Junk Car Clash on the Rural–Urban Fringe: A Case Study in Local Government Decision Making

This decision case is intended to provide an example of the complexity of local government decision making on the rural–urban fringe. In this case, a county is faced with making a decision about outlawing the existence of junk cars on personal property. Instructors can use this case to introduce topics such as zoning, takings, property rights, local government policy making, and the impact of the community on government decisions. Other issues could be explored, such as the role of culture and stereotypes in policy making, and how growth can impact local culture and lifestyle.     

The Only Fund in Town? Geographic Segmentation in the US Mutual Fund Industry

We find that mutual funds located in regions with more competing funds charge lower management fees, but higher fees related to sales and distribution (12b‐1 fees), sales loads, and other nonmanagement fee expenses. There is some evidence that funds in more competitive regions have higher total expense ratios than similar funds in less competitive regions. Our results indicate that while increased competition drives down fund profits, it creates a negative externality by way of increased sales expenses. Overall, our results suggest the mutual fund industry is characterized by monopolistic competition determined at the local level.     

International compliance with new Basel Accord principles for risk governance

We assess international compliance with the Basel Committee's 2010 guidance on governance of banking organisations. Based on an extensive examination of regulatory documents in selected advanced economies, we find that reform is incomplete in jurisdictions most affected by the financial crisis, and with the largest financial centres. In contrast, other countries less affected by the financial crisis have enacted risk governance reforms as protection against potential future contagion. We provide insights for policy‐makers charged with improving governance at banks, and a richer understanding for international regulators as they revise the guidelines and aim for greater compliance at the national level.     

Pricing VIX derivatives with free stochastic volatility model

Review of Derivatives Research - This paper aims to develop a new free stochastic volatility model, joint with jumps. By freeing the power parameter of instantaneous variance, this paper takes...     

The impact of seasonality on tourism and hospitality operations in the alpine region of New South Wales,Australia

Despite the recognized importance of seasonality for tourism businesses, there has been a distinct lack of studies undertaken in the past that discuss the impact of seasonality on alpine accommodation resorts, and more specifically that focus on an Australian location. The main purpose of this study was to examine whether or not the Australian alpine accommodation providers and ski operations have been significantly impacted by the issue of seasonality and to determine more specifically, had there been industry pressure placed on them to become all season operations? For this study, a total of 15 semi-structured interviews were conducted with managers of hospitality businesses located in the sub-alpine region of Jindabyne, and nearby alpine areas of Perisher and Thredbo in New South Wales, Australia. Study results indicated that the majority of managers acknowledged the fact that there has been an increase in the number of summer visitors each year which has pressured them to make changes to their operations. They conceded that such activity has served to reinforce a ‘stand alone’ mindset which was still prevalent amongst the majority of the managers in the region.     

An investigation of problem-solving support and relaxation motivations on e-WOM

As a consequence of greater computer-mediated consumer-to-consumer communication within the firm's marketing communications, there has been a growing need to understand these digital interactions more explicitly. That is, we still know little about the exact extrinsic and intrinsic motivations that drive electronic word-of-mouth. The purpose of the paper is to better understand why members within community-based websites develop a need to exchange and/or develop a social bond within the community. Questionnaire data were gathered from 147 members of an online beauty forum in Australia. The findings highlight that those members seeking problem-solving support in combination with elements of relaxation will be more inclined to exchange with other community members and develop a social bond within that community. Marketing managers can capitalise these findings by strengthening problem-solving support systems and creating environments where community members can also relax and unwind to increase the exchange between members and also increase the social bonds within the community.     

Catch-up strategies and the latecomer effect in industrial development

Since 2003, the West and Central African (WCA) cotton initiative in the World Trade Organization has stood as an ambitious case of Africa's desire to be integrated into the trading system and yet also receive reparations for past injuries. This article seeks to explore how and why the initiative debuted through close attention to the interdependence between power and language in diplomatic practice. It takes the concept of cognitive framing to explore the relationship between political legitimacy and mobilisation capacities. The genesis of cotton as ‘an issue’ is critically examined, focusing on how the WCA countries constructed a novel ‘competitive victim’ frame to define themselves and the problem. While this opening move was effective, it also featured tensions that were exploited by Northern actors who were threatened by the campaign. I argue that what followed was the introduction of a politically driven ‘counterframe’, which divided the problem into a ‘trade-related’ component and a ‘development-related’ component. It is important to understand why and how this distinction was constructed and monitored. By scrutinising the relationship between framing and institutional power, I suggest that the counterframe won over the original frame, leading to a re-positioning of the demanders and a re-calibration of their expectations.     

Effect of university heritage and reputation on attitudes of prospective students

• This study examines the impact of heritage and reputation of nonprofit universities on attitudes of prospective students. Data were collected from 208 community college (preuniversity) students in the USA. Results from structural equations modeling indicate that university heritage positively impacts university reputation, potential students' attitudes, and intentions to pay a tuition premium as well as to recommend the university. Students' nationality moderates the relationships between university heritage, reputation, and attitudes. International students from Asian nations with a long‐term orientation exhibit stronger relationships between these variables than domestic students from the USA. These findings add to the nascent and emerging literature on branding of nonprofit higher education institutions and will be of interest to administrators and marketing managers of universities to nurture and extol their university heritage in student recruitment programs, especially in promotional materials targeting international students.

Copyright © 2014 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Executive Forum: University technology transfer to entrepreneurial companies

This article discusses four dimensions of university–entrepreneurial firm collaboration—(1) industry-sponsored contract research, (2) consulting, (3) technology licensing and (4) technology development and commercialization—of which practitioners involved in university–private sector technology interaction need to be aware. The article identifies specific findings in each of the four areas and suggests important avenues for future work.