Incentives and Performance in Real Estate Brokerage

This article has two objectives. One is to offer a theoretical model to study how the difference in commission structures affects the performance of agents at full-commission firms (e.g., RE/MAX agents) relative to other agents. The other is to provide an empirical test of the relative performance of full-commission agents. We predict that in equilibrium the selling price and the expected time it takes to sell a listing through a full-commission agent are the same as they are with a traditional agent. Our theoretical predictions are supported by our empirical results.     

The effect of management commitment to service quality on employees’ affective and performance outcomes

A service recovery performance model is proposed and tested with data from frontline bank employees in Turkey. The model is derived from Bagozzi's (1992) reformulation of attitude theory. The empirical results suggest that top management commitment to service quality, as manifested by frontline employees' appraisal of training, empowerment, and rewards, has a significant effect on their perceptions of service recovery performance. The influence of management commitment to service quality on service recovery performance is mediated by frontline employees' affective commitment to their organization and job satisfaction. Implications of the results and further research avenues are discussed. Emin Babakus (ebabakus@ memphis.edu) (Ph.D., University of Alabama, 1985) is a professor of marketing at the University of Memphis. In addition to theJournal of the Academy of Marketing Science, his research has been published in such journals as theJournal of Marketing Research, theInternational Journal of Research in Marketing, theJournal of Retailing, theJournal of Business Research, and theJournal of Advertising Research. He serves on the editorial review boards of several journals. Ugur Yavas (raxyavas@mail.etsu.edu) (Ph.D., Georgia State University, 1976) is a professor of marketing at East Tennessee State University. Besides theJournal of the Academy of Marketing Science, he has contributed to such journals as theJournal of Marketing Research, theJournal of Business Research, theInternational Journal of Research in Marketing, theEuropean Journal of Marketing, International Marketing Review, theJournal of International Marketing, Management International Review, theJournal of the Market Research Society, theInternational Journal of Service Industry Management, andLong Range Planning. He currently serves as the editor of theJournal of Asia-Pacific Business. Osman M. Karatepe (osman.karatepe@emu.edu.tr) (Ph.D., Hacettepe University, Ankara, Turkey, 2002) is an assistant professor of marketing at Eastern Mediterranean University (Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus). He has contributed to such journals as theJournal of Hospitality and Leisure Marketing, The Service Industries Journal, Tourism Analysis, theInternational Journal of Hospitality and Tourism Administration, andAnatolia: An International Journal of Tourism and Hospitality Research. He currently serves as the associate editor of theEMU Journal of Tourism Research. Turgay Avci (turgay.avci@emu.edu.tr) (Ph.D., Cukurova University, Adana, Turkey, 1995) is an assistant professor of management at Eastern Mediterranean University (Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus). He has contributed to such journals asThe Service Industries Journal, theJournal of Hospitality and Leisure Marketing, Tourism Analysis, theInternational Journal of Hospitality and Tourism Administration, andAnatolia: An International Journal of Tourism and Hospitality Research. He currently serves as the editor-in-chief of theEMU Journal of Tourism Research.     

Smooth breaks and nonlinear mean reversion in real interest parity: Evidence from East Asian countries

This study aims to explore the empirical validity of the real interest rate parity (RIP) hypothesis for East Asian countries using Japan as the base country. To this end, we employ the recently proposed unit root tests of Christopoulos and Leon-Ledesma that account for both multiple smooth structural breaks of unknown form and nonlinear mean reversion in the series. Our empirical results uncover overwhelming evidences in favor of the RIP hypothesis for the whole countries in our sample. More specifically, through a Fourier approximation, it is observed that all real interest rate differentials display a mean-reverting behavior around an infrequently smooth-breaking mean, with the breaks being in accordance with the financial reforms and economic crises witnessed by the countries. Moreover, the degree of mean reversion appears to vary nonlinearly with the size of real interest rate appreciations and depreciations.     

Entrepreneurial intention and startup preparation: A study among business students in Malaysia

Intention, as the starting point of pursuing self-employment and creating new ventures, is crucial before actually establishing a business enterprise. Entrepreneurship is understood to be an essential ingredient for enhancing a country's economic competitiveness, growth, and sustainability while confronting the escalating challenges of globalization, such as increasing unemployment. This study provides empirical evidence on the factors influencing entrepreneurial intention and startup preparations among university students in Malaysia. The findings provide scholars and academic policymakers with insights into the effectiveness of Malaysia's entrepreneurial education as designed and practiced by public universities. The Malaysian government should apply these findings to fortify existing policies and programs and formulate new ones to support graduate entrepreneurs, while universities and other higher education institutions should provide high-quality entrepreneurial courses and programs to young Malaysians to foster an inclination toward entrepreneurship.     

