The Structure of Problem Structuring Conversations: A Boundary Games Approach

One of the questions associated with facilitated problem structuring is how the micro level of actors’ multimodal communications, contributes to the emergence of a macro level, framing the possibilities for action in a workshop. This paper shows a way to study this macro level, building the visualization of the conversations’ structure starting from a boundary games theory micro analysis of the interactions. Our empirical evidence comes from following a group of academic consultants working to define a value proposition for their activity. We focus on analyzing two out of nine workshops that were felt diametrically opposite in terms of facilitation and achievements. Moving from the micro towards an upward level, three configurations building the structure are identified—shifting, branching and converging. The work carried out allows us to: (1) visualize the structure of conversations in a problem structuring context, (2) highlight the role of multimodal communications in building the conversations and (3) construct an interpretation bridging the micro and macro readings of a workshop. This knowledge is useful for facilitators guiding the dynamic of a workshop and for researchers looking forward to understanding how micro level interactions build higher levels of the social phenomenon of intervention.     

The rise of Mexican entrepreneurial migration to the United States: A mixed‐embeddedness approach

Although many studies have analyzed the behavior of high‐skilled migration to the United States, few have focused on the escalating migration of Mexican entrepreneurs, and particularly on the determinants of this kind of high‐skilled migration. This article addresses this gap through a qualitative approach conforming to quantitative procedures, based on 20 in‐depth interviews applied to Mexican entrepreneurs working and/or living in the United States. Theoretically, a mixed‐embeddedness approach guides this research because it allows examining both the individual characteristics of Mexican entrepreneurs, and the influence of the home and host countries' institutional contexts on their business endeavors. Findings revealed Mexico's institutional weaknesses, such as insecurity, corruption, and bureaucracy, are important drivers of migration but so are the perception of a friendly U.S. fiscal system, the search for a better quality of life, and the appeal of a more transparent business environment.     

Financial Instruments and Promotional Banking in the EU are Growing — But is this Justified?

Institutions and the European Investment Bank are at the forefront of EU investment policy. Their role is expanding and it is now a widely-held position that an improvement in the economy will not eliminate the need for their intervention. The proposals for the 2021–2027 MFF launch more financial instruments and present ‘InvestEU’ as a larger more powerful version of the European Fund for Strategic Investments (EFSI). However, promotional banking is often misunderstood and so is the actual size of promotional banking in Europe in which InvestEU will operate.     

Stochastic comparisons of coherent systems

The study of stochastic comparisons of coherent systems with different structures is a relevant topic in reliability theory. Several results have been obtained for specific distributions. The present paper is focused on distribution-free comparisons, that is, orderings which do not depend on the component distributions. Different assumptions for the component lifetimes are considered which lead us to different comparison techniques. Thus, if the components are independent and identically distributed (IID) or exchangeable, the orderings are obtained by using signatures. If they are just ID (homogeneous components), then ordering results for distorted distributions are used. In the general case or in the case of independent (heterogeneous) components, a similar technique based on generalized distorted distributions is applied. In these cases, the ordering results may depend on the copula used to model the dependence between the component lifetimes. Some illustrative examples are included in each case.     

What retailers need to understand about website inaccessibility and disabled consumers: Challenges and opportunities

This research uniquely contributes to the marketing policy literature by illuminating the widespread yet seldom studied problem of online inaccessibility of retail websites affecting approximately 30 million disabled Americans. When a website is not designed to be navigated easily or is not compatible with assistive technology such as a screen-reader, these potential customers are not able to independently search for information and conduct transactions. Blind and low vision participants in an empirical study provide their opinions regarding accessibility policy issues and reveal that their frustrations with inaccessible retail websites may result, not only in avoidance of the retailer in its different sales channels but also in antifirm behaviors driven by negative attitudes toward perceived retailer accessibility/disability policy that spur feelings of online marketplace discrimination. Using two different evaluation tools, the top 100 retailers in the United States were evaluated on the accessibility of their websites over the past 4 years (2015–2018). Results show that most websites contain many design errors making navigation very difficult or even impossible for vision impaired consumers. The argument is made that online retailers who proactively address these inaccessibility issues on their websites may significantly increase their customer base and profitability.     

A splitting strategy for the calibration of jump-diffusion models

Finance and Stochastics - We present a detailed analysis and implementation of a splitting strategy to identify simultaneously the local volatility surface and the jump-size distribution from...     

Differential Tariffs and Income Inequality in the United States: Some Evidence from the States

Open Economies Review - This paper explores the macroeconomic and distributional consequences of consumption tariffs and materials tariffs. It highlights the contrasting effects of consumption and...     

Taking services to foreign markets: A taxonomy of Brazilian service firms

This study develops a taxonomy of international service firms from an emerging market, Brazil, and assesses whether there are significant differences in international performance between the groups. After an extensive literature review, a survey was carried out with a sample of international service firms located in an emerging economy, Brazil. Using as a departure point two theoretical perspectives, the internationalization process theory and industrial organization theory, in addition to service dimensions extracted from the empirical service management literature, the study identifies four groups—large traditionals, generalist neophytes, solitary traditionals, and daring differentiators—based on firm characteristics, international services delivered, internationalization process characteristics, and international strategies adopted. The findings suggest that there are significant differences in performance between the groups.     

Preferential Rules of Origin and the Multilateral Trading System: Pro-Development Policy Options

With the proliferation of regional trade agreements since the late 1980s and early 1990s, preferential rules of origin have also proliferated. The discussion on these rules has gradually shifted from a purely technical discussion (“how to establish the origin of goods not wholly obtained in one country”, and hence, “how to apply trade preferences in these cases”) to a wider discussion also touching upon the transaction costs caused by having a “spaghetti bowl” of rules, and the actual or presumed neo-protectionist use that is being made of them. In the context of the discussion on possible policy options for developing countries simultaneously involved in (or negotiating) regional and multilateral trade agreements, this article will first give a brief overview of the findings of the recent empirical literature. Some indications are then presented as to what such policy options could look like. This paper was first presented at the Ad-hoc Expert Group Meeting on The Development Interface between the Multilateral Trading System and Regional Trade Agreements, Session III Regulatory Provisions in RTAs, Palais des Nations, Geneva, 15-16 March 2007. It is partly based on P. De Lombaerde, L. J. Garay : Preferential Rules of Origin: EU and NAFTA Regulatory Models and the WTO, in: The Journal of World Investment & Trade, Vol. 6, No. 6, 2005, pp. 953-994; and L. J. Garay, P. De Lombaerde: Preferential Rules of Origin: Models and Levels of Rulemaking, in: S. Woolcock (ed.): Trade and Investment Rulemaking: The Role of Regional and Bilateral Agreements, Tokyo 2006, UNU Press, pp. 78-106.     

Strategic groups in the hospitality industry: Intergroup and intragroup performance differences in Alicante, Spain

The hotel sector is currently immersed in a very uncertain, highly competitive environment, due to which it needs information for the correct management of its establishments. This information can be obtained from the classification of hotels in strategic groups. The present empirical research presents strategic groups in the hospitality industry as a useful tool for the planning and implementation of strategies by hotels that helps to determine their competitive strategies and advantages. This research paper additionally shows how the levels of performance between the hotels belonging to each group can be evaluated from strategic groups. In this study, the tool is applied to the hotel sector of the Spanish province of Alicante, a very important geographical area in the context of international tourism. The dimensions resource commitment and tourist activity scope have been used to define the strategic groups.