accounting

In contrast to the well-known stereotype of the boring, unsociable accountant, today’s public accounting professionals argue that they are boundary spanners. Working at the intersection of the firm/client interface, these professionals contend that sociability is a requisite skill for routinely navigating the many interactions they have with multiple personnel at client organizations. This research aims to address this disconnect and to confront whether the public perception is warranted. Using the Trait Emotional Intelligence Questionnaire (TEIQue), we assess the sociability of 176 public accounting professionals and discover that, contrary to the stereotype, male public accountants are more sociable than males in the general population. Our analysis also demonstrates that female public accountants are no more or less sociable than females in the general population. Additional analysis shows that while male public accountants are more sociable than female public accountants, this effect is attributable to differences at lower levels of the profession and that male-female differences disappear when comparing male managers and partners to female managers and partners. Given the importance of sociability in public accounting, this research offers recruiting strategies that will help to dispel the myth of the unsociable accountant and provides training tips for enhancing sociability within the ranks.     

A systematic review of AI technology-based service encounters: Implications for hospitality and tourism operations

The hospitality and tourism industry faces serious challenges during public health emergencies such as COVID-19. Managers are concerned not only about how to maintain business and provide humanized services but also about social distancing. This study presented artificial intelligence (AI) technology-based service encounters as a possible solution and examined the antecedents and consequences of the encounter triad including customers, employees, and AI. Based on a systematic literature review, the study identified 4 modes of AI technology-based service encounters: AI-supplemented, AI-generated, AI-mediated, and AI-facilitated encounters. In addition, the study developed an integrated model to specify the factors that influence AI technology-infused service encounters in general and the customer service outcomes that result from the encounters. The findings contribute to service management and AI application theoretically and practically.     

公司社会声望与高管薪酬:公共服务抑或职业声誉

本文基于“隐性—显性”契约激励研究范式,探讨公司社会声望对高管薪酬的影响以及作用机制。本文选取2009—2017年间的非金融A股上市公司为样本,研究发现,拥有较高社会声望的公司,其高管显性薪酬较低。具体而言,公共地位较高的国有企业、具有较高市场声誉的民营上市公司,其高管薪酬平均而言分别比其他上市公司低4.97%和6.30%。进一步地,我们发现公司声望对我国高管显性薪酬契约存在两种作用机制:一方面,公共地位较高的国有企业,可以为高管带来较高的社会声誉和社会认可,满足了“公共服务”类高管的社会声望偏好,从而降低了显性薪酬的支付水平;另一方面,市场声誉较高的民营企业,可以为高管带来较高的职业声誉和未来职业利益,符合“以商为荣”类高管的社会声望偏好,使高管愿意接受较低的显性薪酬。本文的结论为公司声望作为一种有价值的资源,可以对高管显性薪酬形成议价能力提供了重要证据,揭示了公司声望对高管显性契约激励的影响路径;同时,为国有企业高管薪酬契约设计以及激励机制提供了一定启示。     

Foreign aid preferences and perceptions in donor countries

We present original survey data on preferences for foreign aid in 24 donor countries from 2005 to 2008. On publicly-funded foreign aid (Official Development Assistance, or ODA), we find patterns that are consistent with a standard model of democratic policy formation, in which donations are treated as a pure public good. Controlling for perceptions of current ODA, we show that individual preferences for ODA are (i) negatively correlated with relative income within a country-year; and (ii) positively correlated with inequality at the country level. We extend the analysis to explain variation in the gap between desired aid and actual ODA, arguing that lobbying by high-income special interest groups can divert resources away from the median voter’s preferred level of aid. Consistent with this, we observe that ODA is significantly lower where policymakers are more susceptible to lobbying. Finally, we present a novel test of competing “crowding out” hypotheses. Self-reported private aid donations are negatively correlated with actual ODA, and positively correlated with perceived ODA. This finding is consistent with an emerging argument in the literature, whereby ODA crowds out private aid by enabling charities to forego fundraising activities and crowds in private aid through a signaling channel.     

Viewpoint: Effectiveness or consumer acceptance? Tradeoffs in selecting healthy eating nudges

Governments and companies that want to promote healthier eating must consider both the effectiveness and the acceptance of the ‘nudges’ given to consumers. Our review of the literature uncovers a wide range of nudges towards healthy eating, from nutrition labeling to portion size reductions, which are found to vary greatly in effectiveness and levels of public acceptance (64% of women; 52% of men). Acceptance of a nudge is inversely related to its effectiveness: only 43% of respondents approved the most effective intervention – portion and package size reductions. Approval levels increased with the perceived effectiveness of the nudge and with the perception that the nudge is good for both health and business (as opposed to only one of the two), especially among respondents who identify as conservatives. To encourage acceptance of the most effective nudge strategies, governments and companies should therefore correct misconceptions about which nudges work best, and should underscore the win-win potential for health and business.     