The ‘old’ and ‘new’ competition and Malaysian manufacturing firms: a case study

The majority of empirical studies dealing with production processes, work organization and industrial relations practices have been conducted in advanced industrial nations. This article reports on a study of the changing nature of work organization and industrial relations policies in the developing economy of Malaysia. It explores the broad patterns of change in human resource management, technology and work organization among Malaysian manufacturing firms in the context of Best's ‘old’ and ‘new’ competition. The question that arises is: does the evidence reveal that Malaysia is embracing elements of the ‘new competition’, or is it still locked into a regime of mass production, or both? The article argues that the ‘old’ and the ‘new’ competition should not be treated as a simple, straightforward duality model of development. The distinction between the two approaches is sometimes blurred and not so clear-cut. The case study observes that both systems could be operating side by side at the same time within an organization. Since the Malaysian manufacturing sector is expected to shift from simple assembly and process-type operations using labour-intensive techniques to the more advanced and higher value-added industries, greater investment in HRD to upgrade the skills of the work-force and the adoption of appropriate industrial relations policies that emphasize decentralization, greater employee involvement and continuous innovation will become crucial. To be able to compete successfully in the global economy would require a change in focus in the adoption of industrial relations and human resource development policies. For Malaysia to realize its aspiration to become an industrialized and developed nation by the year 2020 would require radical changes in those policies within the context of an integrated approach to economic and industrial planning.     

An Experimental Analysis of the Impact of Intermediaries on the Outcome of Bargaining Games

We conduct an experimental analysis of the bargaining between a buyer and a seller of the exchange of a single good by means of an intermediary or broker. We examine how an intermediary affects the price, the likelihood of a successful negotiation, and the time it takes to complete a negotiation. We first examine the impact of the intermediary as a pure middleman, and then as an information source about the distribution of seller and buyer reservation prices. The results show that an intermediary, whether or not informed, increases the sale price, reduces the likelihood of an agreement, and increases the time to reach an agreement (though the number of bargaining rounds declines). The results suggest that the benefits of brokerage may be predominantly in the matching of buyers and sellers rather than in facilitating bargaining.     

Can volunteers be targeted?

The usefulness of demographic and attitudinal variables in profiling time donors and nondonors is examined. Time volunteers emerge as similar in profile to money and anatomical-parts donors. From this, implications are derived for increasing time donation by volunteer organizations.     

Incentive effects and overcrowding in tournaments: An experimental analysis

This study reports experiments that examine outcomes when agents choose between a payment scheme that rewards based on absolute performance (i.e., piece rate) and a scheme that rewards based on relative performance (i.e., a tournament). Holding total payments in the tournament constant, performance is higher when the tournament option is winner-take-all compared to a graduated tournament (i.e., second and third-place performers also receive a payment). Performance is higher in the winner-take all tournaments even among participants that choose the piece-rate option. While there is a modest amount of overcrowding, there are no significant differences in overcrowding across conditions. Entry rates into the tournament and the relative ability of tournament entrants (compared to non-entrants in the same condition) are higher in the graduated tournament condition than the winner-take-all conditions. Consequently, the winner-take-all tournament is more efficient than the graduated tournament (incentive effects are stronger and the overcrowding is about the same), but the graduated tournament provides a more effective mechanism to identify the most capable performer in a talent pool. Electronic Supplementary Material Supplementary material is available in the online version of this article at . JEL Classification D8 · J3 · L2     

Do Borrowers Make Rational Choices on Points and Refinancing?

Utilizing individual mortgage data, we find that borrowers with points are less likely to refinance, and when they do, they take longer to refinance. This finding supports the separating equilibrium prediction of earlier studies that borrowers with higher (lower) refinancing costs self‐select into mortgages with higher‐point/lower‐rate (lower‐point/higher‐rate) loans.     

When trade hurts: Consumption indivisibilities and labor market distortions

We present a simple model where complementarities between wages and demand due to factor market distortions can make a transition economy worse off from trade. Prior to trade, a virtuous circle prevails: high wages in industry support a high demand for indivisible industrial goods, which in turn supports high wages. However, factor market distortions in the transition economy create a comparative disadvantage in industry. Opening up to trade results in the import of indivisibles and a fall in manufacturing wages, breaking this virtuous circle. Consequently, trade liberalization without structural reform can have serious adverse effects in a transition economy.