Adoption des Politiques de Protection de l'Environnement et performance des Entreprises Camerounaises

The objective of this paper is to evaluate the effect of the environmental protection policies of by Cameroonian firms on their performance. It uses the endogenous switching regression technique and propensity scores applied to micro-data from 639 firms in Cameroon. The results show that only 17% of firms adopt these measures, while on average 85% of firms produce solid, gaseous or liquid waste. The results also indicate that the adoption of these environmental protection policies increases operating costs while significantly improving the turnover and the performance of the productive capacity of the company. These increases are 39.11%, 58.6%, and 38.63% for operating costs, turnover and return on productive capacity of the company, respectively. However, firms can also suffer significant losses resulting from the non-adoption of environmental policies. In fact, firms that do not adopt environmental protection policies have their performance reduced by an average of 1.625 percentage points.     

Fear appeals and coping appeals for health product promotion: Impulsive purchasing or psychological distancing?

The prevalence of online health communities (OHCs) motivates health product companies to manipulate persuasion-based marketing strategies, including fear appeals and coping appeals, to promote health products. However, whether such a practice is effective remains unclear. Respondents may either impulsively purchase the recommended health products or simply distance themselves psychologically from the information. Building on protection motivation theory (PMT), this study uncovers the mechanisms behind these two coping responses to persuasive messages, namely, the impulsive purchasing and psychological distancing of OHC users. Correspondingly, we evaluated 366 valid questionnaires, and the results reveal that (1) when encountering fear appeals, perceived health threat can evoke cyberchondria, leading to psychological distancing; and (2) when encountering coping appeals, perceived response efficacy leads to product affection, fostering impulsive purchasing. This study provides new insights into the effects of persuasive messages for health product promotion in social commerce. Marketers should design appropriate persuasive messages to foster impulsive purchasing by generating individuals’ product affection and avoiding cyberchondria.     

论数据权益的刑法保护——民刑交错视角下的法益保护论探讨

关于“数据权益的刑法保护”问题，在理论层面上，可从“刑法解释论”和“刑法立法论”两种路径进行探讨。“刑法解释论”探讨路径以现行《刑法》罪名体系为出发点，主要任务是揭示哪些罪名的犯罪构成之设置是以“数据权益”为规范保护目的；“刑法立法论”探讨路径是在刑法立法层面上探讨立法者为在刑法政策上实现数据权益的刑法保护这一目的，动用刑罚禁止何种行为类型才具正当性的问题。然而，两种探讨路径都将依赖于“数据权益”的内涵确定以及法益格的认定问题，换言之，是刑法法益理论在数据权益刑法保护问题上的具体运用。《民法典》第127条并非是关于数据的确权性规定，且在民法理论界关于数据权益的法律属性存在诸多争议的状况下，“数据权益”内涵不明、法律属性不清导致其并不具备作为刑法保护客体的“法益”格。当前刑法理论界存在的关于“数据权益”的刑法类法益保护模式探讨路径，是对刑法法益保护方式的误读，并未触及“数据权益刑法保护”之规范层面问题的实质。“数据安全”法益观的探讨路径则不仅混淆了现象层面与规范层面上的“数据犯罪”概念的界分，也由于没有论证“数据安全”如何能够构成刑法的保护法益，而导致结论过于武断。在理论探讨上，应该明确作为行为客体的物理层面上的“数据”概念与作为保护客体的法益层面上的“数据权益”概念之间的区别，据此明确“数据权益的刑法保护”在规范层面上是否构成新问题。     

China and international market integration: Evidence from the law of one price in the Middle East and Africa

We model market integration in the Middle East and Africa by analyzing price dispersion and testing the law of one price (LOP) on highly-comparable actual local retail prices of 135 goods and services across 23 countries in the region over the period of 1990–2016. Second-generation panel estimators are applied to four price benchmarks: Regional average, South Africa, China, and US prices. Cross-regional price dispersion diminishes considerably over time up to 2008, particularly for non-tradeables around China price. The test of LOP indicates the percentage of convergent prices is highest in China price benchmark, followed by US, South Africa, and regional average benchmarks. Direct estimation of the convergence speed confirms this order. Overall, the results show evidence of increasing market integration in Middle East and Africa but it appears to be driven by global forces and, especially, the rise of China as a new economic power. The results show that some emerging market economies, such as China, can step up and promote integration while traditional economic powerhouses, such as the USA and UK, disengage from international economic relations.     

