Der deutsche Konjunkturzyklus: Vermessung und Zusammenhang mit Investitionen

On average, the German business cycle is four to five years long. The cycle is quite pronounced and explains about 27 % of the variation in year on year GDP growth. For fluctuations with a duration of more than two years, there is a significant unidirectional Granger causality running from GDP growth to investment. A closer look reveals two things: first of all, that the Granger causality runs from GDP to investment in equipment and machinery, not investment in construction, and second, that it is lagged foreign demand (exports) rather than domestic demand that has predictive power for investment.     

Corruption and Its Effects on FDI: Analysing the Interaction Between the Corruption Levels of the Home and Host Countries and Its Effects at the Decision-Making Level

This study furthers our understanding of how corruption affects the decision-making process of allocating foreign direct investment. Drawing on the responses of 28 managers in charge of establishing operations in a highly corrupt host country, we argue that those firms based in home countries with low levels of corruption are more proactive in preparing to face corruption abroad than those based in countries with high corruption levels. This means that firms from less corrupt home countries have strategies in place to deal with high corruption abroad. This finding is based on the fact that these firms have stronger pressures to not engage in corruption from their home stakeholders. Also, these firms might not have the experience of dealing with corruption at home, which hinders their potential to deal with corruption abroad. On the other hand, those firms based in highly corrupt home countries do not have clear strategies to deal with corruption abroad. This assertion is based on the fact that these firms might have familiarity in dealing with corruption and thus, might not see it as an obstacle to operating abroad.     

Modeling the Interdependence of the Economy and Power Industry Based on Multiplicative Two-Factor Functions

The paper has studied the change in the electric intensity of the Russian economy over the past 25 years. Equations have been constructed that correlate the electricity consumption with GDP (GVA for key economic sectors) and investment volume. The influence of structural changes and power consumption in particular sectors, as well as the modernization of the key economic sectors on the dynamics of the Russian economy electric intensity, has been identified.     

Optimal strategy for a fund manager with option compensation

I consider the problem of portfolio optimization for a manager whose compensation is given by the sum of a constant and a variable term. The constant term is a fixed percentage of the managed funds that is payed to the manager independently of his performance. The variable term is a premium that is proportional to the profit earned by the manager over a benchmark at a certain evaluation date. I find the optimal strategy and the optimal portfolio value in the Black–Scholes setting when the benchmark is a linear combination of the risky asset and the money market account.     

A study of the relationships among sensory experience,emotion, and buying behavior in coffeehouse chains

Studies that simultaneously explore the effects of sensory experience on consumer emotions and behavior are rare. This paper builds a model of buying behavior based on sensory experience, 570 valid questionnaires were obtained from coffeehouse customers. Using structural equation modeling and multiple regression analysis, this paper validates the concept model and verifies that sensory experience is a significant antecedent to buying behavior. This study indicates that certain sensory experiences significantly influence emotion. Emotion also plays a mediating role in the relationship between sensory experience and behavioral intentions. The findings are theoretically and practically profound as they address the relationships among sensory experience, consumer emotions, behavioral intentions, and buying behavior, as well as explore how the five senses affect emotions and buying behavior. This paper concludes by indicating managerial implications and research limitations.     

Scanning for discounts: examining the redemption of competing mobile coupons

Coupons research has typically focused on single-coupon redemption, with scant attention devoted to multiple, competing coupons. To bridge this gap, we observe supermarket shoppers who used their smartphones to scan products in-store, receiving both coupons for the scanned product and several others as a result. We model the determinants of redemption in this context, particularly net price range (NPR), coupon value, brand loyalty, and number of coupons. Latent class analysis uncovers two consumer segments: brand-focused shoppers (79.9%), who use internal reference prices, and deal-prone shoppers (20.1%), who use stimulus-based reference prices. Targeting by means of segment membership, NPR, and loyalty is indispensable: the same $0.50 coupon can have a redemption probability as low as 30% and as large as 80%, depending on these characteristics. Overall, the study sheds light on drivers of redemption under competition and provides managers with a blueprint to improve redemption rates by targeting shoppers with customized coupons.