How do Migrants Choose Their Destination Country? An Analysis of Institutional Determinants

We analyze the effects of socio‐economic and institutional determinants, especially labor‐market institutions and features of social protection systems, on migrants’ location choices. Based on micro‐data for France, Germany, the UK, and the USA, we study migration to one of these four countries using a multinomial choice framework. Our estimates confirm conventional results regarding wages, networks, and unemployment rates. In addition, we find that there are indications of “insider–outsider effects” for union coverage and unemployment benefits, while employment protection does not have a clear‐cut impact on migration. Good education and health systems tend to attract migrants, while generous pension systems deter them.     

Altruistic values,satisfaction and loyalty among first-time blood donors

This article is related to the recently initiated discussion on mechanisms of charitable giving and the lack of research on the mix of those mechanisms. On the basis of a comprehensive and interdisciplinary literature review in the area of blood donation management (1970–2010), the authors found that pure altruism, respectively altruistic values, is very often seen as the most important mechanism for giving blood the first time and, moreover, for building blood donor loyalty. This study argues that more knowledge on the mix of mechanisms in blood giving is needed. Therefore, this research examined the impact of altruistic values and the donors' satisfaction with the treatment on blood donor loyalty. Using survey data of the German Red Cross (N = 2149), the authors found that the impact of satisfaction with the treatment on blood donor loyalty is higher compared with altruistic values. Consequently and as one managerial implication, satisfaction measurement and management systems should be reflected more critically by blood donation centres in order to increase blood donations in the future. Copyright © 2011 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Does vertical integration affect firm performance? Evidence from the airline industry

We investigate the effects of vertical integration on operational performance. Large U.S. airlines use regional partners to operate some of their flights. Regionals may be owned or governed through contracts. We estimate whether an airline's use of an owned, rather than independent, regional at an airport affects delays and cancellations on the airline's own flights out of that airport. We find that integrated airlines perform systematically better than nonintegrated airlines at the same airport on the same day. Furthermore, the performance advantage increases on days with adverse weather and when airports are more congested. These findings suggest that, in this setting, vertical integration may facilitate real‐time adaptation decisions.     

The 'magic formula' for linearly edge-reinforced random walks

Linearly edge-reinforced random walk on a finite graph is a mixture of reversible Markov chains with an explicitly known mixing measure. We give a new proof of this fact.     

The Power of Innovativeness in Manufacturer–Retailer Relationships

ABSTRACT

Purpose: Retailers often challenge manufacturers through aggressive store brand policies and severe listing constraints. This study investigates manufacturer innovativeness as a managerial lever to shift the power balance between manufacturers and retailers.

Methodology/approach: Using data from 277 senior managers of Swiss and German consumer goods manufacturers and analyzing these data with structural equation modelling, the authors test hypotheses about the impact of manufacturer innovativeness on manufacturer–retailer relationship characteristics (i.e., retailer dependency, store brand aggressiveness, and listing constraints).

Findings: The study demonstrates that manufacturer innovativeness enhances retailer dependency, which in turn positively affects overall manufacturer performance. This relationship can be explained further: By increasing retailer dependency, manufacturers suppress retailers’ store brand aggressiveness and attenuate retailers’ listing constraints. Store brand aggressiveness affects overall manufacturer performance through listing constraints.

Research implications: Identifying levers such as innovativeness that assist manufacturers in fostering their power over retailers provides a new mode for understanding how manufacturers can influence the balance of power between manufacturers and retailers. The study provides support for the approach/inhibition theory of power on the inter-organizational level. Organizations with increased power are assumed to have approach-related tendencies and act in goal-consistent manner, whereas organizations with reduced power are assumed to develop the tendency to pursue inhibition-related actions, e.g., attending to threats. Furthermore, this study identifies channel relationship characteristics such as retailer dependency as a mediating path between manufacturer innovativeness and performance.

Practical implications: Managers need to strengthen the firm’s innovative capacity to enhance the performance of their companies. By developing the capability to provide radical innovations, manufacturers are able to enhance their performance not only directly but also indirectly by strengthening the manufacturer’s position with regard to retailers. This study underscores the relevance of innovativeness for strengthening the manufacturer’s position in its relationship with retailers that avoids problems with aggressive store brands and constrained listing conditions.

Originality/value/contribution: This study proposes manufacturer innovativeness as a managerial lever to shift the power balance between manufacturers and retailers.     

Die Gestaltung von Gründungswettbewerben

Founding competitions have recently been very popular in the German-speaking world. They are considered as being important tools to foster an entrepreneurial culture. This paper addresses three important questions: (1) How should founding competitions be structured? (2) How can founders be motivated to submit promising concepts? (3) How can the participants be supported in the subsequent founding process? We provide a number of Hypotheses that can be used as a starting point for future empirical research in this area.     

Determinanten des Kundenwerts von Versicherungsnehmern

This paper discusses how the customer equity concept can be transformed to fit to insurance policy holders. The finding is that the equity of a policyholder can not be calculated in line with concepts of other classes of business, because the insurance industry shows special features in its core business. The stochastic characteristics of such a business must be integrated into the concept. These include its service nature and specific supervisory regulations for the capital investments as well as the distribution of profit. In terms of the insurance company, the following equity-determiners of a policyholder are important and should be part of the customer equity model: Firstly the equity of the customer with regard to the past, his future potential and his cross-selling equity as the monetary determiners. Secondly the equity which can be generated through word-of-mouth and customer information. The remaining determiners of the concept used in other branches of business, notably the equity of synergy, cooperation and loyality of a customer are already incorporated in the mentioned components.     

Partial credibility and policy announcements: The problem of time inconsistency in macroeconomics revisited

This paper studies the credibility of policy announcements in macroeconomics. This issue is exemplified by the problem of monetary policy design in light of an expectations-augmented Phillips curve. In contrast to reputational models of the repeated games literature, the credibility problem between the central bank and the private sector, which results from the policymaker's temptation to create surprise inflation to raise employment, cannot be eliminated. The paper shows that credibility in any sequential equilibrium is generally only partial, in that market participants do not fully believe policy announcements of low inflation rates, even if forthright policies have been implemented in all periods. Indicating reputation-building, credibility improves over time. The example is then used to show the policy implications of partial credibility.