Cultural variation in response to strategic emotions in negotiations

This research examined how culture influences the effectiveness of the strategic displays of emotions in negotiations. We predicted that in cross-cultural negotiation settings, East Asian negotiators who highly regarded cultural values that are consistent with communicating respect as humility and deference would be more likely to accept an offer from an opposing party who displayed positive as opposed to negative emotion. With a sample of East Asian MBA students, the results of Study 1 confirmed this prediction. Study 2 results replicated this finding with a sample of Hong Kong executive managers and also found they were less likely to accept an offer from a negotiator displaying negative emotion than Israeli executive managers who did not hold humility and deference in such high regard. Implications for strategic display of emotions in cross-cultural settings are discussed.     

Disclosure of provisions for decommissioning costs in annual reports of oil and gas companies: A content analysis and stakeholder views

This study examines the extent of compliance with accounting disclosure requirements relating to provisions for decommissioning costs by oil and gas companies. We also investigate the views of stakeholders on the reporting practices of these companies. Using a content analysis approach, our findings reveal that compliance is substantially high, but companies tend to take a tick-box approach providing only minimum disclosure requirements. In semi-structured interviews, we find that disclosure decisions were driven by concerns about the credibility of information due to complexities in the accounting processes, regulatory requirements, lack of information demand and proprietary costs. These findings have policy implications.     

Product shift in recreation settings: Findings and implications from panel research

Abstract

Resource managers often rely on data from recreation users as one of the inputs for long‐term decisions, but product shift (users responding to changing social or environmental conditions by changing their definition of the recreation experience) may confound the reliability of such information. In this study, we used panel data to examine the product shift phenomenon related to social conditions and describe resulting management implications. The same individuals who participated in a 1977 study of floaters on the Rogue River were contacted in 1991. As predicted by the product shift phenomenon, results indicated that in a situation in which use levels are increasing (a) visitors are more likely to change experience definitions than to become dissatisfied, (b) experience definitions change toward higher density experiences, (c) on‐river encounter norms increase, and (d) perceived crowding does not change. Other findings ran counter to product shift theory: Norms for off‐river encounters did not increase to accommodate additional contacts, and user satisfaction decreased slightly. Management implications suggest a need for well‐defined experience opportunities as well as objective monitoring to document site characteristics over time.     

Using web and mobile technology to motivate pro-environmental action after a nature-based tourism experience

Nature-based tourism provides an ideal context for motivating pro-environmental action, as it draws travellers interested in the natural world and showcases unique, and often threatened, environments. This study examines efforts to motivate environmentally related behaviour in tourists' everyday lives using a technology-based intervention following an elephant seal viewing tour at California's Año Nuevo State Park. A total of 362 visitors completed pre-tour and post-tour surveys, with 94 visitors completing a final survey three months after the tour. We found that, although the intervention had little influence on conservation action overall, it was effective for a social media-related action. Post-tour conservation actions were significantly affected by emotional connection to wildlife during the tour and repeat visitation to either the same or another state park. We found that visitors' connectedness to nature increased during the three-hour tour, but returned to pre-visit levels three months later. Practical implications include that parks should encourage repeat visits, suggest an assortment of other experiences that support connecting to nature, and link their conservation messaging to visitors' close, personal, and emotional experiences with fauna. We suggest that one simple, yet effective, way to do this is through maintaining the visitor–park experience through a social media community.     

Energy and capital: substitutes or complements? Some results for the UK industrial sector

This paper investigates the substitutability or complementarity possibilities between capital, labour and energy in the UK industrial sector, with particular attention to the captial-energy relationship. It is found, using the translog-cost-function approach, that capital and labour as well as energy and labour are substitutes. However, capital and energy are found to be complements.