Effects of nondiscretionary trading on futures prices

This paper examines the effects of the nondiscretionary trading demands of volatility index (VIX) exchange-traded products (ETPs) issuers on the prices and volumes in the VIX futures. We find that the ETPs' informationless, mechanical rebalancing of futures positions to maintain the constant maturity of the index and the promised leverage ratios of the VIX ETPs have significantly positive predictive power for end-of-day futures returns. We also show that the impact on price has diminished through time from increased liquidity provided by hedge funds, and the “natural” hedging of the issuers' inverse products.     

Emissions trading: Impact on electricity prices and energy-intensive industries

Under the EU-wide Emission Trading Scheme (ETS), CO₂ allowances have thus far been allocated largely free of charge. This paper presents a didactic synthesis on the impact of the ETS and argues that such a cost-free allocation will lead to an increase in electricity prices even when strong competition prevails in electricity markets. Electricity prices are also likely to increase as a consequence of the environmentally desirable fuel switch from coal to natural gas in the power sector when certifi cates are entirely auctioned in the power sector as of 2013. This tendency may be attenuated, but not outweighed, by the price decrease of CO₂ allowances over the long term.     

Putting Meta-Analysis to Work: Accountants' Organizational-Professional Conflict

Commentators on empirical research in business ethics have recommended that use should be made of meta-analysis – the quantitative analysis of a group of research studies. This paper elaborates upon those recommendations by conducting, as a "case study" for further reflection, a meta-analysis of studies of accountants' organizational-professional conflict (OPC) previously published in accounting and psychology journals. Of five variables capable of analysis, only the population correlation coefficient between OPC and organizational tenure is identified. It was not possible to find the population correlation coefficient of the other four variables, for which several possible reasons are suggested. The paper then shows how meta-analysis can make a valuable contribution, even when the substantive findings are limited, by providing guidance for future research and a safeguard against the drawing of unjustified conclusions, to which the more usual narrative reviews of literature are prone.     

Reciprocal exchange in rural communities: Consumers' inducements to inshop

Although consumer–retailer exchange behavior has been studied for many years, its treatment has not accounted for factors relating to reciprocal exchange intentions. This article defines reciprocity as the degree to which individuals expect cooperative action, and places reciprocity within the overall framework of consumer–retailer market exchange. In addition, it presents results of an exploratory study of rural consumers' reciprocal intentions to shop with local retailers, indicating that levels of satisfaction with interpersonal reciprocity have greater influence than moral, social, or economic motives. This study also suggests that social desirability, as a bias, is strongly linked to rural consumers' responses. © 1997 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.     

Commodity prices continue to fall

Commodity prices have fallen sharply on world markets in the wake of Asia's economic and financial crisis. In view of the worsening situation in Russia this decline is likely to continue for the time being. Can a gradual price recovery be expected next year?     

Production cuts to support oil prices

Most commodity quotations have continued to fall in recent months as a result of the weaker global economy. Crude oil prices, on the other hand, had been maintained at the high level targeted by OPEC since the start of the year, but lately they, too, have started to fall. Is the success of the oil exporters' change in production policy built to last?     

Putting market-facing technology to work: Organizational drivers of CRM performance

A large proportion of firms that adopt customer relationship management (CRM) technology find it challenging to integrate CRM technology into their core marketing processes and utilize CRM strategically to appreciably improve their performance. The authors conceptualize a model to understand the drivers of superior CRM performance after CRM technology has been adopted by a firm and examine strategic utilization of CRM technology as driven by user acceptance and proficiency in the form of employee buy-in and expertise. Top management championship practices, employee information technology (IT) skills, and CRM knowledge are identified and examined as key building blocks toward strategic utilization. The empirical test of the conceptual model is based on a mail survey of North American firms that have adopted information technology-based CRM systems. The results, based on random effects model, show that strategic utilization of CRM technology leads to higher performance when there is an emphasis on using it to manage business-to-business rather than business-to-consumer relationships, user expertise (but not buy-in) impacts CRM performance through strategic utilization, and top management championship practices, CRM knowledge, and employee IT skills impact strategic utilization through buy-in and expertise.     

日本强震：船舶贸易受小幅负面影响

2011年3月11日以来．地震、海啸、核泄漏相继袭击日本,给日本乃至全球经济带来不小打击。日本地震对我国船舶及其配套进出口以及相关上下游产业的影响是造船界关注的焦点．记者日前就有关情况采访了中国进出口机电商会及造船行业有关专家．     

Brand vulnerability to product assortments and prices

Abstract

The assortment of brands that a specific brand competes against varies from one point of sale to another. The competitive landscape changes further because of within-assortment price variations at each location. The joint variation in assortment composition and pricing creates a complex set of scenarios under which a brand needs to compete. In this paper, we develop an approach to assess changes in a brand's vulnerability under alternative assortment and price configurations. We specifically propose that, in market environments with high variability in the competitive set and prices, it is more appropriate to assess a brand's strength relative to alternative assortment configurations rather than against individual competing brands. We build a model that depicts a brand's vulnerability in latent assortment space rather than the traditional brand space. The results from an illustrative model application are used to draw inferences about changes in brand vulnerabilities under shallow and deep promotions.