Interaction effects of corporate hedging activities for a multi-risk exposure: evidence from a quasi-natural experiment

Review of Quantitative Finance and Accounting - This study analyzes the interaction effects of corporate hedging activities of electric utility firms facing a manifold risk exposure consisting of...     

Experienced technology teachers’ teaching practices

International Journal of Technology and Design Education - Teachers’ teaching practice plays a key role in the learning process of pupils, and for teaching to be successful, teachers must...     

“Furry tales”: pet ownership’s influence on subjective well-being during Covid-19 times

Quality & Quantity - The social distancing required during Covid-19 times tended to make people feel lonelier than usual. Those with pets might, however, have experienced this less, because...     

Country‐Specific Profiles of Performance Management in China,Germany, and the United States—An Empirical Test

The vast majority of the literature on performance management (PM) chooses a contextual perspective, focusing on the cross‐country comparison of single elements of the PM system. Simultaneously, a conceptual basis and an encompassing comprehension of country‐specific peculiarities are lacking. Based on a suggested conceptualization of the elements of PM (criteria, actors, methods, purposes, feedback) and hypotheses developed from an encompassing literature review, the authors present empirical findings from a quantitative study including 167 managers from multinational enterprise (MNE) subsidiaries in three culturally and institutionally diverse major economies (Germany, United States, and China). Contrary to what the literature suggests about the local peculiarities of PM, the results of the present study show significant country‐specific differences in only 6 out of 16 investigated PM features. Furthermore, the analytical categorization of “Western” countries versus China cannot be empirically confirmed. In contrast, more similarities between China and Germany than between Germany and the United States are identified. © 2014 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.     

Willingness to Pay for Green Products in Air Travel: Ready for Take‐Off?

We examine the willingness to pay (WTP) for green products in air travel. Green products in aviation are supplementary services, which are sold on top of the travel service (e.g. carbon offsets, organic on‐board food). We identify a set of potential green products in aviation and report the preferences for additional airline services of 811 Swiss air travellers using an adaptive choice‐based conjoint survey. We find that 20% of those passengers who are interested in purchasing supplementary services show a considerable WTP for green products. The green segment differs from the regular segment only in terms of behavioural features, not in terms of demographic or socio‐economic characteristics. Copyright © 2015 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd and ERP Environment     

Leading global teams

Global teams that are characterized by national, cultural and linguistic heterogeneity and operate in a globally dispersed virtual environment are becoming an established form of organizing work in multinational organizations. As global team leadership research is rather limited, we review the literature on leading multicultural and virtual teams in a global context, focusing on leadership competencies, styles, strategies and modes. We also examine the emergent concepts of biculturalism, global mindset and cultural intelligence with respect to team leaders. Our aim is to add to our knowledge of leading global teams, highlight recent trends and suggest directions for future research. Three themes for global team leadership emerged: leaders as boundary spanners, bridge makers and blenders; people-oriented leadership; and leveraging diversity. We discuss implications for research and practice.     

Restructuring the public sector: examples from the Swedish School Administration Board

This research note begins with a discussion of recent changes in the Swedish labour market, with special reference to employment changes in the public sector from a gender perspective. These changes are illustrated with a discussion of results from a study of the closing of the National Board of School Administration, an agency with a high proportion of women on its staff. Changes are compared to observations made during the restructuring of the industrial sector. The research note concludes with a short discussion on employment trends for the future, with special reference to the importance of the public sector.     

The endogeneity of the natural rate of growth – an empirical study for Latin‐American countries

The aim of this paper is to analyse the sensitivity of the natural rate of growth to the actual rate of growth for a sample of 11 Latin‐American countries, assuming the natural rate to be determined endogenously by changes in the actual rate of growth. The natural rates of growth are estimated in a system of SUR estimations over the period 1986–2003. In order to determine whether they react endogenously to changes in the actual rate of growth, a dummy variable for boom periods is added to the system of regressions. The results confirm the hypothesis about the endogeneity of the natural rate of growth.