Total effort, competitive balance and the optimal contest success function

This paper shows that, in the constrained case, the value weighted contest success function (CSF) maximizes not only total effort, but every objective function which is increasing in total effort and competitive balance. In the unconstrained case, a first price all-pay auction with a reserve price is optimal only if the impact of competitive balance on the objective is small. Otherwise, a modified value weighted CSF is optimal.     

Short-term leaders should make long-term appointments

Top decision-makers (such as the U.S. President) often serve short terms, but make decisions with consequences long after they are gone. (Appointments of judges or of Federal Reserve Board members are two examples.) When a leader can choose his effort on an appointment, the organization’s performance may increase when the minimum term for an appointment increases, and when decisions are irreversible. In addition, ideological preferences can lead to better appointments.     

Assessing the moderating effect of COVID-19 on intention to use smartphones on the tourist shopping journey

This work proposes the first model to examine the moderating effect of the COVID-19 syndemic on the acceptance and use of smartphones during the tourist shopping journey. The model was tested with 1800 tourists, 900 non-COVID-19 (i.e. prior to COVID-19) and 900 during the COVID-19 period. The results showed that: 1) the model has better fit for the COVID-19 period as its explanatory capacity for that stage is greater (R² = 0.773) than for the non-COVID-19 period (R² = 0.691); 2) tourists have increased their intention to use smartphones, especially to make payments for purchases; and 3) there are statistically significant differences in the impact of four of the six model variables (performance expectancy, effort expectancy, social influence, and arousal). This research advances knowledge of the impact of COVID-19 on the technological behaviour of tourists, has important practical implications, and raises new research questions about the future of tourism.     

并购经营者与并购促成者关系下的主并方合作联盟关系契约研究

主并方为多方的合作并购是一种新的企业并购形式,当外部潜在收益作用于合作并购联盟时,主并方的合作并购联盟稳定性会受到威胁。从不完全信息角度分析了合作并购中关系契约作为正式合作契约补充的必要性,进而系统地分析了关系契约中并购促成者和并购经营者的最优努力与最优转移支付的选择问题,并给出了并购经营者与并购促成者关系契约的达成条件及相关贴现值的选择准则。研究结论表明,关系契约中,并购经营者努力程度受到并购经营者转移支付的正向影响,而最优转移支付又取决于并购成功概率下的级差收益。     

The interplay of counter-conformity motivation,social influence,and trust in customers' intention to adopt Internet banking services: The case of an emerging country

The aim of this paper is to shed light on the roles of counter-conformity motivation, social influence, and trust in explaining customers' intention to adopt Internet banking services. Data is collected from 245 respondents and analyzed using SmartPLS 2.0 M3. Results show that the intention to adopt Internet banking is mainly influenced by trust in the Internet banking services, followed by customers' counter-conformity motivation and performance expectancy. Social influence and trust in the physical bank, however, have indirect impacts on customers’ intention to adopt Internet banking. Effort expectancy has no effect on it.     

政府间转移支付与地方公共支出关系的实证研究——基于协整、VAR模型的分析

政府间转移支付的一个重要功能是增强地方政府的财力,满足其提供公共产品的需要。文章运用协整分析和VAR模型对我国政府间转移支付与地方公共支出之间的关系进行了实证考察。结果表明,在控制其他变量的影响后,政府间转移支付与地方公共支出之间存在长期均衡关系,而格兰杰因果检验表明二者是双向因果关系。以上结论意味着转移支付有利于地方财政支出的增加和财政纵向均衡目标的实现等含义。最后,文章给出了相应的政策建议。     

The Impact of Social Comparisons on Reciprocity*

In this paper, we investigate how social comparison information about referent others (i.e., learning what similar others do, and how they are treated) affects reciprocal relationships. Using three‐person gift‐exchange games, we study how employees’ reciprocity towards an employer is affected by pay comparison information (what co‐workers earn) and effort comparison information (how co‐workers perform). We find strong evidence of the effects of effort comparison: employees are more willing to reciprocate by choosing high effort in response to a high wage if they observe others doing so. In our setting, we find somewhat weaker evidence of the effects of pay comparison.     

Consistency or Heroics: Skewness,Performance, and Earnings on the PGA TOUR

The structure of the payments in professional golf tournaments is heavily weighted to reward the top performers more handily. On the PGA TOUR, for example, the winner typically receives 18% of the purse, second place receives 10.8%, and so on down to 0.2% for 70th place. This payment structure brings up the possibility that the PGA TOUR is disproportionately rewarding one-time, exceptional performances rather than consistent steady play. To examine the extent of this effect, this paper correlates the 2002 earnings of the top 100 PGA TOUR professional golfers with their average performances, the variance around the averages, and the skewness of the individual distributions of their scores. Mean performance, variance, and skewness are all significantly related to earnings per tournament in the theoretically predicted directions. The research makes connections to and has implications for several topics in the sports economics literature including competitive balance and the hot-hand phenomenon. Additionally, it uncovers a heretofore unappreciated consequence concerning the relationships among the distributions of effort, performance, and remuneration in the tournaments compensation model.

Beyond bureaucracy? Work organization in call centres

Call centres are a rapidly growing, IT-based channel for service and sales delivery, particularly in the financial services and telecom industries. Although little research has been undertaken on the human resource aspects of call centres, two contrasting images are emerging. The first emphasizes the bureaucratic, constraining nature of these work settings, while the second image points towards worker empowerment characteristic of knowledge-intensive settings. Which of these two images more faithfully portrays the nature of work organization in call centres is the subject of our paper. Drawing on qualitative research undertaken in six call centres and a survey of front-line workers, we show that elements of both models coexist and that a hybrid model predominates. The theoretical basis for this contention, and its institutionalization as mass customized bureaucracy, lies in management's on-going attempts to reconcile two conflicting principles: standardization of processes and customization of products. The paper also explores, as key consequences of mass customized bureaucracy, front-line workers' satisfaction with various facets of their job and their overall job satisfaction, in addition to discretionary work effort. Only in relation to job security and co-worker relations could front-line workers be considered satisfied. Overall, these employees were ambivalent in their responses. They were however more likely to give more discretionary work effort than indicated by their extent of satisfaction. We conclude that, although the existing pattern of work organization may be superior to more bureaucratic forms, it is by no means ideal from the standpoint of either front-line workers or management.