Allegations of Sexual Misconduct: A View from the Observation Deck of Power Distance Belief

Journal of Business Ethics - We seek to understand how third-party observers respond to allegations of sexual transgressions, whether their responses vary and if so why, how they determine...     

Information Transmission between Mature and Emerging Equity Markets During Normal and Crisis Periods: An Empirical Examination

In this paper, we examine the price discovery and volatility spillovers between eight mature market economies (MMEs) and eight emerging market economies (EMEs) from January 2003 to July 2014, covering three sub-periods—prior to the 2007–09 global financial crisis (GFC), during the crisis, and post-crisis. The results of price discovery indicate that MMEs lead EMEs in the pre-crisis and post-crisis periods. All MMEs are cointegrated with China in the pre-crisis period but not in the post-crisis period. Dynamic cointegration results reconfirm our findings from Johansen’s co-integration test. The asymmetric dynamic conditional correlation (ADCC-GARCH) coefficients suggest a regional pattern among MMEs and EMEs, except in the case of European MMEs with South Africa. Employing BEKK-GARCH model, we find that volatility spillovers of MMEs with China and of Italy with EMEs weakened in the post-crisis period as compared to the pre-crisis period implying that the GFC damaged the information transmission process, particularly for China and Italy. While China is a large economy with strong trade linkages with the rest of the world, Italy is one of the larger European economies which was in relatively greater distress during the EDC. The findings have implications for policy makers and investors.

     

Contagious diseases and tourism: a systematic review based on bibliometric and content analysis methods

Quality & Quantity - The present study examines the existing knowledge and intellectual structure on contagious diseases and tourism to map the development of the concept through collaborative...     

Positive versus negative comparative advertising

Two studies examined cognitive responses to comparative advertising that was valenced, i.e., was either negative or positive. Negative comparative advertising featured the advertised brand derogating the comparison brand (I'm OK, you're not OK). Positive comparative advertising claimed superiority over the comparison brand in a nonderogatory manner (You're OK, I'm more OK). Subjects were exposed to either a negative comparative ad or a positive comparative ad. In study 1, the ad featured either a high or low share advertised brand and either a high or low share comparison brand while in study 2, the ad featured advertised and comparison brands with either a strong or a weak reputation. Across both studies, it was found that negative comparative advertising evoked significantly higher counterargumentation and lower claim acceptance than its positive counterpart. Also, when the advertised brand had a high share relative to the comparison brand, counterargumentation was lower and claim acceptance was higher vis-a-vis when the advertised brand had a low share relative to the comparison brand. Findings pertaining to brand reputation were mixed. Managerial and future research implications of the findings are discussed.     

Corruption’s impact on foreign portfolio investment

Corruption has significant effects on a nation’s financial markets through its adverse impact on foreign portfolio investment (FPI). Yet, the effects of corruption on FPI are nonlinear and reverse J-shaped, with intermediate levels of corruption yielding the most negative effects. Highly transparent nations, where a “level playing field” exists between foreign and local investors due to lack of information asymmetries related to corruption, attract the most foreign investment. However, at the margin, very corrupt countries attract more investment than moderately corrupt countries because a “perverse level playing field” in the former countries may put foreigners and locals on an even footing in terms of resolving asymmetric information problems. This nonlinear pattern is consistent with foreign investors’ desire to trade in markets where they are not at an informational disadvantage.     

Predicting Internet banking adoption in India: a perceived risk perspective

The emergence of Internet banking has transformed the banking systems across the globe. As a channel to market, Internet banking allows geographical constraints to be overcome by offering various products and services at lower customer costs. An understanding of the factors influencing customer adoption of Internet banking is both relevant and timely. This study integrates technology acceptance model and perceived risk theory in understanding Internet banking acceptance among Indian bank account holders. Specifically, this study categorizes perceived risk as external risk and internal risk, and examines its influence on customer beliefs and adoption of Internet banking. Using two-step predictive analytics of structural equation modeling and artificial neural network analysis, the 270 responses reveal that both external risk and internal risk inhibit customer acceptance of Internet banking. More importantly, neural network analysis reveals that perceived ease of use and external risk are two important factors determining how well Internet banking is accepted by customers. The implications of the study findings and future research directions are presented.     

Human resource management in developing economies: a comparison of India and Thailand

This paper reports the results of surveys of firms that were conducted both in India and Thailand. The surveys centred on a wide range of human resource management practices (staffing, training, compensation and evaluation). The sample consisted of both the subsidiaries of multinational corporations and locally owned companies. Statistical analysis suggests pronounced differences in employment practices between India and Thailand in some areas, while considerable similarities in other areas. The study controls for a variety of organizational factors (e.g., firm size, ownership (foreign versus domestic), union status).     

Multinational Learning under Asymmetric Information

The aim of this paper is to analyze the competition between a multinational and the incumbent firm in a foreign market under asymmetric information about demand and unobservable outputs. It is shown that the incumbent firm increases its production in the first period to signal to the multinational that the demand is low. The multinational reduces its output in the foreign market in order to signal-jam. In addition, the multinational increases its production in the other market. However, total production of the multinational is lower. Implications for research and development expenditure by the multinational are examined.