Family firm’s management composition: the role played by family members’ age in TMT and supervisor levels

Quality & Quantity - Family firms (FFs) are the backbone of entrepreneurial fabric in many countries. Management of such businesses is complex because of their features: the overlap between...     

Social Media managerial implications for budget accommodation venues: use of Social Media platforms more effectively and efficiently

Quality & Quantity - Social Media has transformed people’s lives and behaviour. Over the past decade it has also transformed the Tourism Industry. Despite this triumph, insufficient...     

Success factors in a CRM strategy: technology is not all

Organisations today need to create, maintain and reinforce relationships with customers. Customer Relationship Management (CRM) seems to have helped firms to better understand their relationships. However, past studies have looked at technology and customer orientations (COs) as key factors. This paper aims to analyse the simultaneous effect of Market Orientation (MO) (rather than CO), Knowledge Management (KM) and other organisational factors in order to explain how to implement a successful CRM. Findings suggest that MO and KM may influence CRM success. Data also suggest that particular organisational factors such as employees, leadership and specific know-how may be key factors in determining the success of CRM. For efficiency resource management, this paper recommends to focus not as much in technology, but on programmes for selection, training and motivation of employees which may enhance CRM objectives. Companies may also pursue a higher customer value by putting in place and reinforcing KM schemes in specific know-hows about CRM.     

Institutional dimensions underlying public trust in information on technological risk

This paper examines the determinants of trust in public information on technological risk in a petrochemical complex located in Tarragona (Spain). Data from focus groups (eight) and a questionnaire survey (N = 400) are drawn together to analyse how two local communities exposed to major chemical hazards perceive information on risk and its sources. Results show how trust relies on two main factors, namely expertise and trustworthiness, that are significantly influenced by a third one, antagonism. Results also illustrate the relevance of the institutional context when understanding how communities give meaning to the available information on risk.     

When do improved covariance matrix estimators enhance portfolio optimization? An empirical comparative study of nine estimators

The use of improved covariance matrix estimators as an alternative to the sample estimator is considered an important approach for enhancing portfolio optimization. Here we empirically compare the performance of nine improved covariance estimation procedures using daily returns of 90 highly capitalized US stocks for the period 1997–2007. We find that the usefulness of covariance matrix estimators strongly depends on the ratio between the estimation period T and the number of stocks N, on the presence or absence of short selling, and on the performance metric considered. When short selling is allowed, several estimation methods achieve a realized risk that is significantly smaller than that obtained with the sample covariance method. This is particularly true when T/N is close to one. Moreover, many estimators reduce the fraction of negative portfolio weights, while little improvement is achieved in the degree of diversification. On the contrary, when short selling is not allowed and T?>?N, the considered methods are unable to outperform the sample covariance in terms of realized risk, but can give much more diversified portfolios than that obtained with the sample covariance. When T?<?N, the use of the sample covariance matrix and of the pseudo-inverse gives portfolios with very poor performance.     

A qualitative approach to the challenges for women in management: are they really starting in the 21st century?

Traditionally, the role of women in business responsibility jobs has provided extensive and much discussed issues. Almost 20?years ago research on WIB was very rich. Some discussions surrounding women in business included, for instance: learning about their situation at work, their strong and weak management capabilities and possible setbacks to their promotion and consolidation in positions of responsibility. In any case, it did seem that conciliation between family and work lives, in general, was a setback for most women. By the beginning of 21st century the work of Leonard (Women??s Stud Int Forum 24:67?C78, 2001) analyzed the state-of-the-art, concluding that not much had changed in terms of the challenges faced by women. Therefore, it may seem appropriate, to readdress the situation for women in management as this new century reaches its first decade. This paper takes as a reference the context of an occidental and developed country such as Spain. We develop a multi-case study which allows us to (i) analyze the opinion of a group of women and men who work in high and intermediate management positions, (ii) defend the suitability to overcome the differences between men and women and (iii) admit the consideration of different female profiles. In such cases, firms may take several advantages stemming from both gender and personal characteristics.     

New imported inputs,new domestic products

We study the relationship between new imported inputs and the introduction of new domestic products. To this purpose, we assemble a novel data set covering 25 European countries over 1995–2007 and containing information on domestic production and bilateral trade for the universe of goods. We develop a procedure to identify new imported inputs and new domestic products, while dealing with the complications raised by the yearly changes in the commodity classifications. We augment these data with information on prices and novel estimates of quality. We organize the empirical analysis around a version of the endogenous growth model with expanding variety, in which inputs are allowed to be heterogeneous in terms of quality. In line with this framework, we find three main results. First, new imported inputs have a strong positive effect on product creation in Europe. Second, they work through a combination of mechanisms, allowing countries to benefit from both wider and better sets of intermediate products. Finally, new imported inputs give a substantial boost to output growth in manufacturing.     

An empirical investigation of the sustainability of the public deficit in Portugal

In this paper, we investigate Portuguese government expenditures and revenues as an example for a long time series. Our hypothesis states that there may be periods when the deficit is sustainable and those when it is not. Usually, after a period of unsustainable deficits, a new regime takes over. These regime shifts call for an approach that takes into account a non-constant structure of the underlying data generating process. Consequently, we use different tests which we set up in a time-varying framework. We apply and compare the results of the Trace test, Breitung’s non-parametric test and the Bohn test. We identify several break points and find that the Trace test performs worst in this case while Breitung’s test and the Bohn test give similar results. Comparing the results with history, we find that the last two tests best reflect what happened historically.     

A Common Pool Resource Game with Sequential Decisions and Experimental Evidence

We describe a common pool resource game in which players choose how much of the stock to extract in a sequential manner. There are two choices and one represents taking a larger proportion of the stock than the other. After a player makes a choice, the remaining stock grows at a constant rate. We consider a game with a finite number of alternating moves. It is shown that changes in the larger proportion of the stock that the players are allowed to take and the growth rate affect equilibrium, but have little effect on behavior in the laboratory. In addition to observing more cooperation than predicted, we observe that parameters that are strategically irrelevant affect behavior. The results of this research might help policy makers in developing adequate policies to prevent overexploitation of some natural renewable resources.     

Behavior in one-shot traveler’s dilemma games: model and experiments with advice

We report results of one-shot traveler’s dilemma game experiments to test the predictions of a model of introspection. The model describes a noisy out-of-equilibrium process by which players reach a decision of what to do in one-shot games. To test the robustness of the model and to compare it to other models of introspection without noise, we introduce non-binding advice. Advice has the effect of coordinating all players’ beliefs onto a common strategy. Experimentally, advice is implemented by asking subjects who participated in a repeated traveler’s dilemma game to recommend an action to subjects playing one-shot games with identical parameters. In contrast to observations, models based on best-response dynamics would predict lower claims than the advised. We show that our model’s predictions with and without advice are consistent with the data.