The Importance of Internal Resources and Capabilities and Destination Resources to Explain Firm Competitive Position in the Spanish Tourism Industry

This study draws on the Resource‐Based View to analyze the effects of distinctive competences in tourism firms and location in a tourism district on competitive position, and explores the moderating effects of the tourism destination. Multiple linear regression was used to test the research hypotheses on a sample of 1019 Spanish tourism firms. Results reveal that financial resources and dynamic and production capabilities favor a better competitive position for tourism firms in general; however, coordination and marketing capabilities are key factors for firms embedded in a tourism district, while dynamic capabilities have a negative effect in this case. Copyright © 2015 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Information Asymmetry in Consumer Perceptions of Quality‐Differentiated Food Products

Increasing consumer demand for quality‐differentiated food products has given rise to a large quantity of food product classifications related to production practices and locations. Some food product claims such as native have no clear definitions and may have ambiguous connotations for different consumers. We analyze whether asymmetry in information affects consumer preferences and willingness to pay for ambiguous claims using the native attribute. An empirical application of pecans is used in the analysis to compare native and improved pecan varieties. With no evidence in the literature of additional benefits of native varieties, the results showed that consumers preferred native varieties. Furthermore tastes and preferences for all product attributes were heterogeneous; heterogeneity in preference for the native attribute was only significant at the 10% level.     

Determinants of Different Modes of FDI: Firm-Level Evidence from Japanese FDI into the US

There are four major modes through which firms undertake foreign direct investment (FDI) – merger and acquisition (M&A), joint venture (JV), new plant (NP) and others (O). The four modes of FDI are distinct from each other, and each has its own unique advantages and disadvantages. While a large and growing empirical literature examines the determinants of FDI, very few studies examine the determinants of different modes of FDI. The central objective of this paper is to empirically analyze the extent to which the determinants of FDI such as firm size influences the choice of one mode of FDI over another. Our analysis follows a stylized two-stage investment process. First, we look at the probability of whether a Japanese firm is willing to undertake FDI in the US. Second, for firms that are willing to undertake FDI, we analyze which mode of FDI - i.e. M&A, joint venture, new plant or other FDI – they will undertake. The second stage is the innovation of this paper and its contribution to the FDI literature.     

When business is a confidence game.

When it comes to making business decisions, being overconfident about your choices can actually be more harmful than just guessing. Here's how managers can calibrate their confidence levels-and avoid being too sure in the wrong situations.     

Empowering nets of participation.

To test the implications of field work in a psychiatric hospital for children, this study focuses on the effects of network properties of organizational units, personal network position, and other individual attributes, on individual power. The contextual analysis is carried out by two linked regression equations, one at the individual and one at the contextual level, a procedure that has methodological advantages over a single regression model. The results suggest that sheer complexity can undermine inequalities among bureaucratic units and occupational groups, and that organizational democracy is fostered when complex role relations promote extensive interunit communication. Specifically, we find that a main mechanism that endows individuals with power is found in the local domains of participation, i.e., the organizational units of which they are members, and that the capacity of such a unit to empower its members depends on its integration in organization-wide communication networks. The basis of this integration is conceived as overlapping circles of weak ties that inhibit segmentation along occupational or organizational lines and sustain wide participation by rewarding those who participate.     

Foreign output shocks,monetary rules and macroeconomic volatilities in small open economies

The 2008 financial crisis is marked by the drop in output of major industrial countries which affected small open economies in various degrees. We examine the role of three different types of monetary policy rules in mitigating or exacerbating the effects of a negative foreign output shock on key macroeconomic variables of a small open economy by numerically solving a dynamic stochastic general equilibrium (DSGE) model. We find that compared to the Taylor rule, small open economies that follow either fixed exchange rate regime or strict inflation targeting tend to stabilize real exchange rate and inflation at the expense of substantial instability in the real economy.     

Oil shocks and monetary policy rules in emerging economies

We examine the effects of shocks in the oil market on key macroeconomic variables in small open economies using a dynamic stochastic general equilibrium model with sticky prices and imperfect competition under different monetary policy rules. The numerical solutions show that the types of exchange rate regimes and monetary policies could partly explain the trends in macroeconomic volatilities considering negative shocks to oil supply (Hamilton, 1983) and positive shocks to oil demand (Kilian, 2009). These findings are confirmed in vector autoregressive responses for Chile and Israel with inflation targeting under flexible exchange regimes and Hong Kong with fixed regime.     

Stationarity and structural breaks — evidence from classical and Bayesian approaches

The purpose of this paper is to analyze and compare the results of applying classical and Bayesian methods to testing for a unit root in time series with a single endogenous structural break. We utilize a data set of macroeconomic time series for the Mexican economy similar to the Nelson–Plosser one. Under both approaches, we make use of innovational outlier models allowing for an unknown break in the trend function. Classical inference relies on bootstrapped critical values, in order to make inference comparable to the finite sample Bayesian one. Results from both approaches are discussed and compared.     

Re-employment probabilities of unemployment benefit recipients

This article studies transitions out of unemployment for benefit recipients in Spain. We analyse the duration of unemployment, distinguishing between spells that end in recall (workers returning to the previous employer) and spells that end in exit to a new job. This distinction allows us to find that the recall hazard rate increases around the time of exhaustion of benefits. However, this happens only for workers receiving Unemployment Insurance (UI). Because we are unable to replicate this result for workers receiving Unemployment Assistance (UA), we believe the finding lends support to the hypothesis that in Spain firms and workers make a strategic use of UI.