晋升激励、专业搭配与公共卫生服务满意度

提供高质量的公共卫生服务不但是现代政府的重要职责，也是国家治理能力的重要体现。随着中国经济发展进入新常态，干部考核评价机制不断完善，地方政府官员开始重视公共卫生等民生服务，同时，官员间专业搭配也成为影响民生服务质量的重要因素。文章将2013年中国综合社会调查数据与81个地级以上城市官员的相关信息进行匹配，将上任时年龄小于55岁的官员定义为"强晋升激励"官员，而将上任时年龄大于等于55岁的官员定义为"弱晋升激励"官员。研究发现：第一，具有"强晋升激励"的市委书记和市长都有助于改善城市公共卫生服务满意度。第二，在经济较发达、政府财力较雄厚和东部地区城市，官员晋升激励的积极效应更为明显。第三，在本研究样本中，市委书记和市长"经管—理工"的专业搭配模式是提高城市公共卫生服务满意度的积极因素。在考虑了测量偏误、地区异质性、遗漏变量、样本代表性问题，并经过安慰剂检验后，文章的主要结论依然保持稳健。本研究不但有助于我们更深入地理解中国城市间公共卫生服务质量的差距及其决定因素，而且也启发我们从改善官员治理的角度来提高公共卫生服务质量，以及应对突发性公共卫生事件的能力，从而有效推进中国经济健康可持续发展。     

中国省域科技特派员制度实施绩效评估

2016年5月《国务院办公厅关于深入推行科技特派员制度的若干意见》发布实施，但其实施效果如何有待验证。构建科技特派员制度实施绩效评估指标体系，利用改进熵值法和官方统计数据，对中国省域科技特派员制度实施绩效进行实证评估，并对评估结果进行聚类分析。结果表明，中国大多数省份科技特派员制度实施绩效水平较低；根据实施科技开发项目、形成利益共同体、服务农民情况、推广服务和扶贫成效5个绩效评估维度，可以将中国内地31个省份划分为5种类型；即使是总绩效水平较高的地区，在科技特派员制度实施绩效方面也存在一些短板。     

证券虚假陈述民事诉讼行政前置条件的取舍

保护投资者权益是推进资本市场基础制度改革的重点方向。长期以来,证券虚假陈述民事诉讼前置条件给投资者寻求司法救济设置了巨大的阻碍。为了更好地保护投资者利益和顺应改革方向,最高人民法院在处理涉及该前置条件的案件时,审判思路也从注重前置条件的程序性功能转变为强调其证据功能。取消行政处罚作为硬性前置条件是证券民事诉讼发展的方向,但应以金融司法的发展与协调、前置条件初步证据功能的完善、多元化投资者保护路径的构建为前提,恰当平衡好投资者权益保护与司法资源整合的天平,再适时开放证券虚假陈述民事诉讼的闸口。     

The relationship between people's activities and values with the protection level and biodiversity

We investigated how people's recreational activities, values, and land use preferences are related to the protection level, biodiversity and cultural heritage values of nature-based tourism areas in northern Finland. We assessed peoples' opinions using a public participation geographic information system (PPGIS) and analyzed the data together with spatial biodiversity and cultural heritage data from the same area. Associations between the PPGIS place markings with the protection level and biodiversity values were quite low, and for the cultural heritage sites they were altogether missing. Negative preferences were often marked in areas with high numbers of sites rated as pleasant and they overlapped with each other, indicating conflicting preferences. Since most activities are not noticeably related to the protection level or biodiversity values of a site they can be planned so as to protect the biodiversity of the area.     

The benefits and implementation of performance transparency: The why and how of letting your customers ‘see through’ your business

While some organizations swear by the benefits of transparency and are eager to learn and implement transparency practices, many managers are still reluctant or even afraid to use them. Our research reveals that only a few innovative companies have taken steps to leverage a potentially useful form of transparency: the provision of accessible and objective information to customers (e.g., sharing unbiased benchmark data, publishing unfiltered customer comments, or providing candid product reviews that may praise but also criticize the company’s products). Our study also shows that many companies remain wary and view greater calls for transparency as a challenge to be managed rather than an opportunity to be traded upon. This is partly due to limited research into the performance benefits of giving customers access to objective information, and lack of practical guidelines on how to actually implement it. This article addresses these shortcomings. First, we investigate whether performance transparency leads to customer outcomes that can be profitable for an organization and, second, we analyze the characteristics of successful transparency initiatives in a wide range of industries. Our research shows that customers exhibit more trust and are willing to pay a premium to deal with transparent businesses. Also, it uncovers seven effective strategies to leverage transparency. This article provides convincing empirical evidence for the benefits of performance transparency and the ways in which management may implement it successfully.