创新网络领域知识主题研究述评

在知识经济时代，创新网络在企业创新中扮演着重要角色，而研究网络中知识要素的产生、传播、吸收等问题对了解企业网络化创新具有重要意义。基于国内外核心文献数据库，收集创新网络领域知识要素相关文献，并结合文献计量分析方法，对该领域近30年有关知识主题研究的演化规律、整体趋势等进行梳理。结果表明，国内外研究年度发文量均呈现3个阶段变化趋势，且分别拥有各自重要载文期刊，国内研究已形成核心团队，而国外并未形成；国内外研究既有相同之处，也存在差异性，且均形成较为清晰的研究框架；在演化规律上，国内横向拓展和纵向深化研究特征显著，而国外更加注重纵向深入探索分析，研究内容也更加分散；在未来前沿热点分析上，中外学者关注内容既有相同点，也有不同点，知识协同、知识惯例、企业数字化转型对知识影响的研究是未来关注重点。     

Afraid to travel after COVID-19? Self-protection,coping and resilience against pandemic ‘travel fear’

COVID-19 has generated an unprecedented level of public fear, likely impeding tourism industry recovery after the pandemic is over. This study explores what trigger the public's pandemic ‘travel fear’ and how people impose self-protection, coping and resilience related to travel. The study integrates theories including protection motivation theory, coping and resilience theories to address the research aim. Using a quota sampling, an online survey of 1208 respondents across mainland China was conducted. Results found that threat severity and susceptibility can cause ‘travel fear’, which leads to protection motivation and protective travel behaviors after the pandemic outbreak. Findings also revealed that ‘travel fear’ can evoke different coping strategies, which increases people's psychological resilience and adoption of cautious travel behaviors. Several strategies are provided on how to mitigate people's ‘travel fear’ and encourage travel in a post-COVID-19 world.     

Light at the end of the tunnel: Visitors' virtual reality (versus in-person) attraction site tour-related behavioral intentions during and post-COVID-19

Consumer behavior is changing as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic, thus compelling attraction sites to find new ways of offering safe tours to visitors. Based on protection motivation theory, we develop and test a model that examines key drivers of visitors' COVID-19-induced social distancing behavior and its effect on their intent to use virtual reality-based (vs. in-person) attraction site tours during and post-COVID-19. Our analyses demonstrate that visitor-perceived threat severity, response efficacy, and self-efficacy raise social distancing behavior. In turn, social distancing increases (decreases) visitors' intent to use virtual reality (in-person) tours during the pandemic. We find social distancing to boost visitors' demand for advanced virtual tours and to raise their advocacy intentions. Our results also reveal that social distancing has no effect on potential visitors' intent to use virtual reality vs. in-person tours post-the pandemic. We conclude by discussing vital implications that stem from our analyses.     

A study on factors affecting privacy risk tolerance to prevent the spread of COVID-19 in South Korea

South Korea has been evaluated as a country that is responding well to COVID-19. The Government of the Republic of Korea discloses where, when, and by which means of transportation people confirmed to have the virus have visited. Although disclosure of movement has contributed to flattening the curve and providing timely medical service, concerns about privacy infringement have also been raised. This article determines what factors influence privacy risk tolerance, looking specifically at threat severity, vulnerability, response efficacy, and response cost. We also provide implications for the preparation of better countermeasures for the government to implement.     

证券虚假陈述民事诉讼行政前置条件的取舍

保护投资者权益是推进资本市场基础制度改革的重点方向。长期以来,证券虚假陈述民事诉讼前置条件给投资者寻求司法救济设置了巨大的阻碍。为了更好地保护投资者利益和顺应改革方向,最高人民法院在处理涉及该前置条件的案件时,审判思路也从注重前置条件的程序性功能转变为强调其证据功能。取消行政处罚作为硬性前置条件是证券民事诉讼发展的方向,但应以金融司法的发展与协调、前置条件初步证据功能的完善、多元化投资者保护路径的构建为前提,恰当平衡好投资者权益保护与司法资源整合的天平,再适时开放证券虚假陈述民事诉讼的闸口。     

Is current institutional quality linked to legal origins and disease endowments? Evidence from Africa

This paper empirically assesses if and to what extent cross-country differences in institutions inherited from the past affect current institutional quality in Africa. Specifically, the work evaluates if legal origins and disease endowments explain cross-country differences in the quality of contemporary institutions that are widely considered to be important for financial system development and other economic outcomes, such as those related to creditor rights protection and the credit information infrastructure, as well as the judicial, legal property and insolvency systems. Empirical tests are carried out on a sample of 46 African former European colonies with data on current institutional quality from 2004 to 2013. The findings reveal that the legal origins hypothesis receives strong support in the data: historical factors, rooted in legal origins, have long-lasting effects on current institutional quality in the African context. Mixed evidence is instead found for the endowment view.